Secretary of State Marco Rubio Remarks to Press

SECRETARY RUBIO: All right. You guys ready?

QUESTION: Yes.

SECRETARY RUBIO: Just a couple points I want to make at the outset - because I know it's been in the news this morning - about this earthquake in Venezuela. I had an opportunity to talk earlier this morning with Delcy Rodríguez, the acting president. We're obviously awaiting the - we're already deploying search and rescue teams from Fairfax County, Virginia and Los Angeles. There'll be some others we'll add. That's their most immediate need right now, is search and rescue efforts. They have much of collapsed buildings, and so they'll need a lot of help in terms of digging through that. The airport there is badly damaged, so we'll have to rely on the Department of War to deploy assets there. And then we're also helping them with some overhead imagery, especially in coastal areas, where they don't have full visibility over what the damage has been and what the impact has been.

Those are the acute, like, short-term needs over the next 48 to 72 hours, because in search and rescue you're trying to get to people while you can still save their lives. They're buried under rubble. And other countries are responding as well. The Qataris are - have already offered assistance, as we spoke to them earlier today as well. El Salvador has stepped up, and multiple countries around the region, including Chile and others, have reached out to us to communicate and get that happening.

As we move forward with that response, with the - sort of the short-term phase of response recovery, the second phase, of course, will be identifying their more longer-term and acute needs, what are the things over the long term they're going to need help with. We'll have a better assessment of that after the next 48 hours, when we're on the ground and as the Venezuelan authorities get more visibility as to the level of damage in terms of housing - where do you put all these people that don't have anywhere to go live - what we can do to help restore or help them restore their communications, their internet, their telecom, and so forth.

We'll also have to manage what we expect is going to be a surge of private donation. I can imagine that there's going to be a lot of people from the United States and entities in the United States. We've already been in touch with some of the leading charities, but I know at the local level, particularly in places like where I call home in South Florida, there'll be a lot of people that are going to want to step forward and help and provide assistance, and we just need to find the way that we can step in and provide logistical support from that.

In addition, of course, our - we've already stood up our disaster response teams at the Department of State and our humanitarian efforts. It's something we did very well in Jamaica, after that storm, and it's something we're really prepared to do now. So I've already spoken to Secretary Hegseth. The Department of War is going to have play a logistical - big logistical role here, because they have the ability to land in challenging places. Right now, the airport in Caracas is damaged. One of the runways is cracked. And so - but the Department of War has the capability to land in situations like that, so we'll need that.

So we have a whole-of-government response. It'll be big; it'll be fast; and it'll be effective. And of course, obviously, we're in touch through our embassy on the ground. We're - I believe we have almost full accountability of all of our personnel there, and, of course, Americans are safe. The last point is we've also - we know there are American citizens that are inside of Venezuela now, so we've also gone through the normal processes that we set up for them to be able to communicate with us in case they need assistance or help.

On this visit here, we had a very productive meeting, a very good meeting. I know you hear that all the time, so let me just say it was a really, really good meeting with the Gulf countries. They've shared with us some very concrete concerns, ideas, and - and when I say concerns, I think the biggest concern is that they really just want to be informed every step along the way, as we enter these negotiations at both the technical and political levels. And we want them to be involved and we want their - it's helpful that Qatar is there as a mediator, but we want the views of all these countries to be reflected. We don't want to be - we don't - we want - and will not be making any decisions or commitments that in any way undermines the prosperity, stability, or security of our Gulf partners.

So every step of the way we'll create a system where we are always in communication with them, and they're not reading about it in the media. No disrespect to all of you, but they really should be hearing directly from us and engaged as much as possible in this process as we move forward, and that was something that we talked about today.

They have some other specific things. One thing that came across very clear is there is zero support - zero support - among the Gulf countries for any sort of toll or fees or anything that charges for the use of international waters. The President's made it clear that's not going to happen. It's not going to be a part of this. It cannot be a part of this. He made it clear again yesterday in the Oval Office in a press availability that he had, and I reiterated that point, which I think was a welcome message from our partners here to hear that as well.

So, all right. Let's go.

QUESTION: Mr. Secretary -

SECRETARY RUBIO: Yes, go ahead.

QUESTION: In your remarks this morning, you mentioned that no agreement with Iran - it will be an expense -

SECRETARY RUBIO: What happened?

QUESTION: Excuse me.

