US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers that Operation Epic Fury was over on the date of June 3, 2026, while military attacks continued across the Middle East. Appearing before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, he said the United States was no longer conducting a sustained campaign inside Iran to degrade its armed forces.
Rubio defined victory in terms of damage to Iran's defence-industrial base, missile launchers, drone stocks, air force and conventional navy. He told the committee that the US had achieved those objectives. His statement described the end of the named operation, but did not mean that all fighting involving Iran and the United States or their partners had stopped.
The conflict began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28 and expanded across the region. Iran retaliated against American allies and effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping route for Gulf oil and gas. On the day of Rubio's testimony, an Iranian strike on Kuwait International Airport killed one person and injured 63, according to the supplied report. Bahrain also experienced overnight Iranian drone attacks.
Democratic lawmakers challenged Rubio's characterization. Representative Sara Jacobs of California said renaming or ending an operation did not change the closure of the strait or the risks faced by US service members. Her response focused on the gap between the administration's definition of completed military objectives and the continuing danger in the region.
Rubio also briefed lawmakers on negotiations with Tehran. Iran's stock of highly enriched uranium was central to the discussions. Washington demanded that Iran surrender near-weapons-grade material, limit its nuclear activity and reopen the Strait of Hormuz before a peace agreement could take effect. Rubio said exchanged proposals addressed the uranium issue but had not received final Iranian approval.
Iran, for its part, sought the release of $12 billion in frozen assets before entering substantive nuclear talks. It rejected an earlier suggestion by President Donald Trump that its enriched uranium stockpile would ultimately be destroyed. The positions indicated that important terms remained unsettled even as Rubio expressed confidence about the military outcome.
The hearing therefore produced two distinct claims: Rubio said the specific US campaign had met its stated objectives and ended, while continuing strikes and unresolved negotiations showed that the broader war had not concluded. The supplied evidence supported his statement about American operational policy but did not independently verify the full extent of damage he attributed to Epic Fury. As of June 3, combat, diplomatic bargaining and threats to regional transport remained active.
