ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – US President Donald Trump has yet to make a decision regarding potential new strikes on Iran, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Saturday.

"We can achieve military objectives if we seek to. He hasn't made a decision. I have no announcement in that regard with you today, and nor do we take any of it lightly," Rubio said at a G20 press conference in Atlanta, Georgia.

The remarks come as the US and Israel have reportedly discussed initiating new strikes on Iran in the near future. Israel held its parliamentary elections earlier this week, while Trump had previously vowed not to launch any new offensive ahead of the US mid-term elections, pegged for November 3.

Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei on Saturday warned that any missteps by the US or Israel will be met with a response that is "geographically unrestricted," while the country's military chief confirmed that his forces are "constantly updating our target database" in preparation.

Rubio added that Trump prefers solving the conflict through diplomacy, and “what the president expresses to you is the incredible confidence that if we needed to do something militarily, we would have the ability to do it and we have everything we need to be successful.”

“What the Iranian system, the Iranian regime, is basically arguing is: ‘Unless we get what we want, not only will we blow up ships, but we will destroy the energy infrastructure of our neighbors in the entire region,’” Rubio stressed.

Tehran was able to successfully leverage strikes on US Gulf allies and critical infrastructure during the previous conflict, forcing the war to be expanded and dragging regional partners into the conflict without their foreknowledge.

“Just think about that because I think we skip over that like that's some sort of normal behavior. That's not normal behavior,” Rubio added.

With its nexus of ideological allies concentrated in Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen, any return to hostilities could see broader strikes in support of Iran across the region, with Yemen's Houthis already incessantly targeting Saudi oil infrastructure and airports in their own conflict.

In an exclusive interview with Al-Jazeera aired Saturday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that US engagement in ongoing peace efforts is positive, citing the role of Qatari and Pakistani mediators in exchanging draft agreements.