On first Mideast tour, Rubio warns Iran, praises Trump’s Gaza plan

After talks, Rubio called Tehran “the single greatest source of instability in the region,” while Netanyahu hailed Trump’s “bold vision for Gaza.”

By Susannah George and Hajar Harb

Marco Rubio on Sunday kicked off his first Middle East tour as secretary of state with strong support for Israel and stern warnings to Iran as the region bristles from President Donald Trump’s proposal to “own” Gaza and evict its Palestinian population.

Rubio, who has been a vocal supporter of Israel in its war in Gaza, was warmly welcomed in Jerusalem by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials. Iran, Rubio said, is “the single greatest source of instability in the region, behind every terrorist group, behind every act of violence.” The Trump administration’s top diplomat said Tehran is the “common theme” of regional instability and “must be addressed.”

Rubio and Netanyahu spoke to reporters after closed-door meetings. They discussed several subjects in those meetings, Netanyahu said, but “none more important than Iran.”

Middle Eastern stability is threatened from multiple directions. Rubio’s next stops — the capitals of critical U.S. allies Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — are seen as key tests of the Trump administration’s overall approach to the region.

Rubio is to travel to Riyadh on Monday and Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. It’s unclear whether he’ll receive similarly warm receptions in the Arab capitals, where many are still infuriated by Trump’s proposal to displace 2.2 million Palestinians from Gaza and deny them a right of return.

The proposal, favored by many on Israel’s far right, sparked outrage in the Arab world. Saudi Arabia, issuing a rare public response to Trump, reiterated that a Palestinian state remains a prerequisite for the kingdom to normalize ties with Israel, long a U.S. goal. Officials in the Persian Gulf monarchies are supporting Arab-led efforts to draft a counterproposal for Gaza reconstruction.

But for any of the Trump administration’s larger diplomatic efforts to gather momentum, all sides must keep the peace in Gaza.

Rubio said Sunday that hostages still held by Hamas “need to be released” — “it’s not optional,” he said, and “the president has been very clear: Hamas cannot continue as a military or government force.”

Trump’s proposal for Gaza is “something that’s bold and something that, frankly, took courage and vision in order to outline.” It “may have shocked and surprised many,” he said, “but what cannot continue is the same cycle where we repeat over and over again and wind up in the exact same place.”

Netanyahu said he and Rubio discussed Trump’s “bold vision for Gaza, for Gaza’s future [and] how we can work together to ensure that that future becomes a reality.”

The fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, currently in the first of three planned phases, has withstood significant threats in the past week. Hamas accused Israel of violating the deal by delaying aid deliveries into Gaza and threatened to halt the release of hostages in retaliation.

Mediators have managed to keep the agreement on track. Hamas released three Israeli hostages on Saturday and aid deliveries into Gaza have increased.

Supporters wave flags Saturday as an Israeli military helicopter carrying people freed from Hamas captivity in Gaza approaches a medical center in Israel. (Heidi Levine/For The Washington Post)

But negotiations on phase two of the ceasefire, scheduled to begin earlier this month, have yet to start — and the issues to be discussed are complex. They include the release of Israeli soldiers, the further withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and the future of Hamas as a political movement and armed force.

Some feared that a failure to start phase two talks would cause the ceasefire to collapse. But now regional diplomats say the sides might be able to extend the first phase, set to expire March 1, to avoid a return to war.

On Sunday, three police officers were killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza, Hamas said, in what it called “a serious violation of the ceasefire agreement.”

The Israeli military said it launched an airstrike on people who approached Israeli troops.

The mayor of Rafah told The Washington Post that about 30 people have been shot and killed in his city alone since the ceasefire went into effect last month. Israeli troops remain in over half of Rafah proper, Mayor Ahmed al-Soufi said, and have used drones, “snipers in military towers” and tanks to fire at people attempting to return to their homes.

Arab leaders plan to meet in Cairo on Feb. 27 to produce a counterproposal to Trump’s Gaza plan. Ahmed Aboul Gheit, the secretary general of the Arab League, has called for a “gradual” reconstruction of Gaza that doesn’t require displacing the territory’s inhabitants.

Rubio does not plan to visit close U.S. allies Egypt or Jordan on his tour. The countries have played key roles in maintaining regional stability but have been threatened by Trump over Gaza. If they do not take in Palestinians who are removed from Gaza, Trump has said, they could lose U.S. aid.

Jordan’s King Abdullah II met with Trump last week at the White House. “Rebuilding Gaza without displacing the Palestinians and addressing the dire humanitarian situation should be the priority for all,” he wrote in a social media post after the visit.