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Rubio: Venezuela Cooperates with Iran, Hezbollah

Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during a news conference at the State Department, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during a news conference at the State Department, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
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Rubio: Venezuela Cooperates with Iran, Hezbollah

Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during a news conference at the State Department, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during a news conference at the State Department, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has accused the illegitimate regime in Venezuela of cooperating with criminals that threaten the national security of the United States.

Rubio said Friday the regime of President Nicolas Maduro openly cooperates with Iran, Hezbollah, and drug trafficking groups.

“They (Venezuela regime) operate and cooperate with terrorist organizations against the national interest of the United States, not just cooperate, but partner with and participate in activities to threaten the national interest of the United States,” he told reporters at a news conference at the State Department.

According to Rubio, Venezuela is a country that is not just an illegitimate regime that does not cooperate with the US but also a regime that openly cooperates with criminal and terrorist elements, including Hezbollah, Iran and others.

“And clearly these narco groups cooperate openly from there,” the Secretary of State said.

“We have a regime that cooperates with Iran, that cooperates with Hezbollah; that cooperates with narcotrafficking and narcoterrorist organizations, inclusive not just protecting their shipments and allowing them to operate with impunity, but also allows some of them to control territory,” he added.

Earlier, US President Donald Trump said he was leaving the possibility of war with Venezuela on the table, according to an interview with NBC News published on Friday.

“I don't rule it out, no,” he told NBC News in a phone interview.

Trump also said there would be additional seizures of oil tankers near Venezuelan waters, according to the interview. The US seized a sanctioned oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela last week.

“If they're foolish enough to be sailing along, they'll be sailing along back into one of our harbors,” he told NBC News.

On Tuesday, Trump ordered a “blockade” of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela, in Washington's latest move to increase pressure on Nicolas Maduro's government, targeting its main source of income, following which Venezuela's government said it rejected Trump's “grotesque threat.”

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World

Medical Needs Surging in Iran and Supplies Under Threat, Red Cross Warns

Smoke rises after an airstrike in central Tehran, Iran, 01 April 2026. (EPA)
Smoke rises after an airstrike in central Tehran, Iran, 01 April 2026. (EPA)
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Medical Needs Surging in Iran and Supplies Under Threat, Red Cross Warns

Smoke rises after an airstrike in central Tehran, Iran, 01 April 2026. (EPA)
Smoke rises after an airstrike in central Tehran, Iran, 01 April 2026. (EPA)

Emergency medical needs in Iran are rising exponentially, and stocks of trauma kits and other gear could run low if the war persists, the head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies delegation there said on Thursday.

More than 1,900 people have been killed since the US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran began on February 28, and more than 21,000 injured, according to the agency - the only humanitarian group working across the country. Other estimates are higher.

Maria Martinez told Reuters three of the agency's own workers had died on duty, including one during an airstrike on March 31 that hit a medical clinic in Zanjan ‌province. She did not ‌attribute blame for the killings.

'YOU CAN SENSE THE FEAR'

"Our concern ‌is ⁠really how the ⁠humanitarian needs are escalating so rapidly and (over) our ability to bring all the support into the country," Martinez said.

Hopes for a swift end to the conflict faded on Thursday after US President Donald Trump vowed to conduct more aggressive strikes.

Washington has said its Iran strikes are being carried out with precision. Israel's military has said it takes measures to mitigate harm against civilians during its operations.

Martinez said there were no shortages of emergency stocks for now, but the ⁠situation would worsen if the fighting continued, especially as the price ‌of supplies went up and their insufficient funding ran ‌low.

“The needs are exponentially increasing. Resources are not unlimited," she said.

She was concerned that people's fears of ‌bombings would stop them from venturing out to seek aid.

"The streets are completely empty ... ‌You can sense the fear, you can sense the uncertainty in people's eyes,” she said in a video interview from Tehran.

MORE INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT "IS ESSENTIAL"

The aid group says it has 100,000 responders across the country's 31 provinces as well as helicopters and rescue dogs, and provides first aid for those ‌injured by airstrikes and support for the displaced.

One IFRC rescue worker called to help clear rubble discovered his own family were among ⁠the dead buried there. Others ⁠take turns sleeping at the IFRC offices to be on standby in the case of bombings, she added.

Work was frequently disrupted and staff were transcribing documents by hand because of power and Internet cuts.

"We are in the middle of a meeting and the alarms are activated. We need to evacuate immediately and this happens three, four, six times per day," she said.

The agency had been unable to import vital supplies from its Dubai warehouse for weeks amid a logistical quagmire exacerbated by Iran's shutting down of the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for US-Israeli strikes.

It now aims to ship them overland from Türkiye on April 7, IFRC supply chain director Cecile Terraz said, but it will take weeks.

The IFRC may have to use its 40 million Swiss Franc ($50.05 million) emergency appeal even though it is currently only 6% funded, Martinez said. "Increasing international support is essential to protect civilians and sustain this emergency response operation."

World

Macron Says it is Unrealistic to Open Hormuz Strait by Force

FILE PHOTO: A cargo ship in the Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from northern Ras al-Khaimah, near the border with Oman’s Musandam governance- REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A cargo ship in the Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from northern Ras al-Khaimah, near the border with Oman’s Musandam governance- REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
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Macron Says it is Unrealistic to Open Hormuz Strait by Force

FILE PHOTO: A cargo ship in the Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from northern Ras al-Khaimah, near the border with Oman’s Musandam governance- REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A cargo ship in the Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from northern Ras al-Khaimah, near the border with Oman’s Musandam governance- REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday it would be unrealistic to launch a military operation to force open the Strait of Hormuz, after US President Donald Trump challenged US allies to work towards reopening it.

Thousands of people have been killed across the Middle East since February 28, when the US and Israel struck Iran, triggering Iranian attacks on Israel, US bases and the Gulf states, and Tehran effectively closing the waterway that carries about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies.

"Some people defend the idea of freeing the Strait of Hormuz by force via a military operation, a position sometimes expressed by the United States, although it has varied," Macron told reporters during a trip to South Korea.

"This was never the option we have supported because it is unrealistic," he said. "It would take forever, and would expose all those who go through the Strait to risks from the guardians of the revolution but also ballistic missiles," he said.

Macron, who has worked with European and other allies to build a coalition to guarantee free passage through Hormuz once hostilities have stopped, said this could only be done by talking to Iran.

"What we say from the beginning is that this strait must be reopened because it is strategic for energy flows, fertilisers and international trade, but that it can only be done in consultation with Iran," he said.

Asked about Trump's criticism of NATO allies and threats to pull the US out of the alliance, Macron said: "I don't want to provide a running commentary of an operation the Americans have decided on their own with Israel. They can deplore the fact they're not being helped, but that's not our operation. We want peace as soon as possible."

Macron also said that Trump's comments mocking him and his wife Brigitte were "neither elegant, nor commensurate" with the moment.

World

Strike Hits Bridge Near Tehran Again

Smoke rises from the site of an airstrike on Tehran (File/AFP)
Smoke rises from the site of an airstrike on Tehran (File/AFP)
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Strike Hits Bridge Near Tehran Again

Smoke rises from the site of an airstrike on Tehran (File/AFP)
Smoke rises from the site of an airstrike on Tehran (File/AFP)

US-Israeli strikes hit a bridge near Tehran on Thursday, which had already been hit around an hour earlier, Iranian state TV reported.

"A few minutes ago, the American-Zionist enemy once again targeted the B1 bridge in Karaj," a city west of Tehran, state TV said, adding that the first strike had caused two civilian casualties, AFP reported.

It said the later attack took place as emergency teams were deployed to the site to help victims of the first strike.