WorldPosted at: Nov 1 2026 1:53PM


Iran openly targeting commercial ships, threatening global energy security: Rubio

Atlanta, October 31 (UNI) US Secretary of State Marco Rubio launched a scathing attack on Iran, accusing the regime of deliberately targeting commercial shipping and threatening the energy infrastructure of neighbouring countries, while warning that Tehran's nuclear ambitions pose a grave danger to regional and global security.
Rubio said Iran has turned attacks on civilian commercial vessels into an instrument of state policy, creating a dangerous situation for international shipping and the global economy.
He stressed that the vessels being targeted are carrying commercial cargo, including oil and natural gas, and are not military or naval assets. "We now live in a world where the Iranian regime actively and openly targets commercial vessels for attack. We are talking about them saying: Here's a commercial vessel with cargo, oil, natural gas, and we are going to try to sink it," Rubio said at a press availability after the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Atlanta.
"They are openly attacking vessels as a tool of statecraft. That's the world we live in," he added. The US Secretary of State said American forces has been defending commercial shipping from Iranian drones and missiles almost every night, adding that attacks are no longer confined to the Strait of Hormuz but were also being witnessed in the Bab al-Mandeb.
He said the volume of fuel passing through the Strait of Hormuz is now comparable to pre-conflict levels, but maintaining the flow require sustained military protection by the United States. Rubio warned that disruptions to vital maritime routes were having consequences far beyond energy markets, threatening food security by obstructing the movement of fuel, fertilisers and agricultural products.
"When energy and fertiliser and agricultural products can't reach their destinations, it threatens the most vital necessity for each and every one of our nations," he said. On the possibility of renewed US military strikes against Iran, Rubio declined to disclose any plans, but made clear that Washington retained the military capability to act if President Donald Trump decided to do so. "The President's preference in any challenge around the world is to try to solve it diplomatically and peacefully, if possible," he said, adding that Trump has not taken any decision on fresh military action.
However, he warned that any diplomatic settlement would have to address Washington's core security concerns, particularly Iran's nuclear programme and its alleged role in destabilising the Middle East. "It can't be one that endangers our national security or one that doesn't meet our core concerns," Rubio said.
He asserted that Iran's nuclear ambitions could not be allowed to materialise, describing the country as being at the centre of instability across the region. Rubio also accused Tehran of supporting armed groups and militant organisations in Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq, arguing that Iranian backing had enabled the Houthis to expand their military capabilities and threaten Saudi Arabia. In particularly sharp remarks, Rubio warned of the consequences of Iran acquiring weapons of mass destruction, saying the threat would extend far beyond attacks on energy infrastructure.
"Imagine if Iran had a nuclear weapon. Imagine if Iran had weapons of mass destruction of any kind, be they chemical, biological, or nuclear," he said. "What would they threaten their neighbours with then? Then they wouldn't be threatening to blow up pipelines. Then they'd be threatening to kill tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people." Responding to questions about security guarantees for Gulf allies, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE, Rubio said the United States was already providing military protection to shipping and supporting regional air defence systems. He maintained that Washington recognised the risks faced by Gulf nations, whose economies depend heavily on energy exports passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
"The United States is there now protecting it," he said, adding that American forces were regularly intercepting drones and missiles directed at vessels carrying regional energy supplies.
On the Houthi threat to Saudi Arabia, Rubio said Washington would honour its defence cooperation commitments with Riyadh, although any decision to participate in offensive military operations would rest with the US President. "We have a defence cooperation agreement. We have defence understandings with Saudi Arabia. We intend to continue to live up to those commitments," he said. UNI AAB
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