Rubio says Trump's war against Iran not 'necessarily popular' but needed to stop a nuclear threat

HOMESTEAD AIR RESERVE BASE, Fla. (AP) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday that President Donald Trump launched the war against Iran even if it was not “necessarily popular” to safeguard the world from the country's nuclear ambitions.

He would not comment directly about the Republican wipeout in Tuesday’s elections, which delivered a resounding rebuke to Trump. The unpopularity of the Iran war and its impact on gasoline prices and other parts of the economy helped Democrats seize control of Congress.

Asked about Vice President JD Vance’s social media post last week that largely blamed the war for the Republican losses, Rubio told reporters that Trump “identified a very real threat” in Iran and worked to stop the Islamic Republic from pursuing a nuclear weapon.

“He addressed it even though oftentimes the right thing to do for the country — confronting difficult challenges for the security of our country — doing it isn’t necessarily popular, but necessary,” Rubio said in Florida before heading to a Group of 7 foreign ministers meeting in Paris.

America's top diplomat offered a robust defense of the more than eight-month-old war even as voters blamed Trump’s policies for the hit to their pocketbooks, including higher energy prices that stemmed from disruptions to shipments in the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway where one-fifth of the world's oil transited before the war.

Rubio's comments also put him at odds with Vance, who are both considered possible 2028 contenders. Asked in a “60 Minutes” interview that aired Sunday about potential candidates other than Vance, Trump named Rubio, saying that “I think Marco’s great" but noting there was a “tremendous bench” in his Republican Party and that “maybe I’m better off not getting involved.”

Trump told reporters Sunday that Vance was right about the war's impact on the election — other than that his vice president should have also insisted it was the correct choice to go to war.

“I can tell you if I had it to do again, this historically — for history — will go down as one of the best things we ever did," Trump said. "Because if they ever had a nuclear weapon, they would blow up the world."

Iran has long maintained that its nuclear program is peaceful. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Iran has 440.9 kilograms (972 pounds) of uranium that is enriched up to 60% purity, a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90%.

Asked on “60 Minutes” whether he would escalate the war following the elections, Trump said, "Well I’m not looking to. I don’t think there’s any reason to.”

With no clear administration strategy to wind down the conflict and the Middle East on edge over the possibility of a return to major hostilities, mediators are trying to revive talks between the sides.

Rubio said, “I wouldn’t say we’re at the verge of a breakthrough.”

He reiterated that Trump prefers a diplomatic solution, but “right now, it hasn’t been very productive because the Iranian demands are simply not just unacceptable, but in some cases outrageous and ridiculous and really not realistic.”

Trump is set to meet Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani at the White House on Monday, according to his official schedule.

The Associated Press has reported that Iran was reviewing proposals presented by chief mediator Qatar aimed at addressing differences with the United States about Tehran’s nuclear program. But Iran was seen as unwilling to negotiate with the Trump administration over their atomic activities until the U.S. agrees to several core conditions that Tehran has been demanding be part of any ceasefire agreement, officials have said.

Those include ending the U.S. blockade on Iran’s ports, lifting sanctions, unfreezing its assets, issuing compensation for war damage and ending hostilities throughout the region, including Israeli operations in Lebanon.

While Rubio said there was no diplomatic breakthrough at hand, Trump told CNN in a phone interview Sunday that as long as the U.S. sees progress in negotiations with Tehran and they sign a “strong agreement,” it’s “highly unlikely it’s going to be necessary” to resume strikes.

Trump said, however, that the U.S. had identified infrastructure targets, including 38 bridges, that it would strike if military action resumes.

The U.S. military, meanwhile, still has carried out limited strikes on Iran, including against its air defenses, at least twice over the past week. It also fired on and disabled a commercial ship Saturday that the U.S. says was trying to breach its naval blockade on Iranian ports.

Rubio acknowledged that the U.S. will take defensive actions if needed.

“If there’s a clear and present threat to shipping or to our forces in the region, we have a right to defend ourselves,” Rubio said.

Price reported from West Palm Beach, Fla.

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to the press before departing for France from Homestead Air Reserve Base in Homestead, Florida, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026. Rubio is traveling for the G7 Foreign Ministers' Meeting. (Brendan Smialowski/Pool photo via AP)

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio departs for France from Homestead Air Reserve Base in Homestead, Florida, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026. Rubio is traveling for the G7 Foreign Ministers' Meeting. (Brendan Smialowski/Pool photo via AP)

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to the press before departing for France from Homestead Air Reserve Base in Homestead, Florida, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026. Rubio is traveling for the G7 Foreign Ministers' Meeting. (Brendan Smialowski/Pool photo via AP)

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to the press before departing for France from Homestead Air Reserve Base in Homestead, Florida, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026. Rubio is traveling for the G7 Foreign Ministers' Meeting. (Brendan Smialowski/Pool photo via AP)

Saudi Arabia said it intercepted incoming missiles targeting the kingdom's capital and other regions on Sunday, with falling debris damaging a building belonging to the state-owned oil giant Aramco in Riyadh’s financial district.

Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates said it rescued 22 crew members after a fire broke out aboard a cargo ship in the Sea of Oman, as risks to commercial shipping in the region remain high. And in Israel, opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot formally got the first chance to form a new government.

