Rubio told reporters after meeting G7 counterparts in France that Washington was “on or ahead of schedule in that operation, and expect to conclude it at the appropriate time here — a matter of weeks, not months.”
He also said of Iran that “when we are done with them here in the next couple weeks, they will be weaker than they’ve been in recent history.”
Citing sources with direct knowledge of the matter, Axios reported that Rubio had told his G7 counterparts that the war, which the US and Israel launched on February 28, was expected to last another two to four weeks — up to 14 days longer than the White House’s four- to six-week estimate.
But the “immediate challenge” after the war will be to keep Iran from imposing a toll on maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil normally travels, said Rubio.
Rubio also said Iran had sent “messages” to the US, but has not responded to a US-proposed peace plan.
A senior Iranian told Reuters that Tehran had not decided whether to respond to a 15-point proposal the US sent this week after attacks on industrial and nuclear infrastructure on Friday.
The official said Iran had expected its response to be delivered on Friday or Saturday, but said the continuing strikes while the US was seeking talks was “intolerable.”
The US proposal, sent via Pakistan two days ago, is reported to include demands ranging from dismantling Iran’s nuclear, restricting its ballistic missiles, ending its support for terrorist proxies and getting it to give up control of the Strait of Hormuz.
On Thursday, US President Donald Trump extended a deadline by 10 days for Iran to reopen the blockaded Strait of Hormuz or face attacks against its civilian energy grid.
Amid Trump’s announcement this week — denied by Iran — that peace talks were underway, Washington has dispatched two contingents of thousands of Marines to the region, the first of which is due to arrive around the end of March aboard a huge amphibious assault ship. The Pentagon is also expected to deploy thousands of elite airborne soldiers.
The expected deployment of additional US troops have raised concerns that the air war, which has already disrupted global energy supplies, could turn into a prolonged ground battle.
According to Rubio, while Washington can achieve its aims without ground troops, some are being deployed to the region to give Trump “maximum optionality and maximum opportunity to adjust the contingencies, should they emerge.”
Even after the US accomplishes its military objectives in Iran, “it’s important that the world have a plan” to preserve freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, said Rubio.
