Secretary of State Marco Rubio went toe-to-toe with Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) over the lawmaker’s Iran claims.
The two engaged in a testy exchange when Booker accused President Donald Trump’s administration of “begging” Iran to cut a deal with the United States, which Rubio says was absolutely not happening.
Watch:
🚨 NOW: Sec. Marco Rubio just EMBARRASSED Dem Sen. Cory Booker thinking he knows more about foreign policy than Rubio
“We’re allowing Iran to SELL OIL, they’ve made $10-$50B!”
RUBIO: “They did NOT get $50 billion, and they are now LOSING HUNDREDS of millions per DAY because of… pic.twitter.com/RNEY3QApoU
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) June 2, 2026
“This ill-conceived war should have never happened. You have made our adversary in a stronger negotiating position — we are the strongest nation on the planet earth and we’re in a stalemate with Iran. And now we’re begging to get back into a deal that you all trashed in the first place,” Booker said.
“There’s no begging… no one’s begging for anything here. The Iranians might be begging because they’re losing hundreds of millions of dollars per day,” Rubio retorted, arguing that the congressman was underestimating the amount of leverage the United States possessed in the ongoing negotiation.
“Understand, Iran had street protests going on before all of this started. All of those economic factors in Iran are far worse today than they were 6 months ago when those protests were happening,” the secretary explained.
“They have hyperinflation, their currency is completely devalued, they’re struggling to make payroll for their government workers. Iran is in a very serious situation,” he continued. “If it was up to the political class there — and I understand everybody there is sort of radical in some way — but if it was up to the people that actually like, go to elections and wear the suits and that you see on TV, they would probably make a deal tomorrow.”
“The issue they’re facing is that the supreme leader and the IRGC corps are a little more immune to those pressures until they can be convinced otherwise. And I think that’s the direction they’re moving in. I don’t know where you’re getting this perception that Iran is stronger. Iran has no navy left, they’ve lost a substantial percentage of their defense-industrial base, Iran has lost a substantial percentage of their missile launchers, and their economy is far worse today — and I mean far worse today — than it was 6-9 months ago.”
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Sierra Marlee is a millennial whose hunger for the truth in a world of fake news has led her to write. Marlee also contributes to BizPac Review.
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