Rubio Defends 'Project Freedom' as Defensive Operation in Hormuz Strait

Speaking from the White House briefing room, where he led the press briefing for the first time following White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt's maternity leave, Rubio said US forces were responding strictly to perceived threats and were not engaged in offensive action.

"This is not an offensive operation. This is a defensive operation. What that means is very simple: There's no shooting unless we're shot at first," Rubio said.

He added that US forces would take immediate action if naval assets were threatened.

"You're not going to let some fast boat come up on the ship and shoot it up. We're going to respond to it. And we've been successful," he said.

Rubio outlined the maritime security initiative dubbed "Project Freedom", aimed at supporting commercial vessels navigating through the Strait of Hormuz amid the heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington over the virtual control of the critical shipping route, describing the effort as a "protective bubble" intended to restore safe passage through the strait.

"This is the first step towards reopening the strait and bringing this regime's last-ditch, active economic arson, bringing that to a close," Rubio said.

He further stressed that commercial vessels operating in the region were not parties to the conflict and were being placed at risk due to escalating tensions.

"These are innocent bystanders. These are countries and ships that have nothing to do with this, and nonetheless they're being caught in the middle of it and being held hostage," Rubio said. "They're sitting ducks," he added.

His remark comes after US Central Command (CENTCOM) reported that it had destroyed at least six small Iranian boats in the Strait of Hormuz, alleging that they were involved in "threatening commercial shipping".

On Sunday, US President Donald Trump announced "Project Freedom", an initiative aimed at helping commercial vessels trapped in the Strait of Hormuz amid escalating regional tensions in the Gulf.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said countries around the world had requested American assistance to safely guide their ships out of the strategically vital waterway.

CENTCOM forces started the operation on Monday to support merchant vessels seeking to freely transit through the essential international trade corridor under Project Freedom.

According to a statement by CENTCOM, the US military will support the operation through deployment of guided-missile destroyers, over 100 land- and sea-based aircraft, multi-domain unmanned platforms, and 15,000 service members.

- ANI