U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks at the Freedom 250 reception at the Jio World Convention Center in Mumbai on October 20, 2026.
Kylie Cooper | AFP | Getty Images
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said President Donald Trump wants to resolve the Iran war “diplomatically” and does not want to use military force.
Rubio told reporters over the weekend: “He (Trump) hasn’t made a decision yet…What the president is expressing to you is incredible confidence that if we need to do something militarily, we have the ability to do it. We actually have everything we need to be successful. But we want to do it peacefully.”
The remarks came in the wake of reports suggesting both countries are preparing for additional military strikes after the midterm elections.
On Saturday, Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei called on Iran’s military to respond to “threats of all levels and types” with “immediate, impactful and geographically unrestricted responses.”
He also referred to the US and Israeli forces and ordered military databases to be updated so that “all types of physical and non-physical assets of the US and Zionist enemies are within the reach of the armed forces.”
Although the US government has not stated plans to resume attacks on Iran, the US is preparing for possible new military action after the November 3 midterm elections, according to reports in the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times.
On Sunday, President Trump told the Right Side Broadcasting Network: “We got a great win, so we’re going to put it away quickly anyway.”
“Either they make a deal or we terminate the deal,” he added.
Iran targets British intelligence
On Sunday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry designated Britain’s Military Intelligence Service as a “hostile group” and accused the Royal Navy and Air Force of supporting “terrorist organizations.”
The ministry said in a Telegram post that the move was in response to what it called London’s “malicious” actions, including designating the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a “terrorist organization.”
Separately, Tehran has accused Britain of participating in the US-Iranian war by allowing American forces access to British military and logistics bases.
According to the BBC, Britain had authorized the US military to use RAF Fairford and RAF Diego Garcia in what was described as a “defensive” attack against Iran.
