What did Marco Rubio say about China, Iran, Israel and Ukraine? | Real Time Headlines

President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of Sen. Marco Rubio, arguably the world’s most important diplomat, as secretary of state could transform the United States’ relationship with its enemies and allies alike.

Rubio is considered a foreign policy hawk and has been a strong critic of China and Iran, two countries considered the United States’ top economic and geopolitical rivals, but he is also ambivalent about his continued support for Ukraine, which is consistent with Trump’s stance. echoes that the war with Russia must come to an end.

Rubio, who serves as vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, was formally appointed secretary of state by Trump on Wednesday night and appointed his top White House team. decisive electoral victory last week.

“He will be a powerful advocate for our country, a true friend to our allies, and a fearless warrior who will never back down from our adversaries.” Trump said in a statement on his “Truth Social” platform.

Given Trump’s “America First” policies, Rubio’s nomination, coupled with his tough stance on foreign policy issues and criticism of U.S. rivals, may ease U.S. allies’ concerns about the world’s most powerful economy withdrawing from the global stage. worry.

Before his nomination and after Trump’s election, Rubio told CNN that the United States was entering “an era of pragmatic foreign policy.”

“The world is changing rapidly. You know, North Korea, Iran, China, Russia’s adversaries are joining forces (and) increasingly coordinating,” Rubio said. “This will require us to be very pragmatic and sensible in our overseas investment methods and actions.”

The relationship between Trump and Rubio hasn’t always been cordial. The two men, who both ran for president in 2016, clashed fiercely while campaigning for the Republican nomination, with Trump calling Rubio “little Marco” and Rubio mocking Trump’s “tiny hands.”

At the time, Rubio criticized Trump’s isolationist foreign policy stance. As early as 2016, he said that “a world without the United States is a world that none of us want to live with,” and he opposed Trump’s position that the United States gives more than it receives in its interactions with the international community. many.

However, Rubio has since reconciled with the president-elect and supported his presidential campaign.

Rubio’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on his new role, but here’s a snapshot of the 53-year-old politician’s comments on some of America’s biggest foreign policy challenges, giving an indication of the state of what we can expect from the incoming secretary of state:

Beijing has not lost its love for Rubio. Rubio and other senior U.S. officials were sanctioned by China in 2020 Amid a round of tit-for-tat sanctions from Beijing and Washington.

Trump caused international consternation in his first term Tear up the Iran nuclear deal in 2018 and reimpose severe sanctions on Irancritics warn Therefore, Iran’s nuclear weapons capability will be realized sooner or later.

Before winning the election last week, Trump said he was open to a new nuclear deal with Iran, but told reporters in New York, “Of course, I would do it.” “We have to make a deal because the consequences are impossible. . We have to make a deal,” he said. In comments reported by Politico.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Tuesday that the country “will have to deal with the United States in the regional and international arena.” Reuters reported that, It shows that Iran may also be willing to negotiate.

However, the new nuclear deal may not go over well with Israel, where Trump saw himself as its “protector” during the campaign. Rubio has also been an outspoken critic of Iran and a staunch supporter of Israel as it continues to attack Iran’s proxies, the militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah in Gaza and Lebanon, respectively.

In late September, Rubio supported an Israeli airstrike that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. told NBC News “Israel has no choice but to defend itself. I think it is a service to humanity to eliminate not only Nasrallah, but also the senior leadership of this evil organization.” He also said that Iran’s goals in the Middle East It “seeks to drive the United States out of the region and then destroy Israel.”

Rubio also didn’t rule out taking a pragmatic approach to Tehran, telling NBC News that “if the Iranian regime said tomorrow, ‘We’re going to stop trying to be a regional power, we’re going to stop our nuclear weapons, we’re going to stop funding terror. ism, we’re going to stop trying to kill you — that’s what they’re trying to do to Donald Trump — and we’re going to stop all of these things,” in theory, of course, yes. , you can solve similar problems. “

However, he added that this scenario is “unlikely to happen because this is the most urgent mission and purpose of the regime.” Iran denies U.S. accusations that Tehran is linked to an alleged plot to assassinate Trump.

It is widely believed that the incoming Trump administration will be more hostile to providing more military aid to Ukraine, which will seriously inhibit its ability to continue to fight back against Russia. it is also considered Republican administration may push Kyiv for peace talks with Russia It will be forced to cede occupied land to neighboring countries as part of a peace deal.

Rubio insists he’s “not on Russia’s side,” but he told NBC News in late September “Unfortunately, the reality is that the way the war in Ukraine ends is through a negotiated settlement.”

“We hope that by then, the Ukrainian side will have more influence than the Russian side. To me, that’s really the goal here. I think that’s what (former President) Donald Trump was trying to say,” Rupees O said.

The senator was initially an outspoken supporter of Ukraine, but his and other Republicans’ support has waned as funding bills piled up after 32 months of war and problems at home remained unresolved.

Rubio was part of a small group of hardline Republicans who voted in April against a $95 billion aid package to help Ukraine, Taiwan and Israel, saying he opposed the bill as the U.S. grapples with domestic challenges such as border security. Not enough has been done.