U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has warned that radical Islamic movements worldwide regard the United States as the “greatest evil on Earth” and are intent on broadening their influence beyond regions like Iraq and Syria through terrorism, assassinations, and other violent tactics.
He described their ideology as “expansionist” and “revolutionary,” noting that they are hostile not only to America but also to U.S. allies such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Israel, due to their cooperation with Washington. Citing past attacks including the Pulse nightclub shooting and the Pensacola incident, Rubio stressed that extremist groups pose a “clear and imminent threat” to the U.S. homeland and the broader West, as they continue to target “anywhere in the world that we have influence.”