U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday that the United States is on track to achieve its military goals against Iran without deploying ground forces, even as additional American troops are being sent to the region.

“We are going to destroy their navy, we are going to destroy their air force, and we are going to significantly destroy their missile launchers so they can never hide behind these things to get a nuclear weapon,” Rubio said, as quoted by CNN. “We are achieving all of those objectives, we are ahead of schedule on most of them, and we can achieve them without any ground troops, without any.”

Marco Rubio on Iran:

This is not going to be a prolonged conflict.pic.twitter.com/QsjLw6XZ0J

— Clash Report (@clashreport) March 27, 2026

Addressing the recent decision to send more than 1,000 additional U.S. service members to the Middle East, Rubio said President Donald Trump must be ready for different possible scenarios, though he did not elaborate on what those might entail.

Rubio also predicted that the conflict would wrap up relatively quickly.

“As the Department of War has consistently outlined, we are on or ahead of schedule in that operation and expect to conclude it at the appropriate time here, in a matter of weeks, not months,” Rubio said.

Following a meeting of G7 foreign ministers in France, Rubio urged allies in Europe and Asia to prepare for securing the Strait of Hormuz after the war ends.

“Immediately after this thing ends and we are done with our objectives, one of the immediate challenges we are going to face is an Iran that may decide that they want to set up a tolling system in the Strait of Hormuz. Not only is this illegal, it is unacceptable, it is dangerous to the world, and it is important that the world have a plan to confront it,” Rubio said.

He emphasized that while the United States will play a role in maintaining stability, other nations also have a major interest in the outcome.

Rubio said the U.S. would be a “part of” the effort but stressed that countries in Europe and Asia “have a lot at stake and should contribute greatly,” adding that allies appeared receptive to his appeal.

On the diplomatic side, Rubio said Washington is still waiting for a formal Iranian response to the Trump administration’s 15-point proposal aimed at ending the war.

“We haven’t gotten it yet,” Rubio told CNN. “Look, we’ve got messages. We’ve had an exchange of messages and indications from the Iranian system, whatever is left of it, about a willingness to talk about certain things.”

He noted uncertainty over who would represent Iran in any negotiations, following strikes by the United States and Israel that eliminated key figures in the Iranian leadership.

“Who was it that we would be talking to? What will we be talking about, and when? When will we be talking?” Rubio said.

He added that clarification could come soon, possibly within days.

Rubio said Iran would need to demonstrate seriousness by identifying its representatives, outlining the topics for discussion, and setting a timeline for talks.

Meanwhile, President Trump announced Thursday that planned strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure would be delayed for another 10 days to allow negotiations to continue, setting a new deadline of April 6.

“As per Iranian Government request, please let this statement serve to represent that I am pausing the period of Energy Plant destruction by 10 Days to Monday, April 6, 2026, at 8 P.M., Eastern Time,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

In an interview with Fox News later that day, Trump said Iranian officials had asked for more time through intermediaries ahead of a potential escalation.

“They asked for seven, and I gave them 10,” he said, adding that talks were ongoing and “going fairly well.”

Trump warned that if Iran does not meet U.S. demands, additional strikes could target key infrastructure, including power plants.

He also said that U.S. forces have already dealt a significant blow to Iran’s military capabilities.

Trump told Fox News that the United States “knocked out” most of Iran’s missile capabilities and key military systems during the strikes.

Earlier Thursday, Trump described the progress of Operation Epic Fury during a cabinet meeting, emphasizing the scale of the campaign.

“Over the past three weeks, we’ve been hitting Iran’s military capabilities at a level that few people have ever seen before. It’s a display of force and precision and skill like nothing the world has really witnessed.”

“We’re crushing their missile and drone stockpiles, destroying their defense industrial base, we’ve wiped out their navy completely, their air force completely. We’ve wiped out a large percentage of their missiles and missile launchers. Without the launchers, the missiles don’t do any good. We’ve wiped out probably close to 90 percent of the launchers [and] probably, more than 90 percent of the missiles themselves,” he added. “We’ve also destroyed a lot of the factories where they manufactured the drones and the missiles.”

Trump further stated that Iran is “begging to make a deal, not me. They’re begging to make a deal. And anyone who saw what was happening over there would understand why they want to make a deal.”