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Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and General Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, provided much-needed clarity on the semantics of the war with Iran following the president’s declaration last week that hostilities had been “terminated.”
During a press briefing Tuesday morning, Hegseth reiterated President Trump’s command to initiate “Project Freedom,” a naval mission aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
U.S. warships in this operation are escorting commercial vessels through the Strait in an effort to free up marine traffic in the shipping corridor.
The mission has raised questions about the continued deployment of U.S. service members in the region, given the 60-day expiration of Operation Epic Fury, as stipulated by the War Powers Act (1973).
“To be clear, this operation is separate and distinct from Operation Epic Fury,” Hegseth told reporters on Tuesday. “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 that American forces would not enter Iranian waters or airspace. “We’re not looking for a fight, but Iran also cannot be allowed to block innocent countries and their goods from an international waterway,” Hegseth stated.
On Monday, reports surfaced in the media – and continued Tuesday – that Iran had attacked the United Arab Emirates in a series of ballistic missile and drone attacks, drawing speculation about potential reescalation in the region.
Further, Iranian “fast boats” struck at a South Korean cargo vessel in the Strait this week, according to President Donald Trump. CENTCOM’s Adm. Brad Cooper also alleged this week that Iranian vessels had made several efforts to target U.S. vessels this week.
Amid these reports, the most pressing question has been whether these actions constitute a violation of the ceasefire on Iran’s part, and whether this could initiate a new wave of combat operations.
“The threshold of restarting is a political decision above my pay grade,” Gen. Caine told reporter Mary Margaret Olohan. “What I’ll say is it’s low-harassing fire right now. It feels like Iran is grasping at straws to try to do something across the southern flank.”
During his remarks to reporters on Tuesday, Gen. Caine noted, “Beyond Project Freedom, CENTCOM and the rest of the Joint Force remain ready to resume major combat operations against Iran if ordered to do so. No adversary should mistake our current restraint with a lack of resolve.”
