Rubio Confirms No Injuries After US Consulate Grounds Hit in Dubai, Says US About to ‘Unleash Chiang’ on Iran

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed Tuesday afternoon that an Iranian drone struck United States Consulate grounds in Dubai, the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, and that “all personnel are accounted for.”

Dubai authorities stated that emergency teams responded immediately and the fire was quickly extinguished with no injuries reported.

“A drone unfortunately struck a parking lot adjacent to the chancery building and it set of a fire in that place,” Rubio told reporters, adding that the Trump administration began drawing down personnel from its diplomatic facilities in the Middle East before launching Operation Epic Fury.

An Emirati official told CNN that the consulate was closed at the time of the strike.

The attack follows a series of Iranian drone and missile strikes across the UAE and the wider Gulf region, including previous attacks on the US Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and damage to Dubai’s Jebel Ali Port, Burj Al Arab, and Dubai International Airport.

UAE authorities have maintained that their air defense systems intercepted the majority of incoming drones and missiles, with over 800 projectiles detected since the conflict escalated. The US Department of State has issued an urgent security alert, advising American citizens in Dubai and Abu Dhabi to depart immediately due to serious safety risks and potential airspace closures.

Rubio and other top U.S. national security officials, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine briefed both chambers of Congress on U.S. military operations and strategy regarding Operation Epic Fury.

“We’ve been very fortunate obviously but our embassies and diplomatic facilities are under direct attack from a terroristic regime,” Rubio told reporters after the briefing on Capitol Hill.

The secretary also promised that the U.S. military will “unleash Chiang” on the Iranian regime within the “next few hours and days.”

The phrase “unleash Chiang” reportedly stems from a Bush family inside joke referring to the sword of Chiang Kai-shek.

“You are about to see —we will unleash Chiang on these people in the next few hours and days, and you will really begin to perceive a change in the scope and in the intensity of these attacks, as the two most powerful air forces in the world take apart this terroristic regime and de-fang it,” Rubio told reporters.

President Trump said Tuesday that most of Iran’s military installations have been “knocked out” and that new strikes today targeted Iranian leadership. Israel also reportedly struck a compound of the group responsible for electing the next supreme leader of Iran.

During a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the White House, Trump told reporters that a number of Iranian officials are ready to quit fighting and are asking for immunity.

The president said he directed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to “cut off all dealings with Spain” after the country refused to allow the U.S. military to use its bases for strikes in Iran Operation Epic Fury.

“Spain has been terrible,” Trump stated.

The Spanish government has maintained that the proposed military actions were not covered by its bilateral agreements with the U.S. or the United Nations Charter.

“We’re going to cut off all trade with Spain. We don’t want anything to do with Spain,” Trump declared.

Bessent has affirmed that the president has the authority to impose a full embargo under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

“We could use their bases if we want. We could just fly in and use it,” Trump added. “Nobody is gonna tell us not to use it.”

The president also ripped the United Kingdom for attempting to force the U.S. military out of a strategically vital joint UK–US military base located on Diego Garcia, the largest island in the Chagos Archipelago in the central Indian Ocean.

“This is not the age of Churchill. I will say, the UK has been very, very uncooperative with that stupid island they have, having to do with perhaps indigenous people claiming the island.”

The United Kingdom reportedly plans to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.

The president responded forcefully when asked if the his administration felt undo pressure from Israel to attack Iran.

“No. No, I might have forced their hand. You see, we were having negotiations with these lunatics, and it was my opinion that they were going to attack first, Trump replied. “They were going to attack. If we didn’t do it, they were going to attack first. I felt strongly about that. We have great negotiators, great people, people that do this very successfully and have done it all their lives very successfully. And based on the way the negotiation was going, I think they were going to attack first. And I didn’t want that to happen. So, if anything, I might have forced Israel’s hand. But Israel was ready and we were ready. And we’ve had a very, very powerful impact because virtually everything they have has been knocked out now.”