SECRETARY RUBIO: Can you back up, because you're -

QUESTION: Yes. Sure.

SECRETARY RUBIO: He wants to see my face.

QUESTION: Yes. (Laughter.)

SECRETARY RUBIO: Sorry. Go ahead. I'm sorry.

QUESTION: In your remarks this morning, sir, you said there is no agreement with Iran that will, like, come at expense of the Gulf states interest. Is that mean you're - in your negotiation with Iran, it will address proxy and also all the threats from Iran coming to Hormuz, even if they don't close it, but still the threats affect the maritime traffic, and also proxies?

SECRETARY RUBIO: Yeah. If you look at the MOU, it talks for peace in the region. It talks for no interference in the sovereignty or interest of independent countries, of sovereign countries. Well, that's what proxies are. They're interfering in the sovereignty of a country. When you're giving money, for example, to Hizballah to act as a rival to the sovereign Government of Lebanon, you're interfering in their politics. When you're sponsoring militias in Iraq, you're interfering in Iraq. When you're sponsoring Hamas or the Houthis or whoever it may be, you're interfering in the sovereignty of these countries. So that - it's covered. The MOU contemplates a conversation about these things because it's critical, and it's important.

So, there's no doubt that that will be a topic that has to be discussed. Because ultimately, you're not going to have peace and stability in this region as long as there are non-state actors operating within the boundaries and borders of sovereign countries and being funded by Iran.

QUESTION: Mr. Secretary -

QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, what -

QUESTION: Yeah. Thank you. What is your comment on the Iranian-Omani dispute regarding the safe passage in the Strait of Hormuz?

SECRETARY RUBIO: Yeah. So, we've reached the point now in this where you're hearing, for example, the Iranians will say one thing but then something else is actually happening. So, here's what I would tell everybody. It's now obvious to us - and I think should be obvious to all of you - that the Iranian system is going to continue to produce all sorts of maximalist rhetoric. They're going to have people going on their TV, on their official media, and making all kinds of pronouncements. And - but what we're interested in is not their press conferences. What we're interested in is whether or not ships are moving. If ships are moving as they should be moving, then that's what we're going to judge and that's what we're going to react to. If, on the other hand, this rhetoric is backed up by actual ships being threatened and ships are not moving, that's a violation of the agreement, and we're going to have a problem with it.

So, what we are watching as we see the continued flow of ships in this particular case, that lane is the one that's being used for this evacuation effort that's being led by the International Maritime Organization, and that must continue. And as long as it continues, they can have all the press conferences they want. If that stops, then we're going to have a problem.

QUESTION: Mr. Secretary -

QUESTION: Mr. Secretary -

QUESTION: Is there a specific commitment from Oman that there would be no fee or tolling system imposed, including after -

SECRETARY RUBIO: What is that?

QUESTION: A specific commitment from Oman that there was zero interest in a tolling or fee system -

SECRETARY RUBIO: Well, we -

QUESTION: - including after the 60-day negotiation?

SECRETARY RUBIO: I don't know if it's been issued yet, but we have a joint statement that's coming from our meeting, and it makes it abundantly clear. And so I would just reiterate the point that I made earlier. And I said this - I don't know if you guys were there in the open portion of it - I said fees and tolls are the same thing to me. Okay? If you're paying someone to go - I don't care if you call it a fee or a toll or a donation; it's a toll. That's how we're going to define it. That's an international waterway. There isn't a nation on earth that supports having to pay money to go through the straits.

And think about it this way. If you have - first, it's not even workable. Let's suppose that we went crazy for a - and lost our minds completely and decided to agree to have a tolling or a fee mechanism. How would that work? It's not doable. Because what's the consequence for not paying? Let's say a ship says, well, I'm not going to pay the fee. It's not like a toll on a road. You don't get a ticket in the mail. They get shot at. You shoot at one ship, you sink one ship, no other ship is going to move. So that sort of system is not only unwise; it can't happen. It's not even workable. So you might as well abandon the fantasy now.

So I think we've been clear. You can call it a fee, you can call it a toll - call it whatever you want. If you are charging money to use the straits, we won't support it. We won't tolerate it; we won't allow it. And I think there was unanimity in that room on that point.

QUESTION: Mr. Secretary -

QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, two things. One, on Venezuela, do you have a dollar amount of assistance yet, or is it too early?

