WASHINGTON, March 27. Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz will resume once Iran ceases to pose a threat to international maritime traffic, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on Thursday.

“The Strait of Hormuz could be opened tomorrow, if Iran stops threatening global shipping,” Rubio said, according to a statement from the State Department. The U.S. Secretary of State avoided answering a question regarding the possibility of a U.S. ground operation to restore shipping traffic in the strait.

The United States and Israel launched a military operation against Iran on February 28. Major Iranian cities, including Tehran, were targeted. Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forces launched retaliatory strikes against Israel and U.S. military facilities in Bahrain, Jordan, Iraq, Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia.

Iranian authorities also decided to close the Strait of Hormuz to vessels associated with the United States, Israel, and countries that supported aggression against the Islamic Republic. Several tankers were attacked while transiting the strait without Tehran's permission during the conflict. On March 25, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced that Iran had allowed friendly countries, including Russia, India, Iraq, China, and Pakistan, to transit the Strait of Hormuz.

TASS/gnews.cz