‘US Aims To Protect Ships From Iran’s Aggression’: Hegseth Warns Iran Of ‘overwhelming Firepower’

2 min readMay 5, 2026 06:12 PM IST

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, while providing update on West Asia conflict on Tuesday, said that America is “not looking for a fight” but “Iran cannot be allowed to block innocent countries” from transiting the Strait of Hormuz as Washington’s aim remains to “protect” ships from Tehran’s “aggression.”

Mentioning President Donald Trump’s initiative ‘Project Freedom’, Hegseth said that the project is different from US military’s Operation Epic Fury, which was launched on February 28 against Iran. The defence secretary said Project Freedom’s mission is to “protect innocent commercial shipping from Iranian aggression.”

Hegseth called on other countries to help the United States and expects them to “step up” in an effort to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Issuing a warning to Tehran, he said Iran will “face overwhelming US firepower” if it tries to disrupt Project Freedom.

Earlier, Trump said that US “shot down” seven small Iranian boats in the Gulf region and when Hegseth was asked if Iran’s small boat fleet is considered to be a significant threat, the defence secretary responded saying the American strategy in Iran is “laser focused” and that US is not allowing itself to be distracted.

When asked by reporters during the press briefing at Pentagon if the latest exchange of fire meant that the ceasefire is over, Hegseth said “No, the ceasefire is not over. This is a separate and distinct project.”

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