The U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, stated this Tuesday before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the Iranian navy "lies at the bottom of the ocean" and that its wreckage "will soon be excellent fishing spots because they will become reefs."
The statement was made during the hearing convened to review the budget request of the State Department for fiscal year 2027, marking Rubio's first appearance before that committee since the onset of the armed conflict with Iran, which gave his words special political significance.
"Today there is no Iranian navy. Such a thing does not exist. There are plenty of small boats with machine guns on them, but there is no navy," Rubio said mockingly. "It lies at the bottom of the ocean and soon, over the course of a few years, they will become great fishing spots because they will turn into reefs."
The conflict between the United States and Israel against Iran began on February 28, 2026 with surprise airstrikes on Iranian nuclear and military facilities in Natanz, Isfahan, and Fordow, in an operation known as "Operation Epic Fury."
Since then, the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) reported the progressive destruction of dozens of Iranian vessels. On March 3, it destroyed 11 ships in the Gulf of Oman, and between the 11th and 12th of that same month, it eliminated more than 60 additional vessels, including 16 used for mining near the Strait of Hormuz.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly used the same narrative. In April, he claimed that 158 Iranian ships had been sunk, a figure that differs from the official reports from CENTCOM, and on May 4, he stated that Iran "has no navy, they have no missiles, they have nothing."
Rubio's statements come at a time of diplomatic tension. In parallel to the military conflict, indirect negotiations are taking place regarding the Iranian nuclear program, mediated by Pakistan and other countries.
The United States demands the complete dismantling of Iran's nuclear program and a 20-year moratorium on uranium enrichment. Iran, for its part, has reportedly offered pauses ranging from five to 15 years and requested 270 billion dollars in war compensations.
Rubio described any possibility of making concessions to Iran in the nuclear negotiations as “absurd” on May 24, while Trump sent revisions to the peace proposal presented to Tehran on May 31.
The Pentagon warned last Saturday that it is prepared to resume attacks against Iran if negotiations fail, making this Tuesday's hearing a gauge of the true state of peace talks.
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