MATTHEW LEE Diplomatic Writer, Author at The Rapid City Post

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio disembarks upon his arrival at Subang Air Base, outside of Kuala Lumpur Thursday, July 10, 2025. Rubio arrived in Malaysia to attend the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting. (Mandel Ngan/Pool Photo via AP)

Trump’s tariffs may overshadow Rubio’s first official trip to Asia

July 9, 2025

Sweeping tariffs set to be imposed by President Donald Trump next month may overshadow his top diplomat’s first official trip to Asia. The Trump administration is seeking to boost relations with Indo-Pacific nations to counter China’s growing influence in the region. Trump on Monday sent notice to several countries about higher tariffs if they don’t make trade deals with the U.S. That came a day before Secretary of State Marco Rubio departed for a regional security conference in Malaysia. Top diplomats and senior officials from at least eight countries the Republican president has targeted for tariffs will be represented at the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum in Malaysia.

FILE - Syria's interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, listens during a press conference in Paris, May 7, 2025. (Stephanie Lecocq/Pool via AP, File)

Trump administration revokes terrorism designation of new Syrian leader’s group

July 7, 2025

The Trump administration is revoking the terrorism designation of a group led by Syria’s new president. It’s part of a broader U.S. engagement with the transitional government since the ouster of former leader Bashar Assad late last year. In a statement, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday the move “recognizes the positive actions taken by the new Syrian government” under President Ahmad al-Sharaa.” The decision had not been previously announced, although it was made as the Trump administration has been moving to ease or end many U.S. sanctions that had been imposed during Assad’s rule. The revocation of the designation will take effect on Tuesday.

With public ban on band Bob Vylan, Trump appears to ease visa privacy rules to make a point

July 2, 2025

The U.S. State Department’s revelation that it has revoked visas for British punk-rap duo Bob Vylan is the latest indication that the Trump administration appears to have eased privacy restrictions to make public points. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau announced the decision on social media, referencing chants led by the band’s frontman against the Israel Defense Forces at a U.K. music festival. The band denies antisemitism, claiming they are being targeted for their stance on Gaza. This move reflects a broader Trump administration crackdown on visa holders accused of promoting antisemitic or pro-militant views. Critics argue this continues a long U.S. history of suppressing dissenting perspectives under the guise of national security.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, right, accompanied from left Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Japanese Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi leave after speaking to the media during the Indo-Pacific Quad meeting at the State Department in Washington Tuesday, July 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

US, Indo-Pacific partners agree to strengthen maritime, critical minerals cooperation

July 1, 2025

The United States. Australia, India and Japan have agreed to expand their cooperation on maritime security in the Indo-Pacific and further collaborate on supplies of critical minerals and rare earths that are key components of high-tech production. The foreign ministers of the four countries, known as the “Quad,” met in Washington on Tuesday as the Trump administration seeks to expand U.S. influence in the Indo-Pacific to compete with a rising China. In a joint meeting with his three colleagues, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Quad must be a “vehicle for action” that goes beyond statements of intent and stressed that commerce and trade will be critical to ensuring the group’s relevance in the future.

FILE - U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher gestures has he talks to journalists during a press conference in Islamabad, Pakistan, July 2, 2008. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti, File)

Longtime State Department spokesman, diplomat Richard Boucher, dies at 73

June 28, 2025

Richard Boucher, who served for more than a decade as spokesman for the State Department and assistant secretary of state for public affairs, has died at age 73. He died Friday at his home in northern Virginia after a battle with spindle-cell sarcoma, an aggressive form of cancer, according to his son. Boucher had been the face of U.S. foreign policy at the State Department podium across administrations throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, beginning in the George H.W. Bush presidency and continuing through Bill Clinton’s and George W. Bush’s terms in office. Boucher served as the spokesman for secretaries of state James Baker, Madeleine Albright, Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio stands behind as President Donald Trump speaks with reporters on Air Force One while in flight from Joint Base Andrews, Md., to Amsterdam, Netherlands, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

This is what could happen next after an Israel-Iran ceasefire

June 24, 2025

This week’s whipsaw chain of events involving Iran, Israel and the United States that culminated in a surprise ceasefire has raised many questions about how the Trump administration will approach the Middle East going forward. Yet, the answer to the bottom line question — “what’s next?” — remains unknowable and unpredictable. While there’s uncertainty about whether the ceasefire between Iran and Israel will hold, it opens the possibility of renewed talks with Tehran over its nuclear program and reinvigorating stalled negotiations in other conflicts.

