Secretary Rubio spoke about the efforts to negotiate ahead of Operation Epic Fury, stating, "We could have done this before. I mean, imagine an Iranian regime who - instead of spending billions of dollars supporting terrorist groups and building up all these weapons - invested that money into Iran, for the people of Iran, so they wouldn't have water shortages, so their economies would provide opportunities." He added, "People of Iran are incredible people - very resourceful, very entrepreneurial - but it's their regime that's been a problem, and instead they've chosen to spend the wealth of their country to support Hezbollah and Hamas and Shia militias inside of Iraq." The Israeli Defense Forces killed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps navy commander who authorized the closure of the Strait of Hormuz last week. Other top Iranian naval officials also died in the strike. The Iran-backed Houthis have recently attacked southern Israel and have threatened to shut down the Bab al-Mandab Strait near the Red Sea. | 
