Rubio: No deadline for Iran diplomacy, military option still open

The latest:

Washington has set no deadline for diplomacy with Tehran and has not ruled out resuming military strikes, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday at the close of the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in Atlanta. He said Trump prefers a diplomatic solution but has taken no decision on further military action, and that the US has everything it needs militarily if it comes to that.

Details:

• The talks: Rubio said he did not know whether a specific timeframe existed for the Qatar-led talks aimed at ending hostilities between the US and Iran. Washington would be open to a diplomatic solution, he said, provided any agreement does not endanger US national security or leave the administration’s core concerns unaddressed.
• The military option: Asked whether renewed strikes could be short and successful without triggering Iranian retaliation, Rubio said Trump had made no decision. He described the US as the world’s most capable military power with everything required to succeed, while stressing the President prefers a diplomatic outcome.
• The Gulf warning: Answering a question from The National, Rubio accused Tehran of threatening the energy infrastructure of its Gulf neighbours as leverage against Washington. He characterised the Iranian position as a threat to blow up ships and destroy regional energy infrastructure unless its demands are met.
• Shipping defence: Asked whether the US can guarantee security for Saudi Arabia and other Gulf partners, Rubio said American forces are already protecting regional shipping and airspace. US forces shoot down Iranian drones and missiles aimed at vessels almost daily, he said, and Washington maintains an extensive presence in regional air defence.
• Saudi commitments: Rubio reaffirmed US defence commitments to Riyadh, citing a defence co-operation agreement and understandings he said Washington intends to continue honouring. He declined to say whether American forces would take part in any Saudi offensive action against Yemen’s Houthis.
• Burden sharing: International support for protecting shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has been very limited despite repeated appeals by Trump for other countries to contribute, Rubio said, adding that the burden had fallen primarily on the United States.
• Russia at the table: Rubio defended hosting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, arguing a negotiated settlement in Ukraine is impossible without the ability to talk to both Moscow and Kyiv. The US has invited President Vladimir Putin to a leaders’ summit in Florida in December.
• The European objection: EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told Bloomberg TV the invitation poses big questions and risks normalising war crimes she said are being committed daily in Ukraine. She added that Lavrov’s presence allowed European officials to immediately push back on Russian claims.
• The rift on display: A planned G20 group photo was scrapped because Western members did not want to be seen near Lavrov, and the meeting ended without a joint communique. Rubio said he would instead release a chairman’s statement. Washington passes the G20 presidency to Britain next year.

Background:

Rubio said on Friday the world is at a critical moment, warning of interconnected economic and geopolitical crises that he said pose severe threats to essential foundations of the global economic order.

Between the lines:

Two pressure points sit under the same statement. On Iran, Rubio paired an open-ended diplomatic track with an undiminished military option while declining to define either a deadline or the retaliation risk. On Russia, the scrapped photo, the absent communique and Kallas’s objection show Washington’s outreach to Moscow is not shared by its G20 partners, even as Rubio frames that contact as the precondition for any Ukraine settlement.

What’s next

Watch the Qatar-led US-Iran talks for any announced timeframe, Trump’s decision on renewed strikes, the chairman’s statement Rubio said he would release, and whether Putin attends the Florida leaders’ summit in December.