Paris, France. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the war in the Gulf was expected to last weeks, not months, and that Washington could meet its objectives without using ground troops.
Rubio’s assessment after G7 meeting
Rubio told reporters after meeting G7 counterparts in France that Washington was “on or ahead of schedule in that operation, and expect to conclude it at the appropriate time here – a matter of weeks, not months.”
He said Washington could achieve its aims without ground troops, while acknowledging that it was deploying some to the region “to give the President maximum optionality and maximum opportunity to adjust the contingencies, should they emerge”.
U.S. deployments raise concerns about escalation
Washington has dispatched two contingents of thousands of Marines to the region, the first of which is due to arrive around the end of March aboard a huge amphibious assault ship. The Pentagon is also expected to deploy thousands of elite airborne soldiers.
The deployments have raised concern that an air war that has already disrupted global energy supplies could turn into a prolonged ground battle.
Diplomacy and waiting for Iran’s response
U.S. President Donald Trump has emphasized what he described as productive negotiations aimed at a diplomatic solution to the war, despite repeated assertions from Tehran that no such talks have begun.
Rubio said Washington was still waiting for a formal response from Iran to a 15-point proposal it sent this week. He said there had been an exchange of messages and indications from “the Iranian system, whatever’s left of it,” about a willingness to talk about certain things, and that Washington was waiting for clarification on who it would be talking to, what would be discussed, and when.
Deadline on Strait of Hormuz and expected counter-proposal
On Thursday, Trump extended a deadline by 10 days for Iran to reopen the blockaded Strait of Hormuz or face attacks against its civilian energy grid, and said talks were “going very well”.
A source briefed on the matter told Reuters that Trump and top White House officials had been told via interlocutors that an Iranian counter-proposal was likely to arrive later on Friday.
What do you think the U.S. deployments signal about the direction of the conflict?