WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers on Wednesday that Washington’s military campaign against Iran had concluded as Washington achieved its objectives by “severely degrading” Iran’s conventional military capabilities.
Rubio made the remarks during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing when members of the US Congress questioned the administration’s assessment of the conflict and its aftermath.
During the hearing, Rubio announced, “We’re no longer conducting sustained strikes inside of Iran to degrade their military, because Epic Fury is over.”
The US Secretary of State reiterated: “Epic Fury is over … that operation has concluded.”
Rubio argued that the operation was a “victory” as Washington achieved its objectives by severely degrading Iran’s conventional military capabilities.
According to the US Secretary of State, the United States had destroyed Iran’s defence industrial base, significantly reduced its missile launchers and drone stockpile, destroyed what remained of its air force and wiped out its conventional navy.
“Those are all gone,” Rubio said. “So, I consider that victory, and we did, too. And that was the purpose of Epic Fury.”
SECRETARY RUBIO: "We defined victory as destroying their defense industrial base, significantly reducing the number of missile launchers they possess, and significantly reducing their stockpile of drones, and we achieved all of those." pic.twitter.com/ixKDSEhdm0
— Department of State (@StateDept) June 3, 2026
He also noted that despite the extensive damage inflicted by the United States and Israel, Iran retained some drone and maritime combat capabilities.
Rubio’s comments prompted a sharp exchange with Democratic Representative Sara Jacobs, who questioned the administration’s assertion that the war was over while American troops remained deployed across the region and the Strait of Hormuz remained closed.
“We define victory as destroying their defence industrial base significantly, reducing the number of missile launchers that they possess significantly, reducing the stockpile of drones,” he added.
.@SecRubio: Iran is losing millions every day. It has no navy, a collapsed economy, its citizens rioting, and its defense industry in ruins. They aren't negotiating from strength, they're negotiating for survival.
Operation Epic Fury set Iran’s bloodthirsty ambitions back to… pic.twitter.com/rWqvjsEAsU
— House Foreign Affairs Committee Majority (@HouseForeignGOP) June 2, 2026
Earlier, US President Donald Trump said Iran has agreed not to pursue nuclear weapons.
“They’ve already agreed they’re not going to have a nuclear weapon,” in an interview on the ‘Pod Force One’ podcast on Wednesday.
Asked about Iran Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei’s involvement in talks with the US on ending hostilities, Trump said, “He’s involved, absolutely. … I think they have a lot of respect for him.”
“Iran has no navy. They have no air force. They have very few soldiers. They have no leadership, no leadership,” he said.
Commenting on the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, President Trump said he did not expect the disruption to persist for much longer.
“I think this will resolve itself fairly quickly,” he said, adding the US is having “a very great success in Iran militarily”.
.@POTUS: "Iran has no navy, they have no air force, they have very few soldiers. They have no leadership… their economy is crashing, they have 250% inflation… and then, if you read The New York Times, you'd think they're doing fantastically, it’s amazing." pic.twitter.com/Q01yVp0nxO
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) June 3, 2026
Trump said he had received reports suggesting that Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, remained actively involved in the negotiations by providing his approval.
He also noted that he had not yet had “the privilege of meeting” Khamenei.
“I’d like to meet him. We probably will meet at some point, depending on how it all works out,” Trump said.
The US president said he viewed the Iran war as a success because the country’s military had been defeated.
