Rubio Says Iran War to Last ‘Weeks Not Months,’ No US Ground Troops Needed

The US expects its operation against Iran to conclude within weeks, not months, and Washington can meet all its objectives without using ground troops, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday.

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.”

While he said Washington could achieve its aims without ground troops, he acknowledged it was deploying some to the region “to give the president maximum optionality and maximum opportunity to adjust the contingencies, should they emerge.”

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 deployments have raised concerns that the war, which the US and Israel launched on Feb. 28 with airstrikes that killed Iran‘s supreme leader and other top officials, could turn into a prolonged ground battle. Iran‘s response, striking US and Israeli targets in the region as well as civilian targets in Gulf Arab nations and shipping, has severely disrupted global trade in energy and other commodities, raising fears of rising prices and recession.

US President Donald Trump has appeared anxious to wind down the unpopular war, and emphasized this week what he has described as productive negotiations aimed at a diplomatic solution to the war, despite repeated assertions from Tehran that no such talks have begun. On Thursday, Trump extended a deadline by 10 days for Iran to reopen the blockaded Strait of Hormuz or face attacks against its civilian energy grid.

Rubio discussed with G7 foreign ministers the possibility that Iran, even after the conflict ends, could try to impose shipping tolls through the Strait of Hormuz. Rubio said European and Asian countries that benefit from trade through the waterway should contribute to efforts to secure free passage through the strait, downplaying the US dependence on the trade.

NEW STRIKES ON IRAN

Iranian media reported strikes on Iran‘s decommissioned heavy-water nuclear research reactor and a factory producing yellowcake uranium late on Friday, and said there were no radiation leaks or danger arising from either attack. Iran informed the International Atomic Energy Agency there was no increase in off-site radiation levels at the yellowcake facility, the IAEA said on X, adding that it would look into the report.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on X that Israel, in coordination with the US, had also hit two steel factories and a power plant. “Attack contradicts POTUS extended deadline for diplomacy. Iran will exact HEAVY price for Israeli crimes,” Araqchi said, using an acronym for the president.

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 and missile programs to relinquishing control of the world’s most important trade route for energy supplies.

The war has spread across the Middle East, killing thousands of people and causing a major disruption to energy supplies, hitting the global economy with soaring oil, gas, and fertilizer prices that have fueled inflation fears.

In Iran, more than 1,900 people have been killed and at least 20,000 injured, said Maria Martinez of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Attacks on Israel by Iran‘s Lebanese ally Hezbollah have also prompted an Israeli campaign that has displaced a fifth of Lebanon’s population.

IRAN STILL POSSESSES MISSILES

The United States, which has set out to neutralize Iran‘s long-range strike capabilities, can only confirm that about a third of the country’s missile arsenal has been destroyed, five people familiar with the US intelligence told Reuters.

As the damage mounts, Gulf Arab states are telling the US that any deal must not merely end the war but also permanently curb Iran‘s missile and drone capabilities and ensure global energy supplies are never again weaponized, four Gulf sources said.

Far from being laid low, Iran‘s clerical rulers and the increasingly powerful Guards are still peppering the region with airstrikes, driving up energy prices and roiling financial markets.

While a third of Iran‘s missile stock may still be available for use, another third is likely to be damaged or buried in tunnels, some of which could be recovered once fighting stops, said four of the sources familiar with US intelligence, who asked to remain anonymous.

One source said the intelligence on Iran‘s drone capability was similar, with about a third most likely destroyed.

Stock markets continued their slide on Friday, while the Brent crude oil benchmark topped $112, having risen more than 50% since the war began.

In the US. where Trump is politically vulnerable to rising fuel prices, diesel in California hit an all-time high at an average $7.17 a gallon, the American Automobile Association said.