‘The worst blow is yet to come’: Rubio issues big warning to Iran amid conflict

“I won’t reveal the details of our tactical operations, but the worst blows have yet to come from the U.S. military,” Rubio told reporters on Capitol Hill. “The punishment for Iran in the next phase will be even more severe than it is now.”

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Rubio was in Congress to brief lawmakers on President Donald Trump’s actions with Israel against Iran. He spelled out U.S. goals more clearly, saying they were focused on destroying the country’s navy and attack drones, as well as its ballistic missile program, which the United States uses as a shield for its nuclear ambitions.

Iran has long insisted it does not want to build a nuclear bomb. Although its ballistic missiles are capable of striking U.S. forces and U.S. allies in the region, they do not have the ability to target the United States directly.

Rubio denies that regime change is his goal, despite U.S. and Israeli attacks that have killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and dozens of other senior leaders. He said there are currently no diplomatic exchanges with Iran.

“While we would like to see a new regime, the bottom line is that whoever rules this country in a year, they are not going to have these ballistic missiles, they are not going to have these drones to threaten us,” Rubio said.

Rubio did not rule out deploying ground troops but said the United States was not currently ready for a ground invasion and played down the possibility of that happening soon.