Mum on nuclear and proxy issues, Rubio says war aims are to destroy Iran’s missile program and navy

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio accuses Iran of taking the world “hostage” through its retaliatory strikes and insists that the United States is on track with its war objectives.

“I think we are all seeing right now the threat this clerical regime poses to the region and to the world. They are trying to hold the world hostage,” Rubio says at an event at the State Department.

He also lays out the goals of the war against Iran, saying they are to “destroy the ability of this regime to launch missiles, both by destroying their missiles and their launchers; destroy the factories that make these missiles; and destroy their navy.”

He notably makes no mention of what US officials have previously said were two other goals — to prevent Iran from ever obtaining a nuclear weapon and to ensure that Tehran ceases support for proxies in the region.

The US has been criticized for not clearly laying out the aims of Operation Epic Fury to the American public, while offering varying rationalizations for the timing of the Iran strikes after the fact.