Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday the U.S. ceasefire with Iran is holding, despite an exchange of fire the day before that resulted in the sinking of at least six Iranian boats that had been harassing commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
“The ceasefire is not over,” Mr. Hegseth told reporters at the Pentagon.
Standing alongside Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mr. Hegseth said the Iranian attacks have so far remained “below the threshold” necessary to declare the ceasefire void.
He said Iran’s navy currently consists only of the small boats it has deployed against commercial vessels trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the U.S.-Israeli air campaign against the Islamic Republic.
Some of the Iranian boats have been armed with mounted machine guns, but Pentagon officials said they are “dealt with very directly.”
Project Freedom, the mission to free neutral vessels along the strait that have been trapped by Iran’s blockade of the choke point, is Washington’s strategy to end Tehran’s naval threat.
“Project Freedom is defensive in nature, focused in scope, and temporary in duration, with one mission: protecting innocent commercial shipping from Iranian aggression,” Mr. Hegseth said. “Iran is the clear aggressor — harassing civilian vessels, threatening mariners from every nation indiscriminately, and weaponizing a critical chokepoint for its own financial benefits.”
Private vessel tracking services said 11 merchant ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz in the past 24 hours, compared to the normal traffic of 100 to 130.
Iran has fired at commercial vessels at least nine times since the ceasefire was announced and seized two merchant cargo ships — the MSC Francesca, registered in Panama, and the Greek-owned but Liberian-registered Epaminondas.
“They have attacked U.S. forces more than 10 times — all below the threshold of restarting major combat operations at this point,” Gen. Caine said.
He said 22,500 mariners aboard more than 1,550 commercial ships are now unable to transit the Strait of Hormuz because Iran is seeking to control passage.
The U.N.’s International Maritime Organization said it has tracked 31 “confirmed incidents” in the strait, along with 10 confirmed seafarer fatalities since the start of the blockade.
Mr. Hegseth called Project Freedom a powerful “red, white, and blue dome” over the Strait of Hormuz. The Navy said it has mapped safe lanes for commercial ship traffic, advising them to “hug the Omani coast” to minimize any exposure to Iranian shore-based missile batteries.
Mr. Hegseth confirmed that two U.S. commercial ships, along with U.S. Navy destroyers, have successfully passed through the region.
“We know the Iranians are embarrassed by this fact. They said they controlled the strait [but] they do not,” he said.
The defense chief said U.S. warships, supported by “hundreds” of jet fighters, combat helicopters, drones, and surveillance aircraft, are providing an around-the-clock overwatch for any peaceful commercial vessels.
“Except for Iran’s, of course, which is why our ironclad blockade [of Iranian ports] remains in full effect,” Mr. Hegseth said.
Rather than traditional one-on-one escorts for every merchant ship, Central Command is using a zone-defense model through a multi-layered defense umbrella across the strait.
More than 100 land- and sea-based aircraft, including F-35s, F/A-18s and A-10 Warthogs, are providing around-the-clock surveillance and the ability to rapidly strike any Iranian fast-attack boats. Electronic warfare aircraft like the EA-18G Growler are jamming Iranian drone signals and disrupting missile guidance systems.
Meanwhile, guided missile destroyers like the Norfolk, Va.-based USS Truxton are positioned to intercept anti-ship cruise missiles and ballistic missiles launched from the Iranian coast.
On Monday, U.S. AH-64 Apache and MH-60 Sea Hawk helicopters sank at least six Iranian fast boats that were threatening commercial shipping during a transit.
The Pentagon leader sent a direct message to “what remains of Iran’s forces.”
“If you attack American troops or innocent commercial shipping, you will face overwhelming and devastating American firepower,” he said. “We prefer this to be a peaceful operation, but we are locked and loaded to defend our people, our ships, and our aircraft — and this mission — without hesitation.”
Mr. Hegseth called Project Freedom a “temporary mission” for the U.S.
“These international waters belong to all nations — not to Iran to tax, toll, or control,” he said. “The world needs this waterway a lot more than we do. We expect ’the world’ to step up.”
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