U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a stern warning to Iran while substituting as the White House press secretary on Tuesday.
Rubio took on a briefing room full of reporters after Karoline Leavitt took time off from her role as press secretary in order to spend time at home with a newborn child, her second.
‘They really shouldn’t test the will of the United States, at least not under President Donald Trump. … If they test him, ultimately, they will lose.’
Rubio issued a warning to Iran that it should take the diplomatic path the Trump administration is offering in order to avoid the other option of economic ruin and defeat.
“There’s a real diplomatic path. … If there is one there, it could be one that leads them to reconstruction, to prosperity, and to stability, and to not posing a threat to the world. The alternative is growing isolation, economic collapse, and ultimately total defeat,” Rubio said.
Peace negotiations between Iran and the U.S. have focused on control of the Strait of Hormuz, which has been shut down, causing high gas prices across the globe.
“I know what the right choice is for Iran. I hope that the people over there making decisions will make the right one,” he added.
“They really shouldn’t test the will of the United States, at least not under President Donald Trump,” Rubio concluded. “He has proven time and again that he will back up what he says — and if they test him, ultimately, they will lose. The hard way, the easy way, the long way, the short way — they will lose.”
He went on to discuss the situation with the energy shipments to Cuba, claiming that “there’s no oil blockade on Cuba per se” but that Venezuela had chosen not to provide free oil to the island nation.
“Their economic model doesn’t work. It doesn’t work, and the people who are in charge can’t fix it. And the reason they can’t fix it is not just because they’re communists — that’s bad enough. But they’re incompetent communists,” he said. “The only thing worse than a communist is an incompetent one.”
Rubio also said there was no change in U.S. relations with Venezuela.
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At one point, he lightheartedly noted that the briefing room was overloaded with journalists.
“You can ask two questions, and I’ll pick which one I like better,” he said to one reporter.
Rubio had previously joked that he was taking over the press secretary role based on a popular meme online that shows the state secretary reluctantly taking on numerous new jobs for the administration.
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