Secretary of State Marco Rubio is making headlines with blunt remarks to reporters about Iran. He argued that Tehran's position boils down to a threat: unless it gets what it wants, it will blow up ships and destroy the energy infrastructure of its neighbors across the region. In his view, the world shouldn't shrug that off as normal behavior. He then asked people to imagine if Iran had a nuclear weapon, saying the threats would stop being about pipelines and start being about the lives of tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people. Rubio said the fact the question even has to be asked is a reminder of the regime the US is dealing with.

His comments come during an ongoing US and Israeli war with Iran that has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and pushed up fuel prices. Iran has reportedly hit energy infrastructure and desalination plants in neighboring Gulf countries, and its foreign minister has promised a "powerful and decisive response" to attacks on Iranian infrastructure. Rubio and President Trump say Iran must never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon. Many Democrats in Congress have called the conflict an illegal war of choice, forced votes on war powers, and pointed to American deaths and higher gas prices, while Republicans say the military effort has been successful, and AP has described the war as unpopular. The disagreement is less about whether a nuclear-armed Iran is dangerous and more about how to stop it, what the war is costing, and who gets to authorize it.