WASHINGTON, May 5 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that the U.S. military campaign against Iran is "over," as Washington shifts focus to reopening the Strait of Hormuz and guiding stranded commercial vessels through the critical waterway.
"EPIC FURY" DECLARED OVER
The large-scale U.S. military campaign against Iran, launched jointly with Israel on Feb. 28, has concluded, Rubio said at a White House press briefing.
"The operation is over. Epic Fury, as the president notified Congress, we're done with that stage of it," Rubio said.
The announcement is seen as an attempt by the Trump administration to sidestep the War Powers Resolution, which requires the president to seek congressional authorization to continue military hostilities after 60 days.
The Trump administration notified Congress last week that hostilities against Iran had been "terminated" as it reached the 60-day threshold. However, President Donald Trump has not ruled out resuming military strikes amid stalled talks and a fragile ceasefire.
PIVOT TO HORMUZ TRANSIT
"We're now on to this Project Freedom," Rubio said, referring to a military operation the Pentagon launched on Monday to guide stranded commercial vessels out of the crucial global energy corridor. He noted that Washington's priority now was reopening the Strait of Hormuz and preventing Iran's control of the Hormuz Strait from being "normalized."
"Our preference is for these straits to be opened to the way they're supposed to be opened, back to the way it was," he said. "Under no circumstances can we ever allow them to normalize the fact that they get to blow up commercial ships and put mines in the water."
He added that Project Freedom, unlike Epic Fury, is "a defensive operation" and U.S. forces "are only responding if attacked first."
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said earlier on Tuesday that the operation is "temporary."
NUCLEAR ISSUE CENTRAL TO TALKS
A ceasefire that took effect on April 8 remains in place, though both the U.S. and Iranian forces have exchanged fire in recent days and tensions persist.
Rubio said Iran now has an opportunity to "make it clear" that they do not seek a nuclear weapon, which Washington sees as key to any peace agreement.
Iran would "hold the world hostage" with a nuclear weapon, Rubio warned, accusing Iran of pursuing "long-range delivery missiles" and building underground uranium enrichment facilities.
However, Rubio admitted that Washington is still working to determine what Tehran is willing to negotiate on.
"We don't have to have the actual agreement written out," Rubio said, "but we have to have a diplomatic solution that is very clear about the topics that they are willing to negotiate on and the extent and the concessions they're willing to make at the front end in order to make those talks worthwhile."
ISRAEL-LEBANON PEACE "DIFFICULT"
Rubio also addressed other issues in the Middle East, saying a peace deal between Israel and Lebanon is "difficult" but "achievable."
Israel and Lebanon announced a U.S.-brokered ceasefire last month, with further talks on a permanent settlement expected.
"The problem with Israel and Lebanon is not Israel or Lebanon, it's Hezbollah," Rubio reiterated, calling for the militia group's disarmament.
A potential deal between the two sides has to confront Iran-backed Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, he said. ■
