Cease-Fire In Name Only? Hegseth Downplays Iranian Attacks As Tensions Escalate In Strait Of Hormuz

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth maintained Tuesday that the cease-fire with Iran remains intact, even as tensions surged following a wave of aggression from Tehran on Monday and acknowledgment from America’s top general that Iran has carried out at least 10 attacks on US forces since the truce began April 8.

“Not over. Ultimately, this is a separate and distinct project,” Hegseth told reporters at the Pentagon while discussing the Trump administration’s effort to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. “We said we would defend and defend aggressively, and we absolutely have.”

“The president is going to make a decision whether anything were to escalate into a violation of a cease-fire,” Hegseth went on. “Certainly, we would urge Iran to be prudent in the actions that they take to keep that underneath this threshold. This is about the straits. This is about freedom of navigation. This is about international waterways. This is about the free flow of commerce.”

Despite the cease-fire declaration, 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,” according to Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Caine characterized the maritime assaults as “low, harassing fire,” adding that he believes Tehran is “grasping at straws to try to do something across the southern flank” while the regime struggles to maintain internal control at lower levels.

On Monday, the US military initiated “Project Freedom,” aimed at ensuring safe passage for ships through the Strait of Hormuz after Iranian actions disrupted shipping lanes and drove oil prices above $110 per barrel.

As of Tuesday, approximately 22,500 mariners remain “trapped” aboard more than 1,550 commercial vessels in the Persian Gulf amid the ongoing standoff, Caine said.

Hegseth, however, insisted that “the lane is clear” for maritime traffic, pointing to two US-flagged commercial vessels that successfully navigated the strait Monday under destroyer escort.

“We know the Iranians are embarrassed by this fact. They said they control the strait. They do not. So American ships led the way. Commercial and military,” the secretary of war said.

“As a direct gift from the United States to the world, we have established a powerful red, white, and blue dome over the strait,” Hegseth added. “These international waters belong to all nations, not to Iran to tax, toll or control our partners, allies, and the rest of the world.”

During the briefing, both Hegseth and Caine dismissed reports suggesting Iran may be deploying explosive-laden dolphins to obstruct the strait, while stopping short of fully addressing whether the US possesses similar capabilities.

“It’s still pretty low-level kinetics at this point in time, and I can’t confirm or deny whether we have kamikaze dolphins – but I can confirm they don’t,” Hegseth said.

Caine laughed off the claims.

“I haven’t heard the kamikaze dolphin thing. It’s like sharks with laser beams, right?” he said, referencing a plot element from the 1997 satire “Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery.”

A recent Wall Street Journal report cited Iranian officials as claiming the regime had considered deploying dolphins equipped with mines to target US naval vessels, though no independent evidence has confirmed such a capability.