Name: Exclusive: Marco Rubio tells Al Jazeera US war objectives in Iran will be achieved 'within weeks'
Uploaded: 2026-03-30T23:03:39.000Z
Duration: 16 min 15 s
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Secretary Rubio, thank you for talking to Al Jazeera.

You're speaking to a global audience across Al Jazeera English, Al Jazeera Arabic, and

our digital platforms, reaching viewers across the Middle East, including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and

Iran as well, as millions more around the world.

Let me start by asking you this: have formal talks begun with Iran, or are these still indirect communications exploring common ground?

Well, there's messages and some direct talks going on between some inside of Iran and the United States, primarily through intermediaries, but

And I think the President always prefers diplomacy, always prefers an outcome, and

I mean, imagine an Iranian regime who, instead of spending billions of dollars supporting terrorist groups and building up all these weapons, had invested that money into Iran for the people of Iran so they wouldn't have water shortages, so their economies would provide opportunities for an incredible people.

The people of Iran are incredible people, very resourceful, very entrepreneurial, but

And instead, they've chosen to spend the wealth of their country to support Hezbollah and Hamas and Shia militias inside of Iraq and to try to destabilize Syria when Assad was there, and

all over the world to sponsor terrorist plots and build these drones and build these weapons to threaten their neighbors unnecessarily.

So we would always welcome a scenario in which Iran was led by people that had a different view of the future and had a different view, and

if that opportunity presents itself, we're going to take it.

What are your main demands for Iran at this particular stage of the war?

Well, Iran can never the Iranian regime can never have nuclear weapons, and

they need to stop sponsoring terrorism, and

they need to stop building weapons that can threaten their neighbors.

These short-range missiles that they're launching, they only have one purpose, and

that is to attack Saudi Arabia and the UAE and Qatar and Kuwait and Bahrain.

That is the range of these weapons, and they have thousands of them.

They've built extraordinary numbers of them, and

not to mention their desire to have this nuclear weapon to threaten and blackmail the world with.

What would you consider to be the minimum concession from Tehran to bring this conflict to an end?

I think they have to take demonstrable steps towards ending any ambition of having nuclear weapons.

If what they want is nuclear energy, there are multiple countries in the region that have or will soon have nuclear energy, and

they're going to do it through a well-established mechanism that everyone else has agreed to, and

that is that you allow imported fuel to you import the fuel, and

that fuel is used to power up your power grid and provide energy resources for your people.

What they cannot have is a system that allows them to quickly weaponize it.

They have to stop making all of these drones and all of these missiles.

They said they didn't have long-range missiles, and then they fired two.

That extended well beyond the range of what their own foreign minister just a few days earlier said they didn't have the range to reach.

So they have to abandon all these weapon programs and all their nuclear ambitions, and

if they do that, then Iran's future can be bright.

But they have to choose that path, and for 47 years, they've refused that path.

Iran said it rejects the US demands and is setting its own conditions, such as the financial compensation and also recognition of its sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.

Are those demands acceptable from an American perspective?

Not only is the sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz not acceptable to us, it won't be acceptable to the world.

Number one, it sets an incredible precedent.

So this means that nations can now take over international waterways and claim them as their own.

The Chinese could do it in the South China Sea.

No one in the world is going to accept that or should accept that.

Let me be frank, very little of American energy comes through the Straits of Hormuz in terms of the energy we rely on, but

we recognize the impact that it has on global markets and on our neighbors, especially our allies in the region, who produce energy and have to get it out to market.

So no country in the world should accept it.

The regional countries in the world should accept it.

The United States will not accept that condition.

It's an illegal condition that they're demanding.

As the US-Israeli campaign continues, there's no clear indication that the Strait of Hormuz is secure enough to restore the flow of oil and gas into global markets.

Are you considering a plan to ensure full control over the entire Strait?

Well, the Straits of Hormuz will be open.

When this operation is over, it will be open, and it'll be open one way or another.

It will be open because Iran agrees to abide by international law and not block a commercial waterway, or a coalition of nations from around the world and the region, with the participation of the United States, will make sure that it's open.

One way or the other, it's going to be open.

But we have very clear objectives that we're trying to achieve here.

Those objectives are the destruction of their air force, which has been achieved, the destruction of their navy, which has largely been achieved, a significant reduction in the number of missile launchers that they have, which we're well on our way to achieving, and

we are going to destroy the factories that make those missiles and those drones that they are using to attack their neighbors and the United States and our presence in the region.

We are well on our way or ahead of schedule.

We will achieve them in weeks, not months, and

then we'll be confronted with this issue of the Straits of Hormuz, and

And if they choose to try to block the Straits, then they will have to face real consequences, not just from the United States, but

from regional countries and from the world.

Your regional allies in the region, their critical energy installations are being bombed, their cities bombed almost on a daily basis, and

they're looking for a clear path back to stability.

Well, I think the best way to stability, given the people who are in charge in Iran, is to destroy the ability of Iran in the future to launch these missiles and these drones against their infrastructure and civilian populations.

If you think about what they've struck in the region, what has Iran gone after?

It's been energy infrastructure against countries that we're not waging war against them, but

yet they went after these countries nonetheless.

This is why they built these missiles and drones in the first place.

But they've also attacked embassies, diplomatic facilities, which is unheard of.

They've attacked airports, which is unheard of.

This is what they've done, and this has awakened Iran.

This is an Iran that's weaker than it's been in 10 years.

Imagine 5 years from now or 3 years from now when they had more missiles, more drones, what they would have been willing to do to their neighbors and to us.

The United States is committed to finishing the job.

We're working very closely with all of our allies, work very closely in defenses.

Yes, unfortunately, drones and missiles get through from time to time, but

the overwhelming majority of these launches are defeated.

They're shot down before they reach their intended target, or the destruction would be far worse.

These are strong, stable countries in the region.

we are going to continue to be there and support them as they face this onslaught.

And by the way, they're not the ones Iran is targeting them in retribution, which tells you the nature of the people we're dealing with, unfortunately.

But it seems that the Strait of Hormuz is not going to be the only focal point for you because with the Houthis stepping in and firing missiles into Israel, Bab al-Mandab, and

the Red Sea could become issues that you will have to reconsider.