Amid rising tensions with Iran, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio clarified that the United States is not currently positioned to deploy ground forces. However, he stressed that all options remain on the table as Washington continues its military operations and strategic pressure campaign.
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NewsTranscript
00:00So look, the United States conducted this operation with a fair goal in line.
00:04I haven't got a chance to see a lot of reporting.
00:07I don't understand what the confusion is.
00:09Let me explain it to you, and I'll do it once again as clearly as possible.
00:12Perhaps you'll report it that way.
00:14The United States is conducting an operation to eliminate the threat of Iran's short-range ballistic missiles
00:20and the threat posed by their Navy, particularly to naval assets.
00:24That is what it is focused on doing right now, and it's doing quite successfully.
00:27I'll leave it to the Pentagon and the Department of War to discuss the tactics behind that
00:32and the progress that's being made.
00:33That is the clear objective of this mission.
00:35The second question that I've been asked is, why now?
00:38Well, there's two reasons why now.
00:40The first is it was abundantly clear that if Iran came under attack by anyone,
00:44the United States or Israel or anyone, they were going to respond and respond against the United States.
00:49The orders had been delegated down to the field commanders.
00:52It was automatic, and in fact, it bared to be true,
00:54because, in fact, within an hour of the initial attack on the leadership compound,
01:01the missile forces in the south and in the north, for that matter,
01:05had already been activated to launch.
01:06In fact, those had already been pre-positioned.
01:09The third is the assessment that was made,
01:11that if we stood and waited for that attack to come first before we hit them,
01:16we would suffer much higher casualties.
01:18And so the president made the very wise decision.
01:21We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action.
01:23We knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces.
01:27And we knew that if we didn't preemptively go after them before they launched those attacks,
01:31we would suffer higher casualties and perhaps even higher those killed.
01:35And then we would all be here answering questions about why we knew that and didn't matter.
01:39Going back to the purpose.
01:40The purpose of this is to destroy that missile capability.
01:44Why does Iran want that ballistic missile capability?
01:46What they are trying to do and have been trying to do for a very long time
01:50is build a conventional weapons capability as a shield where they can hide behind it.
01:55Meaning, there would come a point where they have so many conventional missiles,
01:59so many drones, and it can inflict so much damage
02:02that no one can do anything about their nuclear program.
02:05That is what they were trying to do,
02:07is put themselves in a place of immunity
02:08where the damage they could inflict on the region would be so high
02:11that no one can do anything about their nuclear program or their nuclear ambitions.
02:16They are producing, by some estimates, over 100 of these missiles a month.
02:21Compare that to the six or seven interceptors that can be built a month.
02:24They can build 100 of these a month,
02:26not to mention the thousands of one-way attack drones that they also have.
02:29They've been doing this for a very long time,
02:31and by the way, they've been doing it under sanction.
02:33You see the attacks they're conducting right now?
02:35They're attacking airports.
02:37They're attacking hotels.
02:38They're hitting not just military bases.
02:40They're attacking our embassies directly.
02:42They're attacking facilities that have nothing to do with war or with military.
02:46And that's a weak in Iran.
02:47That's in Iran despite years of sanction.
02:50Imagine a year from now, or a year and a half from now,
02:52the capabilities they would have to inflict damage on us.
02:55It's an unacceptable risk,
02:56especially in the hands of a regime that's run by radical clerics.
03:01The Ayatollah is a radical, was a radical cleric.
03:04That entire regime is led by radical clerics
03:08who don't make geopolitical decisions.
03:10They make decisions on the basis of theology,
03:12their view of theology, which is an apocalyptic one.
03:15That has to be taken very seriously as well.
03:17So that was the purpose for what this operation is all about.
03:20That's what it's focused on.
03:21As the President said earlier today, it is on or ahead of schedule.
03:25I will defer to the Department of War to discuss
03:27the progress being made at a tactical level,
03:29but it was the right decision and an important decision
03:32for the safety and security of the world.
03:39Does Congress have to weigh in?
03:43Does Congress have to weigh in?
03:44Is the President concerned about it?
03:46Does Congress have to weigh in?
03:47And was there an imminent threat?
03:49Did you tell lawmakers that there was an imminent threat?
