Top US diplomat claims Cuba a security threat

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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says Cuba has "always" been a national security threat to the United States.

"Cuba hosts a Russia and Chinese intelligence presence in their country," Rubio told reporters before leaving Miami for a trip to a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Sweden and then India.

Rubio would not discuss how the US might move to implement the indictment against Castro, which has led many to believe that military action against the island is potentially imminent, after similar charges against former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro were invoked to justify his ouster in a military operation in January.

Rubio also said that despite "good signs" in Iran talks, "other options" remain on the table.

Being careful not to sound overtly optimistic, Rubio said that while Pakistan and other regional allies are hard at work to bring a diplomatic resolution on Iran, with some officials traveling to Tehran today, Washington remains ready with alternative plans.

"The president's preference is to do a good deal. That's his preference. It's always been his preference. If we can get a good deal done, that would be great," he said. "But if we can't get a good deal, the president's been clear he has other options."

Rubio also said Iran's plan to toll Strait of Hormuz would make deal "unfeasible."

"No one in the world is in favor of a tolling system. It can't happen. It would be unacceptable," he said. "It would make a diplomatic deal unfeasible if they were to continue to pursue that."

But the secretary of state added that there were "good signs" in the ongoing negotiations between the US and Iran despite weeks of back-and-forth on a sustainable end to the war between the longtime adversaries.

"I don't want to get ahead of it ... I think we've made some progress," Rubio said. "But obviously we're dealing with a system that itself is a little fractured."