U.S. military operation against Iran commenced, says Rubio
The United States has concluded the Operation Epic Fury military operation against Iran and has moved on to a new phase of operations in the Middle East.
According to Ukrinform, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio made this announcement during a briefing at the White House.
The operation is complete, as the President of Congress has announced. The U.S. has completed this phase, Rubio said.
He added that the U.S. is changing the tactics of its military presence in the region.
The U.S. is now moving on to Project Freedom, the Secretary of State said.
The head of the State Department also reaffirmed the U.S. position on the peace negotiation process with Iran.
As for the negotiations, the secretary of state thinks the president has made it clear that the negotiation process must include not only uranium enrichment but also what will happen to this material, which is hidden deep underground… This issue needs to be resolved, and it is being addressed in the negotiations.
According to Rubio, the U.S. negotiating team understands that the fate of the material enriched by Tehran is central and will insist on resolving it.
As reported by Ukrinform, Operation Epic Fury against Iran was launched by the U.S. and Israel on February 28.
On May 2, U.S. President Donald Trump informed Congress that the war with Iran had “ended,” attempting to justify his failure to seek legislative authorization to extend it beyond the 60-day combat period.
On May 3, U.S. President Donald Trump announced the launch of Project Freedom to unblock ships in the Strait of Hormuz. He stated that he was prepared to assist several countries that had appealed to the United States to ensure the passage of their ships through the blocked strait.
On the night of May 5, the U.S. president announced a temporary suspension of operations under Project Freedom to ensure navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.
According to the IAEA, most of Iran’s highly enriched uranium is likely still stored at the nuclear complex in Isfahan, which was attacked in 2025 and 2026 during the US-Israeli war against Iran.
Photo: Office of the President