Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the United States can get what it wants from Iran without returning to major combat. Speaking to reporters in Paris on Tuesday after two days of G7 foreign ministers' meetings, Rubio argued that American sanctions and a naval blockade are inflicting enough economic damage that President Trump does not need to order large-scale military operations.
"We don't need to conduct military strikes if we're achieving the same objective through economic means and economic pressure," Rubio said, according to a Reuters report published by the Jerusalem Post. A State Department transcript of Rubio's press remarks appears to be listed on the department's site, but it was not reviewed for this story. The wording quoted here comes from the Reuters account and has not been checked against any transcript.
The remarks come one day after Trump said he would hold off on strikes, and one week after a midterm election in which the president has acknowledged the Iran war was a factor in his party's defeat. Whether Rubio was announcing policy or offering an assessment is not spelled out in the reporting available.
The Case for Squeezing Instead of Striking
Rubio told G7 allies the pressure campaign is working well enough to make major combat unnecessary. He pointed to Iran's oil trade. "Never has Iran ever faced the inability to sell energy in the global market like they are today," he said.
Washington has kept sanctions on Tehran for decades, aimed mostly at oil revenue and at businesses tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The naval blockade has added to that, and according to the Reuters report it has done severe damage to Iran's economy. Rubio also said, in the Reuters account, "The economic pain that is being inflicted on Iran right now is extraordinary, and it compounds." A search snippet from the Korea Times gives different wording, "so devastating," so the exact phrasing is unsettled.
Rubio pushed back on the claim that declining to resume military action amounts to a stalemate or a return to the status quo. The report did not identify who is making that claim.
Trump Holds Off
On Monday, Trump said he planned to hold off on strikes after appeals from countries in the region, including Qatar's prime minister during talks at the White House. "At this point, taking the military action doesn't seem to be a very necessary thing," Trump said, according to the Reuters report. The report also carried his "locked and loaded" remark.
Trump has acknowledged the war was one reason Republicans lost in last week's midterms. Vice President JD Vance said, "The reason we lost is the war." Back on March 28, according to a snippet from India's newsonair that was not read in full, Rubio said no ground troops were needed and that the war would end "within weeks rather than months."
The Reuters report also cited a single unnamed person familiar with internal discussions who said Stephen Miller, the newly installed White House chief of staff, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent favor economic pressure, while Vance prefers a deal. That account rests on one anonymous source and was not seen in other outlets. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Tehran Says No One Is Talking
Mohsen Rezaei, described by the Jerusalem Post as Iran's top security official, said in an interview with Al-Mayadeen that no negotiations with Washington are underway. That is an Iranian official's assertion, and it has not been confirmed by the United States.
The Jerusalem Post tagged its coverage with the label "Operation Economic Fury," but the article does not explain the term, and no official description of it turned up in the material available.
What Comes Next
No scheduled talks, deadlines or decisions turned up in the reporting reviewed. Trump has said military action is "locked and loaded," and Rezaei says no talks are underway. The State Department transcript, once reviewed, may show whether Rubio's Paris remarks said anything beyond what Reuters reported.
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