Marco Rubio, the U.S. Secretary of State, in a speech at a conference of lawyers, accused officials of the Islamic Republic of efforts to obtain nuclear weapons, and warned that equipping this government with such weapons could threaten the security of the Middle East and the United States.

Marco Rubio, the U.S. Secretary of State, in a speech at a conference of lawyers, accused officials of the Islamic Republic of efforts to obtain nuclear weapons and warned that equipping this government with such weapons could threaten the security of the Middle East and the United States.

Rubio said: “They will always say that they have no interest in acquiring nuclear weapons. No, they are only interested in all the things they need to build a nuclear weapon.”

Referring to the Islamic Republic’s missile and nuclear program, he said the government produces missiles capable of carrying nuclear weapons and enriches uranium far beyond the level required for civilian use.

The U.S. secretary of state said that if the goal of the Islamic Republic were only to produce nuclear energy, it could have used this technology like Japan and South Korea.

To explain his position, Rubio likened the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program to a person who claims not to intend violence, but who buys weapons and ammunition and is only one step away from using them.