US Secretary of State Rubio touched on President Trump’s perspective on Iran, stating that “If you force a choice between dealing with a nuclear Iran or not, he will act.”

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio made statements regarding Iran in an interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt. Rubio expressed that President Donald Trump is willing to do whatever it takes to prevent Iran from possessing nuclear weapons, saying, “He is a president who currently seeks peace. If you ask him, he will prefer to solve this diplomatically without war. That will always be his preference. However, if you force a choice between dealing with a nuclear Iran or not, he will act.” Rubio noted that the actions other countries take or do not take will not determine the steps the US will take, as he stated that a world where Iran has nuclear weapons is unacceptable.

Rubio emphasized that if Trump decides to take action to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear capabilities, the US will do so and has the capacity to threaten the regime in Iran. Rubio stated that as the Department of State, they advocate for peace, saying, “The President has clearly stated his preference for this. That’s why I always say I want to solve this through the Department of State, but if we can’t, I need to hand this over to the Department of Defense to Pete Hegseth. We prefer to resolve this as the Department of State, but we need a willing partner to do so.”

“Iran will be held accountable”

Rubio mentioned that missiles fired by Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen targeting US ships in the Red Sea were intercepted 100 miles away and posed no threat, stating that “Iran will be held responsible for any kind of support it continues to provide to the Houthis. The President made a post this morning about Iran continuing to help the Houthis. Maybe not as openly as in the past, maybe not as much as in the past, but they are clearly helping them. They are still helping them. This is unacceptable and needs to change.”