U.S. Secretary of State Rubio stated during a Senate hearing that no one knows who will lead Iran after Supreme Leader Khamenei as an American "armada" heads toward the Middle East, Axios correspondent Barak Ravid reported this evening (Wednesday).
“Nobody can give an answer as to what will happen the day after if the Iranian regime falls," Rubio said. He noted that there are 30-40 thousand American soldiers in the Middle East who are within range of Iranian missiles or drones, should Iran retaliate for an American strike.
“The President always keeps for himself the option of launching a defensive preemptive strike," he said. “That’s why it is wise to have forces in the region that can respond and, if necessary, carry out a preemptive strike to protect American troops and our allies. I hope it doesn’t come to that."
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday warned that a "massive armada" is en route to Iran, urging the IRGC to quickly negotiate a "fair deal."
In a post on his Truth Social social media network, Trump wrote, "A massive Armada is heading to Iran. It is moving quickly, with great power, enthusiasm, and purpose. It is a larger fleet, headed by the great Aircraft Carrier Abraham Lincoln, than that sent to Venezuela."
He added, "Like with Venezuela, it is, ready, willing, and able to rapidly fulfill its mission, with speed and violence, if necessary. Hopefully Iran will quickly 'Come to the Table' and negotiate a fair and equitable deal - NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS - one that is good for all parties. Time is running out, it is truly of the essence!"
"As I told Iran once before, MAKE A DEAL! They didn’t, and there was 'Operation Midnight Hammer,' a major destruction of Iran. The next attack will be far worse! Don’t make that happen again. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"
Last Thursday, Trump again issued a stark warning to Iran, during an in‑flight briefing with reporters on his return from Davos to Washington, describing a significant US military buildup in the region.
“We have a lot of ships going in that direction, just in case. We have a big flotilla going in that direction. And we'll see what happens," Trump said. “We have a big force going toward Iran. I'd rather not see anything happen, but we're watching them very closely."
Trump again said that he prevented hundreds of executions in Iran the previous week. “I stopped 837 hangings [last] Thursday. They would have been dead. Every one of them would have been hung…I said ‘if you hang those people, you're going to be hit harder than you've ever been hit. It'll make what we did to your Iran nuclear look like peanuts.’ And an hour before this horrible thing was going to take place, they canceled it. And they actually said they canceled it. They didn't postpone it. They canceled it. So that was a good sign."
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei warned on Monday that the Islamic Republic will deliver a “comprehensive and regret‑inducing" response to any act of aggression.
On Tuesday, it was reported that the US is weighing targeted strikes on Iranian officials and commanders, as the death toll in the Iranian protests reached a reported high of over 36,000.