{"id":98791,"date":"2026-05-05T13:14:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T13:14:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/98791\/"},"modified":"2026-05-05T13:14:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T13:14:11","slug":"the-latest-hegseth-and-caine-say-ceasefire-between-the-us-and-iran-is-not-over","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/98791\/","title":{"rendered":"The Latest: Hegseth and Caine say ceasefire between the US and Iran is not over"},"content":{"rendered":"

U.S. forces launched an effort to guide commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz<\/a> on Tuesday, with the first two ships, both American-flagged merchant vessels, sailing through unscathed. Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine said the safety corridor in the key waterway for oil and gas transport involves guided-missile destroyers, more than 100 aircraft and 15,000 service members. <\/p>\n

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the forces prefer a peaceful effort to \u201cguide\u201d the more than 22,500 mariners stuck on more than 1,550 vessels out of the Persian Gulf, but are ready if needs change. \u201cThis is a temporary mission for us,\u201d Hegseth said. \u201cWe expect the world to step up.\u201d Iran has denounced the move as a ceasefire violation.<\/p>\n

It is unclear what will follow<\/a>. The U.S. Central Command said Iran earlier launched multiple cruise missiles, drones and small boats at civilian ships under the U.S. military\u2019s protection, and that U.S. helicopters sank six small boats involved in the attacks. It denied Iranian reports that American vessels had been struck.<\/p>\n

Trump Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Rome and Vatican City<\/a> this week in a bid to ease rising tensions between President Donald Trump and Pope Leo XIV<\/a>, Trump has lashed out at the pope again, misrepresenting the pontiff\u2019s laments about the Iran war and accusing him of \u201cendangering a lot of Catholics.\u201d <\/p>\n

Here is the latest:<\/p>\n

Hegseth says Iranians still had \u2018will\u2019 to develop nukes<\/p>\n

After the bombing of nuclear sites last summer<\/a>, Hegseth says U.S. forces participated in new strikes this year alongside Israel because the Iranians\u2019 \u201cwill was still there to seek a nuclear bomb.\u201d<\/p>\n

The secretary was asked about intelligence reports showing that, despite the initial bombing in Operation Midnight Hammer, the timeline for Iranian nuclear weapon development remained at 9 to 12 months.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe obliteration of those facilities set back their program,\u201d Hegseth said. \u201cHopefully Iran chooses a deal that they give up those ambitions, give up those capabilities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hegseth also says ceasefire is not over<\/p>\n

The defense secretary confirmed that the ceasefire remains in effect despite some Iran strikes and the ongoing U.S. blockade.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, the ceasefire is not over,\u201d Hegseth said, reaffirming Caine\u2019s earlier statements.<\/p>\n

Caine lays out US forces manning Strait of Hormuz<\/p>\n

Saying that more than 100 U.S. military aircraft are patrolling the skies \u201c24 hours a day,\u201d Gen. Dan Caine said Tuesday marked a \u201cquieter\u201d period in the Strait.<\/p>\n

Caine added that there were 22,500 mariners on more than 1,550 vessels in the Persian Gulf, unable to transit.<\/p>\n

He went on to commend the troops of the 82nd Airborne Division, who he said were using \u201cnext generation tactical networks\u201d to \u201cseamlessly synchronize\u201d efforts in support of military activity.<\/p>\n

Joint Chiefs Chairman says Iran attacks do not necessarily mean they violated ceasefire<\/p>\n

Dan Caine told reporters at the Pentagon on Tuesday that Iran\u2019s recent acts of aggression are below the threshold of \u201cmajor combat operations.\u201d<\/p>\n

That means Tehran, in the Trump administration\u2019s view, has not violated the tenuous ceasefire<\/a> between the U.S. and Iran.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince the ceasefire was announced, Iran has fired at commercial vessels nine times and seized two container ships, and they\u2019ve attacked U.S. forces more than 10 times \u2013 all below the threshold of restarting major combat operations at this point,\u201d Caine said.<\/p>\n

