Rubio: Iran’s demands for a settlement are unacceptable, outrageous and unrealistic

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has described Iran’s demands for a settlement as unacceptable, saying some of them are outrageous and unrealistic, and stressing that talks with Tehran have so far failed to produce meaningful results.

“Negotiations right now 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,” Rubio told reporters upon arriving in France for a meeting of G7 foreign ministers.

Rubio stressed that the United States would respond to any Iranian threat against its forces or ships, adding that President Donald Trump is acting to defend US national interests abroad.

“The president took on something that other presidents have failed to do,” Rubio said, explaining that Trump had chosen to confront what he described as the Iranian threat rather than ignore it and leave the issue to his successor, as previous US administrations had done.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Saturday that the United States needed time to assess the results of the congressional elections and decide on the future of negotiations with Tehran, noting that mediators had not taken any action because of the elections.

French news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP) quoted Araghchi as saying on Sunday, 8 November, that mediators’ movements had been suspended in recent days because of the US election results and that resuming their activities would take some time.

In a post on X, Araghchi stressed that Tehran’s proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within two days remains on the table, provided Washington meets Iran’s demands, foremost among them an end to the war on all fronts.