U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that the military operation against Iran, which began in late February, has “ended,” and that the U.S. is focusing on reopening the Strait of Hormuz to navigation and trade.
On Tuesday, 5 May 2026 GMT+7, Marco Rubio, U.S. Secretary of State, clearly confirmed that the military operation in Iran, which started in February, has ended. He also stated that the urgent priority for the U.S. now is to reopen shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz.
"The operation has ended. The 'Epic Fury' mission, as the president informed Congress, has completed that phase," Rubio said during a briefing at the White House.
"We are now moving into the 'Project Freedom' phase," he continued, referring to the Trump-era initiative to deploy forces escorting commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz.
Last week, the White House notified Congress that the confrontation status with Iran had "ended" due to the 60-day time limit expiring, after which any continuation would require official legislative approval.
However, President Trump has not ruled out the possibility of resuming airstrikes against Iran if negotiations fail or if Iran violates the current ceasefire agreement.
Rubio stated that issues concerning Iran’s nuclear program, including its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, will be addressed through the negotiation process.
"Regarding the negotiations, I believe the president has made it clear that the process involves not only uranium enrichment but also what will happen to these materials that are deeply hidden in certain locations," Rubio said.
"I do not want the negotiations to be endangered, but I can say the president and his team fully understand that this issue is critical and must be resolved one way or another," he added.
The U.S. Secretary of State also said that U.S. representatives are trying to understand which topics Tehran is willing to bring to the negotiating table. Any initial agreement may simply involve reaching a shared understanding on key high-level issues.
"We don’t need a written draft agreement immediately," Rubio added. "But we need a very clear diplomatic approach outlining which topics they are willing to negotiate, including the scope and concessions they are prepared to make initially, so that these talks are worthwhile to continue."
Rubio said that although Iran has "consistently claimed it does not want nuclear weapons... they have not meant that sincerely."
He accused Tehran of "taking every possible step" as a country would if it "wanted to have a nuclear weapons program," noting Iran’s efforts to develop innovative long-range missile technology and build underground centrifuges to enrich uranium.
Rubio said this is now Iran’s opportunity to "clearly demonstrate" whether they truly do not want to possess nuclear weapons.
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Source:cnn