WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Marco Rubio told his Group of Seven counterparts in Paris on Tuesday that U.S. sanctions and the naval blockade of Iran are working well enough that President Trump has no need for major combat operations against Tehran for now, while warning that the U.S. military “stands ready” if Iran crosses certain red lines.
“At this point the economic campaign and the pressure and the devastation that our economic campaign is having on the Iranian regime is working so well that the President really doesn’t have any need to conduct major combat operations,” Rubio said at a news conference at the George C. Marshall Center in the Hôtel de Talleyrand, according to the State Department transcript. He said he had “informed our partners” of that view at the two-day foreign ministers’ meeting, which France hosted and which also included Brazil, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Ukraine for parts of the talks.
Rubio rejected the suggestion that the policy amounts to a holding pattern. “No, not status quo. The economic pressure is going to get even worse,” he said, adding that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s department, “working alongside our intelligence agencies and others, keep closing” Iran’s routes for evading sanctions. Once the last Iranian oil that slipped past the blockade during a brief ceasefire is sold, he said, “almost all of their oil revenue will dry up.”
He said Iran “would love a deal” but that its conditions are “absurd,” citing demands for reparations and “pallets of cash, which the President’s made clear is not going to happen.” He said the prime minister of Qatar met with Trump in Washington on Monday and that Qatar and other countries are passing ideas between the two sides. “If there’s a deal to be done, the President will be the first one to be in favor of it,” Rubio said.
Hormuz: a request without an answer
Rubio said he asked G7 partners to help protect commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, where he said Iran is still launching drones at vessels. Oil exports are getting out, he said, at “80, 85 percent of what was getting out pre-conflict” on some nights, with Iranian oil the main exception.
Asked whether he got a response, he said: “I raised it. I didn’t get a response, no.” He described a “catch-22” in which some countries offer forces “once there’s no risk of conflict,” and said: “We think it’s in the interest of the world to protect shipping, because the U.S. doesn’t get any oil from there. … So I think these countries should step up. I think a couple are thinking about it.” He added that foreign ministers are probably not in a position to make such commitments, which would fall to heads of government. The Associated Press reported that he acknowledged making no headway on the request.
What the G7 agreed
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said the ministers adopted a 12-page statement, which had not been published as of late Tuesday, Jiji Press reported. Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said the ministers affirmed support for Ukraine, including help repairing power infrastructure ahead of winter, and called for a complete ceasefire, Kyodo News reported. According to Japan’s Foreign Ministry, the ministers on Monday reiterated “strong opposition to any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion,” including in the East China Sea, the South China Sea and across the Taiwan Strait.
The participants also reaffirmed the importance of free and safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb, NHK reported. Motegi said the ministers confirmed cooperation on emerging technology and economic security, including the illegal acquisition of crypto assets, which North Korea is believed to use to fund its weapons programs.
Ukraine and the Abu Dhabi talks
Rubio called U.S.-mediated talks between Russia and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi “very productive,” while cautioning that a settlement is not “on the verge of being solved in the next 24 hours.” He said representatives of five European Union countries were in Abu Dhabi working with U.S. envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, and that it is “our goal at some point to expand this trilateral” to put Europeans at the table directly.
“We want the war to end, and we want there never to be a war again,” Rubio said, adding that he saw no difference in goals between Washington and its European partners.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the talks with G7 ministers covered stronger air defenses, more energy support, funding for Ukraine and tighter sanctions on Russia, including on its shadow fleet of tankers, LIGA.net reported. The State Department also issued a readout of Rubio’s separate meeting with Sybiha in Paris.
Asked whether the administration is united on the Iran policy, Rubio said: “The President of the United States makes these decisions,” and that once he chooses a direction, “it’s our job in this administration to execute.”
Rubio said he expects to see many of his counterparts again “in December in Doral.”
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