U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on May 5 that the Trump administration’s objective in the conflict surrounding the Strait of Hormuz is to restore shipping conditions to what they were before the war with Iran began, arguing that the current U.S. military and economic campaign is aimed at reopening the vital waterway to unrestricted international commerce. Speaking during a press briefing, Rubio said the administration’s goal was for the straits to return “back to the way it was” before the conflict escalated under President Donald Trump.
Rubio described the U.S. military operation in the region as a defensive effort designed to protect commercial shipping and escort stranded vessels through the Strait of Hormuz after what he called Iranian “piracy” and attacks on civilian ships. He said the operation, known as Project Freedom, was launched after multiple countries requested U.S. assistance in restoring navigation through the strategic waterway, which handles a significant share of global oil shipments.
During the briefing, Rubio repeatedly emphasized that the administration was not seeking to permanently alter shipping access in the region, but instead to restore normal trade flows that existed prior to the outbreak of war. “Our preference is for these straits to be opened to the way they’re supposed to be open, back to the way it was, anyone can use it, no mines in the water, nobody paying tolls,” Rubio said. “That’s what we have to get back to and that’s the goal here.”
Marco Rubio says the goal of the war in Iran is now to restore it "back to the way it was" before Trump started the war in Iran pic.twitter.com/G1E9qyxMc4
— Headquarters (@HQNewsNow) May 5, 2026
Rubio argued that Iran’s actions in the strait had forced the administration to combine military escorts with economic pressure. “It cannot be that you have these straits and they blow up any ship that moves, and the only ships that get to go through were theirs,” Rubio said. “You can’t have a situation in which the straits are close to everyone else, but they benefit from the piracy, that can’t happen.”
The secretary of state said the administration believes the economic pressure campaign is severely weakening Iran’s economy. “Today, inflation in Iran is 70 percent and their currency is in total and complete freefall,” Rubio said during the briefing. He added that U.S. sanctions enforcement was “moving in lockstep with the naval blockade to degrade Iran’s capacity to generate, to move and repatriate revenue.”
Rubio also claimed the blockade was inflicting major financial losses on Tehran. “The blockade alone is costing Iran as much as $500 million a day in lost revenue,” he said. “Ninety percent of total Iranian trade has been halted, causing permanent damage to Iran’s oil infrastructure.” Rubio said the administration was also targeting foreign institutions that assist Iran in bypassing sanctions, warning that any entity enabling sanctions evasion could face secondary sanctions and lose access to the U.S. financial system.
The comments came as mounting economic pressure inside Iran has raised concerns over the country’s oil exports and broader economy. According New York Times, Iran’s oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz have effectively stopped since the U.S. blockade began on April 13, leaving storage facilities rapidly filling as oil shipments remain stranded. Energy analysts told the newspaper that Iran could run out of storage capacity within weeks if the blockade continues, potentially forcing permanent shutdowns at some older oil wells.
The economic disruption has also spread beyond Iran. Reuters reported that average U.S. gasoline prices had climbed to their highest level in nearly four years amid fears surrounding disruptions to shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and refinery outages in the United States. Analysts told Reuters that concerns over restricted oil flows through the region had contributed to surging crude prices and tightening fuel supplies.
Rubio framed the administration’s military posture as strictly reactive, insisting that U.S. forces would only fire when threatened. “This is not an offensive operation, this is a defensive operation,” Rubio said. “If no shots are fired at these ships and no shots are fired at us, we’re not firing shots.” He said U.S. naval and air assets were escorting vessels through the waterway while responding to Iranian fast boats, drones and missiles that approached commercial traffic.
Toward the end of the briefing, Rubio said the administration believes Iran faces a choice between negotiations and continued economic deterioration. While warning that “every day the conflict continues” would weaken Iran further, Rubio reiterated that the stated U.S. objective remained reopening the Strait of Hormuz to normal international shipping conditions. “That’s what we have to get back to and that’s the goal here,” Rubio said.