SECRETARY RUBIO: Well, it's too early. I mean, we don't - right now we know they need - unfortunately, living in South Florida, living through both hurricanes but other things that have impacted the Caribbean Basin, what often happens is you have to wait and see what the needs are. The most immediate need, the one they need right now, is search and rescue. That's the one they need immediately, because you've got to get people out of that rubble within 48 hours or they won't survive. And so that's the first thing we're going to respond to.

In the process of that response, we'll begin to assess what else they need. It is my guess, based on what I know about these sorts of things, that they're going to need a place - how do you house all of these people in the short term? So we'll have a better understanding of that. It's not even 12 hours yet.

QUESTION: Right.

SECRETARY RUBIO: So we don't have a number on it yet, but I know the President's made a full commitment to being supportive of Venezuela.

QUESTION: All right. And then secondly, are you aware - has any or are you aware of any of the frozen money that Qatar holds being transferred -

SECRETARY RUBIO: No.

QUESTION: - already to Iran?

SECRETARY RUBIO: Well, I'm not aware of that. I don't think anyone in our system has said that. So I don't know if you're responding to some news or anything that's out there, but as of right now, we're not aware of any money nor have we agreed for any money to be transferred.

QUESTION: Okay, so that - all that money is still there, assuming -

SECRETARY RUBIO: As far as - that's our understanding.

QUESTION: Okay.

SECRETARY RUBIO: And there's no agreement on that point, so that better be the case.

QUESTION: Did you speak to Gulf -

QUESTION: Can you tell us more about the outcomes with the meeting with His Majesty the King today, please?

SECRETARY RUBIO: It was very positive. Look, again, we just came, first of all, to - this is a long-term relationship. We've been here for decades. So this is not a new relationship between our countries. So obviously, as always, just express gratitude for all the support they gave us during this conflict. And the second is just to reiterate the points I made with you, and that is that we obviously are - the President, the United States, if we can make a deal with Iran that's good for everybody, we want to do it. We're going to get - we're going to give it every chance to succeed, but also to make the point that we're not going to do anything or agree to anything that they're not aware of, that our partners in the area are not aware of, that our partners in the area are not aligned with, and that in any way could undermine their security and their stability. So to reassure him of these points - the same points we made in the GCC meeting.

QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, in the meeting with the GCC allies, did any of them make any commitments to pay into this $300 billion reconstruction?

SECRETARY RUBIO: No, it was not discussed. I mean, the reconstruction - that's way down the road, and that's something that'll be dealt with at the appropriate time in this process. But that was not discussed by anybody.

QUESTION: So you are throwing your red lines on both Hormuz and also nuclear program. If Iran rejects one of those terms, what would Washington's next move be?

SECRETARY RUBIO: Well, look, the President has multiple options at his disposal if Iran goes back on their word or if Iran decides they don't want to make a deal. Let's hope that's not the case; we don't want that to be the case. We're going to give diplomacy every chance to work. We've got a good team working on it. And so if it doesn't work out, the President knows what his options are. But I'm not going to discuss what those options are with you, but the President has a lot of options at his disposal.

QUESTION: On Oman - on Oman -

QUESTION: Sir, you used to use very blunt terms to describe Iranians' - Iran's leadership. You used to call them -

SECRETARY RUBIO: Who did?

QUESTION: You did.

SECRETARY RUBIO: Yeah.

QUESTION: You used to call them religious, theocratic lunatics. Do you still believe that language applies to the leadership today?

SECRETARY RUBIO: Well, it's not that I believe it; it's the fact of the matter. I mean, the Iranian system is led by clerics, radical clerics. That's what it's always been led by and that's what it continues to be led by. That said, we also have to manage the geopolitics of the situation. And if there's an - if they've changed their mindset or if they've changed their approach to their relations with the United States and their neighbors, then we're going to give this thing a chance to work. Maybe it's changed. I'm not saying it has. I'm saying the President wants to explore whether that's the case. And if it has, we're going to find out.

But we're not going to find out because of what they say; we're going to find out because of what they do. We're going to judge them by their actions, and we'll test that proposition and see.

QUESTION: How come -

SECRETARY RUBIO: No one says it's going to be easy, because I think at the end, we know that people that are still at the top levels of that government are people that adhere to the same theology and the same mentality as the people that have led it in the past. They've got some people in the political branches that seem more flexible and more willing to work with us. Those are the ones we're negotiating with. We'll see how it works out.

