Rubio: Iran should be preeminent foreign policy issue

Preventing Iran from becoming preeminent in its region should guide all U.S. foreign policy, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio said.

Rubio (R-Fla.), delivering a speech at the Brookings Institution on Washington—a foreign policy testing ground for aspirants to the presidency or the vice presidency—said negotiations and pressure short of force were the preferred options with Iran, but the possibility of military action should be made clear.

“Even as we work through the United Nations and with the international community on sanctions and negotiations, we should operate on a dual track,” he said. “We should also be preparing our allies, and the world, for the reality that unfortunately, if all else fails, preventing a nuclear Iran may require a military solution.”

He added, “The goal of preventing a dominant Iran is so important that every regional policy we adopt should be crafted with that overriding goal in mind.”

Rubio reportedly is among the top contenders for the vice presidential spot on a Republican ticket led by presumed candidate Mitt Romney.