Marco Rubio denies reports of Pakistan warning US about Iran’s nuclear intentions

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Pic/AFP

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has denied reports that Pakistan had conveyed a message "warning" that Iran was prepared to demonstrate a nuclear weapon if the current conflict escalated further, dismissing suggestions that such a communication had reached the Trump administration.

The issue surfaced during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on Wednesday (local time) when Representative Scott Perry asked Rubio whether Pakistan's foreign minister had personally delivered a message indicating that Tehran was prepared to demonstrate a nuclear capability if tensions continued to rise.

"Did Pakistan's foreign minister personally deliver a message to you that Iran is prepared to demonstrate a nuclear weapon should the current escalation continue?" Perry asked, noting that such reports had appeared publicly. Rubio rejected the claim. "I've not seen that reporting, and I'm not aware of any such message," the Secretary replied.

When Perry pressed the issue and referred to media reports, Rubio again distanced himself from the suggestion. "I would be surprised if that message had been relayed. I would be aware of it if it was," he said. The exchange came amid broader congressional questioning about the administration's ongoing negotiations with Iran following months of military confrontation and efforts to reach a new agreement limiting Tehran's nuclear activities.

Perry also asked how the administration would respond if Iran threatened to demonstrate or test a nuclear capability in the event that diplomacy failed. Rubio said such a move would reinforce long-standing concerns about Tehran's intentions. "I think it would confirm everything we believe about them anyway," Rubio said.

He added that any such threat would likely force the President to consider additional options. "I think the President then would have to pursue, or at least have to consider, various other options that are available to him in that context," Rubio said.

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