US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday that Iran was “not ready” to reach a negotiated settlement with Washington and warned that Tehran would continue to “pay a very heavy price” until it agreed to a deal it was prepared to honour.
Speaking to reporters in Manila after meetings on the sidelines of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, Rubio said the Trump administration believed Iran had repeatedly failed to uphold past agreements and was continuing to seek negotiations while refusing to abide by its commitments.
“Iran is begging us, okay, both directly and indirectly, let’s do a deal, let’s talk, let’s talk,” Rubio said.
“The problem with Iran is every time they make a deal, the people that are in charge there, they either break it or they want to change it.”
Rubio said President Donald Trump saw “no utility” in responding to Tehran’s overtures at this stage because “Iran is clearly not ready to make a deal, at least not one they’re willing to live by.”
“They’re probably not ready to do a deal yet, but they will be soon because the price they’re paying is very high despite their tough talk and their flowery language,” he said.
The secretary said the United States would maintain military and economic pressure on Iran until it changed course.
“The President is outlining the idea that this is going to continue. It’s not going to continue this way — the price will continue to get higher every single night until they come to their senses.”
“Right now, apparently they haven’t come to their senses.”
Rubio claimed Iran’s military and industrial capabilities had suffered severe damage during the conflict.
“They’re already paying a very heavy price. Their industrial base has been decimated. Their defense industrial base has been decimated. They’re losing launchers; they’re losing radars every single night. They are suffering billions of dollars in damage, and their economy is a disaster.”
He also claimed several countries had relayed messages from Tehran expressing a willingness to negotiate.
“Every day I get a text or a call or a Signal message from a foreign minister: ‘The Iranians want to talk.'”
“But the problem with these guys… they make a deal, they agree to something, and then they decide, ‘Let’s change it after they made it,’ or they decide, ‘We made a deal, but we’re going to violate it.'”
Rubio said Iran had violated the memorandum of understanding reached with Washington within days of it taking effect.
“They violated the MOU within days of it being implemented. We kept our end of it. So now they’re paying the price for it.”
Despite the sharp rhetoric, Rubio reiterated that the Trump administration’s objective remained preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon rather than pursuing regime change.
“Our issue and our concern and our focus is denuclearising Iran. They can never have a nuclear weapon.”
“I just don’t think they’re serious about making a deal.”
