A nuclear Iran would be like 'North Korea in the Middle East,' Rubio says during UN visit

In similar Tuesday statements made to FOX, Rubio reiterated his assertion that Iran "must never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon."

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday the US is open to speaking with Iranians at the UN General Assembly, but no meeting is currently scheduled.

"We're open to that. I don't think anything is scheduled at this point, but we're certainly open to something like that, especially if it has the prospects of leading to something positive and ultimately achieving the goal of what this is all about," Rubio said in an interview with NBC's "Today" show.

"And that is the fact that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon. They just simply can't."

'It would be a disaster for the world,' Rubio tells FOX News

In similar Tuesday statements made to FOX, Rubio reiterated his assertion that Iran "must never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon."

"At some point," he told FOX, "somebody has to do something about it, otherwise it is going to happen. And then imagine North Korea, but in the Middle East. It would be a disaster for the world."

Rubio also claimed that Iran is suffering the economic effects of the US naval blockade and "severe, cripping sanctions," while maintaining that the US is still open to "the diplomatic path."

"You never close the door to agreements or diplomacy," Rubio said, "because sometimes things change within the system. Maybe the system changes, maybe something happens from within, or they make a pragmatic decision for the time being that it is better for them to go down the diplomatic path."