U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused Iran of taking the world hostage through its retaliatory strikes and insisted that the United States was on track with its war objectives.
"I think we are all seeing right now the threat this clerical regime poses to the region and to the world. They are trying to hold the world hostage," Mr. Rubio said at an event at the State Department.
Israel-Iran war updates on March 9, 2026
"They are attacking neighboring countries, their energy infrastructure, their civilian population," he said.
"The objective of this mission is to destroy their ability to continue to do that, and we are well on our way to achieving that."
