Rubio warns Iran there will be consequences for broken commitments

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that the United States is willing to negotiate with Iran but warned that there will be “consequences” if Tehran continues to violate its commitments.

Speaking at the ASEAN Summit in the Philippines hours after US forces completed their 11th consecutive night of attacks on Iran’s military targets, Rubio said Washington remained open to diplomacy but questioned whether Iran was negotiating in good faith.

“The problem we have right now is that they are not serious about negotiations. If they are serious, we are serious,” Rubio said. “If not, then we will do what is necessary to protect both our own interests and the interests of our allies.”

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Rubio said Iran has demanded the right to control ship passage through the Strait of Hormuz, arguing that Tehran does not have the legal authority to do so and warning that allowing it would set a dangerous international precedent.

“If we create a precedent in the Middle East where a nation state can decide to control an international waterway and blow up your ships if you don’t pay, we’re creating a very dangerous precedent that will repeat itself in other parts of the world, including in this region,” Rubio said. he said.

Rubio argued that the “fundamental principle of freedom of navigation” was at stake.

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A container ship and a cargo ship, at right, are seen in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, on Wednesday, June 17, 2026. (Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA via AP)

“If that is threatened, then I think the global economy is also threatened and the rules that have underpinned 150 years of international trade are also threatened, and that cannot be allowed to happen,” he said.

Rubio’s comments came after the United States and Iran passed the halfway point of the 60-day negotiating window established under a June 17 memorandum of understanding covering Iran’s nuclear and missile programs, sanctions and freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

Despite the agreement, the two countries appear closer to a broader conflict than a diplomatic breakthrough; While Iran repeatedly attacks commercial ships in the strait, US forces continue to hit Iranian military targets in the region.

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In his speech during the ASEAN Summit in the Philippines, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the United States is willing to negotiate with Iran, but warned of the consequences if diplomacy fails. (REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez/Pool)

While President Donald Trump declared the ceasefire “over,” he said Tuesday that Iran was “desperately looking to meet.”

Rubio echoed the president’s words and made clear that Washington was ready to negotiate but that military force remained an option.

“The United States will continue to be open and willing to engage in positive negotiations and negotiations as long as the commitments made are kept,” he said. “When those commitments are not fulfilled, which is what happened in this particular case, then there will be consequences. And that has to happen.”

Rubio said it was necessary to maintain the threat of military action to prevent Iran from disrupting one of the world’s most important shipping lanes.

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Iran did not have the legal authority to control ship transit through the Strait of Hormuz and warned that the United States would defend freedom of navigation. (Eric Lee/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

“Without these results, we would be living in a world today where a significant percentage of the energy supply in this region and 20% of the world’s energy supply is held hostage by a rogue regime,” Rubio said.

Fox News Digital’s Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.