Rubio: Iran's demands are "outrageous" and "ridiculous," talks "haven't been very productive"

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday that talks with Iran have gone nowhere, blaming Tehran's demands, The Jerusalem Post reported.

"I wouldn't say we're on the verge of a breakthrough," Rubio told reporters before leaving Homestead Air Reserve Base in Florida for a G7 foreign ministers meeting in France. "The President would always prefer to solve this and every problem diplomatically. Sometimes that's not possible, unfortunately, but if there's a chance to do it, we'll explore it. Right now it hasn't been very productive because the Iranian demands are simply, not just unacceptable, but in some cases outrageous and ridiculous and really not realistic."

Rubio said the U.S. has the right to defend itself if there is "a clear and immediate threat to shipping or to our forces in the region," according to the Post.

He also defended President Trump's decision to go to war with Iran. "A nuclear Iran would be unacceptable and dangerous not only to Israel and the Middle East, but to the entire world and the United States," Rubio said, according to the Post. "The president confronted a threat that other presidents were unable to confront. Sometimes doing the right thing is not necessarily popular, but it is necessary."