US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Thursday that the United States possesses the capacity to enforce its blockade of Iranian ports indefinitely through continuous naval rotations, declaring that no other navy can match America’s “wall of steel” in regional waters. Speaking to reporters in Panama during the closing ceremony of a multinational military drill, Hegseth emphasized the sustainability of the maritime operation against Tehran.
“We can hold (the blockade) as long as we need to. Indefinitely, the United States Navy can maintain a blockade like that because we’ll rotate ships in and out as we have and will continue to,” he said, describing the deployment as an unprecedented demonstration of naval power. “No other nation on earth, no other navy on earth has the capability to have a wall of steel like the US Navy, and then the willingness to use it as we have,” Hegseth added.
He warned that Tehran faces permanent exclusion from the waterways, stating: “So Iran knows it can’t get in and out on this blockade, and they know that there’s no timeline on it either.” US President Donald Trump said earlier this week that Washington maintains “total control” over the Strait of Hormuz and vowed to sustain the naval presence there.
Tehran rejects ‘baseless lies’
Iranian military officials disputed Washington’s assertions of dominance over the strategic waterway, with the country’s central military command rejecting the claims as “baseless lies and fabrications.” In a statement carried by state broadcaster IRIB, the command said that “the false US claims regarding the normal passage of vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, which reflect the helplessness and confusion of that country’s military, are nothing but falsehoods and baseless lies.”
Renewed hostilities disrupt diplomacy
The statements come amid heightened tensions following military exchanges between Washington and Tehran from July 8-24, when US forces launched strikes on targets inside Iran and Tehran responded by hitting American military facilities in Jordan, Bahrain, and Kuwait. The clashes occurred after negotiations stalled over security guarantees and freedom of navigation through the Hormuz chokepoint — a vital artery for global energy supplies — despite a Pakistan-brokered ceasefire in April and a June 17 deal intended to launch talks toward a final agreement.