The administration has cited the ceasefire in asserting that the president<\/a> does not have to give a formal update to Congress on the war under the War Powers Resolution. That law typically requires presidential updates on war activities 60 days after beginning military action.<\/p>\n

Defense secretary says US forces remain \u2018locked and loaded\u2019 to safeguard Strait of Hormuz<\/p>\n

Pete Hegseth said in a Pentagon briefing Tuesday that U.S. military forces would prefer the new effort to \u201cguide\u201d stranded ships through the Strait of Hormuz<\/a> to be peaceful \u2014 but are ready if needs change.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a temporary mission for us,\u201d Hegseth said, adding that the intent remains to hand control of the strait back to countries that need the waterway \u201ca lot more than we do. \u2026 We expect the world to step up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Iran has denounced the move as a ceasefire violation.<\/p>\n

Trump says Pope Leo is \u2018endangering Catholics\u2019<\/p>\n

Trump is renewing his criticism of Pope Leo XIV even as Rubio prepares to visit Vatican City<\/a>, ostensibly to ease tensions between Washington and the Holy See.<\/p>\n

The president misrepresented the pontiff\u2019s laments about the Iran war in an interview with conservative commentator Hugh Hewitt, while saying Leo is aiding Tehran and making the world less safe.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe pope would rather talk about the fact that it\u2019s OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon,\u201d Trump said. \u201cAnd I don\u2019t think that\u2019s very good. I think he\u2019s endangering a lot of Catholics and a lot of people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leo has not said Iran should obtain nuclear weapons. He\u2019s called for more peace talks, criticized war generally and lambasted Trump\u2019s specific threats of mass civilian strikes.<\/p>\n

The pope also has emphasized<\/a> that he\u2019s reflecting biblical and church teachings, not speaking as a political rival to Trump.<\/p>\n

Rubio plans to visit the Vatican this week as tensions between Trump and the pope rise<\/p>\n

Pope Leo XIV holds his weekly general audience in St. Peter\u2019s Square at The Vatican, Wednesday, Wednesday, April 29, 2026. (AP Photo\/Alessandra Tarantino)<\/p>\n

Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Rome and Vatican City this week in a bid to ease rising tensions between Trump and Pope Leo XIV<\/a> over U.S. policies, particularly the Iran war.<\/p>\n

The State Department said Monday that Rubio, a Catholic who with this trip will have visited Italy or the Vatican at least three times as the Republican president\u2019s top diplomat, would be in Italy on Thursday and Friday. The Vatican announced that Rubio would meet with Leo, the first American pontiff, on Thursday.<\/p>\n

\u201cSecretary Rubio will meet with Holy See leadership to discuss the situation in the Middle East and mutual interests in the Western Hemisphere,\u201d the department said. \u201cMeetings with Italian counterparts will be focused on shared security interests and strategic alignment.\u201d<\/p>\n

The trip comes as Trump has criticized Leo<\/a> for his stances on the Middle East and elsewhere and as the president has drawn pushback for posting a social media image likening himself to Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n

\u25b6 Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

Negotiations make little progress<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s latest proposal for ending the war calls for the U.S. to lift sanctions, end the blockade, withdraw forces from the region and cease all hostilities including Israel\u2019s operations in Lebanon, according to the semiofficial Nour News and Tasnim agencies, which have close ties to Iran\u2019s security apparatus.<\/p>\n

Iranian officials over the weekend said they were reviewing the U.S. response. Tehran has claimed its proposal does not include its nuclear program and enriched uranium<\/a>, long a driving force in tensions with the U.S. and Israel.<\/p>\n

Iran wants other issues resolved within 30 days and aims to end the war rather than extend the ceasefire. Trump expressed doubt over the weekend that the proposal would lead to a deal.<\/p>\n

Strait of Hormuz closure has far-reaching consequences<\/p>\n

The disruption of the waterway has squeezed countries in Europe and Asia that depend on Persian Gulf oil and gas, raising prices far beyond the region<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The U.S., meanwhile, has enforced a naval blockade on Iranian ports since April 13, telling at least 49 commercial ships to turn back, according to its Central Command. It has also warned shipping companies that they could face sanctions if they pay Iran for transit of the strait.<\/p>\n

