Rubio Says US Is Not Close to an Iran Breakthrough and Calls the War Necessary

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday that the United States is not close to a diplomatic breakthrough with Iran, and he defended the war against Iran as necessary even though it is not popular. Rubio spoke to reporters at Homestead Air Reserve Base in Florida before leaving for France, where Group of 7 foreign ministers meet in Paris on Monday and Tuesday.

"I have no progress to report," Rubio said. "I would not say that we are on the verge of a breakthrough."

Talks stuck on Iran's demands

Rubio said President Donald Trump still prefers to settle the conflict through diplomacy, but he called Iran's terms the main obstacle. The talks "have not been particularly productive because the Iranian demands are simply unacceptable, and in some cases they are outrageous, ridiculous, and detached from reality," he said.

Iran is reviewing proposals from Qatar, the chief mediator, the Associated Press reported. Tehran wants core conditions met before it negotiates over its nuclear program: an end to the US blockade of its ports, sanctions lifted, frozen assets released, compensation for war damage, and an end to hostilities across the region, including Israeli operations in Lebanon.

Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful. The International Atomic Energy Agency says Iran holds 440.9 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent purity, a short technical step below the 90 percent level used in weapons.

Rubio defends the war after the midterm losses

Rubio refused to say directly whether the war helped cause the Republican wipeout in the Nov. 3 midterm elections, which gave Democrats control of Congress. Asked about Vice President JD Vance's social media post blaming the war for the losses, Rubio said Trump "identified a very real threat" in Iran and acted to stop it from pursuing a nuclear weapon.

"He addressed it even though oftentimes the right thing to do for the country, confronting difficult challenges for the security of our country, doing it is not necessarily popular, but necessary," Rubio said. Trump backed Vance's post in part on Sunday, telling reporters Vance was right except that he should also have insisted the war was the correct choice. "I can tell you if I had it to do again, this, historically, for history, will go down as one of the best things we ever did," Trump said. "Because if they ever had a nuclear weapon, they would blow up the world."

Trump told CNN in a phone interview on Sunday that a strong agreement would make resuming strikes "highly unlikely," but he said the United States has identified infrastructure targets, including 38 bridges, that it would hit if fighting resumes.

What happens next

The war is more than eight months old. The United States and Israel launched it on Feb. 28. US forces have struck Iran at least twice in the past week, including its air defenses, and on Saturday they fired on and disabled a commercial ship that Washington says was trying to break the naval blockade of Iranian ports.

Rubio said the United States will act if its forces or shipping face a clear threat. "If there is a clear and immediate threat to shipping or to our forces in the region, we have the right to defend ourselves," he said.

Trump is scheduled to meet Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani at the White House on Monday, according to his official schedule. Rubio will be in Paris for the G7 meeting, where the Iran conflict is expected to be part of the talks.