Senator Marco Rubio issued a strong warning to Tehran on Tuesday, insisting that any step toward peace or normalization with the West depended on them dismantling their uranium enrichment program, support for terrorist organizations and long-range missile systems.
Rubio, a Florida Republican and member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, stated during his remarks that the U.S. must remain firm against Iran’s “destabilizing behavior”, particularly given current tensions across the Middle East.
“Iran must cease its conduct that endangers regional and global security,” Rubio stated. If Tehran wishes to join the international community, its pursuit of nuclear enrichment, support for terror proxies and pursuit of long-range missile capabilities must cease immediately.
Rubio’s remarks came amidst renewed discussions in Washington over whether the Biden administration should attempt any form of nuclear negotiations with Iran following the collapse of 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). A longstanding critic of JCPOA, Rubio warned that any agreement that does not include strict restrictions on Iran’s missile program and proxy operations in the region would be “dangerously incomplete.”
Iran has repeatedly denied that it seeks nuclear weapons and maintains that its missile program serves as a necessary deterrent against foreign aggression. Iran further maintains that their support of groups like Hezbollah and Houthis is part of their regional defense strategy and solidarity with oppressed peoples.
Rubio noted that these arguments cannot be accepted as valid justifications in light of growing violence and instability.
“How can we discuss diplomacy with a regime that funds attacks against our allies and plots assassinations attempts abroad?” asked Sen. Rubio in response to recent incidents involving Iranian-linked plots and drone strikes targeting American allies in the region.
Rubio’s comments prompted Iranian officials to accuse state-run media of warmongering and undermining diplomatic initiatives, according to state reports.
The Biden administration has not indicated any immediate plans to resume formal negotiations with Tehran; however, officials have voiced their discontent at Iran’s rapidly progressing nuclear program and accumulation of enriched uranium beyond JCPOA limits.
As tensions in the region increase, particularly between Israel and Lebanon, demands for a unified U.S. policy on Iran are mounting from both political sides of the spectrum.
Rubio concluded his speech by imploring Congress to pass harsher sanctions and increase U.S. military cooperation with regional partners in order to deter “Iran’s expansionist agenda.”