Rubio tells US allies no new strikes on Iran before midterms – report

The Trump administration has reportedly signaled to its allies that it will not resume strikes on Iran in the near future, and that it is instead shifting towards intensified economic pressure.

By World Israel News Staff

The United States does not expect to initiate new military strikes against Iran “for the time being,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio has told several allied foreign ministers, Axios reported Tuesday, citing a US official and another source familiar with the discussions.

According to the report, Rubio has used recent calls with foreign counterparts to outline the Trump administration’s current strategy toward Iran, which centers on avoiding another major round of fighting while sharply increasing economic and maritime pressure on Tehran.

The policy has three main components, the report said: refraining from new US military action for now, intensifying economic pressure through the US naval blockade and a new Treasury Department sanctions campaign, and moving as much oil as possible through the Strait of Hormuz and onto world markets.

The reported approach does not rule out renewed US strikes. An American official told Axios that while Rubio made clear Washington is not presently planning a return to major combat operations, military action could still take place if Iran attacks first.

A second US official told Axios that the strategy is expected to remain in place at least through the November midterm elections. After the elections, however, the possibility of another US military campaign against Iran could return to consideration.

Axios characterized the policy as another indication that President Donald Trump has grown frustrated with the war and wants to bring the current phase of fighting to an end, at least temporarily.

The shift comes as US officials increasingly believe Washington has succeeded in depriving Tehran of one of its most important forms of leverage: its ability to disrupt shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

American officials told Axios that the US Navy’s removal of mines from most of the strait, combined with the growing number of tankers using its southern shipping lane, has significantly reduced Iran’s ability to threaten global energy supplies.

“The Iranians have lost control over the strait. Now the US controls it,” a US official told Axios.

Trump announced Tuesday that mines had been cleared from the main international shipping route through the strait. The administration is now seeking to increase the amount of oil moving through the waterway, limiting Iran’s ability to use disruption of Gulf energy exports to pressure the United States and its allies.

At the same time, the US naval blockade is intended to prevent Iran from exporting its own oil and deprive the government in Tehran of revenue.

US officials told Axios that almost no tankers had been observed at Kharg Island, Iran’s principal oil-export terminal, during the previous two weeks.

The economic component of the strategy was expanded this week with the Treasury Department’s launch of “Operation Economic Outcast,” a new effort to impose secondary sanctions on countries, companies and financial institutions continuing to do business with Iran.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Monday that the administration was broadening sanctions to additional sectors and would demand that foreign governments and companies wind down Iran-related economic activity or risk penalties from Washington.

Axios reported separately that US officials expect expanded secondary sanctions to serve as Washington’s principal means of pressure against Iran until at least after the midterm elections.

Despite the apparent shift away from immediate military action, the administration is not presenting the policy as an attempt to reach a quick diplomatic settlement.

Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, traveled to Tehran on Sunday after reportedly speaking with Trump, according to Axios. Pakistan has acted as an intermediary between the United States and Iran during the conflict, and the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya reported that Munir carried a new proposal for Iranian officials.

The White House acknowledged the possibility of a Trump-Munir conversation but told Axios that there are no current or scheduled US negotiations with Iran.

US officials believe Washington’s strengthened position in the Strait of Hormuz has also reduced Tehran’s bargaining power in any future negotiations.

For now, the administration’s position is that pressure, rather than negotiations or another immediate bombing campaign, will drive the next phase of US policy toward Iran.

White House envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who have previously led negotiations with Tehran, are expected to visit US Central Command on Wednesday for briefings on the situation.