Washington, DC [US], January 29 (ANI): US Secretary of State Marco Rubio raised the possibility of preemptive action against Iran, telling lawmakers that Tehran's leadership is currently at its weakest point in decades, as Washington continues to reinforce its military posture across the Middle East.

On Wednesday, testifying before the Senate, Rubio said the Trump administration's decision to strengthen US assets in the region, including the recent arrival of the USS Abraham Lincoln and its strike group in the US Central Command area, was a 'prudent' step aimed at protecting more than 30,000 US service members stationed across the region.

'And so I think it's wise and prudent to have a force posture within the region that could respond and potentially, not necessarily what's going to happen, but if necessary, preemptively prevent the attack against 1000s of American servicemen and other facilities in the region. And our allies,' Rubio told senators during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing focused on Venezuela.

'I hope it doesn't come to that, but that's I think what you're seeing now is the ability to posture assets in the region to defend against what could be an Iranian threat against our personnel,' he added.

Rubio's remarks come as regional allies, including the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, brace for the possibility that President Donald Trump could authorise strikes on Iran following Tehran's crackdown on anti-regime protests and amid concerns over potential retaliation.

Addressing Iran's military capabilities, Rubio said the country is 'weaker than it has ever been,' but warned that it has accumulated 'thousands and thousands' of long-range ballistic missiles 'that they've built despite the fact that their economy is collapsing.'

Trump has publicly supported the protests, which began in late December but were largely suppressed, warning Iran's leadership that violence against demonstrators would trigger military consequences. Despite earlier pledges, the president has yet to announce concrete assistance for protesters, even as thousands were reportedly killed during the crackdown earlier this month.

The president renewed his warning early Wednesday, saying any future action would be 'far worse' than last summer's US strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities.

'Hopefully Iran will quickly 'Come to the Table' and negotiate a fair and equitable deal - NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS - one that is good for all parties. Time is running out, it is truly of the essence!' Trump wrote on Truth Social.

'As I told Iran once before, MAKE A DEAL! They didn't, and there was 'Operation Midnight Hammer,' a major destruction of Iran,' Trump added. 'The next attack will be far worse! Don't make that happen again.'

Iran's mission to the United Nations responded by warning it would retaliate 'like never before,' while also signalling openness to talks. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi echoed that stance on social media, saying, 'Our brave Armed Forces are prepared--with their fingers on the trigger--to immediately and powerfully respond to ANY aggression against our beloved land, air and sea.'

When asked by Senator John Cornyn about a potential post-regime scenario in Iran, Rubio said, 'I don't think anyone can give you a simple answer as to what happens next in Iran if the Supreme Leader and the regime were to fall, other than the hope that there would be some ability to have somebody within their systems, that you could work towards a similar transition.' (ANI)