Iran Sanctions: Rubio Says US Sees No Need for Renewed Major Combat Operations

PARIS: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that Washington saw no immediate need to resume major combat operations against Iran, arguing that economic sanctions and other restrictions were proving highly effective.

“The economic campaign (against Iran) is so devastating that right now there is no need for major combat operations,” Rubio said after a meeting of G7 foreign ministers in Paris. “That’s what I told our allies here today.”

Rubio said President Donald Trump had concluded that military action was unnecessary for the time being because economic pressure was achieving the same objectives.

However, he warned that the US military remained prepared to respond if Iran crossed Washington’s declared “red lines”, adding that Tehran would pay a “terrible price”.

European members of the G7 had urged Rubio during the Paris meeting to avoid further escalation with Iran.

In a separate diplomatic development, Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani joined discussions on the sidelines of the G7 meeting with four senior European diplomats and Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister. The talks came hours after Al Thani met Trump to discuss efforts to end the conflict.

Trump had said after meeting the Qatari premier, who also serves as the country’s foreign minister, that momentum was building towards ending the war.

Rubio described the economic pressure on Iran as increasingly severe, saying US restrictions and blockades were disrupting the country’s oil supplies.

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“The economic pain that is being inflicted on Iran right now and on that regime is extraordinary and it is growing every day,” he said.

Rubio also accused Iran’s leadership of imposing the economic hardship on its own population. He said Tehran did not currently appear ready for realistic negotiations but suggested that mounting economic pressure could eventually change its position.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, who chaired the G7 meeting, cautioned that the possibility of renewed escalation between Washington and Tehran remained.

“The risk of a new escalation between the United States and Iran has not been completely ruled out,” Barrot said.

He added that the issue had received significant attention during discussions with Rubio and the Qatari prime minister over the preceding two days.