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Rubio Trip to Israel on Iran Tensions 'Subject to Change'

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio waves as he departs at the Liszt Ferenc International Airport in Budapest, Hungary, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio waves as he departs at the Liszt Ferenc International Airport in Budapest, Hungary, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)
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Rubio Trip to Israel on Iran Tensions 'Subject to Change'

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio waves as he departs at the Liszt Ferenc International Airport in Budapest, Hungary, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio waves as he departs at the Liszt Ferenc International Airport in Budapest, Hungary, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio may push back a trip to Israel in which he is expected to speak to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about potential strikes on Iran, a US official said Monday.

"Secretary Rubio is still planning to travel to Israel but the schedule remains subject to change," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Rubio had earlier been expected to meet Netanyahu on Saturday, but Israeli media reports said he was now expected in the country on Monday.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi earlier told CBS News that he expected new talks on Thursday with the United States and held out hope for progress.

President Donald Trump has sent a major deployment of air and sea power to the Middle East and has threatened to strike Iran if it does not reach a deal on key concerns starting with its nuclear program.

Netanyahu has long advocated a hard line on Iran's clerical state and last June ordered a 12-day bombing campaign inside the country, which the United States briefly joined.

Netanyahu visited Washington on February 11 to speak with Trump, who said afterward that he "insisted" on giving time for diplomacy.

Iran has publicly insisted that it has a right to uranium enrichment.

The United States and Israel have threatened new military action against Iran after mass protests against the Islamic republic, which authorities crushed at a cost of thousands of lives.

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World

Two Foreigners Arrested in Iran for Importing Starlink Technology

People walk through the Valiasr Square in Tehran on April 19, 2026. (AFP)
People walk through the Valiasr Square in Tehran on April 19, 2026. (AFP)
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Two Foreigners Arrested in Iran for Importing Starlink Technology

People walk through the Valiasr Square in Tehran on April 19, 2026. (AFP)
People walk through the Valiasr Square in Tehran on April 19, 2026. (AFP)

Four individuals, including two foreign nationals, were arrested in Iran's northwest, semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on ‌Sunday, ‌for being part ‌of ⁠a "US-Israel-linked espionage network."

The ⁠foreigners, whose nationality was not disclosed, are accused of importing ⁠satellite internet ‌equipment such ‌as Starlink, which ‌is a ‌criminal offence in the country, which has faced ‌seven weeks of an internet blackout.

Hundreds ⁠of ⁠Iranians have been arrested for "cooperating with enemy states" since the start of the US-Israeli war with Iran.

World

Türkiye ‘Optimistic’ Middle East Ceasefire Will Be Extended, Says FM

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during the opening ceremony of Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Antalya, Türkiye, April 17, 2026. (Reuters)
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during the opening ceremony of Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Antalya, Türkiye, April 17, 2026. (Reuters)
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Türkiye ‘Optimistic’ Middle East Ceasefire Will Be Extended, Says FM

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during the opening ceremony of Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Antalya, Türkiye, April 17, 2026. (Reuters)
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during the opening ceremony of Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Antalya, Türkiye, April 17, 2026. (Reuters)

Türkiye said it remained "optimistic" that a two-week ceasefire between Iran and the United States set to expire on Wednesday would be extended.

"No one wants to see a new war break out when the ceasefire expires next week. We hope ... the parties will extend the ceasefire," Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Sunday at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum.

"I hope there'll be an extension. I am optimistic," he said.

World

UK Ministers Back Starmer Amid Fresh Calls to Quit

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer co-hosts a multinational virtual summit at the Elysee Presidential Palace, in Paris, France, on April 17, 2026. (Tom Nicholson/Pool via Reuters)
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer co-hosts a multinational virtual summit at the Elysee Presidential Palace, in Paris, France, on April 17, 2026. (Tom Nicholson/Pool via Reuters)
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UK Ministers Back Starmer Amid Fresh Calls to Quit

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer co-hosts a multinational virtual summit at the Elysee Presidential Palace, in Paris, France, on April 17, 2026. (Tom Nicholson/Pool via Reuters)
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer co-hosts a multinational virtual summit at the Elysee Presidential Palace, in Paris, France, on April 17, 2026. (Tom Nicholson/Pool via Reuters)

British government ministers on Sunday backed embattled premier Keir Starmer as he struggles to shake off a scandal over long-time Jeffrey Epstein associate Peter Mandelson.

Starmer is due to face lawmakers in parliament on Monday to explain how Mandelson was appointed Britain's ambassador to the United States in late 2024 despite failing to pass security checks.

The beleaguered prime minister, who has been dogged by the controversy for months, said Friday that he and other ministers were not told Mandelson had failed the vetting process, calling that "unforgivable".

He has blamed foreign office mandarins for allowing Mandelson's appointment against the advice of security officials, and sacked the department's top civil servant Olly Robins on Thursday.

But ex-civil servants have accused Dowing Street of scapegoating Robbins while opposition leaders have called for Starmer to quit, with accusations ranging from incompetence to willful misleading of the public.

Technology minister Liz Kendall told the BBC on Sunday that Starmer would not have appointed Mandelson had he known that he had not received the appropriate security clearance.

Deputy prime minister David Lammy, who was foreign secretary when Mandelson was appointed to Washington, said the same in an interview with the Guardian published late Saturday.

Kendall said Starmer should remain in his job because he had "made the right call" on big issues, such as building closer relations with the European Union and limiting Britain's involvement in the Iran war.

"I think he is an honest man and a man of integrity who says it was a mistake to appoint him," she told Sky News.

Lammy said it was "inexplicable" that the foreign office had kept Downing Street in the dark, telling the Guardian he had been "shocked and surprised" when he learned what happened.

Starmer, already widely unpopular with the British public due to several policy mis-steps, has faced repeated questions about his judgement for selecting Mandelson whose friendship with Epstein was well known.

He sacked Mandelson in September 2025 after new details emerged about the depth of Mandelson's ties to Epstein, who died in prison in 2019 while facing sex-trafficking charges.

UK police are investigating allegations of misconduct in office by Mandelson when he was a Labour minister more than 15 years ago. He was arrested and released in February.

Mandelson has not been charged and denies criminal wrongdoing.