President Trump defended Secretary of State Marco Rubio's role in high-stakes negotiations with Iran on Thursday, dismissing suggestions that the nation's top diplomat has been sidelined in favor of a powerful inner circle of White House confidants.
Oval Office Exchange
During an exchange in the Oval Office, the President was questioned by the Daily Mail on why Rubio has been conspicuously absent from the front lines of recent peace talks while Vice President JD Vance, Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, and his son-in-law Jared Kushner appear to be running the show.
'How come the Secretary of State is not involved in these negotiations?' the Daily Mail asked as the ceasefire hangs by a thread.
Trump, leaning into the questioning, was quick to shoot down the narrative of a diplomatic rift. 'Oh, he is very much involved. Marco? He is totally… he is negotiating with them all the time,' the President responded, insisting that Rubio remains a central figure in the administration's efforts.
Questions Over Absence
However, with the ceasefire described by insiders as being on life support, the optics of the Secretary of State's absence from the negotiating table have raised questions about his absence.
Trump also notably claimed today that only he and a select 'handful' of confidants truly know the state of high-stakes negotiations with Iran, suggesting that a breakthrough may be closer than the public standstill suggests.
'Nobody knows what the talks are, except myself and a couple of other people,' Trump declared, though he admitted that the mystery surrounding Tehran's current power structure has complicated the process. 'We have a problem because nobody knows for sure who the leaders are. It's a little bit of a problem,' he added, alluding to the power vacuum gripping the Islamic Republic.
Maximum Pressure Tactics
Despite the turmoil, the President insisted the regime is desperate to reach a settlement, with his blockade of the Strait of Hormuz exacting a crippling toll. Hailing his 'maximum pressure' tactics, Trump cast the economic squeeze on Iran as a masterstroke. 'Their economy is crashing. The power of the blockade is incredible,' he said.
With military action still on the table, Trump nonetheless played down the need to resume airstrikes, suggesting the ceasefire could hold without further intervention. 'I don't know that we need it. We might need it,' he mused — stopping short of ruling out a return to force should diplomacy fail.
Call with Putin
The President also revealed a striking shift in his Wednesday call with Vladimir Putin. Though the Russian leader offered to act as intermediary with Iran, Trump said he steered the conversation toward the bloodshed in Ukraine instead. Urging Russia to end its own war first, he disclosed that he pressed Putin to agree to a ceasefire.
'I suggested a little bit of a ceasefire, and I think he might do that. He might announce something having to do with that,' Trump said, calling the continued loss of life 'ridiculous.'
Putin reportedly praised Trump's decision to extend the Iran ceasefire to allow further diplomatic talks — an extension that has since been backed by a US naval blockade to pressure Tehran back to the negotiating table. The Kremlin claims Putin offered Ukraine a temporary truce timed to Russia's Victory Day commemorations on May 9. A Russian spokesman said the call was 'friendly, frank and businesslike' and lasted more than an hour and a half.
Sticking Points
Russia has previously attempted to insert itself into the Iran talks by offering to house Tehran's enriched uranium stockpile — a gambit Trump rebuffed, insisting the material be handed directly to the United States. The standoff has since become a central sticking point in the stalled peace process. Tehran, meanwhile, is holding out for the lifting of all US sanctions and a demand that would hand it effective control over tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
During a Situation Room meeting on Monday, Trump told key staffers he favoured extending the blockade over either pressing ahead with strikes or abandoning the Iran strategy altogether, the Wall Street Journal reported. The President views the economic blockade as the least risky of the options before him, officials said. One official said the blockade has decimated the Iranian economy, preventing the country from storing its oil properly.
'The President will only accept a deal that protects the national security of our country,' White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said in a statement. She added that Operation Epic Fury had already met all of Trump's military objectives and that 'thanks to the successful blockade of Iranian ports, the United States has maximum leverage over the regime.'
Trump has held off on further strikes since a ceasefire was reached on April 7 — though gas prices remain elevated and his poll numbers continue to slide. Yet peace talks have so far failed to yield a deal, and planned negotiations with Vance, scheduled for this past weekend, were cancelled before they began.
