In State Department communications, a "Readout" is a short, official summary of a call or meeting that tells the public and the press what topics were discussed, without providing a full transcript or detailed negotiating positions.
Jean‑Noël Barrot is a French centrist politician from the Democratic Movement (MoDem). Since September 21, 2024, he has served as France’s Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs (often called the foreign minister), the cabinet official responsible for directing French foreign policy, managing relations with other countries and the European Union, and overseeing French diplomacy worldwide.
The statement is referring to the early‑January 2026 U.S. raid in Venezuela in which American forces struck targets in Caracas and captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, flying them to the United States to face longstanding U.S. drug‑trafficking and related charges. The Trump administration has described this as a U.S. "law‑enforcement operation" supported by the military rather than as a declaration of war, a framing that has been sharply disputed at the United Nations and by many governments and legal experts.
The readout is referring to the large‑scale 2025–2026 protests across Iran that began on 28 December 2025. These demonstrations started over a severe economic crisis—soaring inflation, collapse of the currency, sharp rises in food and living costs, and energy and water shortages—and quickly broadened into anti‑government protests criticizing corruption, repression, mandatory hijab enforcement, and the Islamic Republic’s political system. They have been described as the biggest unrest since the 2022 Mahsa Amini protests, with protesters in many cities calling for fundamental political change or an end to the current regime.
As of early 2026, there is no comprehensive peace agreement for the Russia‑Ukraine war, but several overlapping diplomatic efforts are under way:
• U.S. and European diplomacy: The United States and key European states (including France and Germany) have been pursuing talks with Ukraine and, indirectly or via intermediaries, with Russia to explore ceasefire or peace frameworks. Reporting in late 2025 describes U.S.‑backed proposals that would trade reductions in fighting for major territorial and security concessions from Ukraine, which Kyiv has resisted.
• Mediation by third countries: States in the so‑called Global South—including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Brazil—have positioned themselves as mediators. Qatar, for example, has brokered limited humanitarian agreements such as exchanges and the reunification of children with families on both sides, and Gulf states have hosted high‑level contacts involving U.S., Russian, and Ukrainian officials.
• Multilateral and UN‑linked efforts: The UN and many member states repeatedly call in Security Council and General Assembly sessions for a just peace based on the UN Charter and Ukraine’s territorial integrity, backing diplomatic initiatives such as periodic international peace meetings and renewed attempts at ceasefire talks. Despite these efforts, front‑line fighting and Russian missile strikes have continued, and talks have repeatedly stalled or broken down.
Tommy Pigott (Thomas Pigott) is the U.S. State Department’s Principal Deputy Spokesperson. According to his official biography, he joined the Department in January 2025 after working in Republican political communications. The Principal Deputy Spokesperson helps lead the Department’s public communications—drafting and delivering statements and press guidance, briefing journalists, and standing in for the main State Department Spokesperson. The Office of the Spokesperson more broadly is responsible for explaining and promoting U.S. foreign policy to domestic and international audiences through press releases, media notes, briefings, and other public statements.