03:51There absolutely was an imminent threat,
03:52and the imminent threat was that we knew
03:54that if Iran was attacked,
03:55and we believed they would be attacked,
03:57that they would immediately come after us.
03:59And we were not going to sit there and absorb a blow
04:02before we responded.
04:03Because the Department of War assessed that if we did that,
04:06if we waited for them to hit us first after they were attacked,
04:09and by someone else, Israel attacked them,
04:11they hit us first, and we waited for them to hit us,
04:14we would suffer more casualties and more deaths.
04:16We went proactively in a defensive way
04:18to prevent them from inflicting higher damage.
04:20Had we not done so,
04:21there would have been hearings on Capitol Hill
04:23about how we knew that this was going to happen,
04:25and we didn't act preemptively to prevent more casualties
04:28and more loss of life.
04:29This is a very exciting thing.
04:31This is a very exciting thing.
04:32What?
04:33What do you think the U.S. was forced to strike
04:35because of an inventing Israeli action?
04:37No, first of all,
04:37let me do two things I would say.
04:38Number one is, no matter what,
04:40ultimately this operation needed to happen.
04:41That's the question of why now.
04:43But this operation needed to happen.
04:45Because Iran, in about a year,
04:46or a year and a half,
04:47would cross the line of immunity,
04:48meaning they would have so many short-range missiles,
04:50so many drones,
04:51that no one could do anything about it,
04:53because they could hold the whole world hostage.
04:54Look at the damage they're doing now.
04:57And this is a week in Iran.
04:58Imagine a year from now.
05:00So that had to happen.
05:01Obviously, we were aware of Israeli intentions
05:02and understood what that would mean for us,
05:05and we had to be prepared to act as a result of it.
05:07But this had to happen no matter what.
05:11Mr. President, like President Trump said overnight
05:13that his top choice is to now run Iran
05:16or kill the strikes.
05:17Does the United States have a firm plan
05:19for how they intend to handle this power vacuum in Iran
05:23to ensure that an iron ore miner does not be found?
05:25So two things, and two things can be true.
05:27Number one is, our mission and our focus
05:29is the destruction of their ballistic missile capabilities
05:31and their ability to manufacture them,
05:33as well as the threat posed by their Navy
05:35to global shipping.
05:36That's our objective.
05:37That said, we would not mind,
05:39we would not be heartbroken,
05:40and we hope that the Iranian people
05:43can overthrow this government
05:44and establish a new future for that country.
05:46We would love for that to be possible,
05:47but the objective of this mission
05:49is the destruction of their ballistic missile capabilities
05:51and of their naval capabilities.
05:52But what are you saying, based on that,
05:57are you saying that there is no responsibility,
05:59no plan for the U.S. to at least play a role
06:02in whatever government comes next?
06:04I mean, we might.
06:05We'll see how circumstances play out,
06:06but I'm telling you what the objectives
06:08of this operation are.
06:09The objectives of this operation
06:10are to destroy their ballistic missile capability
06:13and make sure they can't rebuild it,
06:15and make sure that they can't hide behind that
06:16to have a nuclear program.
06:18That's the objective of the mission.
06:19That said, abundantly clear,
06:22we would love for there to be an Iran
06:23that's not governed by radical Shia clerics,
06:25as I've said myself repeatedly for years.
06:29The leadership of that country
06:31does not reflect the people of Iran,
06:32and I think that's been pretty apparent
06:33in the protests that you've seen.
06:35If there's something we can do
06:36to help them down the road,
06:37we'd obviously be open to it,
06:38but that's not the objective.
06:40The objective of this mission
06:41is the destruction of their ballistic missile capability.
06:45The regime change has not gone well
06:46for the United States.
06:48The what now?
06:48The regime change has not gone well
06:50for the United States
06:50for many, many decades.
06:52How do you assure the American public
06:54that things will not get worse
06:55for the next regime that comes in there
06:57and replaces the actual war?
06:59Well, we would love to see this regime
07:00be replaced,
07:00and ultimately, as the President has said,
07:02he calls...
07:03No, no, but let me finish my answer.
07:05As the President has said,
07:06he would love for the people of Iran
07:07to use this as an opportunity
07:09to rise up and remove these leaders.
07:11They've been wanting to remove them
07:12from a long time.
