Washington, May 6 (UNI) Secretary of State Marco Rubio strongly defended the United States’ military operation in the Strait of Hormuz, emphasising that it is a purely defensive mission designed to rescue nearly 23,000 stranded civilians from 87 countries trapped in the Persian Gulf by Iran's blockade.
Rubio underscored the humanitarian imperative, the strategic necessity of keeping global shipping lanes open, and issued a firm warning to Tehran that any attempts to test US resolve will be met decisively.
"These are innocent bystanders," Rubio said during a briefing. "They're isolated, they're starving, they're vulnerable, and at least ten sailors have already died as a result of this."
Dubbed Project Freedom, the operation highlights the US’s commitment to protecting innocent lives and maintaining international norms in one of the world’s most critical maritime chokepoints.
Rubio said the operation, named Project Freedom, was launched at the direct order of President Trump after multiple nations, some publicly, many privately, appealed to Washington for help.
"President Trump, as he always does, stepped up and answered the calls for help," Rubio said, adding that the U.S. was acting because "we're the only ones who can."
As a proof of concept, two US-flagged merchant ships have already successfully transited the Strait. The military assets deployed include guided missile destroyers, over a hundred land and sea-based aircraft, unmanned platforms, and 15,000 service members.
Rubio was emphatic that the operation is not offensive in nature. "There's no shooting unless we're shot at first," he said.
"We are only responding if attacked first. This is a defensive operation." He confirmed that seven Iranian fast boats had already been destroyed after failing to heed warnings. "Seven of them now sit at the bottom of the sea," he said, "along with the rest of Iran's navy."
On the economic front, Rubio said Operation Economic Fury continues to run in parallel. Iran is losing as much as "$500 million a day in lost revenue," he said, with 90 percent of Iranian trade halted, inflation at 70 percent, and the currency in "total and complete freefall."
He warned that any foreign financial institution helping Iran evade sanctions would face secondary sanctions and lose access to the U.S. financial system.
Rubio also pushed back firmly against lawmakers from both parties who have labelled the blockade an act of war. "You know what is an act of war? Putting mines in the water," he said. "Mining in the water is illegal, period, under any circumstances, and they've done it."
He framed the broader stakes in stark terms, warning that allowing Iran to normalise control of the straits would set a dangerous global precedent. "I can identify six or seven vital shipping lanes around the world that some countries can decide, if Iran was able to do it, we're going to do it too," he said. "That is a normal that we will never be able to accept."
"They really shouldn't test the will of the United States, at least not under President Donald Trump. He has proven time and again that he will back up what he says. And if they test him, ultimately they will lose — the hard way, the easy way, the long way, or the short way."
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