Hegseth: Ceasefire with Iran Remains in Place
WANA (May 05) – Following the incidents in the Strait of Hormuz and the UAE on Tuesday, the U.S. Secretary of Defense stated that the ceasefire between Washington and Tehran remains in effect and unchanged.
Speaking at a joint press conference alongside Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth responded to a question about whether recent U.S. operations in the Strait of Hormuz signaled the end of the ceasefire with Iran. He said, “No, the ceasefire has not ended. This is a separate and distinct operation.”
He emphasized that “the ceasefire is currently holding, and we are closely monitoring the situation.”
Addressing concerns about Iran’s fleet of fast attack boats, Hegseth said the threat should be taken seriously. He claimed that the U.S. strategy toward Iran is “highly focused and precise,” adding that Washington would not allow it to be diverted.
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WANA (May 04) – Conflicting reports have surfaced over a tense maritime incident in the Strait of Hormuz, after local sources in southern Iran claimed that two missiles struck a U.S. Navy vessel near the port of Jask—an assertion swiftly rejected by American officials. According to these reports, the U.S. naval vessel entered waters […]
Meanwhile, an analysis by the BBC noted that the language used by Pentagon officials during the press conference was relatively cautious and somewhat different from their earlier tone during the operation known as “Epic Fury.”
According to the analysis, both Hegseth and General Caine insisted that despite recent exchanges of fire and rising tensions, the ceasefire between the United States and Iran remains intact.
The report also cited Hegseth as saying that Iran’s recent actions—such as the deployment of fast attack boats in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz—do not amount to a return to full-scale military conflict.
U.S. officials also sought to distinguish the objectives of the operation known as “Freedom” from broader measures such as a blockade of Iranian ports or a wider confrontation with Iran.
In a related development, the U.S. president, in an interview with ABC News the previous night, declined to say whether the incidents in the Strait of Hormuz and the UAE constituted a violation of the ceasefire. Hegseth noted that the final determination on what constitutes a breach of the ceasefire rests with President Donald Trump.
These remarks come as U.S. military movements were met with warning shots from Iranian armed forces the previous day. Nevertheless, Hegseth claimed that through the “Freedom” operation, the United States aims to demonstrate that Iran does not control the Strait of Hormuz.
He warned that any attack on U.S. troops or commercial shipping would be met with “imminent and overwhelming firepower.”
Hegseth concluded by expressing hope that Tehran would choose to reach an agreement with the United States and abandon what he described as its nuclear ambitions.
