The United States stated that the ceasefire with Iran remains in force, despite recent episodes of tension in the Strait of Hormuz, and reiterated that “Project Freedom” is a mission separate from any broader military escalation. The statements were made by Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine, at a press conference at the Pentagon.
Hegseth emphasized that Washington does not intend to escalate the conflict. “We are not going to involve a war with Iran in some nation-building project,” he said. According to him, there is currently “a safe passage corridor” that allows the flow of commercial ships in the region.
The secretary also stated that the US is in contact with the South Korean-linked vessel recently struck in the strait, amid efforts to ensure the safety of international navigation.
Caine assessed that Iranian actions remain limited. “We are still at a low level of kinetics at this point,” he said. According to him, the recent episodes constitute “low-level harassment fire” and “all below the threshold for resuming major combat operations.”
Asked what this limit would be, the general stated that the decision is not up to the military command. “The threshold for resuming combat is a political decision above my level,” he said. “It looks like Iran is trying to stay relevant,” he added.
