Rubio: ‘We Aren’t A Stupid Country’

Secretary of State Marco Rubio pushed back on reporters who wondered why there appeared to be less “cease” than “fire” in the ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran, saying that “only stupid countries” would allow an enemy to attack with impunity.

Rubio fielded questions from the press on Friday, saying that the United States was not engaging in any acts of aggression, but also was not going to let attacks from Iran go unanswered.

WATCH:

SECRETARY RUBIO: Only stupid countries don’t shoot back when you’re shot at. And we’re not a stupid county.

The redline is clear – if Iranian boats threaten Americans, they’re going to get blown up.

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— Department of State (@StateDept) May 8, 2026

“I guess the point is there’s not much ceasing in the firing,” one reporter began, but Rubio stopped him before he could go any further.

“Well, you should ask that of the Iranians, don’t ask me,” Rubio shot back. “They fired on us. My point is, if you fire on a U.S. Navy ship, what are we supposed to do? Say, ‘Oh, there’s a ceasefire, we’re not going to shoot down your drone.’ That’s a stupid question.”

“That’s a stupid position to take,” he repeated. “Of course we fired back at them, they were shooting at us. That’s what I would expect to do. Only stupid countries don’t shoot back when you’re shot at. And we’re not a stupid county.”

The reporter followed that up by asking whether or not Rubio had communicated with the Iranians, making it clear where any “red lines” might be.

Rubio’s answer was unequivocal: “No, the red line is clear: if they threaten Americans, they’re going to get blown up. I mean, that’s the — that’s — how much clearer can you be than that? If you fire on — if you are a missile-launching guy, whatever you call that job, and you’re sitting there and you fire a missile at the United States and we saw you fire it, we’re going to hit you. Of course we are!”

“Who doesn’t do that?” he asked. “Unless you want to get your ship sunk. We’re not going to let our ships get sunk by the Iranians with their little drones that they’re firing. You know, they don’t have a navy anymore, but they bring out these little Boston whaler fishing boats and they try to swarm you, we’re going to blow the boats up if they’re coming towards our boats.”

Rubio doubled down then, warning any Iranian who might receive an order to attack an American asset: “You’re probably not going to survive.”