US Secretary of State Rubio warns of 'imminent threat' from radical Islam

Don't want to miss the best from Business Standard?

US State Secretary Marco Rubio on Wednesday (local time) warned that radical Islam's desire to "control more territories and people" is an "imminent threat" to the world. He also said that the US will restrict visas for those who "direct, authorize, fund or support violence against Christians" in Nigeria and around the world.

In an interview with Fox News, Rudio stated that the US faces the most threat from radical Islamists, who he believed consider the country as "the chief source of evil on the planet."

"Radical Islam has shown that their desire is not simply to occupy one part of the world and be happy with their own little caliphate; they want to expand. It's revolutionary in its nature. It seeks to expand and control more territories and more people," Rubio said.

"That's a clear and imminent threat to the world and to the broader West, but especially the United States, which they identify as the chief source of evil on the planet," he added.

Rubio further said that Radical Islamists are "prepared to conduct acts of terrorism, assassination, murders" to gain their "domination of different cultures and societies."

"Radical Islam has designs, openly, on the West, on the United States, on Europe. We've seen that progress there as well. And they are prepared to conduct acts of terrorism - in the case of Iran, nation-state actions, assassinations, murders, you name it. Whatever it takes for them to gain their influence and ultimately their domination of different cultures and societies." Rubio said in Fox News Interview.

Additionally, Marco Rubio announced that the US will restrict visas of those "who knowingly direct, authorise, fund, support" or carry out atrocities and violence against Christians in Nigeria and around the world.

In a post on X, Rubio said, "The United States is taking decisive action in response to the atrocities and violence against Christians in Nigeria and around the world. The @StateDept will restrict U.S. visas for those who knowingly direct, authorize, fund, support, or carry out violations of religious freedom. This visa policy applies to Nigeria and other governments or individuals that persecute people for their religious beliefs."

Earlier, US President Donald Trump has warned that Washington could take military action against Nigeria, claiming the country's Christians are being deliberately targeted and killed. His remarks have drawn support from several voices in right-wing and evangelical Christian circles in the US.

In a social media post on Friday, US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth said he met Nigeria's National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu and his team a day earlier. He said their talks focused on what he described as "the horrific violence against Christians in their country."

According to Reuters, Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, has been battling Islamist insurgent groups such as Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) for over 15 years. The insurgency, primarily concentrated in the country's northeast, has claimed thousands of lives and displaced millions.