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Marco Rubio can’t help but keep the Iranian file in the press, noting today that: “we’re dealing with radical Shia clerics, we’re dealing with people who make geopolitical decisions on the basis of pure theology, and it’s a complicated thing – no one’s ever been able to do a successful deal with Iran, but we’re going to try.”
According to Rubio: “We are posturing in the region for one simple reason, and that is we understand that there could be threats to our forces in the region – we’ve seen them be threatened in the past, and we want to make sure that we have sufficient capacity to defend them if, God forbid, that were to happen.”
Rubio added that: “We are focused on negotiations, but if that changes, it’ll be obvious to everyone, and obviously whatever the law requires us to do, we’ll do.”
“There is no more important obligation of any government than the ability to protect your own people and your own nation,” Rubio continued: “This is why, by the way, we talk about the importance of our partners having capabilities in NATO.
“Every time we say this, people, you know, they go crazy – they think, oh, that means you’re going to abandon NATO, you’re going to abandon your allies – but I think the point we’re making is that the stronger our allies are, the stronger we are collectively.”
Rubio added: “We don’t want you to be dependent on us – we are not asking you to be a vassal of the United States, but we want to be your partner.”
