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3. Rubio Briefs Members of U.S. Congress on Iran Ahead of Trump State of the Union

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with members of the U.S. congress on Tuesday afternoon for a closed-door briefing on Iran at the White House.

Leadership from both the House of Representatives and the Senate attended the briefing, including from the Intelligence Committees. According to Barak Ravid, CIA Director John Ratcliffe made an unplanned appearance at the meeting as well.

Briefings given by Rubio to members of the U.S. congress are relatively uncommon, with the previous one held on January 5 following the U.S. operations in Venezuela capturing Nicolas Maduro.

The meeting occurred in light of comments and actions from the Trump administration, undertaking the largest U.S. military buildup in the Middle East since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. President Donald Trump stated last week that he is still “considering” the option of strikes in Iran and signaled a 10-15 day deadline for Iran to reach a deal. 

More U.S. F-22 fighter jets have been arriving in Jordan as the U.S.S. Gerald Ford aircraft carrier gets placed in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Despite this, U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, U.S. special advisor Jared Kushner, and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi are expected to take part in mediated nuclear talks in Geneva on Thursday to review a comprehensive Iranian proposal on a nuclear agreement.

Later on Tuesday evening, Trump will give his State of the Union speech in the U.S. Capitol, during which he is likely to defend his foreign policy agenda, including the ongoing developments and escalations with Iran.