Rubio says Operation Epic Fury is over |
Rubio says Operation Epic Fury is over
Defense &National Security
Defense &National Security
Rubio says Operation Epic Fury is over
Secretary of State Marco Rubio argued on Tuesday that the U.S. military operation against Iran is over, distinguishing between that and the new effort by the U.S. Navy to guide commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz.
AP Photo/Vahid Salemi
“The operation is over. Epic Fury, as the president notified Congress, we’re done with that stage of it. We’re now on to this Project Freedom,” Rubio told reporters in the White House briefing room.
President Trump notified Congress last week, on Friday, 60 days after he first informed Congress of kinetic action versus Tehran, that the U.S. ceasefire with Iran meant he had not exceeded the 60-day deadline invoked by the War Powers Act of 1973.
Trump also told Congress in a letter that during the ceasefire, which began on April 7, the war “terminated.”
Since then, Trump has authorized Operation Freedom, but the tensions have risen between with Iran opening fire Monday on U.S. warships in the region, to which the U.S. military responded by destroying six Iranian small boats, according to U.S. Central Command commander, Adm. Brad Cooper.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf argued on Tuesday that Trump’s Operation Freedom and the naval blockade, which is still in effect, are a violation of the ceasefire.
Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters at the Pentagon Tuesday morning that there are about 22,500 mariners on over 1,550 commercial ships “trapped” in the Arabian Gulf due to the Iranian military’s restrictions on shipping.
“Look, it’s not going to solve the whole straits problem,” Rubio said on Tuesday. “It’s going to solve a lot of it, but it’s important to challenge what Iran is doing now.”
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