US claims Iran "not serious" with peace talks
US State Secretary Marco Rubio on Wednesday said that Iran “have not kept the commitments” and were not serious about the peace talks.
US State Secretary Marco Rubio during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Post-Ministerial Conference with the US. Official handout.
Anna Mogato | July 22, 2026
MANILA — The US has shifted the blame on Iran for the continued conflict in the Middle East despite both parties supposedly having reached an agreement in June.
US State Secretary Marco Rubio on Wednesday said that Iran “have not kept the commitments” and were not serious about the peace talks.
“If they’re serious, we’re serious. If they’re not, then we will do what’s necessary to protect our interests and also the interests of our allies,” Rubio said.
“At its core, it’s very simple : Iran demands a right which they do not have under any existing legal mechanism.”
Rubio is currently in Manila for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Post-Ministerial Conference (PMC).
Earlier, the ASEAN Foreign Ministers released a joint statement airing their concern on the continued Middle East crisis, which affects not just trade, energy and food security, but also the ASEAN nationals who reside in the region.
The statement also emphasized the need for freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has since closed again.
“I don’t need to talk, teach about the importance of freedom of navigation and international waterways in this region,” Rubio said.
“And, we create a precedent in the Middle East, where a nation state can decide that they are going to control an international waterway, charge tolls because you don’t pay them, and blow up ships. We have created a very dangerous precedent, which will repeat itself in other parts of the world, including in this region.”
Rubio added that the US remains open and willing to engage in constructive negotiation as long as commitments are kept, but otherwise there will be consequences.
“If these consequences did not exist, then today, we would be living in a world where a significant percentage of the energy supply of this region and 20 percent of the energy supply of the world is being held hostage by a nation-state,” Rubio said.
“By a rogue regime who intends to appropriate that right and control it for itself a right [that] they do not have under any definition of international laws.”
Rubio also reiterated during the PMC their commitments in the ASEAN region. Earlier, the US announced $2.5 billion in strategic investments (Also read: US, Indonesia sign defense agreement)
“We’re investing because development and prosperity is also in the interest of the United States. This is not charity. It’s not something we’re doing because we’re nice people, although I believe we are nice people, but it’s in our national interest,” Rubio said. (Also read: Hegseth urges Asian allies to raise defense spending to 3.5 percent of GDP)
“Our partnership with each of your countries and the region at large is in the national interest of the United States, and we will never abandon it. No matter what else is going on in the world, no matter what our bilateral relations may be with other countries.”