President Trump’s Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Tuesday with New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters and was asked at a brief press conference what his message is to other nations like New Zealand that are impacted by the war in Iran.
Rubio said: “The whole world’s been impacted unfortunately because Iran is violating every law known by striking commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, and it’s a big problem for the world. I mean, this is a regime that doesn’t believe in laws, rules, or anything like that. It’s a state sponsor of terrorism, so it’s not surprising that they’re now conducting terrorist activity against commercial vessels.”
Video of Rubio thanking the press for coming and ignoring a reporter’s question — “Does the U.S. operation constitute a war crime, Mr. Secretary, if the U.S. wipes out a civilization?” — is circulating on social media.
[NOTE: The reporter had quoted Trump’s threat against Iran Tuesday morning, when the U.S. President said, “a whole civilization will die tonight,” if Iran doesn’t open the Strait of Hormuz.]
When the president fires anyone who dares to stand up to him, you’re left with yes-men and sycophants who are willing to rubber-stamp even his most dangerous and unlawful ideas.
As a former Army JAG, let me answer this for you, @SecRubio — YES. https://t.co/117unkCVCm
— Congressman Eugene Vindman (@RepVindman) April 7, 2026
U.S. Representative Eugene Vindman (D-VA), a member of the U.S. Armed Services Committee and a U.S. Army veteran and JAG Corps member who served in the Iraq War, responded to the video: “When the president fires anyone who dares to stand up to him, you’re left with yes-men and sycophants who are willing to rubber-stamp even his most dangerous and unlawful ideas. As a former Army JAG, let me answer this for you, @SecRubio — YES.”
[NOTE: During the first Trump administration in 2018, while serving as a deputy legal adviser to the NSC, where he was the senior ethics official, Vindman and his twin brother, Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman, were involved in reporting Trump’s attempt to coerce Ukraine into investigating President Joe Biden, who was then a Democratic presidential candidate. Despite their service to their country, both brothers faced retaliation from Trump and MAGA loyalists for their whistleblower actions.]