WASHINGTON
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that the regime change in Iran is “far more complex” than the recent effort to depose Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
“I would imagine it would be even far more complex than the one we're describing now, because you're talking about a regime that's in place for a very long time,” Rubio told lawmakers during a Senate hearing on Venezuela. “So that’s going to require a lot of careful thinking, if that eventuality ever presents itself.”
Rubio framed the US military presence in the Middle East as primarily defensive, saying there is an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 American troops stationed at eight or nine facilities.
He added that the forces are within range of thousands of Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and short‑range ballistic missiles, underscoring the need to “preemptively prevent" a potential attack on American soldiers and US allies in the region.
“We have to have enough force and power in the region, just on a baseline to defend against that possibility,” he said. “We also have security agreements, the defense of Israel plan and others, that requires to have a force posture in the region to defend against that.”
Rubio also said regime in Iran is “probably weaker” than it has ever been, accusing Tehran of failing to address the "core complaints" of protesters, which he said is that "their economy is in collapse."
He added that the protests will spark again in the future unless the Iranian government is willing to change or leave.
Rubio's remarks followed US President Donald Trump’s statement that a “massive armada” was heading toward Iran as he expressed hope that Tehran would “come to the table” to negotiate with Washington.
Iran has been rocked by waves of protests since Dec. 28 at Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, because of the sharp depreciation of the Iranian rial and worsening economic conditions. Demonstrations later spread to several cities.
Officials have accused the US and Israel of backing "armed rioters" to create a pretext for foreign intervention and warned that any US attack would draw a "swift and comprehensive" response.