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Secretary Rubio: America's Problem With the Iranian Regime Is Its Nuclear Ambition, Terror Sponsorship, and Treatment of Its People, Dec. 22, 2025

December 22, 2025 · U.S. Department of State · 0:01:48

Embedded from the source channel — never re-uploaded. Watch on YouTube

What happened

Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated the administration’s case against the Iranian regime in remarks the Department of State posted on December 22, 2025. Rubio said, as he stated it, that America’s problem with the regime is predominantly its desire to acquire nuclear weapons and its sponsorship of terrorism, but ultimately the treatment of its own people. He said, as he stated it, that he knew of no nation on earth where there is such a difference between the regime that governs the country and the people who live there, whom he described as inheritors of a proud and long cultural legacy.

Rubio said, as he stated it, that the clerical regime has taken the wealth of the country and used it not to enrich and secure its people or make sure they have enough water and electricity, but to sponsor terrorist organizations all over the world, and that the United States would continue to consistently point that out.

Why it matters

The short statement is the Secretary of State’s distilled framing of Iran policy — regime versus people — and is the formulation the administration returned to as the Iran confrontation developed in 2026.

Sources: U.S. Department of State, ““Our problem with the Iranian regime…” — Secretary Rubio", 2025-12-22 (official upload, embedded above; published 2025-12-22). Transcript via Supadata (private research store, paraphrased and attributed, not republished). All figures and characterizations as stated by the speakers.