07:13We've seen successive waves of protests,
07:15and we've seen them slaughter people, okay?
07:17But the objective of this mission
07:19is to make sure they don't have these weapons
07:20that can threaten us
07:21and our allies in the region.
07:22That's why we're doing what we're doing now.
07:24And while we would love to see a new regime,
07:26the bottom line is,
07:27no matter who governs that country
07:28a year from now,
07:29they're not going to have these ballistic missiles,
07:31and they're not going to have these drones
07:32to threaten us.
07:33That's the objective of this mission,
07:34is to deny them the ability
07:36to use ballistic missiles
07:38to threaten their neighbors,
07:39to threaten our bases,
07:40to threaten our presence in the region,
07:42and ultimately as a shield
07:43behind which they can do whatever they want
07:45with their nuclear weapons ambition.
07:47We were not going to let them hide behind that,
07:49and that's why this was such a critical mission
07:50to undertake now
07:51while they were at their weakest point,
07:53and not a year from now
07:54where they could inflict even more damage
07:56and perhaps already be behind
07:57that point of immunity.
08:02Go ahead, you and then you.
08:05Yes.
08:05Your critics in Congress have said
08:06that they should have a role,
08:08they should be able to weigh in here,
08:09and there are going to be more power resolution votes
08:12in Congress later this week.
08:14Why not notify Congress ahead of this?
08:16Well, we did.
08:17We notified Congress.
08:18I mean, we notified the Gang of Eight.
08:20We notified congressional leadership.
08:21There's no law that requires us to do that.
08:23The law says we have to notify them 48 hours
08:25after beginning hostilities.
08:27We've done that.
08:28I think the notification went today,
08:29but we did notify members of Congress in advance,
08:32but we can't notify 535 members of Congress.
08:34Vote to authorize the war.
08:36Well, the Congress can vote on whatever they want,
08:38but there's no law that requires us to do that,
08:40and I want to say something
08:41because I see people on TV.
08:42Look, that's fine.
08:42If they want to take a war powers vote,
08:44they can do that.
08:45They've done that.
08:45They've done that a bunch of times,
08:46but there's no...
08:47People keep saying that.
08:48There's no law that requires the president
08:50to have done anything with regards to this.
08:52To begin with,
08:53no presidential administration
08:55has ever accepted the War Powers Act as constitutional.
08:58Not Republican presidents,
08:59not Democratic presidents.
09:01That said,
09:02we have followed the notification at 48 hours,
09:04and we're here today.
09:05I've done more Gang of Eight briefings
09:07than I got in the four years
09:08that Biden was president
09:09and I was a member of the Gang of Eight.
09:11All that said,
09:12we've complied with the law 100%,
09:14and we're going to continue to comply with it.
09:15We've done the notification
09:18and officially to Congress,
09:19but we did notify members of Congress.
09:21We just can't notify 535 people.
09:23That's not possible,
09:24but we did the Gang of Eight twice.
09:26I briefed them last week,
09:27and then I called them
09:28the night before the operation.
09:30Can you tell us what you know,
09:31Mr. Secretary,
09:32of the administration
09:32about the strike in a building
09:35in southern Iran,
09:36that the Iranians say
09:37that the school reports
09:38of margins
09:40including children killed.
09:41I've seen those reports.
09:43I would refer you,
09:44not because I'm not trying
09:45to answer your question,
09:46but I don't want to get it wrong.
09:47The Department of War
09:48would be investigating that
09:49if that was our strike,
09:51and I would refer your question to them,
09:52and I'll make sure they're aware
09:53that you have that question.
09:54But we'd like to know.
09:57Well, clearly,
09:58the United States
09:59would not deliberately target a school.
10:00Our objectives are missiles,
10:02both the ability to manufacture them
10:04and the ability to launch them,
10:05and the one way attract drones.
10:06That would be our focus,
10:08and that's what we would be focused on.
10:09We would have no interest
10:10and frankly, no incentive.
10:11To target civilian infrastructure.
10:15The Iranians are,
10:15on the other hand,
10:16targeting civilian infrastructure.
10:17You guys have seen it.
10:18I'm sure you've seen it.
10:19They're hitting hotels.
10:20They're hitting embassies.
10:22They're hitting airports.
