U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended President Donald Trump’s war against Iran on Sunday, saying confronting what the administration considers a nuclear threat was necessary even if it was not “necessarily popular.”

Speaking at Homestead Air Reserve Base in Florida before leaving for a Group of 7 foreign ministers meeting in Paris, Rubio also cautioned that negotiations with Tehran were not close to a breakthrough, according to reporting by Matthew Lee and Michelle L. Price of The Associated Press, published by CityNews.

Rubio declined to comment directly on Republican losses in Tuesday’s elections. AP reported that the war’s unpopularity and its economic effects, including higher gasoline prices, helped Democrats win control of Congress.

Asked about Vice President JD Vance’s social media post largely blaming the war for those losses, Rubio said Trump had identified “a very real threat” and acted to prevent Iran from pursuing a nuclear weapon.

Iran has long maintained that its nuclear program is peaceful. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency figures cited by AP, Iran has 440.9 kilograms of uranium enriched to as much as 60 per cent purity, a short technical step from weapons-grade enrichment of 90 per cent.

On diplomacy, Rubio said, “I wouldn’t say we’re at the verge of a breakthrough.” He said Trump preferred a negotiated solution but described Iran’s demands as unacceptable and unrealistic.

AP reported that Qatar was mediating proposals to address differences over Tehran’s nuclear program. Officials said Iran wanted conditions including an end to the U.S. blockade of its ports, sanctions relief, the unfreezing of assets, compensation for war damage and an end to regional hostilities, including Israeli operations in Lebanon.

Trump was scheduled to meet Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani at the White House on Monday. In a Sunday interview with CNN, Trump said renewed strikes were “highly unlikely” to be necessary if negotiations progressed and produced a strong agreement. He also said the United States had identified infrastructure targets should military action resume.

Rubio said U.S. forces would take defensive action if shipping or American personnel in the region faced a clear and present threat.

Sources