Washington, May 21 (IANS) US Secretary of State Marco Rubio Thursday said there were “good signs” in ongoing negotiations with Iran but cautioned against excessive optimism, saying President Donald Trump still retained “other options” if diplomacy failed.
Speaking to reporters in Miami before departing for India with a stopover in Europe, Rubio said the administration continued to prefer a negotiated settlement over confrontation.
“The president’s preference is to do a good deal,” Rubio said. “It’s always been his preference.”
Rubio said Washington believed some progress had been made in recent contacts with Tehran.
“I think we’ve made some progress, but obviously we’re dealing with a system that itself is a little fractured,” he said, referring to the Iranian political structure.
He noted that regional diplomatic activity involving Pakistan could also help advance discussions.
“I believe the Pakistanis will be travelling to Tehran today, so hopefully that’ll advance this further,” Rubio said.
While signalling cautious optimism, Rubio stressed that no breakthrough was guaranteed.
“I’m not here to tell you that it’s going to happen for sure, but I’m here to tell you that we’re gonna do everything we can to see if we can get one,” he said.
At the same time, Rubio reiterated the administration’s warnings about Iran’s nuclear ambitions and missile capabilities.
“The president’s been clear, he has other options,” Rubio said. “I’m not gonna elaborate on what those are, but everybody knows what those are.”
Earlier in the exchange, Rubio criticised NATO allies for not doing more to confront Iran.
“There are many countries in NATO that agree with us that Iran can’t have a nuclear weapon, that Iran is a threat to the world,” he said.
Rubio added that Iran already possessed missiles capable of reaching Europe.
“They don’t have missiles that can reach America yet, but they have missiles that can reach Europe,” he said.
He said President Trump had grown frustrated with allies who agreed with Washington’s assessment of Iran but were unwilling to take action.
“If all these countries around the world agree with us that Iran can’t have a nuclear weapon… and everyone goes into hiding, yeah, I think we’re very upset about that,” Rubio said.
Despite the sharp rhetoric, Rubio repeatedly stressed that diplomacy remained Washington’s preferred path.
“His preference is always a deal, his preference is always an agreement, his preference is always diplomacy,” he said. “So let’s see if we can get there.”
The remarks come amid renewed diplomatic engagement between Washington and Tehran after months of heightened tensions over Iran’s nuclear activities, regional militias and maritime security in West Asia.
–IANS
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