‘Hardest Hits Are Yet to Come’ – RedState
On Monday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke briefly to the press to provide an update on the situation in Iran and elsewhere. This follows Mr. Rubio’s briefing of the Congressional Gang of Eight, when he informed them of the progress of Operation Epic Fury. Some highlights follow.
First, why the operation was launched now:
.@SecRubio: “This operation had to happen because Iran, in about a year… they would have so many short-range missiles, so many drones, that no one could do anything about it… look at the damage they are causing now – and it’s a weakened Iran. Imagine in a year.” https://t.co/JI2PyMK99F pic.twitter.com/EKODTanPtV
– Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 2, 2026
Secretary Rubio said:
Number one is that no matter what, this operation ultimately had to happen. It’s the question of why now. But this operation had to take place. Because Iran, in about a year or a year and a half, would cross the line of immunity, which means they would have so many short-range missiles, so many drones, that no one could do anything about it. Because they could take the whole world hostage. Look at the damage they’re doing now. And it is a weakened Iran. Imagine in a year. So it had to happen. Obviously, we were aware of Israeli intentions and understood what that would mean for us, and we had to be prepared to act accordingly. But it had to happen no matter what.
The interesting passage that Secretary Rubio lets slip here, perhaps intentionally? “…we were aware of Israeli intentions.” Does this mean that Israel intended to strike Iran, with or without American assistance? Of course, without American help, as powerful as Israel is, it would have been much more difficult.
Here is another interesting statement from Secretary Rubio:
.@SecRubio: “The hardest blows have yet to come from the US military. The next phase will be even more punitive for Iran than it is now… The world will be safer when we complete this operation.” pic.twitter.com/vguq6BHYlt
– Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 2, 2026
Again, Secretary Rubio said:
They suffered enormous damage. Honestly – and again, I’m not going to reveal the details of our tactical efforts, but the hardest blows have yet to come from the U.S. military. The next phase will be even more punitive for Iran than it is now. Someone was shouting how long it will take, I don’t know how long it will take, we have goals. We will do this for as long as it takes to achieve these goals. And we will achieve these goals. The world will be safer when we complete this operation.
The hardest blows are yet to come. The Iranian navy, such as it was, has disappeared. Their air force too. The Supreme Leader is now a collection of Supreme Spare Parts. Most of the top military and regime officials did not survive, their main military installations are in ruins and the hardest blows are yet to come. It’s interesting. And yes, if this regime can be toppled once and for all, if a modern, representative government can be established by the Iranian people, it will change not only the Middle East but the world.
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Finally, on the objective of Operation Epic Fury:
.@SecRubio: “At the end of the day, no matter who governs this country a year from now, they won’t have these ballistic missiles and they won’t have these drones to threaten us. That’s the goal of this mission.” pic.twitter.com/dYrzUWt340
– Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 2, 2026
We would love to see this regime replaced. And finally, as the president said… (unintelligible press call) No, let me finish my answer. As the president said, he would like the Iranian people to take this opportunity to rise up and remove these leaders. They’ve been wanting to remove them for a long time. We have seen successive waves of protests. And we saw them massacre people. But the goal of this mission is to make sure that they don’t have these weapons that could threaten us and our allies in the region. This is why we do what we do now. And as much as we would like to see a new regime, the bottom line is that no matter who governs this country, a year from now they won’t have these ballistic missiles or drones to threaten us. This is the objective of this mission. It’s about denying them the ability to use ballistic missiles to threaten their neighbors, threaten our bases, threaten our presence in the region and, ultimately, as a shield behind which they can do whatever they want with their nuclear ambition. We weren’t going to let them hide behind this. And that’s why this was such a crucial mission to take on now, while they were at their weakest point, and not a year from now, where they could deal even more damage and perhaps already be behind that immunity point.
The disarmament of Iran is therefore, according to official American policy, as the Secretary of State declared, the primary objective of this mission, the secondary concern being to give the Iranian people the opportunity to take back their country. This is perhaps understandable from a national security perspective. From a human perspective, from a civilization perspective, it seems necessary, even vital, to end the theocracy in Iran once and for all – which would also solve the weapons problem.
Editor’s note: For decades, past presidents have done nothing but talk. Now, Donald Trump eliminates the Iranian threat once and for all.
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