In his second consecutive day of hearings on Capitol Hill, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that he expects that additional Arab countries will join the Abraham Accords by the end of the year, if not earlier.

“We do have an Abraham Accords office that is actively working to identify a number of countries who have lined up and already I think we may have good news, certainly before the end of this year, of a number of more countries that are willing to join that alliance,” Rubio said a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on Wednesday.

The comments are consistent with other recent remarks by President Donald Trump and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.

Rubio added that the administration is currently working on selecting an ambassador for the Abraham Accords, as required under law, to submit for congressional confirmation.

He said that there is “still a willingness” in Saudi Arabia to normalize relations with Israel, but “certain conditions are impediments,” including the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel and the ensuing war.

Rubio’s testimony largely reinforced and added on his comments the day before, on issues including Iran and Syria.

He again insisted that all elements of the Trump administration, including Vice President JD Vance and Witkoff, are unified behind the position that Iran cannot be allowed to maintain its capacity to enrich uranium.

And he affirmed that U.S. law requires that any deal with Iran be submitted to Congress for review and approval, noting that he had been in Congress when that law was passed.

At an afternoon hearing with the House Appropriations Committee, Rubio again said that sanctions relating to Iranian proxy terrorism or other malign activities will not be impacted by a nuclear deal that does not address those subjects. Republicans in the past have questioned the distinction between nuclear and non-nuclear sanctions, particularly as part of the original 2015 nuclear deal, which took a similar approach. And they’ve argued that any sanctions relief would allow Iran to expand its support for regional terrorism.

Rubio said the administration is continuing to ramp up sanctions on Iran, and said that European parties to the deal are “on the verge” of implementing snapback sanctions on Iran. He said that the administration would support legislation to implement additional sanctions on Iran’s oil sector.

He denied knowledge of a Tuesday leak by administration officials that Israel was making plans to strike Iran’s nuclear program, adding, “I also don’t think it’s a mystery, though … that Israel has made clear that they retain the option of action to limit Iran from ever gaining a nuclear capability.”

Expanding on comments he made the day before, Rubio said that he favors moving the mission of U.S. security coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian territories under the authority of the U.S. ambassador to Israel so that it can be a better-integrated part of the U.S.’ Israel policy. But he vowed that the core function of the office will continue.

Rubio denied reports of talks between the United States and Saudi Arabia about potential nuclear cooperation outside of a “gold standard” deal, which would include banning domestic enrichment.

The secretary of state reiterated comments about the critical necessity of providing sanctions relief to Syria to help contribute to stability, but he said that continued sanctions relief “does have to be conditioned on them continuing to live by the commitments” that the Syrian government has made verbally, including to combat extremism, prevent Syria from becoming a launchpad for attacks on Israel and form a government that represents, includes and protects ethnic and religious diversity.

He indicated that the U.S. is not actively working to shut down the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, but pledged that the United States will not be providing any further aid to or through that organization and will use its power and funding to look for alternatives.

He said it will be up to other countries whether they continue working with UNRWA, though he noted that the U.S. has been the agency’s largest donor.

Rubio said that he would be supportive, in concept, of legislation to expand current U.S. anti-boycott laws to include compulsory boycotts imposed by international organizations. That legislation was pulled from a House floor vote after right-wing lawmakers falsely claimed it would ban U.S. citizens from boycotting Israel.

Pushing back on calls for the U.S. to withhold weapons sales to the United Arab Emirates over its support for one of the parties involved in the Sudanese Civil War that the U.S. has found is committing genocide, Rubio said that the U.S. is not fully in alignment with the UAE but argued that it’s critical for the U.S. to continue engaging with and maintain a strong relationship with the UAE for its broader foreign policy goals in the Middle East.

He said that maintaining such a relationship and expanding the U.S.’ diplomatic and economic relationship with Abraham Accords countries is also important to ensuring that the Accords continue to be successful.

Rubio said that the State Department had approved restarting aid programs for Jordan that remained frozen — though he noted most were initially exempted from the administration’s blanket freeze. He acknowledged that the frozen programs had been “a source of frustration for [Jordan], and frankly for me.” He continued, “Ultimately, we’re going to get all those programs online, if they’re not online already.”

In a heated back-and-forth with Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), who was brandishing a pocket Constitution, Rubio again defended the administration’s policy of revoking student visas from individuals accused of involvement in anti-Israel activity on college campuses, saying that they are coming to the United States to “tear this country [apart]” and “stir up problems on our campuses.”

Addressing the case of Rümeysa Öztürk, a Tufts University graduate student that supporters have said was detained solely for writing an op-ed in a student newspaper criticizing Israel, Rubio claimed the situation is not as has been represented. “Those are her lawyers’ claims and your claims, those are not the facts,” Rubio said.

Asked by Jayapal about a comment — “Jews are untrustworthy and a dangerous group” — made by an Afrikaner refugee recently admitted to the United States from South Africa, Rubio said that he would “look forward to revoking the visas of any lunatics you can identify.”

But when presented with the fact that the individual in question was admitted as a refugee, not on a visa, Rubio said that refugee admissions are “a totally different process,” adding “student visas are a privilege.”

Steve Witkoff, the White House envoy who has led Gaza hostage-release and cease-fire talks for the U.S., said Tuesday evening that talks for phase two of the deal between Israel and Hamas remain in flux but that he’s hoping for progress by the weekend.

Witkoff also suggested, speaking at an American Jewish Committee event, that Lebanon and Syria could come to normalize relations with Israel.

On the hostage-release talks, Witkoff said that he’s “not entirely sure yet” how Israel and Hamas will get to phase two of the deal, “but we are working, we’re making a lot of progress.” If enough progress materializes in the next few days, Witkoff said he’ll travel to the region on Sunday to help finalize a deal.

“People are responsive,” Witkoff said. “Doesn’t mean it’s going to happen. It’s a very chaotic place, the Middle East.”

He said that his and the White House’s top goal is to return all of the hostages.

Witkoff was initially set to travel to the Middle East on Wednesday, but his plans were delayed by Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelensky’s visit to the United States, slated for the end of the week. Witkoff, a close friend of the president, has also become a key negotiator with Russia.

In the longer term, Witkoff suggested that Lebanon and Syria could join the Abraham Accords, the regional peace agreements between Israel and Arab states, without providing further details.

He criticized President Joe Biden’s May 2024 proposal for Gaza — which undergirds the cease-fire deal — because it assumed that reconstruction and rehabilitation of the Strip was feasible under a five-year timeline. Witkoff, who noted that he was the first American official to visit the territory in years, said that a 15- to 25-year timeline would be much more realistic.

“It’s a giant slum … it’s a slum that’s been decimated,” Witkoff said. “It is completely destroyed.”

He said that U.S. partners including Jordan and Egypt — both of which Trump has proposed as countries to relocate the population of Gaza to — are “dug in” and “focused on solutions,” actively engaging with the United States.

Regarding Trump’s proposal to remove the Palestinian population from Gaza, Witkoff said that “it’s not an eviction plan, it’s about creating an environment that — whoever should live there — is better than it’s ever been in the last 40 years.” He said that the Trump administration is not seeking to create a mass Palestinian diaspora, which he said would only drive further radicalization.

Witkoff said that Trump’s proposal was focused on “directionally chang[ing] what people are thinking there, how they’re going to live together.”

Trump, Witkoff continued, is not focused on reaching a two-state solution, but instead on “how you get to a better life” for Palestinians, including changing the Palestinian education system and providing better career and quality of life prospects for the Palestinians.

He suggested that the people in Gaza are not interested in waiting 20 years to reestablish normal lives. “Maybe we should be talking about the ability to come back later on, but right here, right now, Gaza is a long-term redevelopment plan.”

He further suggested that the five-year timeline laid out by Biden had hampered progress toward Saudi-Israel normalization, but that normalization efforts can resume once a Gaza redevelopment plan has been more fully articulated.

Witkoff predicted that Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states would ultimately embrace peace with Israel because the ongoing risks of war and regional instability make it difficult to finance major projects — “the underwriting risk on war is just too high.”

He said he expects that Saudi Arabia and others in the region will put forward development plans in line with the Trump administration’s proposal once they accept that Gaza cannot be rebuilt in the short term. 

He said many countries are stepping up to volunteer to be part of the “permanent solution for the Gazan people” and that the U.S. soon plans to hold a summit with top regional developers to discuss Gaza.

“I think when people see some of the ideas that come from this, they’re going to be amazed,” Witkoff said.