FILE - The U.S. Embassy branch office in Tel Aviv, Israel, is pictured, Jan. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg, File)

US boosts emergency Mideast evacuations and travel warnings after Trump orders strikes in Iran

June 22, 2025

The State Department has doubled the number of emergency evacuation flights it is providing for American citizens wishing to leave Israel. It also has ordered the departure of non-essential staff from the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon and is stepping up travel warnings around the Middle East because of concerns that Iran will retaliate against U.S. interests in the region for airstrikes against its nuclear facilities. In internal and public notices, the department significantly ramped up its cautionary advice to Americans in the region. In an alert sent to all Americans worldwide and posted to its website on Sunday, the State Department warned all U.S. citizens abroad to exercise caution.

Missiles seen from Jerusalem illuminate the night sky during an Iranian missile attack, early Sunday, June 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

US evacuates 79 staff and family from embassy in Israel as more Americans ask how to leave

June 20, 2025

The U.S. evacuated 79 staff and families from the U.S. Embassy in Israel on Friday as the conflict between Israel and Iran intensifies. An internal State Department memo says the military flight, the second known to have occurred this week, left Tel Aviv for Sofia, Bulgaria, where some or all of the passengers were to get a connecting charter flight to Washington. The memo also says a growing numbers of private American citizens are seeking information on how to leave Israel and Iran. On Friday alone, more than 6,400 U.S. citizens in Israel filled out an online form asking for information about when and if the U.S. government would organize evacuation flights.

US starts evacuating some diplomats from its embassy in Israel as Iran conflict intensifies

June 18, 2025

The U.S. State Department has begun evacuating nonessential diplomats and their families from the U.S. embassy in Israel as hostilities between Israel and Iran intensify and President Donald Trump has warned of the possibility of getting directly involved in the conflict. Two U.S. officials say a government plane evacuated a number of diplomats and family members who had asked to leave the country Wednesday. U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee announced later on X that the embassy was making evacuation plans for private American citizens. Later, however, the State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs tweeted that “we have no announcement about assisting private U.S. citizens to depart at this time.”

President Donald Trump walks to board Marine One after speakiing with reporters to depart the White House on his way to attend the G7 Summit in Canada, Sunday, June 15, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Trump administration demands action from 36 countries to avoid travel ban

June 17, 2025

The Trump administration has given 36 countries, most of them in Africa, a Wednesday deadline to commit to improving vetting or face a ban on their citizens visiting the United States. A weekend diplomatic cable sent by the State Department instructs embassies and consulates in the 36 countries to gauge their host countries’ willingness to improve their citizens’ travel documentation and take steps to address the status of their nationals who are in the United States illegally. The cable was described to The Associated Press. It asks the countries to take action to address the U.S. concerns within 60 days or risk being added to the travel ban, which now includes 12 nations.

President Donald Trump, left, speaks during a meet withGermany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz, not pictured, as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, from right, and Vice President JD Vance listen in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, June 5, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

State Dept says current US visas from travel ban countries will not be revoked

June 6, 2025

The State Department has instructed U.S. embassies and consulates not to revoke visas previously issued to people from 12 mainly African and Middle Eastern countries now under President Donald Trump’s new travel ban, which goes into effect next week. In a cable sent on Friday to all U.S. diplomatic missions, the department said that “no action should be taken for issued visas which have already left the consular section.” The cable, signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, suggests there should be no issue for current visa holders from the affected countries entering the United States after the restrictions take effect on June 9 at midnight ET.

MATTHEW LEE Diplomatic Writer.