Live Update 
From the Liveblog of
Monday, February 16, 2026
From the Liveblog of
Monday, February 16, 2026
Rubio: Difficult to reach deal with Iran, they’re ‘making theological decisions, not geopolitical ones’
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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during a joint news conference with Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Budapest, Hungary, Monday, February 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)
Speaking during a visit to Hungary on Monday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says reaching a deal with Tehran would be hard.
“I think that there’s an opportunity here to diplomatically reach an agreement that addresses the things we’re concerned about. We’ll be very open and welcoming to that. But I don’t want to overstate it either,” Rubio says.
“It’s going to be hard. It’s been very difficult for anyone to do real deals with Iran, because we’re dealing with radical Shia clerics who are making theological decisions, not geopolitical ones,” he says.
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