U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that Iran is now much further from developing a nuclear weapon after recent U.S. airstrikes destroyed key parts of Tehran’s nuclear facilities.
Speaking at the NATO summit, Rubio told Politico that the damage caused by the strikes was “significant, very significant, substantial,” and affected several key components of Iran’s nuclear program. He added that the full impact is still being assessed but insisted that President Trump’s action had set Iran back meaningfully.
Rubio also rejected recent media reports, which claimed the strikes had only delayed Iran’s program by a few months. He called those reports false and incomplete. Both Trump and the White House have also denied the reports, calling them inaccurate.
In a separate comment on U.S. sanctions against Russia, Rubio said the administration is working with Congress to ensure President Trump has the flexibility to decide the right time for new economic measures. He warned that moving too quickly with harsh sanctions could shut down any remaining chance of dialogue with Moscow.”
If we crush them with more sanctions now, we probably lose our ability to talk to them about the ceasefire – and then who’s talking to them?” Rubio said.
A ceasefire between Iran and Israel, brokered by Trump earlier this week, appeared to be holding as of Wednesday, with both sides signaling that their air conflict had come to an end.
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