US Secretary of State: President Donald Trump prefers to negotiate than fight Iran

JAKARTA - US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said President Donald Trump prefers to resolve problems with Iran through negotiations, including if Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, wants to meet Trump.

"The president has said that his choice is to reach an agreement with Iran. Although it is very difficult, he will try. That is what we are trying to do right now," Rubio said in an interview with Bloomberg, Saturday.

Rubio said that countries need to interact with each other, while stressing that he is working "under a president who is willing to meet with anyone."

"I'm pretty sure to say that if the Ayatollah (Ali Khamenei) wants to meet with President Trump tomorrow, the president will meet him, not because he agrees with the Ayatollah, but because he thinks that's the way to solve problems in the world," he added.

Responding to a question about the deployment of a second US aircraft carrier to the Middle East, Rubio stressed that the United States would never allow Iran to have nuclear weapons, which he said was a threat to the US, Europe, the region, and global security.

"Obviously, we want to have forces in the region because Iran has shown the willingness and ability to attack and launch attacks against the presence of the United States in the region," he said.

The US Secretary of State emphasized that Washington had a base because of their alliance in the region.

"Iran has shown in the past that they are willing to attack and/or threaten our bases," he said.

Rubio added that the US must have "enough firepower in the region to make sure that they don't make a mistake and attack us and trigger something bigger."