Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth insisted that the ceasefire remains in effect despite shots being fired in the Strait of Hormuz.
The U.S. has sunk six Iranian boats since it launched “Project Freedom” early Monday to help reopen the crucial waterway for shipping that has been largely stalled since the start of the war on February 28. Iran also launched missiles and drones.
The defense secretary was asked point-blank at his Tuesday press briefing if the escalating hostilities meant the end of the ceasefire, but he denied it, arguing they were different operations.
“No, the ceasefire is not over. Ultimately, this is a separate and distinct project,” Hegseth said. “Ultimately, the president is going to make a decision whether anything were to escalate into a violation of a ceasefire.”
He then urged Iran not to take any actions that would breach the “threshold” but did not say exactly what that line was.
“Right now, the ceasefire certainly holds, but we’re going to be watching very, very closely,” Hegseth insisted.
Since the ceasefire was announced on April 7, Iran has fired at commercial ships nine times and seized two container ships, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Dan Caine said at the briefing.
He noted that Iran has also attacked U.S. forces more than ten times, but he said it was “all below the threshold of restarting major combat operations at this point.”
Caine noted that Iran on Monday also launched three unsuccessful attacks on the United Arab Emirates and one on Oman before sharing more specifics about the hostile activity in the Strait.
“They also launched cruise missiles, drones, small boats at U.S. forces defending commercial shipping in the Straits, and United States Navy MH-60 helicopters and Army AH-64 Apache helicopters successfully defeated those threats,” Caine said. “Thus far, today is quieter.”
When pressed on what exactly the threshold to end the ceasefire was, Caine said it was above his pay grade.
During the briefing, the general also shared more specifics on how the U.S. was carrying out “Project Freedom” in the Strait. He said that on the water, guided missile destroyers and other warships were “detecting and defeating” Iranian threats, including fast boats and one-way attack drones.
In the air, Caine said the U.S. had more than 100 fighter attack aircraft and other manned and unmanned aircraft 24 hours a day, synchronized by the 82nd Airborne Division.
“These forces are comprised of over 15,000 American service members and have established localized air and sea control to protect against Iranian threats,” Caine said.
Hegseth insisted that the operation has resulted in a “lane of safe passage that commercial shipping can flow through.” However, it remains to be seen whether shipping companies have the confidence to move forward.
While Trump officials remain in a ceasefire, the administration on Friday came up against the 60-day deadline to seek congressional approval for ongoing military operations. Instead, the president notified Congress that the hostilities had been terminated.
Hegseth on Tuesday repeated his claim that the ceasefire has paused the timeline for the president seeking congressional weigh-in even as Democratic members of Congress have indicated that’s not included in the War Powers Act, and the massive military operation in the strait appears to be in place indefinitely for now as Trump tries to pressure Iran to make a deal.
“Ultimately with the ceasefire, the clock stops. If it were to restart, that would be the president’s decision,” Hegseth said. “If Iran is not willing to follow through on its side of the bargain or make a deal, then the War Department is postured, locked, loaded and ready to go.”
