US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that Iran is misreading the American political system if it believes the November midterm elections could prevent President Donald Trump from continuing to take action against Tehran.
"I think the Iranians misread our system," Rubio said. "I think the Iranians are under this illusion that Democrats are going to win in November and the President will no longer be able to do things against them. I just don't think they understand our system very well."
Rubio, who served in the US Senate for 14 years before becoming Secretary of State, acknowledged the significant powers held by Congress but stressed that the presidency retains extensive authority in matters of national security.
"In our system of government, obviously Congress, the legislative branch, is a very important branch of government," he said. "I served in it for 14 years, so I understand its powers, but I also understand its limitations."
"When it comes to the national security of our country, when it comes to the imposition of both sanctions and the use of military force, the President has extraordinary powers. Every President does. He's the Commander-in-Chief."
Rubio said that Tehran is therefore making a mistake if it is basing its strategy on expectations of political change following the midterm elections.
"I think that the Iranians are fundamentally misreading our political system," he said.
According to Rubio, Trump views preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon as a national security issue rather than a partisan political matter.
"I think the President made it very clear yesterday, for him, the Iranian issue is not a political issue," Rubio said.
He noted that successive American administrations have opposed a nuclear-armed Iran but argued that Trump is prepared to take steps his predecessors did not.
"For generations now, for almost 50 years, every American President and, frankly, every country in the world, for the most part, agrees that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon. But ultimately, no one ever does anything about it."
"And he's going to do something about it. And he's doing something about it," Rubio continued.
The Secretary of State acknowledged that confronting the Iranian nuclear threat carries costs, but argued that failing to act would ultimately be more costly.
"It comes at a price and at a cost, there's no doubt about it," he said. "But the cost of not doing something about it is substantially higher, especially for future generations."
Rubio also addressed the situation in Gaza, pointing to the changes that have taken place over the past year while stressing that further steps are needed.
"One thing, as the President highlighted yesterday, is a year ago at this time there were still hostages, there were still active combat, extensive combat operations ongoing in Gaza," Rubio said. "We're in a different place now, and that's good, but that's not enough."
He said the long-term goal must be a Gaza in which Hamas no longer exercises control and in which a different Palestinian leadership is responsible for governance and security.
"Ultimately the way this gets solved is a Gaza that's free of Hamas, governed by Palestinian leadership that is reflective of its people, is not Hamas, and that controls the security environment," Rubio said.
He added that economic development would be an essential part of such a future, arguing that Gazans need opportunities that would reduce the appeal of terrorist organizations.
"[Gaza needs] a prosperous economy so that people don't join groups like Hamas and have a chance to live the life they deserve," he said.
Rubio said reconstruction would consequently be a central component of the next phase.
"Obviously part of that is this reconstruction, which is key," he said.
He added that an upcoming Board of Peace presentation would outline both commitments from participating countries and how the resources would be used.
"You'll see at the Board of Peace presentation not just the commitments being made by various countries but what it would go towards," Rubio said, stressing that rebuilding Gaza would be "a long-term project."