[Video] Rubio in Florida on Iran, Ukraine and the ICC: U.S. Will Never Accept ICC Jurisdiction Over Americans

Homestead, Florida — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke to reporters at Homestead Air Reserve Base in Florida on November 8, answering questions on Iran, Ukraine, Haiti and the International Criminal Court (ICC) before traveling to France for the G7 foreign ministers' meeting, and declining to comment on reporting about Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang or on the U.S. midterm election results.

A reporter first asked about a report that India would investigate Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, citing New York Times reporting that Rubio had raised concerns about Huang's relationship with a Chinese spy, and asked whether Huang had been cut out of U.S. Government meetings or briefings as a result. Rubio said he could not comment on any of that because of the nature of it, and that he did not know anything about the internal corporate matter at Nvidia.

Asked repeatedly about the midterm elections, Rubio said the Secretary of State is not in a political office, that he does not comment on domestic politics, and that this has been a longstanding tradition for the role. He said the United States holds national elections every two years, that a division of power is a feature of the American system, and that there will be elections again in two years; the State Department will continue to do its work, he said.

On Iran, Rubio said the President had identified and addressed a very real, longstanding threat to the United States: a nuclear Iran, which would be completely unacceptable and dangerous for the United States, the Middle East and the whole world. He said the President took on something other presidents had failed to do, and that doing the right thing for the country's security is not always popular but is necessary. U.S. actions in the region are defensive, he said, and if there is a clear and present threat to U.S. forces or to shipping, the United States has a right to defend itself. Asked about diplomatic progress with Iran, he said he had none to report, that Iranian demands are not just unacceptable but in some cases outrageous, ridiculous and not realistic, and that while the President would always prefer a diplomatic solution, it has not been productive so far.

On Ukraine, Rubio said talks would start the next day in Abu Dhabi, with Jared and Steve attending for the U.S. side. He said the European-wide security arrangement the President had floated refers to the post-war security guarantees and security architecture for Ukraine and the European continent that have come up repeatedly in every negotiation discussion; initial thoughts were briefed to the President the previous Thursday or Friday, nothing has been finalized, and progress may be made in Abu Dhabi. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Sybiha will join the G7 meeting, he said, and the topic will come up there as well.

On Haiti, Rubio said two things are going on: the gang suppression force under the UN mission, which includes about a hundred Salvadoran soldiers and which the United States has been engaged in and supporting without having troops there; and a separate bilateral mission El Salvador took on in agreement with Haitian officials to go after the gangs that kidnapped its soldiers, about which El Salvador's President had informed the U.S. President. He said the two efforts need a de-confliction mechanism and strong coordination so the forces operating alongside one another do not mistake each other for gang members.

On the ICC, Rubio was blunt. He said elements of the ICC still claim jurisdiction over citizens of non-member states, and the United States will never accept that for Americans, especially U.S. servicemembers and leaders. The United States has made its position clear for a year and a half and made no progress getting the ICC to acknowledge that limit in its reforms, he said, so it will take action; allies that do not want those actions should convince the ICC to reform. Asked how big a problem it would be if allies invoked EU measures in response to secondary sanctions, he said he was not concerned.

On the agenda for the G7 trip, Rubio said France, which holds the G7 presidency, has set the agenda: super intelligence (SI), global conflicts, the status of affairs in the Middle East regarding Iran, and Ukraine, with the Ukrainians joining the meeting. He said this is probably the last G7 foreign ministers' meeting under the French presidency, and the United States will host next year. Asked whether protests in France worried him, he said no, that he trusts U.S. security personnel, and that the work must continue.

(Source: U.S. Department of State)

Related: Trump Tells CNN Renewed Strikes on Iran Are 'Highly Unlikely' If Talks Progress

Jensen Huang Admits Infidelity to Staff as Nvidia Board Launches Independent Investigation

Source: U.S. Department of State

Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)

Photo: 图：美国国务卿 Marco Rubio 官方肖像。美国国务院，公共领域。 / Photo: Official portrait of U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. U.S. Department of State, public domain.

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