Jerusalem [Israel], February 16 : As United States exerts maximum pressure on Iran, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday blamed the country for "instability, violence and destabilising" activities in the Middle East.
In a joint press briefing with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Rubio said that Iran is behind everything that threatens peace and stability in the region.
"It (Iran) is the single greatest source of instability in the region, behind every terrorist group, behind every act of violence, behind every destabilising activity, behind everything that threatens peace and stability for the billions of people who call this region home. By Iran, I mean its regime, a regime that its people do not support. The people of Iran are victims of that regime." Rubio said.
Rubio also stressed that Iran can "never" become a nuclear nation. "a nuclear Iran then can hold itself immune from pressure and action, that can never happen," he added.
Rubio's remark came after he held a meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu which the Israeli PM described as "very productive," as reported by The Times of Israel.
Standing side by side with Rubio, Netanyahu declared that "Israel and America stand shoulder to shoulder in countering the threat of Iran."
"We agree that the ayatollahs must not be allowed to have nuclear weapons. We also agreed that Iran's aggression in the region has to be rolled back," Netanyahu said as quoted by The Times of Israel.
Earlier, US President Donald Trump signed executive orders to reinstate the "maximum pressure" campaign against Iran.
The order directed the Treasury Department to execute "maximum economic pressure" upon Iran through a series of sanctions targeting the country's oil exports.
Trump said he was "torn" on signing the order and admitted he was "unhappy to do it," noting that the executive order was very tough on Iran.
The reinstatement of strict sanctions on Iran follows Trump's withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in May 2018. The 2015 agreement, brokered under the Obama administration, had lifted sanctions on Iran in exchange for limits on Iran's nuclear programme.
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor