Trump Rules Out Escalating War With Iran for Now as Rubio Warns Tehran’s Demands Are ‘Outrageous’

President Trump said he doesn’t think there is “any reason” to escalate the conflict with Tehran despite reports that the U.S. military attacked Iran’s Qeshm island overnight. Speaking to CBS’ 60 minutes, Mr. Trump was asked if he was going to escalate the war now that the midterms are over. “Well, I’m not looking to. I don’t think there’s any reason to. I don’t think there’s any reason to,” the president replied. Mr. Trump was also pressed on the issue of Iran still possessing nuclear material, which he dismissed: “They have nothing. It’s buried under thousands of tons of rock.” As for the high cost of two rounds of war with Iran in the past year, the president said that the countries that the U.S. protected “are going to pay us back any and all costs that we’ve had for the war ’cause without us, they wouldn’t exist. Without us, Israel would not exist. Let me tell you.”“Israel would not exist except for Donald Trump because we went in with those beautiful B2 Bombers more than a year ago, and we hit the three sites at the time,” he said, referring to the large-scale attacks on Iran’s nuclear sites last in June 2025. The president also spoke to reporters on Sunday, telling them that the wars against Iran “historically will go down as one of the best things we ever did because if (Iran) ever had a nuclear weapon, they would blow up the world… Because they’re crazy.”Mr. Trump’s comments came as the Islamic Republic News Agency reported that the U.S. attacked Qeshm island overnight. Hormozgan Province’s deputy governor for political, security and social affairs was quoted as saying that the attacks caused no damage to residential or commercial areas or essential infrastructure. The president is scheduled to meet with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in the White House on Monday. Qatar is attempting to mediate a solution to the conflict between Washington and Tehran.Secretary of State Marco Rubio, meanwhile, cast doubt on efforts to reach a deal with Iran, saying that diplomatic efforts haven’t been “very productive because the Iranian demands are simply not just unacceptable, but in some cases, outrageous and ridiculous, and really not realistic.”“The president would always prefer to solve this and every problem diplomatically. Sometimes that’s not possible, unfortunately. If there’s a chance to do it, we’ll explore it,” Mr. Rubio said. “You have a number of countries that continue to engage them with different ideas, but I wouldn’t say we’re on the verge of a breakthrough,” he added. The Secretary of State also defended Mr. Trump’s decision to launch wars against Iran, saying he “identified a very real threat” and acted to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. “He (Trump) addressed it even though oftentimes the right thing to do for the country — confronting difficult challenges for the security of our country — doing it isn’t necessarily popular, but necessary,” Mr. Rubio said. The U.S. military will take action to defend itself if needed, he added: “If there’s a clear and present threat to shipping or to our forces in the region, we have a right to defend ourselves.”

Trump Rules Out Escalating War With Iran for Now as Rubio Warns Tehran’s Demands Are ‘Outrageous’

Trump Rules Out Escalating War With Iran for Now as Rubio Warns Tehran’s Demands Are ‘Outrageous’

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