Rubio: US must be prepared for ‘probability’ Iran will reject American diplomacy

WASHINGTON — US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says Washington must be prepared for the “probability” that Iran will reject American diplomatic efforts to end the war, hours after President Donald Trump expressed optimism that Tehran would accept such an agreement.

“There are clearly people there talking to us in ways that previous people in charge of Iran have not spoken to us in the past,” Rubio tells ABC’s Good Morning America, adding that the US intends to test Iran’s ability to back up its statements with action.

“But we also have to be prepared for the fact that that effort might fail. We’re dealing with a 47-year-old regime that still has a lot of people involved in it who aren’t necessarily big fans of diplomacy and peace,” Rubio says, undercutting Trump’s claim that the US has effectively caused regime change by taking out much of Iran’s leadership.

“If there are new people now in charge who have a more reasonable vision of the future, that would be good news for us, for them, for the entire world,” Rubio says.

“But we also have to be prepared for the possibility, maybe even the probability, that that is not the case,” he adds.