WASHINGTON, United States, Feb 28, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will hold talks Monday in Israel on Iran, the State Department announced, as the United States builds up forces for a potential strike on the Islamic republic.

The top US diplomat will head to Israel just as the United States tells non-emergency staff to leave Israel, raising suspicions that President Donald Trump plans to go ahead with threatened strikes.

Rubio will hold talks Monday and return Tuesday, the State Department said.

Rubio "will discuss a range of regional priorities including Iran, Lebanon and ongoing efforts to implement President Trump's 20-Point Peace Plan for Gaza," State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said.

Rubio does not plan to bring reporters on his plane, in a rare break with decades of precedent for US secretaries of state.

The trip comes after the United States and Iran held a new round of talks in Geneva on Thursday as US concerns starting with Iran's contested nuclear program.

Mediator Oman reported progress but the United States has said little about the talks and Iran called on the United State to drop "excessive demands" to reach a deal.