Watch Rubio After G7 Talks: No Need for Major Combat Operations Against Iran

By
Harris
-
46

Video: U.S. Department of State, “Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivers remarks to the press,” embedded with the official YouTube player. Recorded Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026, at the George C. Marshall Center in the Hotel de Talleyrand, Paris, after the G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. Uploaded by the State Department on Nov. 10, 2026. Running time 22:53.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters in Paris on Tuesday that U.S. sanctions and the naval blockade on Iran are working so well that President Donald Trump does not need to conduct major combat operations, while warning that the U.S. military stands ready if Iran crosses “certain red lines.” Speaking after two days of G7 foreign ministers’ talks, he also said Europe is “at the table” in the Ukraine peace effort under way in Abu Dhabi. The State Department posted the full 23-minute video of Rubio’s G7 remarks on its official YouTube channel.

Key Points

  • Rubio said he told G7 partners that the economic campaign against Iran is working so well that “the President really doesn’t have any need to conduct major combat operations.”
  • He rejected the word stalemate, saying the pressure on Iran “is going to get even worse” because sanctions compound over time.
  • He said Iran “would love a deal” but that its conditions are “absurd,” and that the U.S. remains open to diplomacy.
  • On Ukraine, he called the Abu Dhabi talks “very productive” and said the U.S. goal is to expand the U.S.-Ukraine-Russia trilateral to include European partners.
  • G7 ministers said in a joint declaration on Nov. 11 that they support U.S.-led peace efforts for Ukraine and called on Iran to stop attacks on civilian vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.

What Happened?

France hosted the G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Paris on Nov. 9 and 10, 2026, with ministers from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States and the European Union’s High Representative. France also invited Brazil, Egypt, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Ukraine. When the talks ended on Tuesday, Rubio briefed reporters at the George C. Marshall Center in the Hotel de Talleyrand, according to the State Department’s official transcript.

He opened with the Middle East. “I informed our partners,” Rubio said, “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.” He added that “if Iran crosses certain red lines,” the U.S. military “stands ready to address it,” without saying what those red lines are.

Asked whether that meant a status quo, Rubio answered, “No, not status quo. The economic pressure is going to get even worse.” He said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and the Treasury Department, working with intelligence agencies, keep closing off Iran’s sanctions evasion routes. When a reporter called the situation a stalemate, he replied, “It’s not a stalemate.”

On diplomacy, Rubio said, “Iran would love a deal. The problem is the conditions they continue to place are absurd.” He said Qatar’s prime minister had met the president in Washington the day before and that mediators are still passing ideas back and forth. “If there’s a deal to be done, the President will be the first one to be in favor of it,” he said. “But it’s not going to be a stupid deal.”

Rubio then turned to Ukraine. He said he had just received an update that “the talks in Abu Dhabi were very productive,” while cautioning that a solution was not coming “in the next 24 hours or anything like that.” He said U.S. envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff had worked closely with European officials and that “it’s actually our goal at some point to expand this trilateral, so it’s not just the U.S., Ukraine, and Russia, but also that the Europeans be represented at that table directly.”

A reporter also asked whether Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s actions had been lawful, noting the articles of impeachment against him. Rubio said, “The President of the United States is the Commander-in-Chief, and he has a right to defend this country and to address imminent threats that pose a threat to the United States, and he’s done so.”

Background and Context

The war between the United States and Iran began on Feb. 28, 2026, when the U.S. and Israel launched attacks, according to Reuters and Al Jazeera. Iran moved to shut the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for oil, gas and fertilizer, and the U.S. later imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports.

Rubio’s remarks came one day after Trump met Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, at the White House. Reuters reported that Trump said on Monday, Nov. 9, that he planned to hold off on new military strikes against Iran for the time being after appeals from countries in the region, while keeping the naval blockade in place. The Associated Press reported that Trump told reporters Iran “militarily is effectively over.”

