Rubio Says Iran’s Economic Pain Is Extraordinary and Compounding
Marco Rubio said in Paris that the economic pain being inflicted on Iran and its regime is extraordinary and compounding. He said the sanctions campaign is growing more painful by the day and working well enough to avoid major combat operations.
Choose Clash Report as a preferred source and see our reporting first in Top Stories.
After two days of Group of Seven foreign ministers’ talks in Paris, Marco Rubio told reporters on Tuesday that Washington’s economic campaign against Iran was working so well that President Donald Trump did not need to conduct major combat operations.
“The economic pain that is being inflicted on Iran right now, and on that regime, is extraordinary, and it compounds,” the U.S. secretary of state said. “It’s growing every day, like these sanctions. They get worse. Over time, they get more painful as time goes on.”
The remarks, delivered after meetings with G7 allies, were also carried by Forbes Breaking News.
Sanctions Grow More Painful Over Time
Rubio said the squeeze would intensify. Iran still had “a small number, just a handful, of barrels of oil left on the water,” he said, and “once that dries up, almost all of their oil revenue will dry up.”
“Never has Iran ever faced the inability to sell energy in the global market like they are today,” he said, according to Reuters.
The comments come as the United States enforces a naval blockade of Iranian ports and has stood up Task Force Iron Gate to tighten pressure on land routes and the Caspian Sea. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has separately asked China to use its influence over Tehran while leading a broader sanctions campaign.
A U.S. Treasury report obtained by Axios in late October said the unofficial rial rate had fallen to a record 2.687 million to the dollar and that annual inflation reached 90% in September. The department said Iran had not loaded oil onto tankers since Aug. 25.
Rubio Rejects Talk of a Stalemate
Rubio repeatedly rejected the idea that a pause in major strikes amounted to a stalemate.
“We don’t need to conduct military strikes if we’re achieving the same objective through economic means and economic pressure. That’s not stalemate,” he said, according to Reuters.
On Monday, Trump said he planned to hold off on new military strikes for now after appeals from countries in the region, including from Qatar’s prime minister, while keeping the naval blockade in place.
Four G7 diplomats told Reuters that Rubio informed allies the United States would keep imposing “devastating” economic costs on Iran. Two said he had called Iran’s rulers “lunatics” in the closed session. In his public remarks, Rubio said “this radical regime of lunatics is imposing this on their own people” and “destroying their own country.”
Door Ajar for Diplomacy
Rubio said Washington remained open to a deal if Tehran changed course, but he dismissed Iran’s present conditions as unrealistic.
“I’m telling you that the Iranian demands are totally unrealistic,” he said. “We expect that could change, and if it does, we’ll be prepared for diplomacy.”
He also said Iran was demanding reparations and “pallets of cash,” which, he said, “as the president has made clear, is not going to happen.”
“It’s not going to be a bad deal,” Rubio said. “Otherwise, they’ll just continue to impoverish themselves.”
Kamer Kurunç
Kamer Kurunç is the Team Leader of Clash Report and has led the outlet for four years. He oversees its breaking world news coverage, from the Middle East and the Russia-Ukraine war to defense and global politics. His focus is fast, verified, source-based reporting. Follow him on X at @kamerknc.
Choose Clash Report as a preferred source and see our reporting first in Top Stories.
