Rubio says U.S. prefers diplomacy with Iran but retains military capability if Trump orders further action

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington would prefer to resolve its confrontation with Iran through diplomacy but retains the military capability to carry out further operations if President Donald Trump decides they are necessary.

“If Trump needed to do something militarily on Iran, we would have the ability to do it,” Rubio said. “We prefer to do it peacefully.”

Rubio said the United States remains “the most highly capable military power on Earth” and can achieve military objectives if the administration chooses to pursue them.

He sharply criticized Iran over threats to commercial shipping and regional energy infrastructure, portraying Tehran’s actions as outside the norms of modern state behavior.

“We live in a world in which a country is openly saying, ‘We will blow up commercial ships,’” Rubio said. “Think about that. This sounds like something from 100 years ago or 80 years ago.”

Rubio also accused Tehran of effectively threatening to destroy regional energy infrastructure unless its demands are met, calling that “not normal behavior.”

He argued that Iran has waged conflict against neighboring countries since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, a characterization reflecting the Trump administration’s broader case against Tehran and its regional network.

On Ukraine, Rubio cautioned against expectations of an imminent peace agreement with Russia.

“I don’t know if negotiated peace is achievable in Ukraine. That’s what we’re trying to find out,” he said. “I don’t think anyone here is claiming that we are on the verge of a negotiated settlement.”

He also emphasized Russia’s large nuclear arsenal, underscoring the risks involved in managing the confrontation with Moscow.

On Brazil, Rubio said the U.S. government was not directly involved in arrangements that enabled defeated presidential candidate Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro to leave Brazil, amid tensions between Washington and Brasília over the case.

Rubio also dismissed suggestions that the outcome of the Nov. 3 midterm elections would alter Trump’s foreign-policy direction, arguing that foreign policy is primarily directed by the executive branch.