Operation Midnight Hammer: US state secy Marco Rubio denies limited damage studies; says Iran now ‘a lot further away from nukes’

US secretary of state Marco Rubio (AP)

US secretary of state Marco Rubio stated on Wednesday that Iran is “much further away from a nuclear weapon.”In an interview with information portal Politico on the sidelines of the Nato summit in The Hague, Rubio supplied a extra nuanced evaluation of US airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear services earlier this week, in distinction together with his boss President Trump’s assertions on the similar summit, that Iran’s Fardo, Natanz and Isfahan websites have been “completely obliterated.”“The bottom line is, they are much further away from a nuclear weapon today than they were before the president took this bold action,” Rubio stated. “That’s the most important thing to understand, significant, very significant, substantial damage was done to a variety of different components, and we’re just learning more about it.”The interview comes within the backdrop of a leaked preliminary evaluation by the Pentagon’s protection intelligence company, first reported by CNN earlier this week, which urged US strikes might have left key elements of Iran’s nuclear services intact, setting this system again solely by months. The US intelligence neighborhood is predicted to launch further assessments within the coming days and weeks, although differing analyses are frequent among the many varied spy businesses.Rubio rejected the media studies as “false,” saying they didn’t current the entire image.“I hate commenting on these stories, because often the first story is wrong and the person putting it out there has an agenda,” he stated. “That story is a false story, and it’s one that really shouldn’t be rereported because it doesn’t accurately reflect what’s happening.”While Trump has hinted at regime change in Iran on social media, Rubio clarified that it isn’t the target of the US authorities.“The world is filled with regimes I don’t like and the president doesn’t like, and a lot of us wish didn’t exist. The United States’ job is not to go around and set up governments for every country,” he stated.“Our national security issue with Iran is with a clerical regime that wants nuclear weapons so they can threaten us, threaten Israel today, threaten us tomorrow. And the president’s made clear that’s not going to happen.”Rubio went on so as to add that Trump views regime change as a possible consequence if Iran’s management stays on its present path.Rubio famous that though Trump considers a spread of views and recommendation, “once the president makes a decision, his instincts are uncanny, and we have to appreciate that.”“I find it curious when people argue as if somehow this is some coalition government and we all get a vote. There’s only one vote here,” Rubio stated. He added: “When he says, ‘this is the direction I want to go,’ our job is not to spend all day trying to change his mind.”