• Trump fired then-US Archivist Colleen Shogan last year.
• Rubio has held many roles in Trump administration.
• US archivist is responsible for overseeing government records.

WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State and national security adviser Marco Rubio is no longer the acting archivist of the United States, a spokesman of the National Archives and Records Administration said on Thursday.

The national archivist is responsible for overseeing government records and heads the National Archives, an agency Trump used to criticise after it alerted the Justice Department to his handling of classified documents in 2022.

Within weeks of taking office last year, Trump fired then-US Archivist Colleen Shogan and appointed Rubio as acting head of the archives, one of many hats he has worn in the administration.

Rubio’s many roles, which have sparked jokes and spawned internet memes, underscore the trust Trump has in him, even though the two exchanged insults a decade ago when running against each other for the Republican presidential nomination.

He has been central to Trump’s push for US oversight of Venezuela after the seizure of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, the dismantling of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the president’s crackdown against pro-Palestinian protesters through revocations of visas and green cards.

Rubio stepped back from the National Archives job in compliance with the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, which limits how long officials can serve in Senate-confirmed roles in an acting capacity, NARA General Counsel Matt Dummermuth said in an email.

Rubio has delegated his authority at the National Archives to James Byron, who was a senior adviser to the archivist, Dummermuth said.

The FBI raided Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in 2022 as part of an investigation into the removal of official presidential records from the White House after his first term. The National Archives had been seeking the documents. Trump was subsequently indicted, and the case was dropped after he won the 2024 election.

• Trump has said Khamenei ‘should be very worried.’
• US wants missiles, proxies, rights issues included.
• Fears grow that failed talks could spark wider war.

The White House said on Thursday that diplomacy is President Donald Trump’s first choice for dealing with Iran and he will wait to see whether a deal can be struck at high-stakes talks, but also warned that he has military options at his disposal.

Final preparations were underway for Friday’s meeting in Oman amid heightened tensions as the US builds up forces in the Middle East, which Trump has called a massive “armada,” and regional players seek to avert what many fear could escalate into a wider war.

The talks were set to go ahead even though the two sides have had differences over the agenda, and that has increased doubts about the prospects for a deal. Trump has threatened to carry out strikes on Iran if an agreement cannot be reached.

The US previously said it wanted the discussions to include Iran’s missile arsenal and other issues, while Tehran has insisted on focusing exclusively on its disputed nuclear program. It was unclear whether that disagreement had been resolved.

“The president’s diplomacy is always his first option when it comes to dealing with countries all around the world, whether it’s our allies or our adversaries,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters when asked about the coming talks.

She reiterated Trump’s position that “zero nuclear capability is something he’s been very explicit about” in his demands for Iran.

“He wants to see if a deal can be struck,” Leavitt said. “And while these negotiations are taking place, I would remind the Iranian regime that the president has many options at his disposal, aside from diplomacy, as the commander in chief of the most powerful military in the history of the world.”

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi departed for Oman on Thursday. His spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said Tehran would engage “with authority and to reach a fair, mutually acceptable and dignified understanding on the nuclear issue.”

“We hope the American side will also participate in this process with responsibility, realism and seriousness,” Baghaei added.

Araqchi is expected to meet in Muscat with Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy, and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and adviser.

On the eve of the talks, Iran’s state-run Press TV said “one of the country’s most advanced long-range ballistic missile(s),” the Khorramshahr 4, has been deployed at one of the Revolutionary Guards’ underground missile sites. The missile has a range of 2,000 km (1,240 miles) and is capable of carrying a 1,500-kg (3,300-pound) warhead, it added.

The US has pressed Iran to accept a much more limited range for its missiles.

Mutual threats

Trump’s blunt warnings and Iran’s vows of counter-strikes have spurred regional governments’ efforts to calm the situation.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said his government was working hard to prevent US-Iran tensions from tipping the Middle East into a new conflict. He has spent years cultivating a close relationship with Trump while expanding Ankara’s diplomatic influence across the region.

Speaking to reporters on a return flight from a visit to Egypt, Erdogan added that talks at the level of the US and Iranian leadership would be helpful after lower-level nuclear negotiations due in Oman on Friday, according to a transcript of his comments shared by his office on Thursday.

Tensions ratcheted up this week amid uncertainty over the location and format for the talks, which will follow Tehran’s bloody crackdown on street protests last month.

Asked on Wednesday whether Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei should be worried, Trump told NBC News: “I would say he should be very worried. Yeah, he should be.”

After Trump spoke, US and Iranian officials said the two sides had agreed to shift the talks’ location to Muscat after initially accepting Istanbul.

At a press conference in Doha, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Thursday that “great concern” had been expressed about potential escalation in the conflict with Iran during his meetings with officials in a visit to the Gulf region. He urged Iran to end what he called aggression and help bring stability to the region.

Gulf Arab states fear that Iran will carry out its threat to target US bases on their territory if the United States attacks the Islamic Republic.

China, meanwhile, said it supported Iran’s legitimate right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy and opposed the “threat of force and sanction pressure.”

‘Bad things will happen’

Iran has said the talks must be confined to its long-running nuclear dispute with Western powers.

But US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that talks would have to include the range of Iran’s ballistic missiles, its support for armed proxy groups around the Middle East and its treatment of its own people, besides nuclear issues. Iranian sources say the US is demanding Tehran limit the range of Iran’s missiles to 500 km (310 miles).

Tehran’s regional sway has been weakened by Israel’s attacks on its proxies – from Hamas in Gaza to Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and militias in Iraq – and by the ousting of Iran’s close ally, former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Iran says its nuclear activities are meant for peaceful, not military purposes, while the US and Israel have accused it of past efforts to develop nuclear weapons.

The US has sent thousands of troops to the Middle East, as well as an aircraft carrier, other warships, fighter jets, spy planes and air-refuelling tankers.

Trump has warned that “bad things” would probably happen if a deal could not be reached.

DUBAI: Dubai has taken another step towards smart mobility as Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum arrived at the World Governments Summit 2026 in a fully autonomous taxi, formally signalling the launch of the emirate’s driverless transport service.

Officials said 100 driverless taxis will begin operating next month, marking the first phase of the programme aimed at transforming public transport through advanced technology.

The autonomous vehicles are powered by artificial intelligence and advanced sensor systems, enabling them to analyse data within seconds and make independent driving decisions without human intervention.

Speaking on social media, Sheikh Hamdan said the future of mobility in Dubai would be smarter, safer and more efficient, adding that the project would improve quality of life and make transport more inclusive for residents and visitors.

The initiative is being implemented by Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) in partnership with global technology firms as part of the emirate’s broader strategy to adopt sustainable and intelligent transport solutions.