Message echoes from Washington: Operation "Epic Fury" has ended

The US military operation in Iran, codenamed “Epic Fury,” has come to an end, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said today.

Speaking before the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Rubio commented on the exchange of fire between US and Iranian forces over the past several hours, describing the American actions as “defensive measures,” NBC News reported.

“What you are seeing in the reports, including last night, is this: if a vessel passes through the Strait of Hormuz, it will be attacked. The United States will respond to that attack by shooting down the drones that are unlawfully attempting to sink a commercial civilian ship,” Rubio said.

He added that, in order to protect its own forces, the United States targets not only the drones but also those launching them.

Earlier today, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced that it had carried out strikes on what it described as an enemy vessel, the headquarters of the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, and a regional US air base, stating that the operation was conducted in response to what it claimed were two American attacks on Iranian facilities.

According to the IRGC statement, the events began late Tuesday night when an Iranian oil tanker was struck by an air-launched missile near the Strait of Hormuz, damaging the ship’s engine room.

The IRGC said its navy subsequently launched missiles at the vessel Panaya, which it described as an “American-Zionist enemy ship,” adding that the action was taken in response to what it called “aggression” and violations of regulations governing navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.