WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday that the United States is “not looking for a fight” with Iran, but warned that Tehran will face “devastating” force if it threatens American troops or commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
Speaking at a Pentagon press briefing alongside Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Hegseth said Iran is “the clear aggressor” in the strategic waterway — harassing civilian vessels, threatening mariners from every nation, and using a vital choke point for its own financial gain.
The briefing came one day after U.S. forces launched “Project Freedom,” a mission President Donald Trump ordered to reopen the strait and protect commercial ships from Iranian attacks. Two American-flagged merchant vessels passed through the strait on Monday under U.S. Navy escort. Hegseth described the operation as “defensive in nature, focused in scope, and temporary in duration”.
“We’re not looking for a fight,” Hegseth said. “But Iran also cannot be allowed to block innocent countries and their goods from an international waterway”.
According to Hegseth, more than 22,500 mariners aboard over 1,550 commercial vessels remain trapped in the Persian Gulf. Hundreds of additional ships are now lining up to transit the strait from nations around the world, he said.
Gen. Caine told reporters that Iran has fired on commercial vessels nine times and attacked U.S. forces more than 10 times since a ceasefire was announced, but those actions remain “below the threshold of restarting major combat operations at this point”. The ceasefire, first reached on April 8 and later extended, “certainly holds,” Hegseth said, while adding that the U.S. is “watching very, very closely”.
Hegseth made clear that Project Freedom is distinct from Operation Epic Fury, the broader U.S.-Israeli military campaign launched against Iran on February 28. That operation destroyed Iran’s navy and killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, among other senior figures. The new mission, Hegseth said, does not require U.S. forces to enter Iranian airspace or territorial waters.
The defense secretary accused Iran of demanding payments from ships seeking passage, calling the practice “international extortion” that “ends with Project Freedom”. He said the U.S. has established a protective “red, white and blue dome” of destroyers, fighter jets, drones, and surveillance aircraft providing 24-hour overwatch for peaceful commercial vessels.
Central Command has deployed guided-missile destroyers, more than 100 aircraft, and roughly 15,000 service members to establish a safety corridor. U.S. helicopters on Monday sank six Iranian small boats involved in attacks on civilian ships under military protection, according to U.S. Central Command. Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency denied any of its vessels were destroyed. Separately, Iranian drone attacks hit an oil facility in the United Arab Emirates and a site in Oman.
Hegseth stressed that the U.S. expects other nations to eventually take over responsibility for securing the strait. “This is a temporary mission for us,” he said. “We expect the world to step up”. He named South Korea, Japan, Australia, and European allies as countries that should contribute more.
The U.S. blockade on Iranian ports remains in effect. Hegseth said six Iranian vessels attempted to leave port and were forced to turn back. He claimed Iran is “embarrassed” that it does not control the strait.
The standoff over the Strait of Hormuz carries significant economic stakes. The waterway normally carries about one-fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas trade, along with fertilizer and other petroleum products. Its closure since the war began has sent fuel prices climbing and unsettled global markets.