Rubio: The Ayatollah Regime Is the Number One Cause of Instability

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said today (Monday) in an interview with Breitbart that "the main obstacle to peace and stability in the Middle East is the regime of the ayatollahs in Iran. The old worldview that the Palestinian issue is the heart of the conflict has been shattered. The number one cause of instability, of wars and of conflicts, is the Islamic regime in Tehran."

According to Rubio, "Who sponsors Hezbollah? Hezbollah is an agent of Iran. If the radical leadership of the Shiite clerics in Iran did not exist, none of these problems would have arisen. The Palestinian issue would also have been far easier to solve without Tehran's intervention and funding."

The Secretary of State added that the Trump administration is working to prevent Tehran from building a "conventional shield" of tens of thousands of missiles and drones that would cover for the development of nuclear weapons in the future. "The president was not willing to let them hide behind such a shield. He destroyed their navy, their air force and the plants that produce the missiles. Today Iran is under an unprecedented blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, which prevents it from exporting oil and financing terror organizations. Every dollar you deny them through sanctions is a dollar they do not have for Hezbollah, Hamas or the militias in Iraq."

On the other side, the chief of the general staff of the Iranian armed forces, General Ali Abdollahi, told the Iranian news agency Tasnim that "the sound of the next blow is closer than ever, and it will be more devastating and harder to intercept."

The spokesman for the Revolutionary Guards, Hossein Mohebbi, added: "In terms of its military capability, the United States is not currently able to open a new confrontation, technically and militarily. But there is a possibility that, nevertheless, because of how close the US elections are, it will want to create an achievement for itself, and for example carry out some limited operation and use its achievements for election purposes. That possibility exists."

It should be noted that according to an Arab report, the Americans warned today against the military confrontation expanding beyond Saudi Arabia and Yemen. The concern is over possible attacks by Iran and organizations identified with it. Accordingly, warnings were sent to all American missions in the Gulf states and the Middle East.

At the same time, the Qatari newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported that "this week an announcement is expected about a breakthrough regarding halting the escalation between Washington and Tehran." According to the report, mediators' efforts are continuing in order to narrow the points of disagreement between the sides and push them toward mutual concessions that would prevent the renewal of the war.

In addition, Russia has entered the picture, and it was reported that it is offering to act inside Iran to remove the enriched nuclear material and transfer it to Russia. The Russian foreign minister landed in Tehran this afternoon and is holding talks with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi.