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President Donald Trump told a Florida crowd Friday that a U.S. warship could force Cuba’s communist government to surrender after Iran, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio sent to “finish up the deal.” The post Trump Tells Florida of Plans for USA to Topple Cuban Communist Regime appeared first on Breitbart .

US secretary of state makes comments after Trump tells US rally warships could intervene on return from Iran Marco Rubio urged Cubans seeking political change in their country to act, saying “now is the time” moments after Donald Trump told a Friday rally for candidates in south Florida that US warships could intervene in Cuba on their way back from the Iran war. The US secretary of state, in his social media post addressed “to those who seek to create positive change”, urged Cubans to capitalize on Trump’s plans. “The disappointment of failed promises, corruption, and the privileged lives of only a few; seize this opportunity to create the change you desire through a discrete [sic] partnership with the CIA,” Rubio said. Continue reading...

U.S. intelligence finds Iran has "substantially increased" its efforts to target American diplomats and officials in the Middle East and beyond, with lethal plots reaching "advanced stages," according to an Oct. 23 memo to Secretary of State Marco Rubio obtained by Axios. Why it matters: U.S. officials say the intelligence is one reason the State Department is drawing down personnel at several American embassies across the Middle East, amid mounting fears of a broader regional conflict. U.S. officials also fear that Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen could expand their attacks beyond Saudi Arabia to other countries in the region. Adding to the volatile security environment is the prospect of renewed U.S. and Israeli military operations against Iran, potentially after the midterm elections. What they're saying: "We may do another little Operation Epic Fury, or [the Iranians] will agree [to a deal]," President Trump said at a rally in Florida on Friday. "If they're smart, they will just say, 'Let's get down to business,' but I doubt they will do that because perhaps they're not smart." Driving the news: In the one-page, unclassified memo obtained by Axios, Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton warned Rubio that intelligence about Iranian assassination plots needs to reach more U.S. personnel than are currently authorized to receive it. The memo does not identify specific targets, countries outside the Middle East or the nature of the plots, but says the underlying intelligence has already been shared with senior State Department officials. Clayton offered to downgrade as much of the sensitive intelligence as possible so Rubio could share it more widely with personnel potentially at risk. State of play: Earlier this week, the State Department ordered family members and nonessential personnel to leave the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh and consulates in Jeddah and Dhahran. On Friday, the department also ordered reductions in U.S. diplomatic and government personnel at embassies in the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Qatar and Jordan, a U.S. official said. "We decided that due to the threat of Houthi attacks and Iranian terror plots we need to reduce our footprint and keep only essential staff," the official said. CNN first reported on the reduction in staffing at the four embassies. Read the full memo .

Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged Cubans to form a "discrete partnership with the CIA" as Trump floated sending him to Cuba to cut a deal.

President Trump says Venezuela is not ready for elections, and he focuses instead on its oil. But Secretary of State Marco Rubio is nudging talks between opposing politicians.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday the Trump administration was not responsible for throttled Starlink connectivity in Ukraine.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he and President Trump are trying to convince a reluctant Chinese government to join three-way talks with the United States and Russia on nuclear arms.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff in Norway on Tuesday. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said U.S. intelligence sharing with Ukraine has been restored. Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut joins "The Takeout" with his reaction.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a phone call Tuesday that President Trump hasn't issued any kind of order to harm Ukraine. Why it matters: The call was an effort to prevent the crisis between the U.S. and Ukraine from escalating further — and to push back on Ukrainian accusations that Trump is trying to coerce Zelensky into making concessions to Russia. The 45-minute call took place several hours ahead of a new round of peace talks with White House envoy Steve Witkoff aimed at reaching a unified position with European allies on an updated peace proposal to present to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Driving the news: The crisis broke out 10 days ago when Trump announced a diesel deal with Russia at the same time his envoys were in negotiations with Ukrainian officials in Miami. Zelensky on Monday lobbied a bipartisan group of senators to press the Trump administration to remove what he says are restrictions on intelligence sharing and weapons supplies. Behind the scenes: Rubio told reporters on Tuesday that he clarified to Zelensky that the Pentagon hasn't changed anything when it comes to intelligence sharing with Ukraine, weapons sales or restrictions on the use of the Starshield satellite system. "No change was ordered. It is not true that we restricted it," Rubio said. Rubio acknowledged to Zelensky that there could be a delay in sending Patriot interceptors that have already been paid for by NATO countries. But the reason, he said, is that the U.S. needs to make sure it has enough to protect its own military bases around the world. "Nothing is being deliberately denied. We balance between our obligations to partners and our own needs," he said. "There hasn't been a deliberate political directive to harm Ukraine." Rubio also asserted that the several cases in which Ukraine didn't get advance warning of Russian ballistic missile attacks were a result of technical failures, not a U.S. order. What he's saying: "No doubt there are tensions," he said. "That is why we had the call. The president is frustrated. The president is responding to the insinuation that he is doing things to deliberately harm Ukraine, which is not fair and not true." Rubio said Trump is "angry and frustrated" about the lack of progress in peace talks between Russia and Ukraine after two years of efforts. The other side: Zelensky wrote on X after the call that he is "grateful" for Rubio's "readiness to help and his clear position." He said Ukraine needs ballistic missile interceptors and early warnings to protect Ukrainian citizens and stressed that "the situation with Starlink and Starshield needs to be restored." State of play: Witkoff arrived in Oslo on Tuesday for talks with Zelensky and European leaders. The talks there are expected to include Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, President of Finland Alexander Stubb, representatives of the E4 nations (the U.K., France, Germany and Poland) and officials from the EU and NATO. Following Oslo, Witkoff plans to travel to Russia to meet with Putin and present ideas developed in consultation with Ukrainian and European leaders.