US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday that the United States’ primary focus is “a denuclearised Iran”.
“They cannot have nuclear weapons; I mean, imagine what they would do to the world.”
Speaking at the sidelines of the ASEAN conference in Manila, Rubio added that the US had kept its end of the deal with Iran, but Tehran kept reneging on agreements while suffering major losses.
“These people make deals and then they break it almost immediately or they decide, ‘oh, let’s change the deal’. That’s not how deals work,” he said.
“So now they’re paying the price for it. And maybe they’ll change their mind here over the next few days as they continue to suffer great losses.”
Rubio also said that “Iran is begging for a deal…“I just don’t think they’re serious about making a deal.”
“It looks like Iran is not ready to make a deal, they will pay the price…Every time they make a deal, they either break it or change it.”
“The price on Iran will get higher every night until they come to their senses,” he said.
“The problem with them is you can’t make a deal with people unless they’re going to keep it,” the US diplomat said, claiming that Tehran “breaks” or attempts to “change the deal” after entering into them.
“So now they’re paying the price for it, and maybe they’ll change.”
Speaking on the situation in Yemen, he said that he hoped the Houthis would de-escalate. “They got snookered by Iran.”
When asked about Iranian officials referring to an “eye for an eye” policy, Rubio said Trump’s approach was “a head for an eye”.
“They will pay a very heavy price for the things they are doing. They are already paying a heavy price,” Rubio claimed, adding that the country’s industrial infrastructure was being “decimated,” resulting in “billions” of dollars of damage.
The US secretary of state says Iran “is a country run by radical clerics”, calling them “oblivious” to economic issues.
“They are destroying their country,” he said, adding: “Iran can be the richest country in the Middle East if they wanted to be.”
He added: “But instead they take their money, and they use it and they give it to Hezbollah, they give it to Hamas, they give it to the Houthis. They give it to Shia militias. They give it to sponsored terrorism all over the world.”
Jordanian army says air defences intercept multiple missiles, drones
Four Iranian missiles and six drones were shot down in the past 24 hours, according to a report by the official Petra News Agency that quoted a military official, as per Al Jazeera.
The source “confirmed that the operation did not result in any human casualties or material losses”.
Houthis say they attacked Saudi tankers in Red Sea as US concludes 12th day of strikes on Iran
Yemen-based Houthis said on Thursday they struck two Saudi oil tankers as part of a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, threatening to create a second chokepoint on global oil supplies alongside Iran’s near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Meanwhile, the US military said on Wednesday it launched a new round of strikes on Iran at President Donald Trump’s direction, marking a 12th successive night of American attacks.
The group, which controls areas near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on the opposite end of the Arabian Peninsula from the Strait of Hormuz, said on Monday they were imposing a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia in what some analysts have viewed as a tactical move by Iran to seek leverage.
Even before the renewed threats to shipping traffic in the Red Sea, Iran’s near-total blockade of the Strait of Hormuz had stoked inflation around the world, pushing up oil prices and squeezing US gasoline consumers at a time when the unpopular war has put Trump’s Republican allies under pressure ahead of congressional elections in November.
Five tankers changed course in the Red Sea to avoid the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on Wednesday, and three tankers loaded with Saudi oil for China and India made U-turns on Tuesday.
The Houthis said their forces carried out missile and drone strikes on two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, identifying them as the Encelia and the Layla.
Saudi state news agency SPA cited an official source as saying the Encelia was struck, causing a fire at the bow. The attack on the Layla remained unconfirmed.
A maritime security source said Encelia had transmitted a distress call, reporting it had been struck by a missile near the Saudi port of Jizan in the Red Sea late on Wednesday. Millions of barrels per day of Saudi oil have been heading to the kingdom’s Red Sea port of Yanbu to avoid the Strait of Hormuz. If shipments cannot pass through the Red Sea’s southern strait, they have only the northern route through the Suez Canal, adding weeks and costs to the journey.
The Houthi threat to impose a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia could significantly widen the war and strain the US military, current and former US officials said.
Two Chinese very large crude carriers carrying a combined 4 million barrels of Saudi Arabian oil were heading toward the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on Thursday, shipping data showed.