Rubio: A nuclear-armed Iran would ‘blackmail the world’ — says Hormuz is open

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said a nuclear-armed Iran would “blackmail the world and kill people” — it would control straits, set tariffs and decide who gets energy and who does not, as Al Jazeera reports, citing Rubio’s Fox News interview.

Rubio said the Strait of Hormuz is open and — with the exception of Iranian oil — nearly as much oil is passing through as before the start of the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran. He warned that a nuclear Iran poses “an unacceptable risk”.

He accused the Iranian government of using money from sanctions relief or oil sales not to “improve the lives of Iranians”, but to build weapons and “export the revolution” — funding Hezbollah, Hamas and Shiite militias in Iraq, and sponsoring “terrorism and assassination plots”.

The interview comes as oil prices rise for a second straight session, with Brent at $105.91 a barrel, while concerns over Middle East supplies continue to weigh on markets.