US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday said he saw no need to resume major combat operations against Iran because economic restrictions were working so effectively.
“The economic campaign (against Iran) is so devastating that right now there is no need for major combat operations,” Rubio said after a meeting of G7 foreign ministers in Paris. “That’s what I told our allies here today.”
Speaking separately to reporters in Paris, Rubio said US sanctions and the naval blockade were working “so well” that President Donald Trump had no need to launch major combat operations against Iran.
He said the economic pressure on Tehran would intensify over time and that Washington remained open to reaching a “real deal,” but described Iran’s conditions for an agreement as “absurd.”
His remarks came a day after President Donald Trump said he would hold off on new strikes for now, after appeals from regional governments including Qatar, whose prime minister he met at the White House on Monday. Trump said the naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz would stay in place.
