'US Will Judge Iran by Its Actions on the Water, Not Maximalist Rhetoric': Secretary of State Marco Rubio

Washington: Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday pushed back against Iranian government “propaganda” regarding negotiations with the United States, emphasizing that Washington will evaluate Tehran based on its behavior in international waterways rather than its public statements.

Rubio made clear that the U.S. is uninterested in Iran's media appearances and will instead focus on concrete indicators of compliance. 

“What we're interested in is not their press conferences. What we're interested in is whether or not ships are moving,” Rubio said. 

“If ships are moving as they should be moving, then that's what we're going to judge, and that's what we're going to react to,” he said.

The Secretary of State stressed that the U.S. will disregard what he described as "maximalist rhetoric" from Iranian state television, prioritizing verifiable actions over words.

Rubio also doubled down on his characterization of Iran's leadership, describing the system as one dominated by radical clerics. 

“The Iranian system is led by clerics, radical clerics. That's what it's always been led by. And that's what it continues to be led by,” he said, adding that the administration will continue to “judge them by their actions.”

When questioned about Vice President JD Vance’s prominent role in the diplomatic efforts, Rubio dismissed the criticism as misguided. 

"The vice president of the United States, other than the president, is the second most powerful person in our government. The fact that he's directly involved in this tells you the importance that our administration has given to this topic. So I think it's a very positive thing that he's involved in it," Rubio said, calling the analysis “silly.”

Rubio issued a firm warning against any attempts by Iran or other adversaries to impose charges on international shipping routes. 

“You can call it a fee. You can call it a toll, call it whatever you want. If you are charging money to use the straits, we won't support it. We won't. We won't tolerate it. We won't allow it,” he declared. He urged adversaries to “abandon the fantasy now” regarding such measures on international waterways.

The comments reflect the administration’s approach of engaging seriously on the Iran issue while maintaining a clear-eyed focus on deeds over declarations from Tehran.

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