{"id":555021,"date":"2026-03-30T22:52:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T22:52:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/555021\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T22:52:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T22:52:15","slug":"the-war-in-iran-key-takeaways-from-al-jazeeras-interview-with-marco-rubio-us-israel-war-on-iran-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/555021\/","title":{"rendered":"The war in Iran: Key takeaways from Al Jazeera\u2019s interview with Marco Rubio | US-Israel war on Iran News"},"content":{"rendered":"

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio<\/a> has said that talks with Iran are under way through intermediaries and that Washington will continue its military campaign until Tehran abandons its nuclear and missile programmes.<\/p>\n

He warned on Monday that the Strait of Hormuz will be kept open \u201cone way or another\u201d and that US war objectives could be achieved \u201cin weeks, not months\u201d.<\/p>\n

Recommended Stories list of 2 itemsend of list<\/p>\n

He also said the United States would welcome political change in Iran if the opportunity arose, but said it was not an official objective. Rubio criticised some NATO allies for refusing US access to bases during the war, and said Washington is closely watching developments in Cuba and Venezuela.<\/p>\n

Here are the key takeaways from Rubio\u2019s exclusive interview with Al Jazeera\u2019s Hashem Ahelbarra:<\/p>\n

Marco Rubio says talks with Iran are happening<\/p>\n

Much of the communication between Tehran and Washington is indirect and through intermediaries, but Rubio insisted that it is ongoing.<\/p>\n

He said there are \u201cmessages and some direct talks going on between some inside of Iran and the United States, primarily through intermediaries\u201d, adding that the US president \u201calways prefers diplomacy, always prefers an outcome\u201d.<\/p>\n

His comments come as US President Donald Trump escalated his rhetoric on social media, threatening to \u201cobliterate\u201d Iran\u2019s energy infrastructure if a ceasefire is not reached soon, Al Jazeera\u2019s Kimberly Halkett reported from Washington.<\/p>\n

\u201cTaken together, Rubio\u2019s statements and Trump\u2019s posts suggest the US is pursuing a dual-track approach: keeping diplomatic channels open through intermediaries while simultaneously increasing military and economic pressure on Iran,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

US demands Iran abandon nuclear and missile programmes<\/p>\n

Rubio said Iran must abandon its nuclear weapons ambitions and stop producing missiles and drones that can threaten countries across the Gulf region, and insisted \u201cThe Iranian regime can never have nuclear weapons.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said Iran\u2019s missile programme poses a direct threat to countries across the Gulf, and claimed \u201cThese short-range missiles that they\u2019re launching, they only have one purpose, and that is to attack Saudi Arabia and the UAE and Qatar and Kuwait and Bahrain.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rubio said Iran could pursue civilian nuclear energy, but not in a way that would allow it to quickly develop a nuclear weapon.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat they cannot have is a system that allows them to quickly weaponise it,\u201d he said. \u201cThey have to abandon all these weapon programmes and all their nuclear ambitions.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, Hassan Ahmadian, an assistant professor at the University of Tehran, questioned the narrative that Iran poses an offensive threat in the region.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen was the last time Iran attacked its neighbours over three centuries?\u201d Ahmadian asked, arguing that Iran\u2019s military strategy is shaped by deterrence in an asymmetric conflict.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy is it doing this now? Because it\u2019s the underdog in an asymmetric war that it wants to shield itself by expanding.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ahmadian added that Iran has been a central focus of US policy for years.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the break of two wars in less than a year, we have experienced, Iran has been on the table in different US administrations \u2013 all options are on the table,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Strait of Hormuz will be kept open \u2018one way or another\u2019<\/p>\n

Rubio said the US would not accept Iran claiming sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz<\/a> and warned that the waterway would remain open regardless of Iran\u2019s actions.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot only is the sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz not acceptable to us, it won\u2019t be acceptable to the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt sets an incredible precedent \u2026 nations can now take over international waterways and claim them as their own.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Strait of Hormuz will be open \u2026 It will be open one way or another,\u201d he said, adding that otherwise, Iran would \u201cface real consequences\u201d from the US and other countries.<\/p>\n

