WASHINGTON, May 5 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday the United States will not allow Iran's control of the Hormuz Strait to be "normalized" after the two sides exchanged fire in the crucial global energy waterway one day earlier.

"They're trying to make this some new normal," Rubio said at a White House news briefing. "Under no circumstances can we ever allow them to normalize the fact that they get to blow up commercial ships and put mines in the water."

"Our preference is for these straits to be opened to the way they're supposed to be opened, back to the way it was," Rubio added, stressing that Iran "cannot be allowed to dictate who uses this vital waterway."

On Feb. 28, Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and other Iranian cities, killing Iran's then Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, senior commanders, and civilians. Iran responded with waves of missile and drone strikes targeting Israel and U.S. assets in the Middle East, and tightened control over the Strait of Hormuz. ■