Rubio says war on Iran unpopular but ‘necessary’ to stop nuclear threat

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said President Donald Trump launched the war against Iran to safeguard the world from Tehran’s nuclear ambitions. Rubio told reporters in Florida on Sunday that Trump “identified a very real threat” in Iran and had worked to stop it from pursuing a nuclear weapon. Trump addressed “difficult challenges for the security of our country – doing it isn’t necessarily popular, but necessary”, Rubio added.

On diplomatic efforts to end the war, Rubio said, “I wouldn’t say we’re at the verge of a breakthrough”. He added that although Trump prefers a diplomatic solution, Iranian demands are “not just unacceptable, but in some cases, outrageous and ridiculous and really not realistic”. Rubio comments came after Trump had said that “a lot of people didn’t like” Vice President JD Vance recent comments blaming the US-led war on Iran for the Republican Party’s crushing defeat in last week’s US midterm elections.

Trump said that although he mostly agreed with Vance, he did not regret the decision to go to war against Iran.