US Secretary of State confirms deaths of 10 sailors in Strait of Hormuz

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has made a series of statements on the situation in the Middle East and developments in the Strait of Hormuz, saying that 10 civilian sailors have been killed in incidents there. 

Answering reporters’ questions at the White House press briefing, he added that the United States is sending additional equipment to strengthen defensive capabilities in the region.

Rubio said that around 90% of Iran’s trade is currently suspended, linking this to the evolving situation along maritime routes, and added that the “Project Freedom” operation is aimed at rescuing civilian sailors.

“It's [“Project Freedom”] to rescue like almost 23,000 civilians from 87 different countries that are trapped inside of the Gulf and left for dead in the Persian Gulf by this Iranian regime,” Rubio said.

At the same time, the Secretary of State stressed that the operation is defensive in nature and foresees retaliatory action only in the event of an attack. He added that the United States continues to explore diplomatic avenues for resolving the conflict. 

“The diplomatic path, if there's a real diplomatic path, I'm not always going to be one, but if there's a real diplomatic path and we continue to explore it, Steve and Jared are working on that very hard. If there is one there, it could be one that leads them to reconstruction, to prosperity, and to stability and to not posing a threat to the world,” the Secretary of State stated.

By Jeyhun Aghazada