Rubio calls Iran war necessary despite midterm losses

Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended President Donald Trump's war on Iran as "necessary" to prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, while acknowledging the conflict was not "necessarily popular" and contributed to Republican midterm election losses. Rubio said Trump was responding to a "very real threat" when launching the war earlier this year, and that confronting difficult security challenges is often unpopular but necessary. Trump has repeatedly stated he had no choice but to intervene in Iran's nuclear program, calling it historically one of the best decisions ever made. U.S.-Iran talks are making little progress, with Rubio calling Iranian demands "outrageous and ridiculous." Iran has since lifted its ballistic missile-range limit and threatened new weapons, following the U.S. military launching a task force to choke off Tehran's weapons shipments on Nov. 7.