US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth insisted the “ceasefire is not over” even though both sides have exchanged fire in the Strait of Hormuz.
According to CNN, the defense secretary and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Dan Caine held a press briefing on Tuesday, May 5, after tension between US and Iran once again escalated.
Hegseth told media, “No, the ceasefire is not over. Ultimately, this is a separate and distinct project, and we expected there would be some, some churn at the beginning, which happened.”
He also said that this morning that the US effort to guide vessels out of the Strait of Hormuz is “separate and distinct” from the ongoing military operation in the region.
“To be clear, this operation is separate and distinct from Operation Epic Fury. Project Freedom is defensive in nature, focused in scope and temporary in duration, with one mission: Protecting innocent commercial shipping from Iranian aggression,” Hegseth stressed.
The secretary said two US commercial vessels have moved through the strait and six other ships that attempted to violate the blockade of Iranian ports “were all turned around.”
Caine during a Pentagon briefing said Iran has attacked US forces more than 10 times since the ceasefire was announced but noted that is below the “threshold of restarting major combat operations.”
