Rubio accuses Iran of using Strait of Hormuz as global leverage

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused Iran of attempting to use the Strait of Hormuz as leverage against the international community, calling on other countries to contribute more to protecting global shipping.

Speaking at Joint Base Andrews on Sunday before departing for an Association of Southeast Asian Nations meeting in the Philippines, Rubio said Washington would continue taking measures to safeguard maritime commerce. He added that other governments, particularly those dependent on the strategic waterway, should provide military equipment or financial support to share the burden. 

Rubio said the United States remained open to diplomacy with Tehran but insisted that any agreement must be credible and respected by both sides. His remarks came as renewed fighting threatened an earlier understanding intended to reduce hostilities.

The secretary of state also addressed the death of a U.S. service member in northern Iraq, describing it as an accidental incident. According to U.S. Central Command, the service member was killed on Saturday during a controlled detonation of unexploded ordnance from a downed Iranian one-way attack drone.

Two other American service members were killed in an Iranian attack in Jordan on Friday, while another was reported missing. Investigators subsequently recovered unidentified remains near the attack site. The latest casualties brought the reported number of U.S. military deaths since the conflict began to 17, with more than 420 personnel wounded.

The developments coincided with a ninth consecutive night of U.S. strikes against Iranian targets. Central Command said the operation targeted military command centers, air-defense and coastal-surveillance systems, maritime assets, communications networks, and missile and drone facilities.

Iran, meanwhile, claimed responsibility for attacks against U.S. and allied positions across the region. Several of Tehran’s assertions, including claims concerning damage to military aircraft and oil tankers, could not be independently verified.

Concerns over maritime security intensified after a vessel caught fire off Oman near the Strait of Hormuz. Maritime authorities said its crew abandoned the ship safely after it was struck by an unidentified projectile.

The worsening confrontation has sharply reduced traffic through the strait, one of the world’s most important energy corridors, while raising concerns among Gulf and Asian governments about oil supplies and the possibility of a wider regional conflict.