US expects Iran operation to end in ‘weeks, not months’, says Marco Rubio | Iran
The US Secretary of State said Washington expects its operation against Iran to be concluded in “weeks, not months”, despite ongoing violence across the region and Israel’s threat to “escalate and expand” its attacks on the Islamic Republic.
“When we finish with them here in the next few weeks, they will be weaker than they have been in recent history,” Marco Rubio told reporters after meeting G7 foreign ministers in France on Friday.
US officials have given conflicting signals about how long they expect the joint offensive with Israel against Iran, which began with a surprise attack on February 28 that resulted in the killing of Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei, to continue.
Iran remains defiant and has denied Donald Trump’s claims that talks are “going well”, saying no talks have taken place.
Meanwhile, Trump envoy Steve Witkoff said on Friday: “We think there will be talks [with Iran] This week. “We are definitely hopeful about that.”
Trump later claimed that Iran had sent 10 oil ships to the US “to make up for its misrepresentations” about not participating in the talks.
According to local officials, two people died in the attack carried out by Israel at dawn in Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, and the bombardment with Iranian missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles targeted Israel.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said, “Despite warnings, the shooting continues.” “And therefore attacks in Iran will increase and expand to additional targets and areas that will assist the regime in producing and using weapons against Israeli citizens.”
Israel’s latest strikes targeted nuclear facilities in Iran on Friday, presumably to hit targets deemed strategically important before the White House forces Israel to halt or reduce attacks.
With stock markets reeling and the economic effects of the war spreading far beyond the Middle East, Trump is under increasing pressure. This is due to Iran’s ongoing pressure on the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway through which one-fifth of the world’s oil is typically transported.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) stated that it turned away three ships trying to pass through the strait, adding that all ships “to and from the ports of the allies and supporters of the Israeli-American enemies” are prohibited from passing.
“This morning, following the corrupt US president’s lies that the Strait of Hormuz was open, three container ships of different nationalities… were turned back upon the warning of the Revolutionary Guard navy,” the Guard said on the Sepah News website.
Ensuring the strait remains open to shipping even after the United States achieves its military objectives in Iran will likely pose an “immediate challenge,” Rubio said. He said Iran may want to impose a tax on the Strait and this could cause economic damage to many countries.
“This is not only illegal, it’s unacceptable… and it’s important for the world to have a plan,” Rubio said.
Rubio said Britain was taking an “important role” in efforts to reopen the strait after Trump called British aircraft carriers “toys” on Thursday.
The United States has ordered the deployment of thousands of U.S. marines and elite airborne troops to the region in preparation for a military effort to reopen the waterway by force, possibly by seizing one of the many islands in the Gulf or Kharg Island, Iran’s main oil export hub.
On Friday, one of Iran’s vice presidents, Esmael Saghab Esfahani, threatened to attack Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea port of Yanbu and the Fujairah oil complex on its extensive coastline in the United Arab Emirates in the event of any ground attack.
Isfahani wrote to X: “If you step on Iranian soil, there will be 150 dollar oil.”
Trump also gave Iran an ultimatum, saying that if ships are not allowed to freely pass through the Bosphorus by April 6, he will order the destruction of Iran’s power plants. The US president postponed the deadline of the previous ultimatum he had set for last Monday.
Israel targeted a number of facilities linked to Iran’s nuclear program on Friday, including a heavy water plant and a yellow cake production facility, according to Iran’s official news agency. Yellowcake is a concentrated form of uranium after removal of impurities in the raw ore. Heavy water is used as a moderator in nuclear reactors.
The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran said the Shahid Khondab heavy water complex in Arak and the Ardakan yellowcake production facility in Yazd province were targeted. There was no loss of life in the attacks and it was stated that there was no risk of contamination.
Other US and Israeli strikes continued to target Iran’s missile stockpiles and launchers. The Israeli military said Friday’s strikes hit areas in the heart of Tehran where ballistic missiles and other weapons are produced. It was also stated that it also hit missile launchers and storage areas in western Iran.
Reuters reported that the United States could confirm that only one-third of Iran’s missile arsenal had been destroyed, according to five people familiar with U.S. intelligence. Intelligence on Iran’s drone capability is similar, with about a third likely destroyed, one of the sources said.
Iran’s missile and drone attacks continue a roughly consistent levelBetween 10 and 20 of them target Israel every day, and experts say this does not indicate a significant shortage.
While attacks on Friday targeted the Saudi capital Riyadh and two major ports in Kuwait, Tehran has given no direct signal that it is ready to negotiate or compromise.
Casualties continue to increase in the Middle East. While 19 people lost their lives in Israel, 4 Israeli soldiers were killed in Lebanon. 13 US soldiers, as well as civilians, died on land and at sea in the Gulf region.
Maria Martinez of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said more than 1,900 people were killed and at least 20,000 were injured in Iran. Others estimate lower numbers.
In Lebanon, Israel’s military operation in the south triggered a humanitarian crisis, displacing one-fifth of Lebanon’s population. Approximately 1,100 people were killed in Lebanon in Israeli attacks. This follows attacks on Israel by the Iran-backed Islamist militant movement Hezbollah.
Both Israel and the United States say they want to ensure that Iran can no longer threaten Israel with ballistic missiles or its nuclear program, which Iran says is entirely civilian, or through allied organizations such as Hezbollah.
The more ambitious goal of regime change has been downplayed by officials in both countries in recent days.
New data from independent global conflict monitor ACLED shows there have been more than 850 pro-regime demonstrations and protests in Iran since the start of the war. Experts argue that Iranian leaders were still able to organize and mobilize large numbers of people despite significant losses.
There is little clarity on the exact status of contacts between Iran and the United States with mediators such as Pakistan or Türkiye.
Rubio said Iran had sent “messages” but Washington had not responded to Pakistan’s 15-point proposal to Iran earlier this week.
According to sources and reports, the US proposal included various demands, from ending Iran’s nuclear program to blocking missile development and effectively handing over control of the Strait of Hormuz.
An Iranian official told Reuters on Thursday that senior Iranian officials had reviewed the proposal and felt it served only US and Israeli interests. But they said diplomacy is not over.
On Thursday, Trump said the talks were continuing “despite erroneous statements to the contrary by the Fake News Media and others” and were “going very well.”
In a joint statement, G7 foreign ministers “reiterated the absolute necessity of permanently restoring safe and free freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz” and called for “an immediate cessation of attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure.”
UK officials were of the view that the statement moved things relatively little forward, with one of them saying: “The joint statement doesn’t mean much, but there was speculation beforehand that we might not even get a joint statement, so this is something.”
Trump said he was “very disappointed” that NATO did not help the United States in the Iran war, adding that the organization made a “big mistake.”
US and other media reported that the US openly deployed mines in southern Iran. Three experts told Bellingcat investigative news site The munitions were air-delivered US-made Gator anti-tank mines.
