Rubio asserts that Saudi Arabia is seeking a 'peaceful, civil nuclear program' and accuses Tehran of dragging the Houthis into regional conflict

Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated Thursday from Manila that the nuclear cooperation agreement signed with Saudi Arabia will be limited to a civilian nuclear program.

"Suffice it to say that any agreement that we're going to make with any country in the world on civil nuclear energy is going to be one that will have safeguards in place to ensure that it can't be turned into a weapons program," he said on the sidelines of a summit of foreign ministers from Southeast Asia.

Rubio emphasized that Riyadh is seeking a "peaceful, civil nuclear program", and noted that a similar agreement already exists with the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The secretary of state's remarks come shortly after the United States and Saudi Arabia signed a civil nuclear cooperation agreement along with a bilateral safeguards pact.

Rubio blames the Iranian regime for dragging the Houthis into the Red Sea

The secretary of state also referred to attacks by Houthi rebels from Yemen against maritime traffic in the Red Sea. According to Rubio, the terrorist group had maintained a more cautious stance during the regional conflict, but has been misled by the Iranian regime.

"The Houthis largely were smart and stayed out of all this throughout the conflict, but they now apparently have gotten themselves suckered into this, going after Saudi Arabia and their ships," he said. "I hope they will de-escalate, because I think the Houthis, frankly, got snookered into this thing by the Iranians."

Rubio's remarks come at a time of high tension in the Middle East, with attacks on commercial shipping on key routes and a broader conflict involving the Iranian regime. Washington insists that its priority is to protect freedom of navigation and prevent nuclear proliferation, while keeping diplomatic channels open.