U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine hold a briefing on the Iran war, (Reuters)
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday claimed the U.S. operation to protect commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz is a “separate and distinct” one from the more than two-month-old war against Iran launched by President Donald Trump as he warned Tehran against attacking any American or international commercial traffic transiting the key waterway.
Speaking at a press briefing at the Pentagon alongside Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair General Dan Caine, Hegseth said the mission that has been dubbed “Project Freedom” is meant to “restart the free flow of commerce through the Strait of Hormuz” amid skyrocketing petroleum prices as a result of Iran’s effective closing of the strait.
“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,” he said.
Hegseth told reporters that American forces participating in Project Freedom will not enter Iranian airspace or territorial waters, describing such actions as “not necessary.”
“We’re not looking for a fight. But Iran also cannot be allowed to block innocent countries and their goods from an international waterway. Iran is the clear aggressor, harassing civilian vessels, threatening mariners from every nation indiscriminately and weaponizing a critical choke point for its own financial benefit,” he said.
He described Tehran’s attempts to charge tolls for safe passage through the choke point as “international extortion” that “ends with Project Freedom” putting a “powerful red, white and blue dome over the strait” in the form of U.S. destroyers along with “hundreds of fighter jets, helicopters, drones and surveillance aircraft, providing 24/7 overwatch for peaceful commercial vessels.”
Paradoxically, the Pentagon boss also said the U.S. “ironclad blockade” against Iran “remains in full effect” even as he repeated the administration’s claim, first floated last week, that the shaky ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran “is not over.”
The defense secretary’s assertion that the new U.S. operation is “separate and distinct” from the ongoing war and blockade comes days after the war the administration has called Operation Epic Fury reached the 60-day mark, triggering a requirement that Trump obtain Congress’ consent to continue operations or withdraw U.S. forces.
Trump sent House and Senate leaders a letter on Friday claiming that the hostilities between the U.S. and Iran had “terminated” even as the blockade, which is an act of war under international law, continues.
A Vietnam War-era law, the War Powers Resolution, requires the president to seek and obtain permission from the U.S. legislature to continue any hostilities after 60 days, with provision for a single 30-day extension for the sole purpose of withdrawing troops from those hostilities.
The president and his top aides initially claimed that the ceasefire with Iran paused that 60-day deadline despite there being no legal or historical precedent for such an interpretation of the decades-old law.
Yet even as he claimed the war with Iran was effectively over, Hegseth said Trump reserves the right to restart fighting anew and said U.S. forces remain “locked and loaded to defend our people, our ships, our aircraft and this mission without hesitation” while working to protect shipping.
He also described the U.S. mission in the strait as “temporary” and argued that “our partners, allies, and the rest of the world” must “step up at the appropriate time” to take over protection of commercial shipping.
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