Rubio says 'thousands' killed in Iran, US prepping for threats against personnel
The top American diplomat’s comments follow US President Donald Trump saying an “armada” is heading toward Iran.
As President Donald Trump weighs military action against Iran following its violent crackdown on nationwide protests, the United States is reinforcing its military posture in the Middle East to deter potential threats to US personnel, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday.
“What you’re seeing now is the ability to posture assets in the Middle East to defend against what could be an Iranian threat against our personnel,” Rubio told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Rubio said there are roughly 30,000–40,000 American troops stationed at facilities across the region that are “all within reach of an array of thousands of Iranian one-way UAVs and Iranian short-range ballistic missiles.”
Rubio added that the death toll from Iran’s recent protests is “in the thousands for certain,” describing an economy in collapse and a regime he said is weaker than it has ever been.
