Trump yet to decide on Iran, prefers diplomatic solution over military action, says US State Secretary

US President Donald Trump would prefer to resolve the conflict involving Iran through diplomatic means rather than resorting to military action, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Trump has not decided yet what to do with Iran, but he prefers a peaceful resolution.

(AP Photo)Speaking to reporters over the weekend, Rubio said that Trump had yet to make a final decision on the way forward but remained confident in the US military's ability to act if necessary. Rubio said the President believed Washington had the military capabilities and resources required to achieve its objectives should the situation escalate.

“[The president] hasn’t made a decision…what the president expresses to you is incredible confidence that if we needed to do something militarily, we would have the ability to do it,” Rubio said, adding that Trump was confident the US had “everything we need to be successful” if military action became necessary.

However, the Secretary of State stressed that the administration would rather pursue a peaceful resolution than engage in further military confrontation. “But we would prefer to do it peacefully,” Rubio said, underscoring Trump's stated preference for diplomacy over force.

His remarks suggest that while the military option remains on the table, the Trump administration has not ruled out diplomatic efforts to resolve the tensions with Iran. On Saturday, Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei called on the country’s armed forces to respond to “any level or type of threat” with an “immediate, impactful, and geographically unrestricted response.” He also directed the military to revise its target database to ensure that “all kinds of physical and non-physical assets of the U.S.-Zionist enemy” were within reach of Iranian forces, referring to American and Israeli interests.

Although Washington has not publicly confirmed plans to launch fresh strikes against Iran, reports by The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times suggest the US military is preparing for the possibility of renewed action following the November 3 midterm elections.

Meanwhile, Trump struck a confident tone when speaking to the Right Side Broadcasting Network on Sunday, claiming that the US had already secured a major victory in the conflict. “We’ve had such a victory, and we’ll put it away very soon, one way or the other,” he said.

He added: “Either they’ll make a deal, or we’ll just end it.” Amid the ongoing conflict, Conservative media personality Tucker Carlson has raised concerns that Trump could order nuclear strikes against Iran this week, alleging that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pushing Washington to resume military operations against Tehran.

Carlson, who was once a close ally of Trump but has since become a vocal critic, made the claims in a post on X on Sunday. He suggested that Netanyahu was lobbying Trump to restart the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran, with a potential target being the underground facility at Pickaxe Mountain, near the Iranian city of Natanz.

Carlson further argued that Netanyahu's political position had become increasingly dependent on renewed US military intervention following the results of last week's elections. According to Carlson, the Israeli Prime Minister may struggle to form a government without direct intervention from Trump, giving him a strong incentive to push for a resumption of the conflict.