Trump's pick for Sec. of State Marco Rubio's love affair with Israel, MKO, Pahlavis

By Press TV Staff Writer

Marco Rubio, a Republican foreign policy hawk tapped by Donald Trump to lead the US Department of State in his new administration, is known for his confrontational stance toward Iran and close ties with anti-Iran groups.

A staunch ally of the Republican Jewish Coalition, Rubio has even advocated for a direct attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities by the Israeli regime, saying such an attack "would have been successful."

In a 2015 interview, he asserted that the Tel Aviv regime "has a right to act in its self-defense, which it did in the past when it struck facilities in Syria and other places."

The Florida senator is an ardent and self-proclaimed Zionist who supports the Tel Aviv regime’s settler-colonialism project and land grabs in the occupied West Bank, as well as ongoing genocide in Gaza and Lebanon.

Like Trump and Biden, Rubio is fiercely opposed to the truce and blames all civilian casualties on the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, for which he even employs dehumanizing vocabulary. He was heard recently referring to Palestinian resistance fighters as "vicious animals."

Trump's pick for Secretary of State is among the Israeli lobby's biggest recipients of donation, receiving at least $1,013,563 from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the top Zionist lobby group in the US that exerts considerable influence in US power corridors.

The incoming American top diplomat is also known for his open association with foreign-based anti-Iran groups, including the Albania-headquartered Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO) terror cult.

He has been invited to MKO galas many times in the past and has been photographed with the son of the deposed Iranian monarch, mainly to demonstrate his antagonism toward the Islamic Republic of Iran.

According to those who have followed his work, Rubio is seen as a young member of the new generation of neoconservative pundits, compared to older ones such as John Bolton, John McCain and Dick Cheney, who have had direct hand in American hegemonic projects across West Asia and South Asia, Latin America and Africa.

Support for MKO terrorists

In September 2020, Rubio spoke at an event organized by MKO, a Zionist-sponsored terrorist cult that aggressively seeks to overthrow Iran’s democratic political system.

The terrorist group is notorious in Iran for being responsible for the deaths of 17,000 Iranian citizens, participating in Iraqi Baathist aggression against Iran, and supporting the genocide of Iraqi people in the 1980s.

It was on the list of terrorist groups in the United States but was removed after intense lobbying by neocon and Zionist groups who recognized it as a means to harm Iran.

In his speech at the MKO gala, Rubio emphasized that they share a "common battle" that is not just to deter "nuclear weapons acquisition" and "support for terrorism" but to "give power back to the people," a euphemism for overthrowing the democratic Islamic Republic.

Apart from Rubio, others who spoke at the event were US Senators Ted Cruz, Roy Blunt, Bob Menendez, Joseph Lieberman, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former National Security Advisor James Jones, and former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Newt Gingrich.

Attendees of these events are rewarded handsomely by the cash-rich West-backed terror cult. Frequent MKO event attendee John Bolton was found to have received $180,000 for his multiple appearances, including $40,000 for an event in Paris.

The speech delivered by Rubio, according to privy sources, reportedly made him richer by tens of thousands of dollars.

Promoting wannabe dictators and monarchist terrorists

Rubio's support and endorsement of anti-Iranian groups is not only limited to the MKO terror cult but extends to monarchist terrorists and their sympathizers as well.

In June 2021, he met with Reza Pahlavi, the son of the West-backed deposed Iranian dictator, who in recent years has become more involved in self-promotion with Zionist and American financial assistance.

According to media reports, the duo discussed US policy toward Tehran and Iranian domestic politics, bizarrely stating that they advocate "human rights, freedom, and democracy."

According to observers, what both have in common is sponsorship by pro-Israel lobbies, friendship with Benjamin Netanyahu, anti-Palestinian sentiment, and an unfulfilled desire for the downfall of Iran’s democratic political system.

Earlier this month, Rubio also condemned the death of Jamshid Sharmahd, a convicted terrorist on death row who died in prison of natural causes. Rubio called him a "dissident" and labeled the court verdict against him as "bogus," along with typical insults toward Iranian authorities.

Sharmahd was the leader of the monarchist terrorist group Tondar, responsible for a 2008 terrorist attack on a mosque in Shiraz, killing 14 and wounding 215 people.

Before his arrest by Iranian services, he lived for years in Germany and the US, where he openly took responsibility and glorified terrorist attacks on his website, without reaction from authorities there.

Sharmahd enjoyed widespread support from government officials in the United States, Canada and Germany, despite his proven track record of terrorist activities in Iran.

Backing 2022 Iran riots

In late 2022, Rubio expressed open support for foreign-backed deadly riots in Iran that resulted in hundreds of casualties and extensive damage to public properties across the country.

He has repeatedly claimed that Mahsa Amini, the young Iranian girl who died in police custody as a result of natural causes, was "beaten and killed" by the police, even though surveillance cameras and forensic medical records have dismissed such claims.

Together with Democratic Senator Alex Padilla, Rubio introduced the "MAHSA Act," named after the Iranian girl, which was passed by the US Congress and signed into law by President Biden in April of this year.

This federal law imposes various new sanctions on Iran, based on false accusations of "oppression, crimes against humanity, and international terrorism."

Rubio has consistently lobbied for piling up sanctions against Iran, as evidenced by the fact that even before the Iran riots broke out, he had prepared the "PUNISH Act" with Joni Ernst and Mike Waltz, alleging that Iran was attempting to assassinate US politicians.

These accusations surfaced again recently after a foreign national was arrested in the US for "plotting to assassinate" American politicians, including Trump. Iran's foreign ministry dismissed the accusations.

On his page on X, formerly Twitter, Rubio also expressed support for Reza Rasaea, who was executed in August this year for his involvement in Iran riots, including the murder of security guard Nader Bayrami.

The Republican described the rioter convicted of murder as a "courageous protester."

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