BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 28. The United States does not rule out carrying out a military operation against Iran, which, according to Washington, would be preemptive in nature, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, Trend reports. I hope it does not come to that,” he said at a hearing of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, commenting on Washington’s military preparations related to Iran. Rubio stressed that Washington currently intends to continue building up its military presence in the Middle East with Iran in mind. “What you are seeing now is the capability [of the United States] to position forces in the region in order to defend against what could be an Iranian threat to our personnel,” the head of the U.S. foreign policy department said.