US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said today that the US expects its Iran operation to be completed in “weeks, not months” after the G7 foreign ministers’ meeting near Paris.
Rubio also said Iran may decide to create a toll system for the Strait of Hormuz.
An Axios reporter reported that Rubio told the foreign ministers of the G7 member states that the war would continue for another two to four weeks.
Three people with knowledge of the conversation told Reuters that the US diplomatic chief did not ask his G7 counterparts to contribute ships now for the Strait of Hormuz but asked them to prepare for a post-war role.
Iran has not responded to the US plan to end the war, says US Secretary of State Marco Rubio
Iran has sent “signals” that it is interested in a diplomatic solution to the Middle East conflict, but has not responded to the US-proposed plan to end the war, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said today.
“We haven’t received it yet,” he told reporters after his G7 counterparts’ meeting, referring to Iran’s response. “We have had an exchange of messages and indications coming from the Iranian system – what’s left of it – that suggest a willingness to discuss certain issues,” he added.
According to Rubio, “progress” has been made in discussions he has had with US allies on how to prevent Iran from implementing a “toll system” in the strategically important Strait of Hormuz. “Not only is it illegal, but it’s unacceptable, it’s dangerous for the world, and it’s important that the world has a plan to prevent it,”
The US is not ruling out the possibility of cancelling some of the arms deliveries destined for Ukraine to meet its needs in the war against Iran, Rubio also confirmed, downplaying Russia’s role in the Middle East crisis.
“At the moment nothing has been diverted, but this could happen,” he told reporters. “If we need something for America and it is American, then we will keep it for America first,” he added.
Rubio also attacked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, accusing him of lying when he said that the US, in order to grant security guarantees to Kiev, is making it a condition that the Ukrainian side make territorial concessions to Russia.
“It is a lie. I saw Zelensky say it and it’s sad that he said that because it’s not true,” Rubio said, as negotiations to end the four-year war appear to be at an impasse. “Zelenski has been told that security guarantees will only be given after the end of the war,” he added.
Concern over settler violence
Rubio also said the United States is concerned about Israeli settler violence in the West Bank and has expressed that view to the Israeli government.
Washington expects the Israeli government to do something about it, he said.
Cuba on the G7 menu
Rubio discussed the situation in Cuba with his G7 counterparts. He said the island’s economy must change and will not change unless the system of government is changed. He also blamed the constant blackouts on Cuba’s decrepit infrastructure.
