By Necva Tastan Sevinc
ISTANBUL (AA) - US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday that reaching an agreement with Iran remains difficult due to the ideological leadership structure in Tehran but emphasized Washington’s willingness to pursue diplomacy.
“Doing a deal with Iran is not easy,” Rubio said at a joint press conference with Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban following high-level talks in Budapest that focused on strategic cooperation, energy, and geopolitical coordination.
Iran is governed by “radical Shia clerics” who “make policy decisions on the basis of pure theology,” he claimed.
However, he said Washington is prepared to continue diplomatic engagement, noting: “We've always said it's hard, but we're going to try. That's what the president (Donald Trump) is trying.”
“I'm certainly not going to negotiate with Iran here in front of the press and on the stage. Our negotiators are on their way there now. They'll have meetings. We'll see what happens," he said.
“The president always prefers peaceful outcomes and negotiated outcomes to things," Rubio added.
“I think there's an opportunity here to diplomatically reach an agreement that addresses the things we're concerned about.”
He also underscored Washington’s approach to major global powers, arguing engagement is necessary even amid rivalry.
“It would be crazy… for the United States and China not to have relations and interact with one another,” he said, noting China’s global weight as “a big country” with a vast population, nuclear capabilities, and the world’s second-largest economy.
He acknowledged tensions between Washington and Beijing but emphasized the need to manage them pragmatically.
“Now, two big countries like this, do we have differences? We absolutely do, and we'll have to manage those differences,” he said.
- Ukraine
During their talks, Rubio and Orban discussed the war in Ukraine, with the US official emphasizing Washington’s mediation role.
“We're the only nation on earth that apparently can get both sides to the table to talk,” Rubio said, noting that military representatives from both sides had recently held discussions.
He stressed that the US is not attempting to impose a settlement. “We're not trying to impose a deal on anybody. We're not trying to force anyone to take a deal they don't want to take. We just want to help them.”
Orban, for his part, expressed strong support for US peace initiatives and credited Trump with generating diplomatic momentum.
“If Donald Trump had been the president of the United States, this war would never have broken out,” he said.
“Hungary remains ready that if there is a peace summit, we provide a venue for that here in Budapest," he added.
He also pointed to energy arrangements linked to Washington’s policy decisions, saying a US waiver allows Hungary to maintain energy security.
“The exception provided by the presidents of the United States to America… allows for the use of Russian gas and oil here in Hungary,” he said, adding that the arrangement helps ensure a stable supply and affordable energy for households and industry.
- Hungary-US relations
Orban also described bilateral ties as unprecedented in strength. “A new golden age has set upon us concerning the relationship between the United States and Hungary,” he said.
Rubio echoed the assessment.
“The relationship between the United States and Hungary today is as close as I can possibly imagine it being. And it's not just close rhetorically; it's close in action and things that are actually happening,” Rubio said.