US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday evening (November 13, 2026) that launching further US military operations against Iran is unnecessary, because the economic suffering the United States is inflicting on the exhausted Islamic Republic is too severe.
Rubio's statement, during a speech before the Federalists Society, came to confirm a statement made by US President Donald Trump earlier this week, in which he said that the war was "effectively over from a military standpoint."
“Right now, frankly, the economic suffering that we are inflicting on that regime is so severe that there is no need for military action, because we have weakened them so much,” Rubio said. “But I think the victory is ensuring that they never have a nuclear weapon.”
Rubio also acknowledged the economic suffering suffered by Americans as a result of the war, which pushed fuel costs up and affected almost all sectors of the global economy. He said that it would have been easy for Trump to ignore the threat posed by the Iranian nuclear program, avoid an unpopular war, and "leave the matter to those who come after him to worry about it," adding that the president decided that he "would not leave the matter unaddressed." "But it's hard," Rubio added. "It's not easy, it's difficult. And it often causes, you know, suffering, economic and other. And so we recognize that."
Tankers collide with mines
Iran announced that an explosion and fire broke out in two illegal oil tankers south of the Strait of Hormuz. A statement issued by the Naval Forces of the Revolutionary Guard, reported by Iranian state television early on Saturday morning (November 14, 2026), said: “Two oil tankers that attempted to cross the Strait of Hormuz through an unauthorized passage exploded shortly after they turned off their radar and positioning devices, and they broke out in flames as a result of their collision with sea mines.”
In a separate statement, the Iranian Navy announced that a third oil tanker "was sailing through an unsafe and restricted area east of the Strait of Hormuz after turning off its location systems. It caught fire and was forced to stop after colliding with a sea mine."
The two statements did not specify the names of the tankers or the countries whose flags they fly, but the Revolutionary Guard indicated that one of the two ships that caught fire in the south of the strait was a giant oil tanker.
Since the outbreak of the Iran war in February, Tehran has imposed severe restrictions on shipping traffic through the strategic strait for global energy supplies, regularly targeting ships that attempt to cross without its permission.
In response, the United States imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports, and is escorting ships crossing the strait in increasing numbers.
The International Atomic Energy Agency urged Iran to take "gradual steps" to allow the return of its inspectors to the main nuclear facilities in the Islamic Republic, considering their access to them as "essential," in a report seen by Agence France-Presse on Friday (November 13, 2026).
“The agency does not know the exact location of the facility... or its status for safeguards purposes, or whether it contains nuclear material,” the agency said in its quarterly report to member states, referring to the Isfahan fuel enrichment facility.
Since July 2025, Iran has prevented visits by International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors to its nuclear facilities, after the bombing campaign launched by Israel for 12 days, to which the United States joined. The strikes targeted nuclear facilities. Facilities were also damaged in the latest war that broke out on February 28, and the UN agency repeatedly requested access to the sites.
The agency indicated in its report, which will be discussed during the meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Board of Governors next week, that it is “extremely important” to conduct “verification activities in Iran without further delay.” The report stated that the Director-General of the UN agency, Rafael Grossi, “encourages Iran to consider technical and gradual measures that will create the conditions that allow the agency’s inspectors to return to Iran.”
He added, "These gradual steps would pave the way for the normal resumption of the implementation of guarantees in Iran, and would contribute to creating a confidence-building atmosphere that would help reach a broader agreement." The report also reviewed details of the correspondence that took place in recent weeks between the agency and Iran.
Referring Iran's nuclear file to the UN Security Council
IAEA inspectors were able to visit the Bushehr nuclear plant in Iran during September, but were unable to access other facilities.
The agency acknowledged that "the military attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities and sites have created an unprecedented situation." But due to the lack of cooperation, “the agency cannot confirm that any declared nuclear material from peaceful nuclear activities in Iran has not been diverted.”
In September, the IAEA's Board of Governors referred Iran's file to the UN Security Council due to its "non-compliance" in the nuclear file, which is the first time in 20 years that Iran has been referred to the highest UN body due to its failure to fulfill its obligations related to reporting its nuclear activities.
Before the strikes in June 2025, the International Atomic Energy Agency estimated that Iran possessed about 440 kilograms of 60% enriched uranium, which is close to the 90% level needed to make a nuclear bomb, and far exceeds the 3.67% ceiling stipulated in the agreement concluded in 2015.
Mystery surrounds the fate of Iran's stock of highly enriched uranium, which exceeds 400 kilograms, according to International Agency estimates, whose inspectors were able to inspect it for the last time on June 10, 2025, days before Israel began its strikes on the Islamic Republic, which the United States joined by bombing three major nuclear facilities in Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan.
Iran has long denied seeking to develop a nuclear bomb.
Reuters quoted six European officials as saying that Saudi Arabia is pressuring the European Union to classify the Yemeni Houthi movement, which is allied with Iran, as a terrorist organization.
The six European officials expressed concern that the inclusion of the Houthis on the list of terrorist groups may close the limited channels they maintain with the group, and may undermine any European participation in a future peace process in Yemen.
The government communication center in Saudi Arabia did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
European Union foreign policy spokesman Anwar al-Anouni said that the bloc is in regular contact with Riyadh on a range of issues, including regional developments, but he refused to comment on any specific ongoing discussions.
European Union foreign policy chief Kaya Kallas said that the Union stands in solidarity with Saudi Arabia, after a Houthi missile attack on King Khalid Airport in Riyadh in October.
That truce collapsed in July of this year after the Houthis accused Riyadh of bombing Sanaa airport. Since then, both sides have launched cross-border attacks that have killed and injured civilians.
The necessity of unanimity among European Union member states
Including the Houthis on the list of terrorist organizations requires unanimous support from the twenty-seven member states of the European Union. One of the six officials said that support has so far been limited to only a few of them, refusing to reveal the identity of those countries because the discussions were confidential.
Last month, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling on the European Union to include the Houthis on the list of terrorist groups, a largely symbolic step, but indicating support within the continent to take a tougher stance toward the group.
The Houthis are already subject to European Union sanctions, including an arms embargo and a freeze on the assets of 12 of their leaders. The bloc classified the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, the main supporter of the Houthis, as a terrorist organization.
But the European Union has not yet gone so far as to classify the Houthis themselves as a terrorist organization, a step taken by other Western countries, including the United States, Australia and Canada.