The blockade has deprived Tehran of the oil revenue it needs to shore up its ailing economy<\/a>. U.S. officials have expressed hope the blockade will force Iran to make concessions in talks on its disputed nuclear program and other longstanding issues.<\/p>\n

The UAE bore the brunt of Iran\u2019s retaliation<\/p>\n

The United Arab Emirates\u2019 Defense Ministry said its air defenses had engaged 15 missiles and four drones fired by Iran. Authorities in the eastern emirate of Fujairah said one drone sparked a fire at a key oil facility, wounding three Indian nationals. The British military reported two cargo vessels ablaze off the UAE.<\/p>\n

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday condemned the attacks, calling the targeting of civilians and infrastructure \u201cunacceptable.\u201d On X, Modi said India stands in \u201cfirm solidarity\u201d with the UAE, and stressed the need for safe and uninterrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n

Tehran did not confirm or deny the attacks but Iran\u2019s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi early Tuesday said on X that both the U.S. and the UAE \u201cshould be wary of being dragged back into quagmire.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia condemned the strikes against the UAE. The Saudi condemnation came despite increasingly strained relations between it and the UAE.<\/p>\n

Trump vows to reopen the strait <\/p>\n

U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday warned that Iranian efforts to halt passage through the strait \u201cwill, unfortunately, have to be dealt with forcefully.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said the U.S. effort, \u201cProject Freedom,\u201d was intended to aid tens of thousands of stranded seafarers on hundreds of ships<\/a> stuck in the Persian Gulf since the war began.<\/p>\n

The U.S.-led Joint Maritime Information Center advised ships on Monday to cross the strait in Oman\u2019s waters, saying it had set up an \u201cenhanced security area.\u201d<\/p>\n

Iran accuses US of ceasefire violation<\/p>\n

Iran has called the new U.S. effort a violation of the fragile ceasefire that has held for more than three weeks.<\/p>\n

In a post on X on Tuesday, Qalibaf accused Washington of undermining shipping security in the Strait of Hormuz, and warned that a \u201cnew equation\u201d there is taking shape.<\/p>\n

He signaled that Iran has yet to fully respond to the U.S. attempt to reopen the waterway, saying: \u201cWe know full well that the continuation of the status quo is intolerable for America; while we have not even begun yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

His statement did not mention negotiations with the U.S. that are now in the form of passing messages via Pakistan.<\/p>\n

US attempt to open the Strait of Hormuz tests Iran war\u2019s fragile ceasefire<\/p>\n

The Iran war risked reigniting after the U.S. tried to force open<\/a> the Strait of Hormuz for commercial shipping, though a ceasefire<\/a> seemed to be holding Tuesday even after the United Arab Emirates said Iran fired missiles and drones at it.<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s powerful parliamentary speaker and chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, accused the U.S. of undermining regional security with the effort to end Iran\u2019s stranglehold on the strait and warned that Tehran will respond.<\/p>\n

The U.S. military said two American-flagged merchant ships successfully transited the strait on Monday, the first day of the effort, and that it fired on Iranian forces, sinking six small boats that were targeting vessels.<\/p>\n

Disputing Washington\u2019s claim of sinking six boats, an Iranian military commander said two small civilian cargo boats were hit on Monday, killing five civilians, Iran\u2019s state TV reported.<\/p>\n

\u25b6 Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"U.S. forces launched an effort to guide commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, with the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":98792,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[211,328,38,34552,34,210,5637,3636,772,5657,463,782,771,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-98791","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-iran","8":"tag-abbas-araghchi","9":"tag-business","10":"tag-donald-trump","11":"tag-hugh-hewitt","12":"tag-iran","13":"tag-marco-rubio","14":"tag-mohammad-bagher-qalibaf","15":"tag-narendra-modi","16":"tag-pete-hegseth","17":"tag-pope-leo-xiv","18":"tag-religion","19":"tag-u-s-news","20":"tag-washington-news","21":"tag-world-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/116522153797522936","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98791","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98791"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98791\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/98792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}