Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that he told G7 allies that the US economic sanctions and naval blockade are working so well that President Donald Trump does not need to conduct major combat operations in Iran.
Speaking to reporters in Paris after two days of meetings with G7 allies, Rubio repeatedly pushed back on the assertion that not returning to military action would amount to a stalemate or status quo.
“The economic pain that is being inflicted on Iran right now is extraordinary and it compounds. It’s growing every day,” Rubio said. He added that Trump has also received input from regional allies in the Middle East confirming this assessment.
On Monday, Trump said he plans to hold off on new military strikes against Iran for the time being after appeals from countries in the region, including from Qatar’s prime minister in White House talks.
“We don’t need to conduct military strikes if we’re achieving the same objective through economic means and economic pressure. That’s not stalemate,” he said. “Never has Iran ever faced the inability to sell energy in the global market like they are today.”
Trump has acknowledged that the Iran war was a part of the reason for Republicans’ defeat in last week’s midterm congressional elections, while Vice President JD Vance, seen as a potential successor to Trump when his term ends in two years, was more definitive, saying, “The reason we lost is the war.”
(Reporting by Simon Lewis and Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Doina Chiacu)