US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has claimed that the military operation against Iran, “Epic Fury,” is over and that continuous strikes inside Iran are no longer being carried out. Rubio told the US Congress’s House Foreign Affairs Committee: “We are no longer carrying out regular strikes inside Iran, because Epic Fury is over.” He claimed the United States had “achieved victory” in the operation.
According to him, the war began on 28 February with a joint US-Israeli operation, which later spread across the whole Middle East. Rubio said the US aim was to destroy Iran’s defence-industry infrastructure, reduce the number of its missile launchers and significantly cut its drone stockpiles. He claimed these aims had been met, and that Iran’s remaining air-force and naval capabilities had also been destroyed.
But Democratic lawmakers disputed this, saying the conflict is still ongoing. According to them, an Iranian attack on an airport in Kuwait on Wednesday killed one person and injured 63, further raising tensions. There was also a night-time drone attack in Bahrain, where the United States has an important military presence. California Democratic Representative Sara Jacobs said changing the name does not change the reality. In her words: “The Strait of Hormuz is still closed, and our troops are still in danger.”
Rubio also told Congress that talks are under way over Iran’s nuclear programme, particularly the country’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, but that no final peace agreement has yet been reached. According to the US position, for a peace deal Iran must hand over its near-weapons-grade uranium, limit its nuclear activities and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Iran, for its part, has said its 12 billion dollars in frozen assets must be released before it will sit down for talks. It has also rejected US President Donald Trump’s comment that Iran’s uranium stockpile would be destroyed.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report