Secretary of state’s address comes as US deploys largest force of aircraft and warships to Middle East since 2003
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Marco Rubiowill deliver a rare briefing to top US lawmakers onIranat the White House on Tuesday as Washington deploys its largest force of aircraft and warships to the Middle East since the 2003 buildup to the Iraq war.
The audience for the secretary of state’s briefing is reported to include the so-called “gang of eight”, which includes the senior lawmakers from both parties in the House and Senate, as well as the chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate intelligence committees.
The select group is briefed by the White House on classified intelligence matters, which can include preparations for significant military action. Rubio last publicly briefed the group on 5 January, the day after the US launched its successful operation tocaptureVenezuela’s Nicolás Maduro.
The developments came after a second US aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald Ford – the largest such vessel in the world – arrived in the region. Analysts have said that the US is now in position to launch a strike against Iranif Donald Trump orders one.
The briefing by Rubio is set to take place just hours before Trump is scheduled todeliveraState of the Unionspeech on Tuesday evening in which his foreign policy is expected to play a central role. Trumphasdemandedthat Iran abandon its nuclear programme,abandonits production of ballistic missiles, andceaseits support for overseas proxies such as Hezbollah and the Houthis in Yemen.
US-Irantalksare scheduled for Thursday in Geneva. In an interview with NPR, the deputy foreign minister, Majid Takht-Ravanchi, said that Iran was “ready to reach an agreement as soon as possible”.
“We want to do whatever’s necessary to make it happen,” he added. But the negotiations would only concern Iran’s nuclear programme, he added, which is unlikely to satisfy the White House.
Trump last week said that Iran would either make a deal or the US would have to “take it a step further”, adding that “really bad things” would happen to Iran, adding a time limit of 10 days.
Source: Drudge Report
