U.S. continues effort to guide vessels through Strait of Hormuz, insisting military operation in Iran is over

Ten civilian sailors have died due to the ongoing conflict in the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio ‌told reporters on Tuesday, as he said the U.S. would continue to deploy its assets to defend freedom of navigation in the key thoroughfare, which Iran has effectively shut down.

Before ‌the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, about 20 per cent of global oil supplies passed through the strait daily. Hundreds of vessels with thousands of sailors on board have been stranded for weeks in the Persian Gulf.

“They’re isolated, they’re starving, they’re vulnerable and at least 10 sailors have died as a result, ​civilian sailors,” Rubio said, without providing additional details.

‘Defensive operation’

Rubio insisted the ​U.S. was taking defensive action in enforcing its blockade of Iranian ports. The initial military operation against Iran was over, he said.

“The operation is over. Epic Fury — as the president notified Congress — we’re done with that stage of it,” he said. “We’re now onto this Project of Freedom.”

“We are only responding if ​attacked first. This is a defensive operation,” Rubio said. “If no shots ⁠are fired at these ⁠ships and no shots are fired at us, we’re ‌not firing shots. But if we’re fired on we will respond.”

Rubio said the United States has been in touch with a number of ships about helping to guide them out of the strait, echoing remarks made earlier Tuesday by U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.

So far only two vessels, both of them American-flagged merchant ships, are known to have passed through.

U.S. Central Command said Iran earlier launched multiple cruise missiles, drones and small boats at civilian ships under the U.S. military’s protection, and that U.S. helicopters sank six small boats involved in the attacks. It denied Iranian reports that American vessels had been struck.

U.A.E. still under attack

The United Arab ⁠Emirates also said it was under attack from Iranian missiles and drones on Tuesday, even as Washington said a shaky ceasefire was intact.

Rubio said it was time for Tehran to “accept the reality of the situation,” adding that U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were continuing to explore ​a diplomatic solution.

That solution had to address any nuclear material that Iran still had buried “deep somewhere,” Rubio said.

“The president’s been clear ⁠that part of the negotiation process has to be not just the enrichment, but what happens ⁠to this material that’s buried deep somewhere that they still have access to if they ever ⁠wanted ⁠to dig it out,” he said.

Rubio ​declined to provide details on what progress had been made and said the actual agreement would not need ​to be written out in ⁠one day.

“This is highly complex, and highly technical, 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 are willing to make at the front end in order to make those talks worthwhile,” he ⁠said.

China’s role

As Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi prepares to visit China on Wednesday, Rubio says that he hopes Tehran’s allies in Beijing reiterate the need for Iran to release its chokehold on the critical waterway as the fragile ceasefire continues.

“I hope the Chinese tell him what he needs to be told,” Rubio said in response to a reporter’s question about the upcoming visit. “And that is that what you are doing in the strait is causing you to be globally isolated. You’re the bad guy in this.”

The secretary went on to argue that China, more than the U.S., is suffering for Iran’s actions in the strait, saying that the world power is an export-driven economy that depends on shipments going through Hormuz.

“It is in China’s interest that Iran stop closing the strait,” he added.