Iran no longer has its “conventional shield” of drones and missiles that it can hide behind, which is why it is now willing to reach an agreement over denuclearization, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday night.
“I don’t think the Iranian regime has ever faced a president like President Trump, which is someone that actually takes action,” Rubio said in an interview with Fox News’ Lara Trump, the daughter-in-law of the president.
“They got used to, for 20-30 years, not just the U.S., but the broader world allowing them to get away with things like lying, breaking deals, tricking people into agreements and so forth,” America’s top diplomat continued.
“This case is pretty straightforward: Iran wants a nuclear weapon, and they were building a conventional missile shield they were going to hide behind. In essence they wanted to be in a position, a year and a half from now, to be able to say, ‘We have so many drones and so many missiles, you can’t possibly defend against them,’” he said.
But Trump did not let them accomplish that, Rubio continued, wiping out during “Operation Epic Fury” that started on Feb. 28 the Iranian navy, air force, missile defenses, launchers, and factories that manufacture these weapons.
Tehran still has drones and missiles, which can inflict damage, but degrading its military capabilities has allowed the U.S. to approach the Iranian regime “from a position of strength, not from a position of weakness,” the secretary of state said.
.@SecRubio: "I don't think the Iranian regime has ever faced a President like @POTUS, which is somebody that actually takes action. They got used to, for 20-30 years — not just the U.S., but the broader world — allowing them to get away with things like lying, breaking deals." pic.twitter.com/L3ylv113bD
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) August 2, 2026
Rubio said that while “regime change” was never the goal of the Trump administration, the Iranian regime does have to change and renounce its aim to export the Islamic revolution in the region.
“And the only way you’re going to change that is if you make the price of it too high for them to be able to pay,” he added.
.@SecRubio on the Iranian regime: "They want to export their revolution. That does have to change — and the only way you're going to change that is if you make the price of it too high for them to be able to pay." https://t.co/IHnUMvt9Ut pic.twitter.com/C9jwNdzPmh
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) August 2, 2026
Trump said on Sunday morning that he called off planned strikes on Iran after Tehran agreed in principle to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and negotiate an end to its nuclear program.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, the president said the U.S. military was “locked and loaded” and prepared to attack the Islamic Republic with force “not seen since World War II.”
