US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Friday in Washington that a nuclear-armed Iran could hold the Middle East and the United States hostage, saying Washington must ensure Tehran never acquires nuclear weapons.
Speaking at the Federalist Society National Lawyers Convention, Rubio pointed to attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz as evidence of the dangers posed by Tehran and said, “Imagine if they had a nuclear weapon; they would hold the entire region hostage. They would hold this nation hostage.”
He described Iran's leadership as expansionist and revolutionary, contrasting it with North Korea, whose leadership he characterized as primarily concerned with preserving its own rule.
“These people are expansionists; they're revolutionaries,” he said, warning of the consequences if Iran acquired nuclear weapons.
Rubio also blamed Iran's clerical leadership for major conflicts across the Middle East, citing Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, Shiite militias in Iraq, Hezbollah in Lebanon and armed groups that supported former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
“Everywhere you turn, there's one common denominator: the Shia clerics of Iran, and their expansionist mentality,” he said.
“This is an extraordinary historic danger, and one that cannot be ignored,” Rubio added, warning that threats originating in the Middle East could eventually reach the United States.
He defended President Donald Trump's decision to confront Iran, acknowledging that the policy could impose economic and other costs.
“But victory is they can never have a nuclear weapon, one way or the other,” Rubio said.
Rubio also pointed to the authorities' deadly crackdown on January's protests in Iran, saying, “They have killed tens and tens of thousands of their own people, slaughtered them in the streets.”
He said security forces had also killed wounded protesters in hospitals, as well as doctors and nurses who treated them.
“Imagine what they would do to us if they had a nuclear weapon,” Rubio said.
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