Rubio says US will not let Iran build nuclear bomb while Trump is President

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has taken a hard line on Iran. At a press conference in Athens, he said the United States under President Donald Trump will never allow Iran to build a nuclear bomb or nuclear weapon. Rubio described this as America's last and unwritten "red line", on which there will be no compromise. The statement comes amid rising political and military tension in the Middle East.

Rubio was speaking at a joint press conference with Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis. He also set out the assertive direction of American foreign policy.

Nuclear talks between Iran and the US have been at a very delicate stage for the past few years. Rubio was asked directly whether, in any future agreement, the US would allow Iran to enrich uranium up to a fixed limit. In reply, he said that whatever the terms of a deal, its ultimate aim would be that Iran cannot become a nuclear-armed country. US Vice President J.D. Vance has earlier demanded that Iran immediately reduce its uranium enrichment capacity. Rubio's statement repeated that position.

The US Secretary of State claimed that Tehran was strategically trying to take its military strength to a point where any country thinking of attacking its nuclear facilities would fear a major retaliatory strike. For this, Iran had stockpiled large numbers of modern missiles, drones and launchers. Washington has seriously alleged that Iran wanted to use this conventional military strength to build a protective shield around its nuclear programme.

Rubio also claimed that the Trump administration foiled this Iranian plan in time. According to him, after a direct order from President Trump, American military action destroyed Iran's drone-making capability and drone network on a large scale. Rubio said Iran's missile launchers have been weakened and its navy and air force have also become considerably weaker. These claims of military damage have not received official confirmation from independent international bodies.

In a separate remark on Wednesday, Rubio told Olivia Gazis of CBS News that he would not go into detail on what would be acceptable and what would not. He added that Iran would "never have a nuclear weapon". This followed Vance's statement that Iran would have to make a "substantial" reduction in its enrichment capacity.

Besides military strength, Rubio also spoke about Iran's worsening economic condition. He alleged that Iran's political leadership is wholly responsible for the severe economic crisis in the country. Iran's economy has been badly hit by tough economic and trade sanctions imposed by the US and other countries. People are struggling with inflation and unemployment, while government revenue is falling fast.

According to Rubio, Iran's military position has become so weak that Tehran cannot use its conventional military strength to stop the world's action against its nuclear programme. He reiterated that as long as Donald Trump is US President, Iran's dream of acquiring a nuclear weapon will never be realised. The hard US stance is expected to make the geopolitical equations of the Middle East sharper and more tangled in the coming days.