U.S. Senator Marco Rubio suggested on Tuesday (local time) that the United States could launch preemptive strikes against Iran to prevent attacks on U.S. troops stationed abroad, but emphasized that he hopes such an event will not occur.

Rubio made the remarks during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the arrest of Nicolás Maduro, when asked about the buildup of military forces in the Middle East this week.

The senator stated that he believes it is necessary to increase troop presence in the Middle East to protect the 30,000 U.S. troops stationed there if tensions with Iran escalate further.

"So I think it's a wise and prudent step to have the capability in place in the region, to be able to preemptively stop attacks on thousands of American troops and other facilities, if necessary—though not inevitably—to occur," he said, also serving as National Security Advisor.

"I hope that doesn't happen, but I think what we're seeing is the capability to deploy assets in the region in preparation for the possibility that Iran will threaten our people," he added.

Rubio told senators he believes the Iranian regime is "weaker than it has ever been."

The remarks come as the U.S. and its allies brace for potential attacks on Iran, with President Donald Trump having authorized strikes in response to Iran's brutal crackdown on anti-government protests and the possibility of retaliation, according to The Hill.

President Donald Trump threatened on Tuesday morning via Truth Social that Iran would be attacked unless it reached a "deal," including a promise to abandon its pursuit of nuclear weapons.

"As I've told Iran, negotiate! They didn't negotiate, and then came the big attack on Iran, Operation Midnight Hammer. The next attack will be far more severe! Make sure this never happens again," he wrote.

Meanwhile, when asked by Senator Brian Emanuel Schatz (D-Hawaii) if he could publicly state that the U.S. would not directly engineer a regime change in Cuba, Rubio responded, "Regime change? No, I think we want to see regime change there. The U.S. will not engineer a regime change, but there is no doubt that it would be in the best interest of the United States if Cuba were no longer ruled by a dictatorship."

U.S. NNP=Reporter Sung Ku Hong / Special Correspondent for this paper NNP info@newsandpost.com