The Ukraine track moved the same day. On Tuesday morning, representatives of the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, the United States and NATO met in Abu Dhabi ahead of trilateral talks with Russia, and said in a joint statement that any future arrangements “must respect sovereignty, territorial integrity, independent decision-making, and provide credible security guarantees for Ukraine.” The Guardian reported that the Abu Dhabi round was the first substantive negotiation between Russia and Ukraine since February.

Detailed Explanation and Analysis

The core message of the press conference was a clear choice of tools. Rubio framed sanctions and the blockade as a substitute for renewed bombing, not a pause before it. “We don’t need to conduct military strikes if we’re achieving the same objective through economic means and economic pressure,” he said. He argued the pressure grows over time, saying Iran still has “just a handful of barrels of oil left on the water” that got past the blockade during an earlier ceasefire period, and that “once that dries up, almost all of their oil revenue will dry up.” These are the secretary’s own assessments; the State Department did not release supporting figures.

Several European reporters pushed back, saying Gulf partners see the current situation as damaging. Rubio said shipping is still moving and that on some nights oil exports through the strait reach “80, 85 percent of what was getting out pre-conflict,” again his own figure. He said he had raised the idea of G7 partners helping to defend shipping in the strait. “I raised it. I didn’t get a response, no,” he said. AFP reported that French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, who chaired the meeting, warned that the risk of a new U.S.-Iran escalation “has not been completely ruled out,” and that Britain’s foreign minister, Ed Miliband, urged an “all-out diplomatic effort.”

Reuters, citing four G7 diplomats, reported that Rubio told ministers inside the meeting that Washington would keep imposing “devastating” economic costs on Iran. That matches what he said on camera, which suggests the public message and the private briefing were the same.

On Ukraine, Rubio sought to answer a long-running European worry. “There’s always this concern in Europe that they’re going to be left out,” he said. “Well, Europe’s at the table. They’re with us; they’re right alongside us.” The G7 joint declaration issued on Nov. 11 backed “ongoing US-led efforts to facilitate peace through direct and serious negotiations” and called for “a full, comprehensive, and reciprocal ceasefire.”

Data Table: Rubio’s Paris Remarks at a Glance

Item Detail Source
G7 meeting Paris, Nov. 9 and 10, 2026, under the French G7 presidency France Diplomatie, joint declaration
Invited partners Brazil, Egypt, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine France Diplomatie
Press remarks Nov. 10, 2026, George C. Marshall Center, Hotel de Talleyrand, Paris State Department transcript
Video length 22:53 State Department YouTube
U.S. position on Iran No need for major combat operations now; sanctions and blockade continue State Department transcript
Ukraine talks Abu Dhabi; Europeans, Ukraine, U.S. and NATO met Nov. 10 before trilateral talks with Russia EU joint statement, Nov. 10
Next G20 leaders’ summit Dec. 14 and 15, 2026, Miami area (Trump National Doral Miami) State Department; City of Doral

Data checked Nov. 12, 2026, against the State Department transcript, the G7 joint declaration, the EU statement on the Abu Dhabi meeting, the State Department G20 media note and the City of Doral.

What Happens Next?

Rubio said the economic pressure on Iran will keep building and that he would not “speculate on any thresholds” for a military response to attacks on shipping. Mediation by Qatar and other countries continues, and the G7 ministers said they would keep coordinating economic pressure on Iran absent a diplomatic solution. On Ukraine, the U.S. wants the trilateral format with Russia and Ukraine eventually widened to include European partners. Rubio told reporters he would see many of his counterparts again “in December in Doral,” where the United States hosts the G20 leaders’ summit on Dec. 14 and 15, 2026, according to the State Department.

For ongoing coverage, follow the World Breaking News Live center and the U.S. Politics Live center, or watch current news streams on the Watch Live hub.

Related Video Articles

Original Sources and References

Video rights: produced and published by the U.S. Department of State, which embeds the same video on its official transcript page. Works of the U.S. government are not protected by copyright (17 U.S.C. 105), and the State Department says information on its websites is in the public domain unless a copyright is indicated. This page embeds the video through YouTube’s official player and does not host or alter it.