Iranian analysts suggested the closure of the strait is a temporary wartime measure and could be reversed once the conflict ends.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s opened partially,\u201d Ahmadian said, adding \u201cI think there is no Iranian interest to not open it beyond the war.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an asymmetric way of putting pressure on Americans, just as they are bombing Iran, and so after the war there would be no need,\u201d Ahmadian explained. \u201cThere will be an arrangement, according to the Iranians, with the GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council] countries to reopen it and see how things are managed.\u201d<\/p>\n

War objectives will be achieved \u2018in weeks, not months\u2019<\/p>\n

Rubio said the US military campaign is progressing quickly and outlined the military objectives Washington is trying to achieve.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose objectives are the destruction of their air force, which has been achieved, the destruction of their navy, which has largely been achieved.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA significant reduction in the number of missile launchers\u2026 and we are going to destroy the factories that make those missiles and those drones.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are well on our way or ahead of schedule.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will achieve them in weeks, not months.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a matter of weeks. I\u2019m not going to tell you exactly how many weeks, but a matter of weeks, not months.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rubio says status of Iran\u2019s new supreme leader is uncertain<\/p>\n

Asked by Al Jazeera about his thoughts on Iran\u2019s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, Rubio said his status remains unclear.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t even know he\u2019s in power. I know they say he\u2019s in power. No one has seen him. No one has heard from him,\u201d Rubio said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very opaque right now. It\u2019s not quite clear how decisions are being made inside of Iran.\u201d<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s leadership change is not an objective of the military operation<\/p>\n

The US secretary of state suggested the US would welcome political change in Iran, though he said it was not the official objective of the military operation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe would always welcome a scenario in which Iran was led by people that had a different view of the future,\u201d Rubio said. \u201cIf that opportunity presents itself, we\u2019re going to take it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said the Iranian people \u201cdeserve better leadership\u201d and indicated Washington would not oppose a change in government if it occurred.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo we think the people of Iran deserve better leadership than what they\u2019ve gotten from the clerical regime? One hundred percent,\u201d Rubio said. \u201cWould we be heartbroken if there was a change in leadership? Absolutely not.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also suggested the US would be willing to play a role if political change became possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there\u2019s something we could do to facilitate that, would we be interested in participating? Of course.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, analysts said Washington\u2019s position on regime change appears to have shifted over time.<\/p>\n

\u201cOriginally bringing down the government was the goal; there has been a constant drawdown from that,\u201d Paul Musgrave, a professor of government at Georgetown University in Qatar, told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd now we have President Donald Trump on Truth Social saying he is negotiating with elements of what could become a new regime, so there is a lot of confusion here, but it is no longer the number one goal. It\u2019s not something they are laying out,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n

Rubio criticises NATO allies and warns alliance may be reviewed<\/p>\n

Rubio said some NATO countries denied the US use of airspace and bases during the conflict and suggested Washington may need to reassess the alliance after the war.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have countries like Spain, a NATO member that we are pledged to defend, denying us the use of their airspace and bragging about it, denying us the use of their bases.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd so you ask yourself, well, what is in it for the United States?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf NATO is just about us defending Europe from attack, but them denying us basing rights when we need them, that\u2019s not a very good arrangement.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of that is going to have to be re-examined.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that talks with Iran are under way through intermediaries and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":555022,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,801,129,4379,5855,3,1577,45063,111,21,19,22,20,25,231941,24],"class_list":["post-555021","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","tag-america","tag-iran","tag-middle-east","tag-military","tag-nato","tag-news","tag-nuclear-weapons","tag-oil-and-gas","tag-politics","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-us-israel-war-on-iran","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555021","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=555021"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555021\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/555022"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=555021"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=555021"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=555021"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}