10:23They're hitting oil infrastructure.
10:27Well, it'd be very tragic,
10:28but I can't speak
10:29to the details behind it
10:30because I just don't have it.
10:31It would be a tragic outcome
10:33if it's happened.
10:33I don't have the details
10:34as to what led to it,
10:35but what is clear
10:36is that the United States
10:37would not deliberately target a school.
10:39They are, on the other hand,
10:40deliberately targeting civilians
10:42as you've seen
10:42because you know why?
10:43They are a terroristic regime.
10:46They sponsor terrorism
10:47and they participate in terrorism.
10:51Mr. Rubio,
10:52what's your message
10:53to Americans
10:53who are concerned
10:54about rising energy prices
10:55given the spiking
10:56of oil prices today?
10:57Yes, and we knew
10:59that going in
10:59would be a factor
11:00and so we have
11:01a program in place
11:02that will begin
11:02to be implemented
11:03by Secretary Wright,
11:05Secretary Besant.
11:06We talked about it last night.
11:07Again, about this program
11:08we talked this morning
11:09and starting tomorrow
11:10you will see us
11:10rolling out those phases
11:11to try to mitigate against that.
11:13Obviously, markets
11:14are going to be reacting
11:15to news
11:16about what's happening.
11:17And again,
11:18a reminder,
11:19think about it,
11:19okay?
11:20This terroristic regime
11:21led by radical clerics
11:23has the ability
11:24potentially
11:24to shut off
11:2520% of global energy.
11:27That's the kind of leverage
11:28they have
11:28because of their Navy.
11:29We're going to destroy
11:30their Navy.
11:31But there is a plan in place.
11:33We anticipated
11:33this could be an issue
11:34and Secretary Wright
11:35and Besson
11:36will begin to roll out
11:37those steps
11:37starting tomorrow
11:38to mitigate
11:39against the impact
11:40that could happen.
11:41I've got to do this briefing
11:44so I've got a couple more.
11:46Do you anticipate
11:47putting you through
11:48on the ground
11:49and how long
11:49do you anticipate
11:50the conflict to last?
11:52Well, we don't.
11:52Let me say two things
11:53about it.
11:54Number one,
11:54the President always
11:55has the options
11:56to undertake
11:56whatever operations
11:57he decides to do
11:58as the Commander-in-Chief.
12:00That said,
12:02we believe the objective
12:03that we have set
12:04for this mission
12:04which is the destruction
12:05of their ballistic
12:06missile capabilities,
12:07both launch capability
12:08and manufacturing,
12:09can be achieved
12:10without ground forces.
12:12Right now,
12:12we're not postured
12:13for ground forces
12:14but obviously,
12:14the President has those options.
12:16He's never going to
12:16rule out anything.
12:17But right now,
12:18our focus is on
12:19the destruction
12:19of their ballistic missile launchers,
12:21their ballistic missile
12:23stockpiles
12:24and their ballistic missile
12:25manufacturing capability
12:26as well as their
12:27one-way attract drones
12:28and their Navy
12:29because of the threat
12:30it poses to global shipping.
12:31How long is this?
12:32Mr. Secretary?
12:35I'll only do one more.
12:36Right there in the middle.
12:37Yes, sir.
12:38Is there a diplomatic exchange
12:39going on right now
12:40between U.S. and Iran?
12:41Any exchanges
12:42whatsoever outside of Iran?
12:43No, not at this time.
12:44I mean, look,
12:45we always have people
12:46that reach out
12:46from inside of governments.
12:47You don't know
12:48if they're authorized
12:48to reach out or not.
12:49They're suffering
12:50a tremendous amount of damage.
12:51Honestly,
12:53again, I'm not going to give away
12:54the details of our tactical efforts,
12:55but the hardest hits
12:56are yet to come
12:57from the U.S. military.
12:59The next phase
13:00will be even more punishing
13:01on Iran
13:01than it is right now.
13:02Someone was screaming,
13:03how long will it take?
13:04I don't know how long it'll take.
13:05We have objectives.
13:06We will do this
13:07as long as it takes
13:07to achieve those objectives,
13:09and we will achieve
13:09those objectives.
13:10The world will be
13:11a safer place
13:12when we're done
13:12with this operation.
13:14Thank you, guys.
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