United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio says Iran is privately pressing Washington for a deal to end the war but Tehran is not yet \u201cready\u201d to accept one,<\/p>\n
\u201cIran is begging us, both directly and indirectly, \u2018Let\u2019s do a deal. Let\u2019s talk,’\u201d Rubio said, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting of foreign ministers<\/a> in Manila, Philippines, on Thursday.<\/p>\n Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list<\/p>\n \u201cThe problem with Iran is every time they make a deal, the people in charge either break it or they want to change it. So it looks like they\u2019re not ready to make a deal, so they\u2019re going to continue to pay a price, and every night the price gets higher and higher.\u201d<\/p>\n Rubio described Iran as \u201ca country run by radical clerics\u201d, calling them \u201coblivious\u201d to its economic problems.<\/p>\n \u201cIran can be the richest country in the Middle East if they wanted to be. But instead, they take their money, and they use it and they give it to Hezbollah. They give it to Hamas. They give it to the Houthis. They give it to Shia militias. They give it to sponsored terrorism all over the world,\u201d he said, referring to Tehran-aligned or -supported groups in the region.<\/p>\n Asked about Iranian officials who have described their military policy with the US as \u201can eye for an eye\u201d, Rubio said US President Donald Trump\u2019s approach was \u201ca head for an eye\u201d.<\/p>\n Iran \u201cwill pay a very heavy price for the things they are doing. They are already paying a heavy price,\u201d he said, claiming Iran\u2019s industrial infrastructure was being \u201cdecimated\u201d, resulting in \u201cbillions\u201d of dollars in damage.<\/p>\n Washington\u2019s central objective, Rubio said, remained a denuclearised Iran. \u201cOur number one interest and the threat they pose to the world is these lunatics in possession of a nuclear weapon<\/a>, and that\u2019s not going to happen,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Rubio also denied Russia has been helping Iran with its weapons programmes and said Yemen\u2019s Houthi movement had been \u201csnookered\u201d by Iran into targeting Saudi Arabia-linked shipping<\/a> after staying out of direct involvement earlier in the conflict. \u201cI hope that they\u2019ll stop,\u201d he said. \u201cThey shouldn\u2019t really do that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018Tit for tat will continue\u2019<\/p>\n The US signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Iran last month, something Tehran says Washington has repeatedly violated. Both sides have indicated the agreement in effect is over.<\/p>\n