QUESTION: Last - last month, President Trump threatened to bomb Oman if they impose tolls in the strait. And just today you mentioned that no two nations should be able to impose tolls on a natural strait. What - are you - is the current bilateral relationship with Oman now in a good place? And are you convinced they're not playing games with respect to that issue?

SECRETARY RUBIO: I mean, our relationship with Oman is fine. I mean, ultimately, there's not going to be any fees or tolls. There's not going to be any, and they've - they were there in the meeting today, and they said it, that they're not in favor of a tolling system. So that's good. I'm glad to hear them say that.

QUESTION: But I do have to ask, because just a few weeks ago there was the hypothetical threat to bomb Oman, so it didn't seem to be okay a few weeks ago. So just where are we -

SECRETARY RUBIO: Yeah, I can only talk to you about today, and today they said in the meeting and they signed on to the statement that said there isn't going to be any fees or tolls. And so I think that's good news that they signed on to that.

QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, back to Venezuela, if I may. There was a stabilization process ongoing.

SECRETARY RUBIO: Yeah.

QUESTION: You obviously played a huge role in that. Are you worried that this earthquake could upend that process? (Inaudible) urgent needs.

SECRETARY RUBIO: No, right now I'm not worried about that. Right now we're worried that there are people trapped in rubble and we want to help them get out. Some of those people have relatives that live in the United States, but no matter what, the United States has always responded to humanitarian crisis, especially in our own hemisphere. That's what we're focused on now.

Obviously, earthquakes are not part of the stabilization process, but these are things you don't plan for. But we're faced with this and now we have to respond to it, and we will in a very positive way. And we're glad to see that other countries in the region are stepping up. I mean, El Salvador, for example - and President Bukele has not had a relationship or a positive one with Venezuela, and he was one of the first to step up and offer assistance with a search and rescue team from El Salvador.

So right now, we're just going to focus on the human aspect of this. There are human beings that have been harmed, that have been hurt. Some have been killed, some have been severely injured, and some are still trapped in rubble. We're going to focus on that. How that fits into the broader stabilization process - I don't think we're analyzing it through that lens. Obviously, it's an - it's a setback in that regard, but we're going to get through it, and I think Venezuela's going to emerge stronger from it despite the tragedy that it's confronting right now.

QUESTION: Prior to coming here, sir -

QUESTION: Mr. - Mr. Secretary, the MOU did not include a specific number of years during which Iran could not develop nuclear weapons. Should a final agreement have a specific number, and is the U.S. pushing for that?

SECRETARY RUBIO: Well, that's - no, that's - why - a MOU would not have that because the MOU's not a final agreement. An MOU just creates the construct and the outlines for a negotiation, and there's no doubt that as part of that negotiation, very specific terms like years and limits will be discussed, and that includes the mechanisms by which it's verified and enforced.

QUESTION: But is there a number of years the U.S. is pushing for, sir?

QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, we just heard this morning there is negotiations will take place between GCC and Iran and Iraq regard Hormuz. Do you support this kind -

SECRETARY RUBIO: What's this now? I'm sorry.

QUESTION: We just heard this morning there is negotiation will take place between GCC and Iran and Iraq regard Hormuz. Do you support -

SECRETARY RUBIO: I'm not aware of that. I've not seen that report. That wasn't discussed with me today, so - but I have not seen that report, so I can't comment on it.

QUESTION: Mr. Secretary -

SECRETARY RUBIO: Go ahead.

QUESTION: Is the GCC working on some direct agreement with Iran in order to ease tensions?

SECRETARY RUBIO: Well, I can't speak for the communications of any of these countries on a bilateral level. I imagine they have always had communications. For example, Qatar has been a key mediator in this regard. But as far as our MOU process that we're going to be involved in, what we discussed today is that there will be a - I hate using this term - mechanism, because it's now been used for everything. But there will be a system set up where every step of the way, as developments occur in both the technical and political talks surrounding the MOU, they will be included. We're going to make sure they're up to date on everything that's being discussed, on everything that's being considered, and we can get their points of view and their interests aligned with ours in that regard.

QUESTION: Sir, prior to coming here, your Italian counterpart -

QUESTION: Many Gulf states suffered the missile strikes during the recent -

SECRETARY RUBIO: Yeah, including Bahrain.

QUESTION: Yes, but there's - there was no mention for that in the U.S.-Iran Memorandum of Understanding. What would you comment on that?