Here is the latest news from the Middle East on Sunday. Read our full coverage here.

U.S. President Donald Trump is set to meet Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani at the White House on Monday, according to his official schedule.

Witnesses in Riyadh said they heard a loud explosion Sunday morning and described damage at an Aramco building in the King Abdullah Financial District. The witnesses spoke on condition of anonymity because of security concerns.

The Saudi Energy Ministry said there were no casualties at the Aramco facility.

The Saudi-led coalition said its air defenses intercepted two ballistic missiles and two cruise missiles targeting Riyadh and other regions early Sunday, accusing the Iran-backed Houthis of launching the weapons.

The Houthis' military spokesperson, Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, claimed in a statement Sunday that they had hit Riyadh’s financial district and other targets in response to attacks in recent days on a village and a market in Yemen, which he said left dozens dead or wounded and blamed on Saudi Arabia.

— By Sally Abou AlJoud in Beirut

The UAE National Guard said the crew members — all of Arab nationalities — were in stable condition following a rescue when their cargo ship caught fire in the Sea of Oman. The National Guard did not identify the vessel or specify the cause of the fire.

The British military organization that monitors maritime security incidents said Sunday that a tanker caught fire on Saturday northwest of Khasab, Oman, prompting the evacuation of its crew. It was unclear whether it was the same incident.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Sunday evening formally gave opposition politician Gadi Eisenkot the first chance to form the next government.

While complex coalition negotiations still lie ahead, this is a significant step in the former military chief’s effort to oust Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, after elections held in a deeply divided country scarred by the Hamas-led attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, and the multifront wars they triggered.

A large sandstone slab collapsed onto makeshift tents housing displaced Palestinians in central Gaza on Sunday evening, killing at least four people, including three children, according to health officials at Al-Aqsa Martyrs and Nasser hospitals.

Civil defense workers and residents in the city of Deir al-Balah searched through the rubble largely using their bare hands. Gaza has been battered by torrential rains over the past few days, which is believed to have contributed to the collapse.

Most of Gaza’s 2 million Palestinians are still displaced or live in tent camps, where they grapple with poor conditions and overcrowding.

The president told CNN in a phone interview on Sunday that as long as the U.S. continues to see progress in negotiations with Tehran and they sign a “strong agreement,” it’s “highly unlikely it’s going to be necessary” to resume strikes.

The president said, however, that the U.S. had identified infrastructure targets, including 38 bridges, that it would strike if military action resumes.

The region has been on edge over the possibility of a renewed all-out war.

The strategic Khor Mor gas field in Iraq’s semiautonomous northern Kurdish region was targeted by a drone attack late Sunday, officials said.

No casualties were reported and it was not immediately clear how much damage was caused, but the attack took the facility offline, causing widespread power outages.

Khor Mor is one of northern Iraq’s most productive natural gas fields, and its output is used to fuel power plants. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

Residents on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz reported hearing several explosions late Sunday evening, Iranian state media reported.

Similar reports have been made in previous days, with no official confirmation or claims as to what might have caused them.

Asked about the reports before heading to a G7 foreign ministers meeting in Paris, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio didn’t directly confirm new strikes but said the U.S. will make defensive actions.

“If there’s a clear and present threat to shipping or to our forces in the region, we have a right to defend ourselves,” Rubio told reporters in Florida.

Iran hanged three men Sunday in Karaj who were convicted of armed riot, damage to public properties and cooperation with Israel and the United States during nationwide anti-government protests in January, state TV reported.

Iran has hanged more than two dozen people on similar charges in various cities. International rights groups say political prisoners in Iran are tried in secretive courts without due process.

The protests, some of the largest ever held against the Islamic Republic's government, were largely stamped out when the United States and Israel went to war with Iran on Feb. 28.

An Israeli strike on Sunday killed two Palestinians, a man and woman, in Muwasi, a tent camp area on Gaza’s coast, said health officials at Nasser hospital.

Israel’s military said it had struck a “Hamas terrorist” in the area.

Sunday’s strikes came more than a year after a ceasefire deal was reached between Israel and Hamas, yet Israel still launches near-daily strikes on the enclave.

The State Department said Sunday that it had declared Ibrahim Charara, Lebanon’s consul general in Detroit, “persona non grata” after reviewing posts from up to five years ago celebrating the 1983 Hezbollah attack on the Marine barracks in Beirut. The posts were first reported by the Washington Free Beacon.

“Anyone in the United States who celebrates or justifies terrorist attacks has no place in our country,” the department said.

This report will be updated throughout the day as new developments emerge.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog, right, tasks Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the Yashar ("Straight") Party, with forming a government at the President's Residence in Jerusalem, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Palestinians walk through a tent camp housing displaced people amid buildings destroyed by Israeli strikes during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza City, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Displaced Palestinian children repair tents damaged by heavy rain in Gaza City, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the Yashar ("Straight") party, waves an Israeli flag onstage following the release of the first exit poll results in Israel's general election in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

This image taken from video released by Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026, shows a man watching smoke rise following what the channel described as an airstrike by Saudi-backed government forces on a town near Sanaa, Yemen. (Al-Masirah TV via AP)