US Secretary of State Marco Rubio
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced early Thursday that “Operation Epic Fury has ended,” marking the end of more than two months of turmoil caused by a major military escalation between the United States and Israel against Iran.The conflict, which was aimed at curbing the nuclear ambitions of Ali Khamenei’s regime, also sparked major political unrest in Tehran. After Khamenei was killed, his son Mojtaba Khamenei was appointed the new supreme leader, marking a major transfer of power.“Operation Epic Fury,” a large-scale military campaign led by US President Donald Trump with Israeli partnership, began on February 28, plunging the Gulf and the broader Middle East into a period of instability and intense conflict.Announcing the end of the operation, Rubio said, “Operation Epic Fury has ended. We have achieved the objectives of that operation. We are not rejoicing in an additional situation. We prefer the path to peace. What Trump prefers is an agreement… and this, so far, is not the path that Iran has chosen.”
Rubio also stressed the strategic importance of restoring maritime stability in the region, especially in the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial global route for oil transit.
“Many countries — some privately, some publicly — have asked the United States to help free their ships and restore freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz…And so President Trump responded to their calls for help and instructed the U.S. military to guide these stranded ships to safety.
.. This is the first step towards reopening the Strait and putting an end to the economic arson carried out by this regime.
We’re just doing it not just because we’re told to, but because we’re the only ones who can… Under President Trump, the United States will help our friends. We will stand up to rogue regimes like the one in Tehran, and we will not be ashamed to use our strength and capabilities to display military power in the service of our national interests above all else.”“It is really important for them to understand that they should not test the will of the United States, at least not under President Donald Trump,” Rubio added, issuing a stern warning to Tehran.
He has proven time and time again that he will stand up for what he says. And if they test it, in the end, they will lose…”Trump, the MAGA president, echoed a similarly hardline stance, asserting that Iran’s military infrastructure has been effectively dismantled. “Iran has no chance. They never did. They know it. They express it to me when I talk to them. Then they go on TV, and they say they are doing well. They have no navy, and it has been completely destroyed.
They have no air force, it has been completely wiped out. They have no anti-aircraft capability… their leaders have been eliminated.
…I read the papers, and they say how successful they are. They are not well…”Emphasizing the primary goal of his administration, Trump said: “We are truly making America great again. We are doing record business. We have a stock market that is taking a beating even with this military operation… We cannot allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon… They have no navy, no air power, no anti-aircraft equipment. They have nothing. They have no leaders. The leaders are gone too. But they cannot be allowed to have a nuclear weapon. They do not have a nuclear weapon.”
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