SECRETARY RUBIO: Well, look - I think there's a misunderstanding. A memorandum of understanding is not supposed to be like an all-encompassing document. It basically just creates the outlines for a negotiation process, and that's what the MOU did. I mean, it had some specific things about immediately reopening the straits and so forth, but what it ultimately does is create the outlines for a process of negotiation. Within that process I imagine there'll be many things discussed, and on the specifics about the GCC, one of the things that was mentioned today which is of great interest to them is they want some sort of funding for reconstruction. They suffered damages; they want to be compensated for those damages. So I would imagine that, as part of the MOU process and as part of their engagement with us in that process, that items such as that are going to come up. Okay?

QUESTION: Your Italian counterpart canceled an engagement prior to your coming here because of the spike in tensions between President Trump and Prime Minister Meloni. Have you addressed that tension? Have you spoken to your -

SECRETARY RUBIO: I - well, I spoke to him last Friday when he - was it Friday or Saturday? Whatever day they decided not to come. We have a number of agreements on critical minerals and other things that we are lined up, and those will be signed in due course, and we'll get through it as - I talked to him. I have a good relationship with him. He called me, told me he wasn't going to come to Miami. I was headed here anyway, so it worked out fine, I guess. I mean, it was unfortunate that an event like that got interrupted. I thought they should have still come, but that said, we had some agreements ready to sign. We're still going to get them signed soon. We'll just find a place to do it.

QUESTION: Can (inaudible) turn the page and rebuild trust between two allies?

SECRETARY RUBIO: Yeah, look, our relations with Italy continue unimpeded at the - at every level, military level, other levels. Obviously, the President's very upset. He feels like not just Italy but other countries at - in a time in which we were confronting a threat not just to us but more particularly to Europe, many European countries did not step up and do enough. They weren't there, Italy unfortunately among that. But we'll have to - we'll work through that and - but his points of view on this have been very clear, should not be surprising to anybody. He's been repeatedly - he said it again yesterday. He has - and I'm sure those points will come up again during the NATO Summit in a couple weeks.

QUESTION: Mr. Secretary -

QUESTION: Last week - last week Vice President Vance said in the Situation Room that sometimes President Trump has frustration because every time -

SECRETARY RUBIO: Not in the Situation Room.

QUESTION: Sorry, no, the briefing room, yeah.

SECRETARY RUBIO: Briefing room. I was - what are you doing in the Situation Room? How do you know?

QUESTION: Yeah, yeah, the briefing room.

SECRETARY RUBIO: Okay.

QUESTION: He said that President Trump was sometimes frustrated because every time a deal between Israel and Lebanon was close, Israel would launch some sort of bomb that would kill a number of civilians in Beirut, and it didn't seem to be productive. A lot of Republicans thought that those comments were inappropriate in Congress. I mean, what do you think of those comments?

SECRETARY RUBIO: So we - like, one of the things that was happening - we actually have been able to do this. Last Friday we restarted this monitoring mechanism that had gone dormant for a while, and what it does is CENTCOM is now sitting not just with the Israeli military command but the Lebanese command. And any time an incident happens, they - we're not taking anybody else's word for it. We can see the incident and we can qualify, quantify what actually happened.

So as an example, yesterday two individuals in some sort of vehicle - armed, clearly Lebanese Hizballah fighters - approached an Israeli checkpoint, and the Israelis actioned that item. A week ago, if that had happened, you would just have a news report that two people in Lebanon had been killed by the Israelis. Now we have fidelity that we actually know - not because they told us, but because we saw it and we saw the footage - that these were two armed individuals that were not a part of the Lebanese Armed Forces who approached the checkpoint and, as a result, posed a threat. So that's a big difference from what we were getting just a week ago.

Beyond that, I would say that today is the - we're a few hours ahead here, but today will be the third day of three days of talks between the Lebanese authorities and the Israeli authorities. I think we had a very good day yesterday. I think we are very close in our hopes of getting a commitment of interest between - of intent between the two countries that I think begin to outline a promising future.

It'll be a process; it'll take some time; it'll take a lot of work. But I can tell you that, for the first time in 30 years, the sovereign Government of Lebanon is speaking to the Government of Israel directly. That's who we're going to be negotiating with. That's who we're going to be working with, not Hizballah. Hizballah is not the government of Lebanon. Lebanon has a government; it has democratically elected leaders. They are - they have the sovereign right to speak and defend the interests of the Lebanese people, and what we want for Lebanon is a peaceful future. That's what everyone wants here.

