US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that he told allies in the Group of Seven that the economic sanctions and naval blockade imposed by the United States are so effective that President Donald Trump does not need to launch large-scale combat operations in Iran.
In comments to reporters in Paris after two days of meetings with allies in the G7, Rubio again rejected suggestions that failure to resume military action would mean things would reach a dead end or that the situation would remain as it is.
"The economic pain being inflicted on Iran right now is extraordinary, and it's piling up. It's growing every day," Rubio said. He added that Trump also received opinions from allies in the Middle East that confirm this assessment.
President Trump said on Monday that Iran is "effectively finished militarily," noting that there is "positive momentum" in negotiations aimed at ending the conflict in the Middle East.
This came after his meeting with the Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani, whose country is contributing to mediation efforts between Tehran and Washington.
Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that he had an “excellent conversation” with the Qatari Prime Minister at the White House, and that the conversation mainly touched on Iran.
He added, "Qatar, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, and others prefer to maintain the status quo, that is, in other words, to continue the greatest naval blockade in history, and the new Operation Iron Gate... and subsequently (the blockade) on land and at sea."
The United States has imposed a naval blockade on the ports of the Islamic Republic since April, in response to Tehran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the American-Israeli war against it in February.
In addition, last week, Washington announced the launch of a task force aimed at obstructing Iran’s trade routes across land and the Caspian Sea, saying that this aims to prevent it from importing weapons systems and banned materials.
Trump continued, "We see positive momentum toward ending this conflict, and we will make sure that the interests of the United States are protected at all times." While he stressed that Washington was ready to launch new strikes on Iran, he said that this was "highly unlikely."
He stressed: “We agreed that Iran cannot obtain a nuclear weapon, and this is non-negotiable!”
In a subsequent post, he reiterated his position, saying from the White House that “Iran, from a military standpoint, is effectively finished. We are content with maintaining the status quo. But if we have to return, we are fully prepared and equipped to act.”
Iran unveils a new underground missile city
On Tuesday, the Air Force Satellite Forces revealed an underground Iranian missile city that includes ballistic and winged missiles and launch pads, without specifying details, in scenes broadcast by Iranian media.
The Iranian Tasnim News Agency reported that the head of the Aerospace Force in the Revolutionary Guards and the Chief of Staff of the General Forces, Ali Abdullahi, attended the unveiling of the new missile city.
The agency quoted Abdullah as saying, “Surprises in the great war will appear one after another.”
He said, according to Tasnim, "Their goal was to destroy the Islamic Republic, but they were unable to achieve it. Therefore, until this moment, Israel and the United States are the sure losers in the field."
Speaker of the Shura Council, Muhammad Baqir Qalibaf, commented on the unveiling of the missile city, saying, "The message of this great achievement is clear to the enemies who still speak the language of military threat to the Iranian people."
In a related development, the Wall Street Journal reported that the US military transferred aircraft from a second air base in Britain, on Monday, against the backdrop of an Iranian threat.
The newspaper quoted informed sources as saying that two refueling planes that were using Mildenhall Air Base were diverted to Germany, while other planes were transferred to Germany and various locations.
The exact nature of the threat targeting the base has not yet become clear, and the British Ministry of Defense has refrained from commenting on the military activities of other countries, noting that the movements of aircraft and military equipment are carried out on a regular basis in accordance with operational requirements.
