Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday that the ceasefire between the United States and Iran remains intact, even as Iranian forces conducted fresh missile and drone strikes against targets in the United Arab Emirates and Oman.
Speaking at a Pentagon press conference, Hegseth also pushed back against suggestions that the Trump administration is being steered by Israeli interests, saying the US is acting independently while valuing Israel’s perspective on the Iranian threat.
“We’re grateful for [Israel’s] input, their insights, the existential nature of the threat they face from an Iranian bomb,” Hegseth said. “Israel may have some objectives at times that are slightly different than ours, but there’s only one hand on the wheel ultimately.”
Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, provided a detailed accounting of Iranian actions since the ceasefire began. According to Caine, Iran has fired at commercial vessels nine times, seized two container ships, and attacked US forces more than 10 times.
However, “the attacks fell below the threshold of restarting major combat operations at this point,” Caine told reporters.
He added that US Central Command and allied forces “remain ready to resume major combat operations against Iran if ordered to do so. No adversary should mistake our current restraint with a lack of resolve.”
Hegseth discussed Project Freedom, a US initiative to secure commercial shipping through the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.
He said American forces would not be required to enter Iranian territorial waters or airspace as part of the operation. “We’re not looking for a fight,” Hegseth said. “We’d prefer this to be a peaceful operation, but we are locked and loaded to defend our people, our ships, our aircraft, and this mission without hesitation.”
The Pentagon plans to eventually hand over responsibility for securing the Strait of Hormuz to an international coalition, according to Hegseth.
“Hundreds of ships from nations around the world are lining up to go through the strait,” he said, while stressing that an “iron-clad blockade remains in full effect.”
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