And frankly, I think we're going to have a very positive commitment of interest, whether it's - of intent, whether it's today or in the days to come. We're working very hard at that. Hopefully today will be a day that can build on some of the things we were able to make progress on yesterday.

QUESTION: But did you agree -

QUESTION: Did you agree with the Vice President's sentiment?

SECRETARY RUBIO: No, I already told you the process that we're doing right now, and that is we're going to know what's actually happening, and we're going to be able to make an honest assessment as to what's happening and what isn't happening. Unfortunately, over the last few weeks, there's just been the fog of not knowing exactly who struck what and where and why. I think that's now been confronted and solved, and so I think that's going to give us a lot of fidelity about this process.

QUESTION: Let's just put a fine point on this question. How wide is the divide between you and the Vice President?

SECRETARY RUBIO: On what issue?

QUESTION: On any issue, but Iran in particular.

SECRETARY RUBIO: This administration - let me tell you something. Everyone here is aligned behind the President of the United States - every single one of us. The President of the United States makes the foreign policy of our country. And our job - we obviously give advice, we give counsel, we give opinions, but when the President of the United States is the one who was elected by the people of our country to conduct our foreign policy, the President makes these decisions, and all of us on his team - every single one of us - works in lockstep very closely with one another to execute on the President's foreign policy. Everything we do is because the President's made a decision that it's going to be done.

And one of the things I'm very proud of - I can't speak for every element of our government, because I'm not involved in other aspects of our government, but one of the things that I'm the proudest of is that when it comes to foreign policy and national security, we have no drama. We have no games. We have a group of people that work very well together and closely to execute on the President's directives, which is why I think we've had good outcomes and good achievements, and we're going to continue to have good outcomes and good achievements. Everyone has an important role to play, and everyone is playing that role and doing it in a collaborative process.

QUESTION: Okay.

SECRETARY RUBIO: And I think that serves the President well and I think that serves the country well.

QUESTION: Of course, two of them are you? (Laughter.)

QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, on the discussion with Iran, sir, as the country's top diplomat, do you not want more of a direct role in these talks, which have been, until now, really led by the Vice President and -

SECRETARY RUBIO: Well, we - but I think like any - I think that's just a silly analysis. The Vice President is the second-ranking person in our government. It just shows you how seriously we take that endeavor. And we have a team of people that do work - I mean, I'm here today because they were overseas last week. We all have a role to play in this regard. So I mean, I'm here. I've been here for three days, and this is a key component of that. So - but I think that's a really silly question. The Vice President of the United States, other than the President, is the second most powerful person in our government. The fact that he's directly involved in this tells you the importance that our administration has given to this topic. So I think it's a very positive thing that he's involved in it.

QUESTION: Mr. Secretary -

QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, you know that all the threats come from Iran regard Hormuz, it's affect maritime traffic. How we can end this, even if they don't close it but still affect navigation there?

SECRETARY RUBIO: Well, it affects it because they've been blowing up ships, and they've put mines. That has to be dealt with directly. We wanted more - a lot of ships are moving now, but those - we need to get back to what the straits looked like before this conflict, because it's an international waterway, and that's what it's going to be, one way or the other.

QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, what are your concerns that oil sanctions relief for Iran could lead Tehran to use that funds to rebuild its army, to fund proxy groups? And what leverage does the U.S. have, if any, to stop that?

SECRETARY RUBIO: Well, I mean, if Iran uses funds to fund proxies and missiles and all of that, then this - the deal's not going to work, right? We know that, but let's hope that's not the case. Right now, the only thing they have is a very short-term waiver for 60 days and - to give an opportunity for these negotiations to see where they can lead. I said it and I'll say it again: If Iran is interested in making a good deal and a real deal, the United States is open to doing it. If they're not, then the President will know that, and he'll have options available to him.

QUESTION: On the topic of -

QUESTION: Mr. Secretary -

SECRETARY RUBIO: All right.

QUESTION: - a NATO question, please. Yesterday, we learned that a NATO chief said in Washington that actually some allies did indeed help the U.S., like Italy and others did open up their bases to American jets. Iran today responded and they called NATO complicit. They are asking for - they're saying they should - they're accountable for this U.S.-Iran war.

