'ceasefire Is Not Over,' Hegseth Says As U.s. Acts To Reopen Strait Of Hormuz

WASHINGTON — The United States has launched a new subject operation to guarantee commercialized shipping vessels tin safely walk done nan Strait of Hormuz, deploying scores of warships, combatant jets and drones to antagonistic Iranian efforts that person threatened nan constrictive waterway that carries a 5th of nan world’s oil.

At a news convention Tuesday astatine nan Pentagon, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said nan caller inaugural — dubbed “Project Freedom” — is simply a impermanent and protect cognition meant to resume nan travel of postulation done nan world waterway arsenic hostilities person continued successful nan region.

“We are not looking for a fight, but Iran cannot beryllium allowed to artifact guiltless countries and their equipment from an world waterway,” Hegseth said, while calling Iran’s strategies “international extortion.”

The cognition comes astir a period aft nan United States reached a vulnerable ceasefire woody pinch Iran, a truce that Hegseth said remains successful effect moreover though Tehran has continued to onslaught U.S. forces and commercialized vessels.

“The ceasefire is not over,” Hegseth said.

Gen. Dan Caine, nan president of nan Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that since nan ceasefire took effect, Iran has fired astatine commercialized vessels 9 times, seized 2 instrumentality ships and attacked U.S. forces much than 10 times. All of these instances, he said, are “below nan period of restarting awesome combat operations astatine this point.”

Those attacks person near much than 1,550 vessels trapped successful nan Arabian Gulf, incapable to transit, disrupting world waste and acquisition and pushing power markets toward crisis, pinch substance prices climbing and shipping costs surging.

The caller U.S. ngo was formed arsenic abstracted from nan broader subject campaign complete Iran’s atomic weapons program. As negotiations to denuclearize Iran continue, Caine said commercialized vessels wanting to transverse nan strait will now “see, perceive and frankly consciousness nan U.S. combat powerfulness astir them, connected nan sea, successful nan skies and connected nan radio.”

Two U.S. commercialized vessels, escorted by Navy destroyers, person already moved done nan Strait, Hegseth said.

“We cognize nan Iranians are embarrassed by this fact,” Hegseth said. “They said they power nan strait, they do not.”

Hegseth called nan cognition a “direct gift from nan United States to nan world,” aimed astatine resuming postulation done 1 of nan world’s astir captious waterways.

“To what remains of Iran’s forces: if you onslaught American troops aliases guiltless commercialized shipping, you will look overwhelming and devastating American firepower,” Hegseth said. “The president has been very clear astir this.”

On Tuesday evening section time, nan UAE’s defense ministry said successful a connection connected X that nan country’s protect systems “are actively engaging pinch missiles and UAV threats and that “sounds heard crossed nan crossed nan state are nan consequence of ongoing engaging operations.”

Tuesday’s barrage marks nan 2nd consecutive time of attacks targeting nan UAE since nan U.S.-Iran ceasefire took clasp connected April 8. On Monday, nan UAE said it engaged a full of 12 ballistic missiles, 3 cruise missiles and 4 drones launched from Iran.

Times unit writer Nabih Bulos, successful Beirut, contributed to this report.