Rubio Briefs on U.S. Strait of Hormuz Operations

Secretary of State Marco Rubio stepped in as White House press secretary on Tuesday, delivering a briefing on the ongoing U.S. military efforts in the Strait of Hormuz while Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt remains on maternity leave.

Rubio, who also serves as national security adviser, opened the May 5 session with an update on Project Freedom, an operation aimed at restoring safe navigation through the strait and rescuing approximately 23,000 civilians from 87 countries stranded in the Persian Gulf for over two months. He described the effort as a response to Iran's actions, including laying mines, attacking commercial vessels and demanding ransoms for passage. "This is not an offensive operation. This is a defensive operation, and what that means is very simple: there's no shooting unless we're shot at first," Rubio said.

U.S. forces have struck Iranian anti-ship missile sites, destroyed minelaying vessels and eliminated Iran's surface fleet, Rubio stated. Rules of engagement were updated over the weekend to authorize strikes on immediate threats, such as Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fast boats. He noted that Iran's missile and military production capacity has been...