Marco Rubio: Blockade of the Strait of Hormuz Costs Iran $500 Million Daily

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio revealed the daily cost incurred by Iran due to the ongoing naval blockade imposed by the United States in the Strait of Hormuz, while confirming that the "Epic Fury" operation has ended.

During a press conference at the White House, Rubio said that the blockade imposed by his country in the strait costs Iran up to $500 million daily in lost revenues, noting that "Iranian trade has completely stopped."

Details of the Blockade and Sanctions

Rubio explained that the United States will continue to secure the passage through the Strait of Hormuz with the aim of restoring freedom of navigation, warning any foreign financial institution or commercial entity that facilitates Iran's evasion of sanctions that it will face secondary sanctions and loss of access to the U.S. financial system.

The Secretary of State pointed out that America is deploying assets to expand the defensive umbrella for commercial navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, while U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are working hard on the diplomatic track, according to him.

Iran's Position on Damages and Losses

Concurrently, Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad announced that rehabilitating damaged oil industry facilities as quickly as possible has been placed on the agenda. Paknejad stated in a remark to the Tasnim news agency that these works are currently underway, claiming that Iran's crude oil production was not affected during the war period and that the direction of oil exports was positive.

Rubio stressed that President Trump "wants the Iranian people to have the ability to resist the regime," and that "Iran must sit at the negotiating table and accept the terms," noting the killing of 10 civilian sailors due to the ongoing conflict in the strait.

Iranian Denial of Targeting Boats

For his part, an Iranian military source denied in a statement to the Tasnim news agency reports of a U.S. targeting of six Iranian speedboats, claiming that U.S. forces targeted two small cargo boats belonging to civilian citizens. The military source claimed that the two boats were on their way from the Khasab area on the Omani coast towards the Iranian shores, resulting in the destruction of the two boats and the killing of 5 civilians on board.

Earlier, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said that the U.S. operation guiding ships through the Strait of Hormuz off the Iranian coast is a "temporary solution," after the confrontation resulted in an exchange of fire the previous day.