Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that the Trump administration’s economic pressure campaign against Iran has proved so effective that renewed major military operations are unnecessary for now, signaling a continued focus on sanctions enforcement and the naval blockade while asserting that the U.S. remained ready to act if needed.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the G7 summit in France, Rubio said he had told U.S. allies that “at this point, the economic campaign and the pressure and the devastation that our economic campaign is having on the Iranian regime is working so well that the president really doesn’t have any need to conduct major combat operations.”

“As of now, there’s really no need for major combat operations any longer because the blockade and the economic sanctions are doing devastation to their economy,” he continued.

Rubio’s remarks followed President Donald Trump’s meeting on Monday with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who has been mediating between Washington and Tehran. Vice President JD Vance also met separately with the Qatari leader.

Trump voiced optimism after the discussion, noting “positive momentum” toward a potential resolution and stating that further military action appeared “quite unlikely,” though he stressed that U.S. forces remain positioned to react if provoked.

Expanding on the administration’s posture, Rubio emphasized that economic measures would compound over time rather than remain static. He said the Treasury Department, working with intelligence agencies, was closing loopholes Iran uses to evade sanctions. 

“The economic pain that is being inflicted on Iran right now and on that regime is extraordinary, and it compounds. It’s growing every day,” Rubio said. “These sanctions, they get worse over time. They get more painful as time goes on.”

Rubio said Iran had only a small amount of oil left from shipments that got past the blockade during the short period that Iran and the U.S. had a memorandum of understanding during the summer. Once that supply runs out, he said, “almost all of their oil revenue will dry up.”

But Rubio warned that Washington remains prepared to react forcefully should Tehran initiate new military strikes or cross American “red lines.”

“If Iran decides to escalate and they decide to initiate military action, I don’t need to tell you what will happen as a result of it,” Rubio said. “Right now the economic pressure on Iran is so devastating and is working so well that the president’s concluded that for the time being there’s no need for major combat operations because we’re achieving the same objective through economic means while we defend shipping and we impose the blockade.”

While reaffirming that the administration remains open to a negotiated settlement, Rubio emphasized that diplomatic talks continue to be stymied by unreasonable demands from Iranian leadership. Tehran has recently proposed a two-day framework requiring the U.S. to lift its blockade and release frozen assets in exchange for Iran permitting nuclear inspectors into targeted sites, alongside an immediate regional ceasefire and the opening of the Strait of Hormuz.

“I think Iran would love a deal. The problem is the conditions they continue to place are absurd. Like they’re not even serious right now,” Rubio said, specifically rejecting demands for financial compensation. “Iran, you know, is demanding reparations. They should be the ones paying reparations because they’re the ones that have, you know, destabilized the region for long periods of time. They’re demanding pallets of cash, which the president made clear is not going to happen.”

Rubio confirmed that Qatar and other regional partners continue to attempt to bridge the gap. “There’s a real deal to be done. We’re open, and there’s countries out there that are engaged,” Rubio said. “We’ve had discussions with them ongoing, and they and other countries continue to try to act as mediators … We’re not discouraging them from doing it.”

Asked about a reported Iranian demand to include an end to the conflict in Lebanon in a broader ceasefire, Rubio flatly rejected the notion that the administration would accept it.

“Why would we negotiate Lebanon with Iran? What does Iran have to do with Lebanon?” Rubio said. “They can claim whatever they want, but Lebanon is its own country. To figure out the future of Lebanon, we’ll deal with Lebanon, not with Iran.”

Rubio raised the pilot zones that have been created in southern Lebanon where Israeli forces are pulling back and the Lebanese Armed Forces are taking over.

“We are actively now trying to construct a verification model for that, so that trusted verifiers can verify that both sides are complying,” Rubio said. “Iran has no role to play when it comes to Lebanon, other than stop sponsoring and supporting Hezbollah.”

Asked about Houthi attacks on Aramco, the Saudi-owned oil giant, and Riyadh’s airport, Rubio said the U.S. was concerned and was continuing to honor its defense commitments to Saudi Arabia.

“Behind every single one of these destabilizing activities in the Middle East, there’s one common denominator: the Iranian regime,” Rubio said. “They are behind all the instability in the region. They are the source of instability in the region.”