Tehran has reached out to Washington regarding negotiations to resolve the armed conflict, but the United States does not believe that Iran is serious, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated at a meeting of foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states in Manila, Report informs.
"Iran has been reaching out to the United States both directly and indirectly to engage in talks about settling the differences with regards to what's happening in that part of the world," he asserted. "The problem we're having right now is that they're not serious about talks."
According to Rubio, "if they [Tehran] are serious, we [Washington] are serious." Otherwise, the United States "will do what is necessary to protect that our interest and also the interests of our allies," the Secretary of State added.