Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared Operation Epic Fury officially concluded Tuesday, insisting that the military campaign had achieved its core objective of dismantling Iran’s conventional military capabilities, even as he acknowledged that negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear material remain unresolved and fragile.

Pressed by ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Mary Bruce on whether the 10-week operation had brought the U.S. closer to eliminating Iran’s nuclear stockpile, Rubio reframed the conflict’s purpose and offered a sweeping assessment of Iranian military losses that underscored the administration’s shift toward negotiations and the newly launched Project Freedom operation.

“The operation that has concluded was going to destroy their Navy. They have no Navy left. Not a navy,” Rubio said, standing in for Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who is on maternity leave. “They don’t have an Air Force. I challenge you: when is the last time you read or heard about an Iranian jet flying anywhere?”

Rubio’s declaration marked a major rhetorical pivot. The administration has spent weeks portraying the military campaign as essential to weakening Iran’s position before nuclear talks, with officials previously suggesting the operation would continue indefinitely. The formal conclusion signals a transition to diplomatic engagement, even as fundamental disagreements persist over Iran’s enrichment capabilities and existing uranium stockpiles.

The secretary of state outlined what he characterized as Iran’s original strategic calculation: building a “conventional shield” of thousands of missiles, drones, and rockets that would allow Tehran to pursue its nuclear ambitions without fear of military intervention. According to Rubio, Operation Epic Fury systematically dismantled that shield.

“Their missile-launching capability has been substantially degraded, and their industrial base — their defense industrial base — has been severely, severely damaged,” Rubio said. “So their ability to build a shield behind which they could hide their nuclear program was wiped out. That’s a very substantial achievement, and that was the purpose of this operation from day one.”

Yet Rubio’s response also exposed the central tension in the administration’s Iran strategy: the gap between military objectives already achieved and the diplomatic goals that remain elusive. When Bruce pressed him on whether the U.S. was “any closer to getting rid of Iran’s nuclear material,” Rubio pivoted to a discussion of what topics “need to be discussed” in future negotiations.

“Why do you have to get their nuclear material in order for this war to end? Well, that’s one of the topics that needs to be discussed,” Rubio said, appearing to acknowledge that acquiring or destroying Iran’s uranium stockpiles may not be a prerequisite for ending hostilities.

He was more direct on the point when clarifying the negotiation’s scope: “I think the president’s been clear that part of the negotiation process has to be not just the enrichment, but what happens to this material that’s buried deep somewhere that they still have access to if they ever wanted to dig it out.”

Rubio declined to provide specifics on progress toward resolving that issue, citing the fragility of ongoing talks. “I’m not going to go further on what progress has been made on that topic because I don’t want to endanger the negotiations,” he said.

Rubio stressed that “the president and this entire team is aware of the centrality of that question” of Iran’s nuclear material, and that it “will have to be addressed one way or the other.”

But his equivocal phrasing left open the possibility that a resolution satisfactory to the Trump administration might fall short of the complete dismantlement or surrender of Iranian uranium that some hawks have demanded.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)