Axios: Rubio Tells Arab Foreign Ministers Iran War Could Continue for Several More Weeks
Axios reports that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Arab foreign ministers the war could last several more weeks, with current US military operations focused on destroying Iran’s missile launchers, stockpiles, and factories.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - As the war entered its seventh day with intensifying strikes and retaliatory attacks across the region, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio informed Arab foreign ministers that the conflict is expected to continue for several more weeks, according to a report by Axios.
On Friday, the American news outlet Axios, citing sources with direct knowledge of the conversations, reported that Rubio conveyed the message during a series of phone calls with Arab foreign ministers on Thursday.
According to the sources, Rubio explained that the current military focus is on Iran’s missile launchers, stockpiles, and factories.
He also told the ministers that the United States’ goal is not regime change, while simultaneously making clear that Washington wants different people running the country, the sources said.
Rubio further noted that there is currently no US dialogue with the Iranian regime, emphasizing that any negotiations at this stage would undermine the ongoing military objectives.
Separately, President Donald Trump said Thursday that Iran wants to negotiate, but he told them they are “too late.”
The US State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
According to the report, US and Israeli strikes entered their seventh day on Friday with growing intensity, while Iran and its proxies — Hezbollah in Lebanon and Shia militias in Iraq — continued launching missiles and drones at US bases, Israel, and Gulf states.
However, the pace and scope of Iranian attacks have significantly decreased. CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper said Iranian missile attacks have fallen by 90 percent since the first day of the war.
US and Israeli officials also claimed on Thursday that 60 percent of Iran’s missile launchers and stockpiles have been destroyed.
On Friday, Israeli fighter jets struck a heavily fortified bunker beneath the compound of the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, which served as his emergency command center.
IDF spokesman Brig. Gen. Efi Defrin said Israel believes senior Iranian officials had been using the bunker in recent days, and authorities are still assessing whether anyone was inside at the time of the strike.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah in Lebanon announced that it had carried out a series of new attacks targeting Israeli army positions in northern Israel.
On Friday, March 6, 2026, Hezbollah said in a statement that its forces launched suicide drones targeting a gathering of Israeli troops in Kiryat Shmona, claiming the attack caused significant damage.
The group also said that at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, it bombarded Shomera in northern Palestine with a missile convoy.
Hezbollah stated that these attacks came in response to what it described as Israeli criminal aggression targeting dozens of Lebanese cities and towns, including the southern suburbs of Beirut.
The group also said the strikes were part of a previously issued warning directed at residents of northern Israel.
These developments come as military tensions along the Lebanon–Israel border have reached a dangerous level, with airstrikes and missile attacks continuing on both sides.
The escalating strikes, continued missile exchanges, and expanding regional involvement signal that the conflict could persist for weeks as military operations intensify across multiple fronts.