Marco Rubio Says Iran War Will Last Weeks, Not Months

The Trump administration wants its campaign of military operations against Iran to end in weeks, not months—and US officials say Washington believes it can accomplish its goals without deploying ground troops. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the timeline can be met while US forces continue working to pressure Tehran.

At the same time, fighting has widened across the region. A Reuters report cited a US official as saying an Iranian strike on an airbase in Saudi Arabia wounded two American service members severely and injured 10 others, as drones and missiles continued hitting targets around the Gulf.

After meeting his G7 counterparts in France, Mr Rubio told reporters Washington was “on or ahead of schedule” and expects to finish the operation “at the appropriate time here – a matter of weeks, not months.”

Mr Rubio said the United States could carry out its objectives without ground troops, but he acknowledged that Washington has sent some personnel to the region “to give the president maximum optionality and maximum opportunity to adjust the contingencies, should they emerge.”

He also argued that countries in Europe and Asia that rely on trade through the waterway should help support efforts to keep the passage free, while minimizing the idea that the US is acting alone to protect commerce.

Marines en route

Washington has dispatched two separate Marine contingents, each consisting of thousands of troops. The first group is expected to arrive around the end of March aboard a large amphibious assault ship, according to the reporting. The Pentagon is also expected to deploy thousands of airborne forces.

Officials and analysts have raised concerns that the conflict—launched by the United States and Israel on 28 February with airstrikes that killed Iran’s supreme leader and other top officials—could shift toward a prolonged ground campaign if the US expands its footprint further.

Iran has responded by striking US and Israeli targets across the region, along with attacks on civilian sites in Gulf Arab states and shipping. Those actions have disrupted global trade in energy and other commodities, intensifying worries about higher prices and recession.

Buildings in Tel Aviv were damaged in Iranian strikes

US President Donald Trump, who has signaled eagerness to wind down a war that has been unpopular with much of the public, has pushed for what he described as productive negotiations toward a diplomatic outcome. That message came despite repeated Iranian statements that no such talks have started.

On Thursday, Mr Trump extended the deadline by 10 days, giving Iran until the new cutoff to reopen the blockaded Strait of Hormuz or face attacks on its civilian energy grid.

Mr Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff said the US is hopeful of meetings with Iran within a week and expects an Iranian reply soon to Mr Trump’s 15-point proposal aimed at ending the war.

Mr Witkoff said the US has defined “clear red lines,” including a requirement that Iran stop uranium enrichment and a demand that Iran relinquish what he said was 10,000 kilograms of enriched stockpiled material.

New strikes on Iran, Israel, Saudi Arabia

Iranian state media reported strikes on Iran’s decommissioned heavy-water nuclear research reactor and on a facility producing yellowcake uranium late yesterday. Officials said there were no radiation leaks or hazards linked to either attack.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said on X that Iran informed it there had been no increase in radiation levels off-site at the yellowcake facility, and that the agency would examine the account.

Reports also circulated of an attack on the Bushehr nuclear power plant, which Iranian media said caused no casualties and no extensive damage.

Meanwhile, Iranian media reported this morning that at least five people died and seven were injured following a US-Israeli strike on a residential unit in Zanjan, in Iran’s northwestern region.

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

A senior Iranian official told Reuters that Tehran had not yet decided whether to respond to the proposal the US sent this week after strikes on industrial and nuclear infrastructure yesterday.

The official said Iran expected its response to be delivered yesterday or today, but described the continued assaults while the US is seeking talks as “intolerable.”

The US proposal, transmitted via Pakistan two days ago, is reported to include demands covering dismantling Iran’s nuclear and missile programs, as well as relinquishing control of what it calls the world’s most important trade route for energy supplies.

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The conflict has spread across the Middle East, killing thousands and triggering the largest disruption to energy supplies ever recorded. The turmoil has rattled the global economy, sending oil, gas and fertiliser prices higher and fueling concerns about inflation.

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

Attacks on Israel by Hezbollah, the Lebanese ally of Iran, have also contributed to an Israeli campaign that has displaced about a fifth of Lebanon’s population, according to the reporting.

The Israeli military said yesterday evening that Iran launched missiles toward Israel.

In Tel Aviv, the ambulance service said a 60-year-old man was killed in the Tel Aviv area.

A US official told Reuters that 12 American service members were wounded—two of them seriously—after an Iranian missile and drone attack hit the Prince Sultan airbase in Saudi Arabia.

The Wall Street Journal reported that several refuelling aircraft were damaged in the strike.

The new casualties increase the total number of Americans wounded since the conflict began to more than 300. Earlier yesterday, the US military said 273 of them had already returned to duty.

In addition, 13 US troops have been killed during the fighting.

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis said they were ready to intervene militarily under certain conditions, including if new partners join the United States and Israel in their war against Iran, or if the Red Sea is used to launch attacks on Iran.

Iran still possesses missiles

Having set out to neutralize Iran’s long-range strike capabilities, the US can currently confirm that it has destroyed about a third of Iran’s missile arsenal, according to five people familiar with US intelligence who spoke to Reuters.

As damage continues and with no clear end to the conflict, Gulf Arab states are pressing the US that any agreement must not only end the fighting but also permanently reduce Iran’s missile and drone capabilities and ensure that global energy supplies are never again weaponised, four Gulf sources told Reuters.

Stock markets fell yesterday while Brent crude oil, the benchmark LCOc1, rose above $112, climbing more than 50% since the war began.

In the US, where Mr Trump faces political risk from rising fuel costs, diesel prices in California hit a record high average of $7.17 a gallon, the American Automobile Association said.