US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that Iran poses a grave threat to the United States which goes beyond just its nuclear program.
“I want you to know that Iran poses a very great threat to the United States and has for a very long time,” said Rubio, speaking ahead of Thursday’s scheduled talks between the US and Iran in Geneva.
“First and foremost, after their nuclear program was obliterated, they were told not to try to restart it. And here they are, you can see them always trying to rebuild elements of it. They’re not enriching right now, but they’re trying to get to the point where they ultimately can,” he added.
“The other thing I would point you to, however, is that Iran possesses a very large number of ballistic missiles, particularly short-range ballistic missiles that threaten the United States and our bases in the region, and our partners in the region, and all of our bases in the UAE, in Qatar, in Bahrain. And they also possess naval assets that threaten shipping and try to threaten the US Navy,” Rubio pointed out.
“So I want everybody to understand that, and beyond just the nuclear program, they possess these conventional weapons that are solely designed to attack America and attack Americans if they so choose to do so,” he stated.
Rubio further stated that Iran not discussing its ballistic missiles in the Geneva talks “is a big problem.”
The Secretary of State’s comments followed those made by US Vice President JD Vance, who said Washington has evidence that Iran is trying to rebuild its nuclear program.
“The principle is very simple, Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. If they try to rebuild a nuclear weapon, that causes problems for us. In fact, we’ve seen evidence that they have tried to do exactly that. So the President is sending those negotiators to try to address that problem,” Vance said.
He added, “As the President has said repeatedly, he wants to address that problem diplomatically, but of course the President has other options as well.”
Trump made similar comments during his State of the Union address on Tuesday night. He stated that the strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites last June “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear program, but Iran has since killed more than 32,000 protesters and is attempting to restart its nuclear program. He further warned that Iran is developing missiles that can reach Europe and could eventually reach the US.
“We’re in negotiations with them. They want to make a deal, but we haven’t heard those secret words, ‘We will never have a nuclear weapon’. My preference is to solve this problem through diplomacy. But one thing is certain: I will never allow the world’s number one sponsor of terror to have a nuclear weapon. Can’t let that happen.”
“No nation should ever doubt America’s resolve. We have the most powerful military on earth – hopefully, we seldom have to use it,” continued the President.
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