US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, guaranteed that the country “can achieve all of its objectives without ‘boots on the ground'”, but “will always be prepared to give the president maximum room for maneuver”
The US renewed its promise that the war against Iran should end soon, in a matter of “two weeks” and not “months”, assured US Secretary of State Marco Rubio this Friday, after meeting with G7 foreign ministers in Paris.
“When we finish with them, in the next two weeks, they will be weaker than they have been in recent history,” he said, speaking to journalists.
The American official admitted that he was “confident” in relation to achieving the objectives set for the conflict, adding that the USA is indeed “about to achieve them”. And they will be able to do so, according to Rubio, without launching a ground operation in the Islamic Republic.
Still, a “boots on the ground” scenario was not completely ruled out by the US Secretary of State. “We can achieve all of our objectives without troops on the ground, but we will always be prepared to give the president maximum room for maneuver and maximum opportunity to adapt to contingencies, should they arise,” he highlighted.
US expects response from Iran “at any time”
While joint attacks by Israel and the US against Iran continue, the head of US diplomacy confirmed that there is still no sign of an Iranian counter-proposal to the 15-point peace plan presented by the United States. But Tehran’s response could come “at any time,” Rubio said.
“We haven’t received anything yet,” he said, but “we have messages.” “We had an exchange of messages and indications from the Iranian system – whatever is left of it – about a willingness to talk about certain issues.”
Regarding the unknown surrounding who Iran’s mediators are in the ongoing indirect talks, Marco Rubio admitted he was waiting for clarification and raised questions with the media: “Who would we be talking to? What are we going to talk about and when?”
According to an Iranian official, cited by Reuters, Iran has not yet decided whether it will respond to the American proposal, especially after Israel does not stop attacks on Iranian territory. The Israeli offensive has been classified as “intolerable” and is being interpreted as a violation of the ten-day truce announced by Trump.
Toll system in the Strait of Hormuz is “illegal and unacceptable”
Addressing allies directly, Rubio called on his counterparts to prepare to take an active post-war role, referring to an international coalition for the Strait of Hormuz as a “post-conflict necessity.”
In this regard, he urged US allies in Europe and Asia to “significantly contribute” to securing the strait once the war ends, since, he says, these countries “have a lot at stake.”
“Soon after this is over and we have met our objectives, one of the immediate challenges we will face is an Iran that may decide it wants to establish a toll system in the Strait of Hormuz. Not only is this illegal, it is unacceptable, dangerous for the world, and it is important that the world has a plan to face it”, he reinforced.
The Secretary of State also admitted that the US is willing to be part of this coalition to guarantee “safe” navigation in the region and prevent a system of tolls in the strategic passage for the transport of oil goods.
