Marco Rubio has been called out for declaring the U.S. is negotiating with “lunatics” in Iran, moments after Donald Trump praised the same group for being a “new and more reasonable regime”.
As the war in the Middle East enters another week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio was confronted about the administration’s latest mixed messages during a Monday morning interview on Good Morning America.
The interview took place moments after Trump put out yet another Truth Social post before the markets opened, in which he claimed that while “serious” negotiations were underway with Iran, he would obliterate the nation’s energy plants, oil wells, and even the country’s desalination plants if the Strait of Hormuz did not reopen.
Asked by ABC News host George Stephanopoulos about the president’s latest post, Rubio blamed Iran for refusing to give up its nuclear capabilities sooner.
“These people are lunatics,” he said of the Iranian regime. “They are insane. They are religious zealots who can never be allowed to possess a nuclear weapon because they have an apocalyptic vision of the future.”
However, Stephanopoulos pushed back, asking Rubio: “You call them lunatics, but the president just had this post where he says we’re in discussions with a new and more reasonable regime. Let me try to pin you down on that. Who is this new and more reasonable regime?”
The Secretary of State struggled to answer directly.
“Well, I’m not going to disclose to you who those people are because it probably would get them in trouble with some other groups of people inside of Iran,” Rubio said.
“Look, there’s some fractures going on there internally. And at the end of the day, I think that if there are people in Iran who now, given everything that’s happened, are willing to move in a different direction for their country, that would be great.”
The comments were not the only time in recent days Rubio appeared to contradict his boss.
Returning to Washington on Sunday night, Trump was asked about reports that Iran plans to implement a tolling system in the Strait, in which ships would be charged toll fees for ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
Such a move would give Iran additional leverage to control the critical chokepoint, where a standoff as a result of the war has led to a global energy crisis and more pain at the pump for consumers.
“We could close that up in two minutes. We could close that up so fast, your head would spin,” Trump said when asked about Iran’s plans.
However, Rubio had earlier told reporters that a tolling system would pose an “immediate challenge” to the U.S. and urged other countries to help the administration prevent it.
“It’s dangerous for the world, and it’s important that the world have a plan to confront it,” he said as he returned from the latest of Group of Seven (G7) ministers’ meeting in France on Friday.
“The United States is prepared to be a part of that plan. We don’t have to lead that plan, but we are happy to be a part of it.”
Rubio doubled down on his plea to allied nations on Monday morning, telling GMA: “They have more at stake there than we do. We get very little of our energy in this country coming through the Strait of Hormuz. The rest of the world gets a lot more.”
He also signaled a possible expansion of the war if tolls are imposed in the Strait, declaring that “the Department of War is preparing optionality for the president for this and various other contingencies that might arise.”
The comments added confusion to what has already been a war underpinned by mixed messages, contradicting statements, and wild claims from both sides.
Iran has even taken to mocking the president for his chaotic tactics, with a spokesman for the Iranian armed forces saying in a post over the weekend: “At one moment, he speaks of negotiations, and shortly afterward, he decides to manage the war.
“This unbalanced and deceitful individual has inflicted extensive damage on the people of the United States, Europe, and countries around the world, especially the countries in West Asia.”
The speaker of the Iranian parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, also called out Trump on Sunday night for his tendency to post about the war before the markets open.
“Heads-up: Pre-market so-called “news” or “Truth” is often just a setup for profit-taking. Basically, it’s a reverse indicator,” he said.
As expected, Trump put out a social media blast around 7.30 am on Monday morning, just as he did the week before amid market jitters over the growing energy crisis sparked by the Middle East conflict.
In his latest post, Trump claimed that the U.S. was in “serious” discussions with Iran but added that if a deal wasn’t reached to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, where about 20 percent of the world’s oil usually flows, “we will conclude our lovely ‘stay’ in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!), which we have purposefully not yet ‘touched’.”
