US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has claimed that Iran is "begging every day to make a deal" but is not actually working towards it.
Speaking to journalists, Rubio said, "Nothing that Iran is doing, nothing that anyone is doing to help Iran is increasing in any way their ability to target Americans."
He also noted that Iran has spent the past decades sponsoring terrorism and building missiles, and that they planned to "double their stockpile" in order to make them "untouchable," so as to tell the world, "We can now do a nuclear weapon and you guys can't touch us or we'll overwhelm your air defenses." Such a scenario would allow Iran to make a nuclear weapon and no one would dare to stop them, Rubio explained.
Though he stressed that, "The world will be a safer place because we addressed this" threat, Rubio also acknowledged that the war causes disruptions in the short term. However, he warned that more disruptive than the current war would be "a nuclear weapon in the hands of these radicals."
Regarding US President Donald Trump's recent threat to take out Iranian power plants, Rubio said, "Iran is begging us, both directly and indirectly, let's do a deal, let's talk, let's talk. Iran is begging every day. 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. So it looks like they're not ready to make a deal. So they're going to continue to pay a price. And every night the price gets higher and higher and higher. And that's what's happening now."
"Maybe in a few days they'll be ready to make a deal, once they realize that this is not a winning proposition for them. And that's what 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 and so the President doesn't see a lot of utility in responding to their overtures at this point, because frankly, Iran is clearly not ready to make a deal, at least not one they're willing to live by."
On Wednesday night, US President Donald Trump said Iran wants to make a deal with Washington, but is not yet ready for one.
"They're getting hit so hard, and they want to make a deal - but I say they're not ready to make a deal because every time they make a deal they want to change it and everything. They're not ready," Trump told a rally in Marietta, Georgia.
The President stated that the US is “winning in the Islamic Republic of Iran and we are ensuring that they will never ever be able to do to us what they have done to so many."
“They’ve killed 52,000 plus protesters. People that were protesting have been killed over the last four months. Nobody wants to talk about it," he added.
Earlier on Wednesday, Trump threatened a further escalation against Iran, warning that the US would begin blowing up Iranian bridges and power plants if Iran does not cease its attacks on international shipping.
Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform: "From this point forward, any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, whether it be by Missile, Rocket, Drone, or any other device or weapon, the United States will bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT, including those located next to, or in, the Capital City of Tehran. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP."