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The United States Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, stated this Tuesday that the Freedom Project in the Strait of Hormuz is a "defensive," "independent," and "distinct" operation from previous attacks against Iran, and that the ceasefire currently in effect between the two countries "has not been concluded."
The statement was made during the first press conference since the launch of the Freedom Project launched by Trump, an initiative that mobilizes over 100 aircraft, destroyers, drones, and 15,000 military personnel under the command of the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) to escort the approximately 1,550 vessels stranded in the Persian Gulf since Iran closed the strait on March 4.
Hegseth emphasized that the mission has "a single objective: to protect innocent commercial shipping from Iranian aggression," and specified that "U.S. forces will not need to enter Iranian waters or airspace" to achieve it.
“We are not seeking a confrontation. However, Iran cannot be allowed to prevent innocent countries and their goods from accessing an international waterway,” stated the head of the Pentagon, who described the Iranian blockade as “an unacceptable form of international extortion.”
The president of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dan Caine, provided specific figures regarding the escalation: since the announcement of the ceasefire, Iran has fired on commercial ships nine times and has seized two container ships, in addition to attacking U.S. forces more than ten times.
However, Caine specified that all these incidents have remained "below the threshold that would justify the resumption of large-scale combat operations."
The day before, the USS Truxtun and USS Mason destroyers crossed the strait under a "sustained barrage" of missiles, drones, and speedboats from Iran, suffering no damage; the U.S. destroyed six boats from the Revolutionary Guard in the process.
Tehran, for its part, accused Washington of "violating the ceasefire" with the Liberty Project and jeopardizing security in the strait. Ebrahim Azizi, chairman of the Iranian National Security Commission, warned that "any U.S. interference in the new maritime regime of the Strait of Hormuz will be considered a violation of the ceasefire."
The ceasefire was established on April 8 with mediation from Pakistan, following the Epic Fury Operation launched on February 28 by the U.S. and Israel against Iranian nuclear and military installations. Since then, the blockade of the strait has driven the price of Brent crude from 67 to over 126 dollars per barrel, disrupting the transit of 20% of the world's oil.
The peace negotiations remain stalled: On May 1, Iran sent a 14-point plan via Pakistan proposing a 15-year pause in uranium enrichment, while the U.S. demands the total dismantling of the nuclear program and a twenty-year moratorium.
Hegseth warned that the Freedom Project is a temporary solution and sent a direct message to the international community: "The world needs this waterway much more than we do. We will soon return control of the situation to them."
Caine, for his part, left an unambiguous warning: "No opponent should confuse our current restraint with a lack of determination."
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