War to last weeks, not months, adds RubioThe war in the Gulf is expected to last weeks, not months, and Washington can meet all its objectives without using ground troops, US secretary of state Marco Rubio said yesterday. Mr Rubio told reporters after meeting G7 counterparts in France that Washington was “on or ahead of schedule in that operation, and expect to conclude it at the appropriate time here – a matter of weeks, not months”. The deployments have raised concerns that an air war that has already disrupted global energy supplies could turn into a prolonged ground battle. “We’ve had an exchange of messages and indications from the Iranian system, whatever’s left of it, about a willingness to talk about certain things,” Mr Rubio said. In the US, where Mr Trump is politically vulnerable to rising fuel prices, diesel in California hit an all-time high at an average $7.17 a gallon, the American Automobile Association said.

Source: Irish Independent March 28, 2026 17:33 UTC