WASHINGTON — Secretary of War Pete Hegseth argued Tuesday that the cease-fire with Iran is still in effect despite a spike in hostilities from Tehran on Monday and America’s top general acknowledging that Iran has launched at least 10 attacks against US forces since the pause began April 8.
“Not over. Ultimately, this is a separate and distinct project,” Hegseth told reporters at the Pentagon while discussing the Trump administration’s bid to force the Strait of Hormuz open. “We said we would defend and defend aggressively, and we absolutely have.”
“The president is going to make a decision whether anything were to escalate into a violation of a cease-fire,” Hegseth went on. “Certainly, we would urge Iran to be prudent in the actions that they take to keep that underneath this threshold. This is about the straits. This is about freedom of navigation. This is about international waterways. This is about the free flow of commerce.”
Since the cease-fire with Iran was announced, the Islamic Republic has “fired at commercial vessels nine times and seized two container ships, and they’ve attacked US forces more than ten times, all below the threshold of restarting major combat operations,” reported Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Caine described Iran’s attacks on vessels as “low, harassing fire” and added he believed Tehran was “grasping at straws to try to do something across the southern flank” while what remains of the theocratic regime was “struggling to maintain control down echelon.”
On Monday, the US military launched “Project Freedom” to allow shipping to traverse the Strait of Hormuz without fear of Iranian attacks that have snarled maritime traffic and caused oil prices to spike above $110 per barrel.
As of Tuesday, 22,500 mariners are currently “trapped” in the Persian Gulf on more than 1,550 commercial vessels due to the standoff, Caine revealed.
Hegseth, meanwhile, insisted that “the lane is clear” for shipping to resume after two US-flagged commercial ships traversed the strait with a destroyer escort Monday.
“We know the Iranians are embarrassed by this fact. They said they control the strait. They do not. So American ships led the way. Commercial and military,” the secretary of war crowed.
“As a direct gift from the United States to the world, we have established a powerful red, white, and blue dome over the strait,” Hegseth added. “These international waters belong to all nations, not to Iran to tax, toll or control our partners, allies, and the rest of the world.”
During the press conference, Hegseth and Caine also shot down wild rumors that Iran is using trained dolphins armed with explosives to block the Strait of Hormuz — but were coy about whether the US might have such a fantastical capability.
“It’s still pretty low-level kinetics at this point in time, and I can’t confirm or deny whether we have kamikaze dolphins — but I can confirm they don’t,” Hegseth said.
Caine chuckled at the notion.
“I haven’t heard the kamikaze dolphin thing. It’s like sharks with laser beams, right?” he said, referring to a plot point in the 1997 secret agent satire “Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery.”
A recent report from the Wall Street Journal cited Iranian officials in claiming that the Islamic Republic was contemplating use of mine-carrying dolphins to target US warships, though no independent source has suggested Iran ha such a capability.
