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Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the United States can see the "finish line" in its five-week-old war with Iran and warned that Washington will reassess its relationship with NATO after the conflict.
He accused European allies of turning the alliance into "a one-way street" by denying basing rights and overflight access.
"We can see the finish line. It's not today, it's not tomorrow, but it is coming," Rubio told Fox News Channel's "Hannity" show on Tuesday.
His remarks aligned with U.S. President Donald Trump, who said the same day that the U.S. could end military attacks on Iran within two to three weeks.
Trump will address the nation on Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET to discuss the state of the conflict.
Rubio said Iran had been pursuing intercontinental missiles capable of reaching the U.S. mainland and would have achieved that goal had Trump not launched Operation Epic Fury.
"They were aiming to become the next North Korea, except not a North Korea run by a regime that is troublesome and hard to understand, but an Iran run by radical Shia clerics with intercontinental missiles that could reach the mainland of the United States eventually," Rubio said.
"That's what they would have ultimately achieved… had President Trump not taken these steps that he's taken," he added.
He accused Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi of deceiving the public about Tehran's ballistic missile capabilities. "Araghchi, their foreign minister, this guy is a liar," Rubio said.
"This guy was on television like a week ago, two weeks ago, denying that Iran had any missiles that could go beyond a certain limitation," Rubio noted.
Rubio described the Iranian regime as driven by destructive ideology. "This is a regime led by people who believe that it is their calling and their purpose in life is to usher in the end of the world," he said. "These people want nuclear weapons."
Rubio signaled progress in behind-the-scenes diplomacy, noting messages are being exchanged between Washington and Tehran with the potential for a direct meeting.
"There are messages being exchanged, there are talks going on. There is the potential for direct meeting at some point," Rubio said.
Pakistan announced Sunday it will host talks between the United States and Iran. But Rubio warned Trump would not tolerate delay tactics.
"What President Trump is not going to allow is he's not going to allow fake negotiations to be used as a delay tactic, to buy more time, to buy themselves space," he said.
He added that if talks fail, the military campaign will continue. "We're not going to allow… the failure of talks to impede our ability to defend this country and to protect this country from a real threat," Rubio said.
Rubio also said no country in the world was doing anything to help Iran that impedes the U.S. mission.
In his sharpest criticism of the transatlantic alliance, Rubio said Washington would have to reassess NATO after the conflict concludes.
"After this conflict is concluded, we're going to have to reexamine that relationship. We're going to have to reexamine the value of NATO and that alliance for our country," he said. "Ultimately, that's a decision for the president to make."
He criticized NATO allies for refusing to support the U.S. military campaign. "We're not asking them to conduct airstrikes. When we need them to allow us to use their military bases, their answer is 'No.' Then why are we in NATO?" Rubio said.
Rubio, who said he had long been "one of the strongest defenders of NATO," warned the alliance risks becoming "a one-way street where America is simply in a position to defend Europe. But when we need the help of our allies, they're going to deny us basing rights, and they're going to deny us overflight."
Several European allies have rejected or limited U.S. requests tied to the Iran war. Italy recently refused a U.S. request to land aircraft at a military base in Sicily, while Spain declined to authorize the use of its bases or airspace.
The U.K., France and Germany have limited their role to defensive support for regional partners and have repeatedly called for de-escalation.
European leaders have refused to get directly involved in military attacks against Iran.
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The war began Feb. 28 when the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran. Joint strikes in Iran and Israeli attacks in Lebanon have killed thousands and displaced millions. Tehran has responded with drone and missile strikes on Israel and Gulf states hosting U.S. military assets.
At least 13 U.S. service members have been killed since the war began, according to official U.S. figures. The conflict has raised oil prices and shaken global markets.
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