Secretary of State Marco Rubio unloaded on Iran's leadership in blunt terms this week, calling the country's government lunatic clerics with a radical, apocalyptic view of their own religion. The central issue here is Iran is run by lunatic clerics, Rubio told Fox News, driving home his point that people who hold those beliefs simply cannot be trusted with nuclear weapons. He pointed to the regime's own track record as proof, invoking the thousands upon thousands of Iranian citizens killed by their own government as evidence of just how dangerous that leadership truly is. Rubio also warned that a nuclear-armed Iran sitting on the Strait of Hormuz could hold global energy markets hostage, using its position to squeeze the world on oil and gas prices whenever it chose.

The comments come at a striking moment, with Rubio in New York as President Trump prepares to deliver a major address at the United Nations. Rubio compared the stakes to a nightmare scenario, warning that a nuclear Iran would essentially mean North Korea in the Middle East, a outcome he called catastrophic for the entire world. He said world leaders broadly agree that Iran must never be allowed to cross that line, but argued that agreement alone will not be enough, someone eventually has to act to make sure it never happens. As Trump gears up to address the world stage, Rubio's fiery remarks signal that Iran's nuclear ambitions will remain front and center in Washington's UN messaging this week.