US Secretary of State Rubio to visit Middle East next week

BAGHDAD, Iraq — US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to embark on a Middle East tour next week, a US news outlet reported, with stops planned in the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain. The visit comes as Washington deepens diplomatic engagement with Gulf partners. On the same day the trip was announced, Rubio held a phone call with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, in which he reaffirmed US support for Lebanon's efforts to establish a sovereign state living in peace with its neighbors. The State Department has not yet released the full readout of the call. Separately, US President Donald Trump said on Friday that Washington's relations with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE were "great," thanking the three Gulf leaders and praising regional capitals for their recent efforts at de-escalation and dialogue. Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed a memorandum of understanding last Wednesday via remote signing, aimed at ending hostilities between the United States and Iran and reopening the Strait of Hormuz. The accord was signed ahead of a planned ceremony in Switzerland and opens a 60-day window for broader negotiations on the nuclear file and sanctions.