Marco Rubio calls the Islamic Republic's negotiating demands ridiculous and unrealistic

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on Sunday 8 November that the Islamic Republic's demands in its negotiations with the United States were unacceptable, ridiculous and unrealistic, and said the two sides were not on the verge of an agreement.

Rubio said Donald Trump wants a diplomatic solution, but the talks have not been productive because Tehran's demands cannot be met. Asked whether a deal with the Islamic Republic was possible, he said that sometimes such a thing is not possible, but that Washington would look at any opportunity that arises.

The US position on Qeshm and the Strait of Hormuz

On the explosions on Qeshm island, the secretary of state said the United States has the right to defend itself and that any response depends on the level of the threat. He said the US takes defensive measures and will act against those responsible if its forces in the region or shipping are threatened. According to him, US forces have been defending shipping in the region for some time.

Rubio defended Trump's decision to confront the Islamic Republic, saying the US president had taken on a task his predecessors failed to carry out. He said the right thing is sometimes not popular but is still right, and stressed again that preventing the Islamic Republic from obtaining a nuclear weapon is essential; a threat that, he said, concerns not only Israel and the Middle East but the whole world and the United States.

Remarks by Trump and Araghchi the same day

Rubio spoke a few hours after Donald Trump told CNN in a phone interview that a renewed attack would be very unlikely if the Islamic Republic agreed to a solid deal. Trump also said the US had identified 38 bridges that could be destroyed within an hour if the war resumed, and that the "Iron Gate" task force was restricting the movement of goods to and from Iran with full force. Trump had earlier also said that talks with the Islamic Republic are continuing.

Abbas Araghchi, the Islamic Republic's foreign minister, said on Sunday that the mediators had been inactive for several days after the US midterm elections and that more time was needed to resume talks. He repeated the offer to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within two days if Tehran's demands are accepted, including an end to fighting on all fronts, and threatened the US with a military response.

The US secretary of state says the talks with the Islamic Republic have gone nowhere because of Tehran's unrealistic demands.