US Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended Gulf military strikes while pursuing diplomatic talks in Qatar to reopen the critical Strait of Hormuz.
WASHINGTON— In a highly volatile, double-track strategy to stabilize the Persian Gulf,the United States is executing targeted “self-defense strikes” against Iranian military assets while simultaneously pushing for a comprehensive diplomatic settlement in Qatar to permanently reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
The parallel efforts underscore the delicate,often contradictory nature of modern conflict resolution in the Middle East. While diplomats in Doha haggle over the precise legal language of a tentative bilateral accord, carrier-based strike groups and coastal defense batteries continue to trade fire, threatening to collapse the entire diplomatic track with a single tactical miscalculation.