The former real estate developer also said that the Biden administration was largely responsible for the amount of unexploded ordinance left in Gaza, which will make redevelopment more difficult, alleging that the Biden administration’s withholding of some arms from Israel had forced Israel to use old and ultimately non-functional ammunition.

He added that the tunnels under Gaza present a further challenge both in terms of the destruction in the territory and rebuilding it.

To facilitate peace in the Middle East, the U.S. needs to ensure stability in partner countries such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia and address discontent in their populaces, “but all in all, there are some really good things that are happening,” Witkoff said.

Witkoff praised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying that the Israeli government had taken numerous positive steps prior to Trump taking office, including decimating Hamas, degrading Hezbollah and eliminating its leadership and attacking Iran’s air defenses.

He repeatedly made reference to a film of Hamas’ atrocities on Oct. 7, describing the group as “barbarians” and emphasizing that the Trump administration agrees that Hamas cannot control post-war Gaza.

President Donald Trump refuted reports that Steve Witkoff, his Middle East envoy, will take over the Iran file, while also lauding Witkoff for his work helping negotiate the cease-fire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas. 

“No,” Trump said on Thursday after signing a series of executive orders, when asked by a reporter whether he would put Witkoff in charge of Iran strategy and speaking directly with the Iranians. “But he’s certainly somebody I would use. He’s done a fantastic job. He’s a great negotiator.”

Trump declined to answer a question about whether he would support an Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Instead, he said he hopes for a diplomatic solution with Iran.

“It would really be nice if that could be worked out without having to go to that further step,” Trump said, regarding the possibility of strikes. “Iran hopefully will make a deal. I mean, if they don’t make a deal, I guess that’s okay, too.”

Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, said on Wednesday that he welcomed the potential for “a dialogue” with Hamas and heaped praise on Qatar for helping facilitate the cease-fire deal between Israel and Gaza, despite facing scrutiny for previous ties to the Gulf nation. 

Asked by Fox News’ Dana Perino to respond to a top Hamas official telling The New York Times, “We are prepared for a dialogue with America in achieving understandings on everything,” Witkoff replied, “I think it’s good if it’s accurate.”

“I think you can get everybody on board in that region. I really do. With a new sense of leadership over there,” Witkoff added, noting that “everybody” in this case included Qatar. 

“Oh my gosh, Qatar was enormously helpful in this [cease-fire agreement]. Sheikh Mohammed [bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the Qatari prime minister], his communication skills with Hamas were indispensable here,” Witkoff said. Many other conservatives have been deeply skeptical of Qatar’s influence and role in the negotiations, viewing the country as a supporter of Hamas and urging the U.S. to exert pressure on it.

The president’s Middle East envoy said that he and Trump did not attempt to make changes to the cease-fire and hostage-release deal originally put forth by the prior administration, which has been criticized by some Republicans as harmful to Israel’s ability to defend itself and eliminate future terrorist threats.

“We had nothing to do with the mathematics behind the prisoner release and the hostage release,” Witkoff said, adding that terms of the agreement were set “in the so-called May 27th protocol that was agreed to by Hamas, by the Israelis, and monitored by the United States under the Biden administration. That set the mathematics around how many Palestinians in Israeli jails would be released for each hostage who was coming out.”

“Our job was to speed up the process because it felt like it had bogged down,” Witkoff explained.

Witkoff, a real estate mogul without diplomatic or Middle East experience prior to his current role, has had past financial dealings and other relationships with Qatar, and was a target of its lobbying efforts, facts that raised concerns among some conservatives when Trump first picked Witkoff for the role.

Witkoff’s comments on Qatar are driving growing concern in the pro-Israel world about the envoy.

Michael Pregent, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and former intelligence officer focused on the Middle East, strongly criticized Witkoff in a video on X on Wednesday.

“He’s f**king up already,” Pregent said of Witkoff. “He’s got it all wrong. He’s praising Qatar. He’s talking about engaging with a terrorist organization, he’s been disrespectful to the Bibi Netanyahu government when it comes to the cease-fire. He’s taking credit for a lot of things but he’s undermining the president’s message.”

He described Witkoff as a “real estate guy who’s close to Trump that’s in over his head, he’s been cajoled by Qatar.” He said that any American official who, like Witkoff, praises Qatar, has “no idea what the f**k they’re doing.”

Pregent predicted that Witkoff would be soon dismissed, along with Michael DiMino, the Trump administration’s deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East, who has alarmed the pro-Israel world.