US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday that the ceasefire with Iran is “not over,” adding that US President Donald Trump will determine whether any escalation constitutes a “violation of ceasefire.”
“No, the ceasefire is not over,” Hegseth told reporters during a joint press conference at the Pentagon alongside US Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine.
“Ultimately, the President (Trump) is going to make a decision whether anything were to escalate into a violation of a ceasefire, but certainly we would urge Iran to be prudent in the actions that they take, to keep that underneath this threshold,” Hegseth said.
“So right now, the ceasefire certainly holds, but we’re going to be watching very, very closely.”
Hegseth said two US commercial ships, accompanied by American destroyers, had safely transited the Strait of Hormuz, demonstrating that the “lane is clear.”
He added that “Iranians are embarrassed by this fact. They said they control the strait. They do not so,” while noting that the US blockade on the strait “remains in full effect.”
“In fact, six ships tried to run the blockade out of Iranian ports as ‘Project Freedom’ commenced, and they were all turned around,” Hegseth said.
The defense secretary also said Washington remains in contact with Seoul after a South Korean vessel caught fire in the strategic waterway.
“We hope South Korea would step up, just like we hope Japan would step up, just like we hope Australia would step up, just like we hope Europe steps up. But we’re not waiting for them to do so,” Hegseth said.
For his part, Caine said that since the ceasefire was announced, “Iran has fired at commercial vessels nine times and seized two container ships, and they’ve attacked US forces more than 10 times, all below the threshold of restarting major combat operations.”
“As a result of Iran’s indiscriminate attacks across the region, there are currently 22,500 mariners embarked on more than 1550 commercial vessels trapped in the Arabian Gulf, unable to transit,” Caine added.
Regional tensions have escalated since the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Feb. 28, prompting retaliatory attacks by Tehran against Israel and US allies in the Gulf, as well as disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.
A ceasefire took effect on April 8 through Pakistani mediation, but talks in Islamabad failed to produce a lasting agreement and the truce was later extended.