'Doing deal with Iran not easy': Marco Rubio over nuclear agreement with Tehran

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that reaching an agreement with Iran is very difficult because of how the country’s leadership formulates policy.

Speaking in Budapest alongside Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Rubio said that Iranians make policy decisions on the basis of pure theology.


“Doing a deal with Iran is not easy. I said it yesterday, I’ll repeat it again today,” he said. “We have to understand that Iran ultimately is governed, and its decisions are governed, by Shia clerics, radical Shia clerics. These people make policy decisions on the basis of pure theology.”

He added that while Washington long acknowledged the difficulty of negotiations with Tehran, the United States would continue to try.

The comments came as tensions surrounding Iran’s nuclear programme and regional posture remain high, with diplomatic efforts aimed at preventing further escalation.

Turning to global economic security, Rubio warned against excessive dependence on any single country for critical goods.

“It’s not good for anybody to rely on 1 country or 1 economy for 90% of anything, especially things like critical supply chains,” he said.

While acknowledging concerns about overreliance, Rubio emphasised that diversification efforts are not inherently directed against China.

“That’s not an anti-China thing. That’s just the reality that over-dependence on 1 source is not good, especially when there was a willingness in the past to use it as leverage,” he stated.

At the same time, Rubio underlined the necessity of continued engagement between Washington and Beijing, describing it as “crazy” for the United States and China not to maintain relations given China’s population size, economic weight, and nuclear capabilities.