Rubio says Iran 'paying the price' for breaking deal, may change course within days

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday that while the United States has honored its agreement with Iran, Tehran has repeatedly broken the deal and is now paying a heavy price for it.

Speaking to reporters in Manila, Philippines, where the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting is being held, Rubio said Iran tends to strike a deal and then almost immediately break it or decide to renegotiate the terms. "That is not the way agreements work," he said.

"So right now they are paying the price for that," he added. "Perhaps over the next few days, as they suffer significant losses, they may change their minds."

On the Houthi rebels' attempts to blockade the Red Sea, Rubio said the group had largely stayed out of the armed conflict wisely but now appeared to have been misled by Iran into attacking Saudi Arabia and Saudi-linked vessels. "I hope the Houthis will de-escalate. Frankly, it seems like the Houthis have been duped by Iran into getting involved in this," he added.

Rubio also said the United States wants a positive relationship with China but will not sacrifice its allies to achieve it.

"We need to have a relationship with China. We want that relationship to be as positive as possible," he said. "But we have a role to play and we cannot abandon our allies. We have made that very clear."