Rubio says US ready to meet Iran but missiles, proxies, repression must be on table

11d • News

February 4, 2026 Today, 6:12 pm

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during a press conference at the inaugural Critical Minerals Ministerial meeting at the Sate Department in Washington, DC, on February 4, 2026.

The United States is ready to meet Iran this week, but discussions need to cover its missile and nuclear programs, its support for terror groups in the region and its treatment of its population, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says.

Rubio confirms Iran’s opposition to Washington’s plan to hold Friday nuclear talks in Istanbul.

“We thought we had an established forum that had been agreed to in Turkey that was put together by a number of partners who wanted to attend and be a part of it. I saw conflicting reports yesterday from the Iranian side saying that they had not agreed to that, so that’s still being worked through,” Rubio tells reporters during an event in Washington.

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The sides are now reportedly planning to hold the nuclear talks in Oman.

“At the end of the day, the United States is prepared to engage, and has always been prepared to engage with Iran,” he says. “For talks to actually lead to something meaningful, they will have to include certain things, and that includes the range of their ballistic missiles,” he says. “That includes their sponsorship of terrorist organizations across the region. That includes the nuclear program. And that includes the treatment of their own people.”

Iran has only shown willingness to discuss its nuclear program, albeit not on the terms demanded by the US — for the Islamic Republic to agree not to enrich uranium on its own territory and export all of its already enriched stockpiles out of the country.

“The fundamental problem Iran faces is that what people are on the streets complaining about, this regime cannot address… because it’s economic,” Rubio says. “One of the reasons why the Iranian regime cannot provide the people of Iran the quality of life that they deserve is because they’re spending all their money and resources… sponsoring terrorism.”

Nonetheless, the US is willing to engage and hold talks with Iran. “President Trump is willing to talk to and meet with and engage with anyone in the world. We don’t view meetings as a concession [or]… legitimization,” Rubio maintains.

“If the Iranians want to meet, we’re ready. They’ve expressed an interest in meeting and talking. If they change their mind, we’re fine with that too… I’m not sure you can reach a deal with these guys, but we’re going to try to find out,” he adds.

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