Rubio Zeroes in on Iran, Shreds 'Hostage Diplomacy' During 'Hostage and Wrongful Detainee' Ceremony

RedState 

With the Iran conflict being top of mind, Secretary of State Marco Rubio gave a speech Monday at the State Department in which he zeroed in on what he called "hostage diplomacy," declaring the Iranian regime "the world’s leading hostage-taker, the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism."

In remarks made during the department's "U.S. Hostage and Wrongful Detainee Flag Raising Ceremony," Rubio asserted that actions Iran has taken since the strikes first began further prove the points made by the United States about the threat they posed to the region and the world:

I think we are all seeing right now the threat that this clerical regime poses to the region and to the world.  They are trying to hold the world hostage.  They are attacking their neighbors. They are attacking neighboring countries, their energy infrastructure, their civilian population. They’re attacking embassies.  This is a terrorist government.  This is a terroristic regime.  And we are seeing them conduct terrorism using nation-state elements, using weapons like missiles and one-way attack drones.  And the objective of this mission is to destroy their ability to continue to do that, and we are well on our way to achieving that objective.  Every single day – with overwhelming force, with overwhelming precision – the military, the United States military, the men and women in uniform are conducting an extraordinary operation. 

The Monday gathering was held on the 19th anniversary of the disappearance of Robert Levinson in Iran. Levinson served in the FBI as a special agent for 22 years. His sons, Dan and Doug, were in attendance for Rubio's speech.

Rubio also noted that since Trump's inauguration, "over 100 Americans have been brought home." And while that's undoubtedly good news, Rubio stated that President Trump's goal was to stop these things before they happen:

But the President isn’t just focused on homecomings.  He’s also focused on ending the cycle of exploitation, of saying enough is enough, of ending the cycle in which Americans are somehow viewed as a valuable commodity, that you can grab an American, you can unjustly hold them, and then try to trade them later on for some diplomatic concession or some political concession.  We have to end that cycle.  We have to – we have to make sure that Americans are no longer viewed as targets of opportunity around the world, and – and nation-states and terroristic regimes like the one in Iran know that there are consequences for doing that. 

This is why the "State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention" classification was created, he observed:

And that’s why we established the State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention designation, in essence designating governments and entities that specifically use this as a tool of leverage to their benefit and to our detriment.  They view Americans as a commodity that they can grab onto and then trade in the future.  That cycle has to stop, and that’s why this designation now exists.  And that’s why we – the first, I believe, country we designated, right, under this authority on February 27th was this clerical, terroristic regime in Iran.  Because when it comes to hostage taking, there has been no worse offender in the world than the clerical regime in Tehran.  They are the worst offenders in the world of terrorism and they are the worst offenders in the world of hostage taking, from their very early days.  And so they were our first designation.

In closing, Rubio declared that "the message is going to be very clear:  The United States will not tolerate hostage diplomacy.  They’re not going to tolerate – we’re not going to – we’re going to continue to hold that regime accountable –and all other regimes that engage in this – accountable for these practices."

Later, on X, Rubio gave Afghanistan the State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention designation:

Rubio's full speech can be read here and/or watched below.