The US military operation against Iran has ended, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday, as Washington shifts its focus to reopening the Strait of Hormuz for shipping and global oil trade.
"The operation is over. Epic Fury, as the president notified Congress, we're done with that stage of it," Rubio told reporters at a White House press conference.
Rubio said the United States had achieved the objectives of the operation and was now moving on to "Project Freedom," aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for global oil trade, to shipping traffic.
US President Donald Trump declared the hostilities against Iran over in a letter to Congress on Friday.
The letter said there had been no fighting between the two countries since a ceasefire began on April 7. "The hostilities that began on February 28, 2026, have terminated," it said, referring to the day the US launched "Operation Epic Fury."
By framing the conflict with Iran in this way, the Trump administration sees itself as able to remain active in the Middle East without congressional approval.
US still seeking diplomatic solution, Rubio says
Rubio also said the US was continuing to explore a possible diplomatic path in the Iran war. US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner were working "very hard" on the effort, Rubio said.
If there was a real diplomatic path it could lead Iran to "to reconstruction, to prosperity and to stability, and to not posing a threat to the world," he said.
Rubio said the aim of the diplomatic efforts was to establish some level of understanding about which issues Iran was prepared to negotiate on.
"We don't have to have the actual agreement written out in one day, this is highly complex and highly technical," Rubio said.
But any diplomatic solution would need to clearly define the topics Iran was willing to negotiate on and the concessions Tehran was prepared to make at the outset to ensure talks were worthwhile, he said.
US-Iran talks have recently been largely deadlocked, mainly over Tehran's nuclear programme and its stockpiles of highly enriched uranium.
