WASHINGTON: Marco Rubio said Tuesday the United States can see the “finish line” in the ongoing war with Iran, now in its fifth week, while indicating that ties with NATO may be reassessed after the conflict.
“We can see the finish line. It’s not today, it’s not tomorrow, but it is coming,” Rubio said in an interview with Fox News.
The war began on February 28 when the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran, prompting Tehran to respond with strikes targeting Israel and Gulf states hosting US military bases.
Joint US-Israeli strikes in Iran, along with Israeli attacks in Lebanon, have killed thousands and displaced millions, while also pushing up oil prices and unsettling global markets.
SECRETARY RUBIO: We’re well on our way and ahead of schedule on each of our objectives. We can see the finish line.
Our military is achieving our objectives with extraordinary efficiency, something that I think will go down in history as one of the best-run tactical military… pic.twitter.com/g6d4ewPsnb
— Department of State (@StateDept) April 1, 2026
Rubio said messages are being exchanged between Washington and Tehran, with the possibility of a direct meeting between the two sides. “There are messages being exchanged, there are talks going on. There is the potential for direct meeting at some point,” he said.
US President Donald Trump said separately that Washington could end its military campaign within two to three weeks, adding that the conflict may conclude without a formal agreement.
Rubio also said no country is currently taking actions that would significantly hinder US operations.
Rubio said on that the United States “is going to have to reexamine” its relationship with NATO once the war against Iran has concluded.
“I think there’s no doubt, unfortunately, after this conflict is concluded, we are going to have to reexamine that relationship. We’re going to have to reexamine the value of NATO in that alliance for our country,” Rubio said to host Sean Hannity on Fox News.
SECRETARY RUBIO: We’ll have to reexamine whether NATO is serving its purpose or has now become a one-way street where America is simply in a position to help Europe but when we need the help of our allies, they deny us basing rights and overflight. pic.twitter.com/sosbdL5iBc
— Department of State (@StateDept) April 1, 2026
He added that “ultimately” it would be a decision for President Donald Trump to make.
The top US diplomat said he had been “one of the strongest defenders of NATO” while he was in the US Senate because he “found great value in it.”
Much of that value was in having military bases in Europe that allowed the US military “to project power into different parts of the world,” Rubio said.
“If now we have reached a point where the NATO alliance means that we can’t use those bases, that in fact we can no longer use those bases to defend America’s interests, then NATO is a one-way street,” he added.
Rubio went further, saying that while Washington was not asking NATO allies to conduct airstrikes as part of the war against Iran, “when we need them to allow us to use their military bases, their answer is ‘No?’ Then why are we in NATO? You have to ask that question.”
Rubio’s comments come after several European countries have restricted the US military from using bases on their soil.
Earlier on Tuesday, it was revealed that Italy had denied a US aircraft permission to land while it was en route to the Middle East for a combat mission.
And on Monday, Spain closed its airspace to US planes carrying out missions against Iran.
