US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday that the United States can achieve its objectives in the ongoing war with Iran "without any ground troops," even as more than 1,000 additional American service members have been ordered to deploy to the region.
"We are going to destroy their navy, we are going to destroy their air force, and we are going to significantly destroy their missile launchers so they can never hide behind these things to get a nuclear weapon," Rubio said, as quoted by CNN. "We are achieving all of those objectives, we are ahead of schedule on most of them, and we can achieve them without any ground troops, without any."
Rubio explained that President Donald Trump "has to be prepared for multiple contingencies" when asked about the additional troop deployments to the Middle East. He did not detail what those contingencies might include.
The Secretary of State also stated that the war will end in weeks, not months.
"As the Department of War has consistently outlined, we are on or ahead of schedule in that operation and expect to conclude it at the appropriate time here, in a matter of weeks, not months," Rubio said.
Speaking after a G7 foreign ministers meeting in France, Rubio called on US allies in Europe and Asia to support efforts to secure the Strait of Hormuz once the war with Iran concludes.
"Immediately after this thing ends and we are done with our objectives, one of the immediate challenges we are going to face is an Iran that may decide that they want to set up a tolling system in the Strait of Hormuz. Not only is this illegal, it is unacceptable, it is dangerous to the world, and it is important that the world have a plan to confront it," Rubio said.
Rubio said the United States would be a "part of" the postwar effort but stressed that countries in Europe and Asia "have a lot at stake and should contribute greatly." He added that allies were receptive to his message.
On the diplomatic front, Rubio said the US has not yet received an Iranian response to the 15-point proposal put forward by the Trump administration to end the war.
"We haven't gotten it yet," Rubio told CNN. "Look, we've got messages. We've had an exchange of messages and indications from the Iranian system, whatever is left of it, about a willingness to talk about certain things."
Rubio noted that the US is still waiting for clarification on who will represent Iran in any negotiations, following US and Israeli strikes that killed many senior Iranian regime leaders.
"Who was it that we would be talking to? What will we be talking about, and when? When will we be talking?" Rubio said.
He indicated that answers could arrive "at any moment," possibly as soon as today or tomorrow.
Rubio added that Iran would demonstrate seriousness about talks by providing clarity on who will speak on their behalf, what topics will be addressed, and when they will be ready to meet.
Trump announced on Thursday that he would be pausing planned strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure for another 10 days as negotiations continue, setting a new deadline of April 6.
"As per Iranian Government request, please let this statement serve to represent that I am pausing the period of Energy Plant destruction by 10 Days to Monday, April 6, 2026, at 8 P.M., Eastern Time," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
Speaking about the decision in an interview with Fox News later on Thursday, Trump said Iranian officials had requested more time through intermediaries ahead of a potential escalation, and that he agreed to extend a deadline from seven to 10 days.
“They asked for seven, and I gave them 10," he said, adding that talks were ongoing and “going fairly well."
Trump warned that if Iran failed to meet US demands, Washington could target additional infrastructure, including power plants.
He further told Fox News that the United States “knocked out" most of Iran’s missile capabilities and key military systems during the strikes.
Earlier on Thursday, Trump commented on the progress of Operation Epic Fury at a cabinet meeting, saying, "Over the past three weeks, we’ve been hitting Iran's military capabilities at a level that few people have ever seen before. It's a display of force and precision and skill like nothing the world has really witnessed."
"We're crushing their missile and drone stockpiles, destroying their defense industrial base, we've wiped out their navy completely, their air force completely. We've wiped out a large percentage of their missiles and missile launchers. Without the launchers, the missiles don't do any good. We've wiped out probably close to 90 percent of the launchers [and] probably, more than 90 percent of the missiles themselves," he added. "We've also destroyed a lot of the factories where they manufactured the drones and the missiles."
Trump further stated that Iran is "begging to make a deal, not me. They're begging to make a deal. And anyone who saw what was happening over there would understand why they want to make a deal."
(Arutz Sheva-Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)