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Rubio defends Trump's Iran war as not 'necessarily popular, but necessary'

Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended President Donald Trump's decision to launch the war on Iran, saying it was "necessary" to prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

✦ Extractive summary — built from the sources' own reporting•From 1 source•2 min read•Updated November 9, 2026, 12:10 PM UTC
Key points
  • VANCE'S SCATHING IRAN WAR POSTMORTEM PUTS POTENTIAL 2028 GOP SHOWDOWN IN FOCUS: 'EVERYONE KNOWS WHY' "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.
  • and Iran are engaged in talks, but Rubio says they are making little progress.
  • Trump himself has made no apologies for the war, stating repeatedly since Election Day that he had no choice but to intervene in Iran's nuclear program.

Rubio admitted that the war was not "necessarily popular," acknowledging the war's impact on the Republicans ' midterm election losses last week.

TRUMP SAYS HE DOESN’T DISAGREE WITH VANCE THAT IRAN WAR FUELED GOP LOSSES "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 told reporters on Sunday.

Additional details
  • Rubio made the statement in response to questions about Vice President JD Vance's statement last week that also pinned the losses on the war.
  • Rubio said Trump was responding to a "very real threat" when he launched the war earlier this year.
  • Hossein Mohebbi confirmed that Iran was now abandoning its previous 2,000-kilometer, or roughly 1,240-mile, ballistic missile-range restriction.
  • "Because if they ever had a nuclear weapon, they would blow up the world." Trump nevertheless told "60 Minutes" in an interview this weekend that he is not currently looking to escalate the conflict.
  • IRANIAN NEGOTIATORS KICKED OUT OF US AS TALKS STALL, TRUMP LAYS OUT 'POSSIBLE' TIMELINE FOR MORE STRIKES The U.S.

How this summary was made: extractive summary — built from the sources' own reporting. It is drawn only from the reporting of the sources listed below — read the originals for full detail. How we summarize →

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