U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday that U.S. military operations against Iran are focused on neutralizing missile and naval threats, not regime change.
“The goal of this operation is to destroy their ballistic missile capabilities and make sure they can’t rebuild,” Rubio said, “and make sure they can’t have a nuclear program behind them.” “That is the purpose of the mission.”
He said the operation was aimed at eliminating Iranian short-range ballistic missile threats and threats to the Navy, especially naval assets.
‘It is not a regime change’
Rubio insisted that this was not a stated military objective, despite President Donald Trump’s comments linking the strikes to regime change.
“I hope there is an Iran that is not ruled by radical Shia clerics,” Rubio said ahead of a classified briefing. “That’s not the purpose.”
The first joint US-Israeli attack killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and several other senior leaders, sharply escalating tensions across the Middle East.
‘Imminent threat’
Rubio insisted the move was preemptive, saying Washington believed Iran would retaliate if attacked and it would have been more costly to wait.
“The imminent threat was that if Iran were to be attacked, we believed they would immediately come after us, and we knew they would not sit there and absorb the blow before we could respond,” he said.
“The assessment was that if we waited for that attack to come before we attacked, our casualties would be much higher.”
Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other senior officials briefed the so-called “Gang of Eight” – top congressional leaders and the chairman of the Intelligence Committee – on the evolving operation.
‘The biggest blow is yet to come’
Rubio did not provide a timeline for how long U.S. troops would remain engaged.
“How long will it take? I don’t know how long it will take,” he said. “We have a goal, and we will do it for as long as it takes to achieve that goal.”
He warned that the campaign could intensify further.
“The biggest blow is yet to come from the U.S. military. The next steps will impose even greater punishment on Iran than it does now.”
oil price surge
The conflict has already shaken global energy markets. Oil and gas prices surged on Monday after airstrikes by Israel and the United States triggered retaliation from Iran, including fighting near the Strait of Hormuz.
Rubio said the administration is preparing steps to curb rising energy costs.
“Starting tomorrow we will begin taking these steps to mitigate this. We had anticipated this could be an issue,” he said, adding that Finance Minister Scott Bessent and Energy Minister Chris Wright would outline the plans.
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