Rubio Warns Strongest US Strikes on Iran "Still on the Way," Aimed at Destroying Missile and Naval Power
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the strongest US strikes on Iran are still ahead. He stated the campaign is pre-emptive and aimed at destroying Iran’s missile and naval capabilities, not regime change, and denied deliberate targeting of a school.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - US Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a stark warning to Tehran on Tuesday, declaring that the most powerful American strikes against Iran have yet to be carried out, as military operations continue to intensify.
In his latest remarks, Rubio said US military operations are still in their early stages.
“The strongest strikes by the US military are still on the way and have not yet been executed,” Rubio said, warning that the next phase “will be far more punitive and severe.”
He emphasized that Washington has clearly defined objectives and will continue operations until those goals are achieved.
“We have specific objectives, and we will persist until we reach them and accomplish them. When this operation is complete, the world will be a safer place,” he stated.
Rubio also revealed that the United States launched its attack on Iran “pre-emptively” after learning that Israel was preparing to strike — a development that would have triggered retaliation against US forces.
“We knew that if we didn’t preemptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties,” Rubio told reporters.
Addressing speculation over regime change, Rubio voiced support for political transformation in Iran but clarified that it is not the objective of the current military campaign.
“We hope that the Iranian people can overthrow this government and establish a new future for that country. We would love for that to be possible,” he said.
“But the objective of this mission is the destruction of their ballistic missile capabilities and of their naval capabilities,” Rubio added, stressing that the aim is to eliminate Iran’s missile and maritime power to prevent what he described as the world being held hostage.
Responding to Iranian claims that 168 people were killed in an alleged US-Israeli strike on a school, Rubio rejected any suggestion of deliberate targeting.
“The United States would not deliberately target a school. Our objectives are missiles, both the ability to manufacture them and the ability to launch them,” he said, adding that the Pentagon is investigating the alleged incident.
Rubio’s remarks signal a further escalation in rhetoric as the conflict deepens, with Washington underscoring that its campaign is focused on military capabilities rather than forcibly changing Iran’s political leadership.