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The Pentagon on Tuesday threatened Iran with “overwhelming” military action but said recent attacks on shipping and against Gulf countries did not amount to an end of the current ceasefire.
Gen Dan Caine, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that since the ceasefire was announced last month, Iran has fired at commercial vessels nine times and seized two container ships, and has attacked US forces more than 10 times.
“Iran has continued to deliberately attack its neighbours. Just yesterday, Iran attacked Oman once and the UAE three times, including an attack on Fujairah oil terminal, which was successfully defeated,” Gen Caine said.
But he said the attacks were “below the threshold” of restarting major combat operations at this point.
Despite the ceasefire, which started on April 7, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has continued to launch attacks, using fast boats against shipping. The US military's Central Command on Monday launched “Project Freedom”, which is aimed at freeing vessels stuck in the Strait of Hormuz.
Speaking at the same media conference, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said President Donald Trump would decide whether anything constituted a breach of the ceasefire. He said the Iranian military will face an intense response if it attacks US forces or commercial shipping.
“If you attack American troops or innocent commercial shipping, you will face overwhelming and devastating American firepower,” Mr Hegseth said. But he stressed that Project Freedom was “defensive in nature, focused in scope and temporary in duration, with one mission: protecting innocent commercial shipping from Iranian aggression”.
He said US forces will not need to enter Iranian waters or airspace. “It's not necessary. We're not looking for a fight,” Mr Hegseth said.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking at the White House on Tuesday, said there had been no “back and forth” exchanges of fire between US and Iranian vessels.
“This is a defensive operation,” Mr Rubio said. “There’s no shooting unless we’re shot at first … we’re not attacking them. But if they are attacking us – or attacking a ship – you need to respond to that.”
He said US forces had sunk seven “fast boats” and that Iran’s navy had sustained heavy damage.
Mr Rubio added that internal divisions within Iran were complicating efforts to resolve the crisis.
“It’s time for Iran to make a sensible choice – and it’s not easy for them to do that, obviously, because they have a fracture in their own leadership system,” he said.
Other countries must 'step up'
Mr Hegseth added that he expects other countries to “step up” to help keep the Strait of Hormuz open. “These international waters belong to all nations, not to Iran to tax, toll or control,” he said.
“To our partners, allies and the rest of the world: This is a temporary mission for us. The world needs this waterway a lot more than we do. We’re stabilising the situation so commerce can flow again, but we expect the world to step up at the appropriate time, and soon we will hand responsibility back to you.”
Mr Rubio said “several” countries had expressed willingness to help, without specifying which or how many.
Mr Hegseth also spoke of a “red, white and blue dome” that is protecting shipping, referring to an interceptor shield along the lines of Israel's Iron Dome and the US's Golden Dome project.
