Senate defeats Iran war powers vote with Fetterman, Cassidy's help
The Senate defeated a war powers resolution on Iran late Wednesday after passing a similar measure the day before. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., flipped his vote after clashing with President Donald Trump during a meeting on Capitol Hill, and Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., remained in opposition.
Rubio dismisses Iran's chatter, says US interested in whether ships 'are moving' in Strait of Hormuz
Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday dismissed the “maximalist rhetoric” coming out of Iran regarding the Strait of Hormuz, telling reporters in Bahrain that “What we're interested in is whether or not ships are moving.”
"We've reached a 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,” Rubio said.
“They're going to have people going on their TV, on their official media, and making all kinds of pronouncements. But what we are interested in is not their press conferences. What we're interested in is whether or not ships are moving,” Rubio continued.
“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,” he also said.
Rubio says there will be no peace or stability in Middle East if Iran is funding non-state actors
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday that there will be no peace or stability in the Middle East “as long as there are non-state actors operating within the boundaries and borders of sovereign countries and being funded by Iran.”
“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,” Rubio said about the deal reached between the U.S. and Iran last week. “Well, that's what proxies are. They're interfering in the sovereignty of a country.”
“When you're giving money, for example, to Hezbollah, 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, you know, Hamas or the Houthis or whoever it may be, you're interfering in the sovereignty of these countries,” Rubio added.
“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,” he declared.
Lebanon’s government is speaking with Israel directly ‘for first time in 30 years,’ Rubio says
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday that “for the first time in 30 years, the sovereign government of Lebanon is speaking to the government of Israel directly.”
Rubio made the comment as negotiations between Israel and Lebanon are unfolding in Washington this week. He said Wednesday that Lebanon and its military needs “to be able to control and secure more and more of their own territory, because that's who needs to control Lebanese territory, not a terrorist group like Hezbollah.”
"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 intent between the two countries that I think begin to outline a promising future,” Rubio said Thursday.
“It'll be a process. It will take some time. It will 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,” Rubio continued.
“That's who we're going to be negotiating with. That's what we're going to be working with, not Hezbollah. Hezbollah is not the government of Lebanon. Lebanon has a government. It has democratically elected leaders,” Rubio also said. “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.”
Rubio says ‘zero support’ among Gulf countries for tolls or fees for use of international waters
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday after meeting with the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council in Bahrain that there is “zero support among the Gulf countries for any sort of toll or fees or anything that charges for the use of international waters.”
The remark comes after President Donald Trump on Wednesday warned Iran against imposing costs on ships using the Strait of Hormuz, saying such a move could derail U.S. negotiations.
"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 that 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,” Rubio said.
The Secretary of State added that the Gulf Cooperation Council – which consists of Bahrain, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates -- “shared with us some very concrete, concerns, ideas” as the U.S. is negotiating with Iran to end the war.
“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... it's helpful that Qatar is there as a mediator, but we want the views of all these countries to be reflected,” Rubio added. “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."
Fox News Digital’s Emma Bussey contributed to this post.
Trump jabs Starmer as ‘gone,’ blasts European allies for ‘letting America down’ in Iran war
President Donald Trump on Wednesday took a swipe at British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, saying he was "now gone," and said the United States had been "let down" by allies during its military offensive against Iran.
"We were let down," Trump told reporters at the White House after a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. "We didn't need help on this at all. We demolished them," he said of Iran.
"But it would have been nice if they would have said, 'We'd like to help,'" he said. "We didn't even need it, but it would have been nice if they said that. They didn't say it."
The president suggested he could have turned to Rutte for support if it had been necessary.
"I think if I would have called him, he probably would have found a way to help if we needed it," Trump said. "I feel, you know, it would have been a little bit different."
Trump then singled out several European countries for criticism.
"But I was disappointed. I was disappointed with Italy. I was disappointed with the UK," he said.
"He's now gone and, you know, he had a lot of problems," Trump said of Starmer.
Trump added that he was also disappointed with Germany and France.
"We were disappointed with Germany and France. We're disappointed with most of them," he said. "Spain is a horror show," Trump added.
Closed-door outburst turns into victory for Trump’s Iran negotiations
An explosive meeting in the Senate turned into a win for President Donald Trump and his administration as key Republicans flipped on another bid to handcuff the administration’s authorities in Iran.
In its final act before leaving Washington, D.C., for an over two-week break, the Senate rejected Democrats’ attempt to rein in Trump’s war powers in Iran as talks continue between Iran and the U.S. to hammer out a long-term peace deal.
It was the same war powers resolution from Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., that passed over a month ago and stunned Republicans in the upper chamber.
What seemed like a predetermined outcome just hours after Trump and Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., sparred over the Iran war, and the administration's lack of forthcomingness with lawmakers, during a closed-door meeting to discuss the president's marquee voter ID and citizenship verification legislation turned into a surprise late night win.
Trump argued to the GOP that the previous war powers resolution, which passed on Tuesday thanks in part to a pair of Republicans being absent, hurt the administration's negotiating position with the Iranians.
Meetings with key holdouts at the White House helped change the minds of Cassidy and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who has routinely voted with Democrats on every war powers resolution brought forward, and provided the administration with a win as they work toward a deal beyond the 60-day memorandum of understanding with Iran.
"I want to thank Vice President [JD] Vance and Special Envoy [Steve] Witkoff for the thorough briefing this afternoon on Iran," Cassidy said on X. "I appreciate the quick invitation to the White House to address many of my concerns."
"Wow! The Senate just changed its vote on Iran from 50-48 against, to 50-47 for," Trump also said on Truth Social. "Rand Paul and Bill Cassidy changed. Thank you to Leader John Thune, Lindsey Graham, Bernie Moreno, and all. This vote puts Iran on notice!"
Yesterday's Fox News Digital live blog offers additional coverage of the conflict with Iran.
Live Coverage begins here