Constantinos Kombos is a Cypriot jurist, academic, and politician who serves as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus. As foreign minister, he is responsible for Cyprus’s foreign policy and represents the country in international relations, including in the European Union and the United Nations.
From January to June 2026, Cyprus holds the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union, meaning the Cypriot government chairs and organizes most Council meetings and helps run EU law‑making for six months. Its main responsibilities are to plan and chair meetings of ministers and working groups, broker compromises between EU countries, represent the Council in negotiations with the European Parliament and European Commission, ensure the Council’s rules and procedures are followed, and help drive forward the EU’s legislative and policy agenda during that period.
U.S. counternarcotics operations in the Caribbean typically focus on detecting, tracking, and stopping drug‑smuggling boats and aircraft before they can move cocaine and other drugs toward the United States. They involve:
These operations are coordinated primarily by U.S. Southern Command’s Joint Interagency Task Force South (JIATF‑S), which fuses information from many agencies. The leading U.S. operational players are the U.S. Coast Guard (maritime law enforcement and interdictions), the Department of Defense (including SOUTHCOM, Navy, and Marine units), and federal law‑enforcement agencies such as the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
The statement refers to the new nationwide anti‑government protests in Iran that began on December 28, 2025, after a sharp collapse of the Iranian rial and worsening inflation and living conditions. Protests spread from Tehran’s Grand Bazaar to many cities, with demonstrators decrying economic hardship and, in many places, calling for an end to the Islamic Republic system.
By early January 2026, human‑rights groups reported that Iranian security forces (including the Revolutionary Guard and police) were using live ammunition, metal pellets, tear gas, and beatings to disperse largely peaceful crowds, killing at least 28 protesters and bystanders between December 31 and January 3 alone, with broader tallies of at least around 29 killed and more than 1,200 detained nationwide. Authorities have also carried out mass arrests and imposed severe internet disruptions. As of January 11, 2026 (the date of the call), protests and strikes were still occurring in multiple cities but faced a heavy, ongoing crackdown.
In State Department usage, a "readout" is a short official summary of a phone call or meeting that describes who participated and the main topics discussed, rather than providing a full transcript. It is drafted and released by the Department’s press office.
Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott (full name Thomas "Tommy" Pigott) is a senior communications official at the U.S. Department of State. He has served as the Department’s Principal Deputy Spokesperson since March 10, 2025, after joining the State Department and the Trump‑Vance administration in January 2025, and he regularly delivers on‑the‑record briefings and written statements on behalf of the Department.
Based on the public readout, the call did not produce any announced specific agreements, commitments, or follow‑up actions. The State Department summary only notes that Rubio and Kombos “discussed” U.S. counternarcotics operations in the Caribbean, the protests in Iran, and shared priorities for Cyprus’s January–June 2026 EU Council Presidency, without mentioning any concrete decisions or new initiatives.