Secretary of State Marco Rubio began his Gulf tour in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday, marking the next stage of the 60-day negotiating period between the United States and Iran.
Speaking to the press pool after a day of meetings, Secretary Rubio focused his remarks on ending the terror proxy regime as part of what it will take to end hostilities in the region, freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, and the future of Iran.
"You can't have the end of hostilities and conflicts in the region as long as Iranian proxies are launching missiles and drones from Iraq, and are participating in terrorism like Hamas did and Hezbollah did," Rubio said.
"No country is allowed to charge tolls or fees on an international waterway. That's existing international law," Rubio said in reference to the state of the Strait of Hormuz.
Rubio says Iran could rejoin world economy after US talks
Rubio alluded to a future where Iran is a full participant in global relations, so long as they abandon their terror proxy regime.
"If [Iran's] leadership makes a decision that they want to be a country instead of a revolutionary movement that exports terror, they're going to have an opportunity to do incredible things," he said. "That is something that is going to have to depend on progress made on a host of other security issues that have to be confronted in the days to come."
Rubio addressed the concurrent talks between Israel and Lebanon, clarifying that Lebanon is a sovereign country and those talks are separate from the US's talks with Iran. The US will "negotiate and deal directly with the Lebanese government," the secretary said.
While there is overlap, referring to Iran's proxy Hezbollah, "the future of Lebanon belongs to the Lebanese people through their sovereign, elected government," Rubio said.
Trump, 'Iran will not have a nuclear weapon'
President Trump also addressed reporters today on the US-Iran talks, lauding his administration’s achievements and emphasizing economic stabilization, noting that oil prices have fallen. He also warned of the risks posed by Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon, stressing that it will not obtain one."
"The big thing is that Iran will not have a nuclear weapon," the president said, "They have a lot of problems."
Trump then claimed that the US has "Iran in a position that nobody has ever had.
"This should have been done for 47-years by other presidents. Their military has been totally wiped out, their leadership has been wiped out, their radar has been wiped out, everything has been wiped out. They are not in a good negotiating position."
When asked about IAEA inspectors on the ground, the president said it was agreed to in the meetings in Switzerland, and there will "100% be inspections...at the appropriate time."
Iranian officials contradict the president's statements, telling state media that Tehran has made “no new commitments” regarding nuclear inspections.
"They have a hunger problem, they have a food problem, they have a medicine problem, they have a lot of problems, and they have an inflation problem," the president added.
Trump then hit out at critics of the Iran deal.
When asked about criticism of the deal, even from his friends, Trump responded, "anyone that has been critical of the Iran deal has to be educated, even if they are friends of mine, because we have Iran in a position, that nobody has every had."