Marco Rubio, the U.S. Secretary of State, said on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers meeting that American forces, with a significant presence in the Persian Gulf, protect commercial ships and the energy infrastructure of the countries in the region and, almost every day or every other day, intercept and shoot down incoming missiles and drones.

Referring to threats by the Islamic Republic against ships and the energy infrastructure of neighboring countries, Rubio said that such behavior should not be considered normal. He warned that Tehran’s access to weapons of mass destruction could increase the scope of these threats, and added that the Islamic Republic’s support for the Houthis, Hezbollah, and Iraqi militias has been a factor in instability in the region.