Shafaq News– Washington
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that 30,000 to 40,000 US troops deployed across the Middle East are within range of Iranian missiles and drones, while warning that no clear alternative exists for who would rule Iran if its supreme leader were removed.
Speaking to reporters, Rubio said that Iran’s political structure has been in place for decades and that any attempt to dismantle it would require “a lot of careful thinking,” including the implications for US forces in the region.
Rubio said US troops are spread across nine locations in the Middle East and are exposed to Iranian capabilities, adding that US forces are fully prepared to defend themselves if targeted. He noted that Washington must maintain a sufficient military posture to deter attacks, respond if necessary, and prevent strikes against US forces and allies.
His comments followed US President Donald Trump's statement that Iran is seeking negotiations, as the United States deploys a large naval force to the Middle East. Trump told Axios that Washington now has a “big armada next to Iran, bigger than Venezuela,” referring to the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group, which entered the US Central Command area on January 26. However, he did not make a final decision on military action.
Washington previously weighed strikes following Iran’s response to protests that erupted in December 2025, before opting to delay and reinforce US military posture instead. According to the human rights group HRANA, aggregated data show 6,221 confirmed deaths linked to protests as of the 31st day of unrest, including 5,858 protesters and 100 children. The group reported 42,324 arrests and more than 11,000 severe injuries.
Iranian officials, including Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, have expressed readiness to negotiate but have not accepted US demands, which include removing all enriched uranium, limiting long-range missile development, ending support for regional armed groupsذ Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Iraq’s armed factions, and Yemen’s Houthis (Ansarallah).
Tehran has also warned that any US strike, whether limited or wide-scale, would be treated as an “all-out war.” Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Mohammad Pakpour said Iran has its “finger on the trigger.”
Read more: Washington holds back: Calculated pressure, not war, shapes US policy toward Iran