SECRETARY RUBIO: Who responded? I'm sorry.

QUESTION: Iran.

SECRETARY RUBIO: Okay.

QUESTION: So do you have any reaction to, first of all, the fact that -

SECRETARY RUBIO: Look, we've always made the point that Iran poses an even graver threat to Europe than it does to the United States. Iran already possesses missiles that can reach parts of Europe, which is part of the President's frustration. Everyone likes to go around saying Iran can never have a nuclear weapon, Iran can never have a nuclear weapons capability. But the only one who was willing to do something about it was the President. And when he did something about it, he found allies that gave us a hard time about using our bases. And so again, if you speak about the NATO Alliance, one of the reasons why I've been a strong supporter of our presence in NATO is because it allows us these basing rights that allow us to project power and protect our interests. But if you're not going to be allowed the use of those bases by these countries, then it puts into question the entire alliance.

And as far as the President's concerned, he thinks - and he's - rightfully thinks - that Iran poses as grave, if not more a grave, threat to parts of Europe than it does to the continental United States. And when he actually stepped forward and actually tried to do something about it, he didn't ask these countries to send their military to join us. We didn't need their help. But he asked if we could use the bases, and some of them said no or gave us a hard time, which I think is not only what he's annoyed about and upset about, but I think, frankly, creates a real cloud over the NATO Alliance that I hope can be fixed. We'll see.

All right. I got to run. Let's go.

QUESTION: Sir, I have one question on Iraq. I'm just curious how concerned you are about Iran being able to consolidate control over a lot of its proxy militias in Iraq. And even as these talks are ongoing, what type of threat, future threat that poses to some of its neighbors -

SECRETARY RUBIO: Well, again, that's an example of Iranian interference in the sovereign affairs of another country in Iraq. That said, they have a new prime minister. He's forming a government. We have good signals coming from him. He'll be visiting Washington soon to meet with the President. And our hope is that we can - we will continue to stand on behalf of the sovereignty - respect for the sovereignty of the people of Iraq and not interference from Iran.

So that'll be a topic of conversation. We've engaged the new prime minister. He's spoken to the President on the phone already once. We're watching the - so far there's been good signals and some good actions that he's taken in the formation of his government. But obviously, some challenges remain, but it's something we're going to watch very closely.

All right. Last one, guys, because we've got to get ready to go.

QUESTION: And do you expect more -

QUESTION: Just on the GCC states wanting compensation for the damage, how would that maybe look like? Could it come from the unfrozen funds?

SECRETARY RUBIO: Well, I don't know. I mean, look, I'm not going to speculate right now as to how that will actually be worked out. I just pointed it out to you that it's one of the things they raised in our meeting today. It's one of the things they're interested in and one of the things that I think we're going to have to address at some point, but we haven't really worked through any of the particulars of that yet.

Okay?

QUESTION: Thank you.

QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, one about Russia before you go.

SECRETARY RUBIO: About who?

QUESTION: Russia is accusing the U.S. of failing to deliver on, quote-unquote - agreements that - or understanding -

SECRETARY RUBIO: There was never any agreement.

QUESTION: - that we had in Alaska.

SECRETARY RUBIO: Yeah.

QUESTION: Can you please -

SECRETARY RUBIO: There was no agreement in Alaska. There was a proposal in Alaska, but there was no agreement in Alaska. If there had been an agreement, we would have had an end to the war. So as I said, the President is prepared, as the United States remains prepared, to play whatever constructive role we can to bring about an enduring end to this war in Ukraine, and which has been bloody - 25 - 20,000 soldiers killed every month; 5,000 a week, most of them Russian. So it's been debilitating for Europe, for the - but especially for Ukraine and for Russia increasingly.

So if they're - we are prepared to step forward and play a constructive role, if there's one for us to play, in bringing the parties together and bringing that war to an end. That's what the President's tried to do now for a year and a half, but there was no agreement in Alaska. There was a proposal made in Alaska, but it was never an agreement.

QUESTION: You mean by Russia or by the U.S. -

SECRETARY RUBIO: That was - I mean, it's the same thing you've seen publicly reported, right? I mean, Russia wants the entirety of Donetsk to be turned over to them, among some other things that they raised, but there was never an agreement. Had there been an agreement, there would have been an end to the war, and that's been the fundamental problem.

Okay? All right, guys. Thanks.

QUESTION: Thank you.

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