Theceasefire in the Middle Eastwas in peril Tuesday after the United States and Iran traded fire and threats over President Donald Trump's new mission to force open theStrait of Hormuz.
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Trump's“Project Freedom”aims to use the U.S. military to break Tehran’s chokehold on the critical waterway, which has throttled international shipping and sentenergy prices soaring.
But Iran's aggressive effort to retain its grip on the strait saw it attack U.S. ships, hit a neighboring Gulf state for the first time in weeks and come under American fire itself.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth asserted at a Pentagon briefing Tuesday that the ceasefire was "not over" despite the clashes in the strait.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine said that since the ceasefire was announced, Iran had attacked U.S. forces more than 10 times, but he said they were still "below the threshold of restarting major combat operations."
The U.S. military said Tehran's forces attacked U.S. Navy and commercial ships Monday with cruise missiles, and launched drones and small boats at the vessels under U.S. escort, but that no American ships were struck. Trump said the U.S. destroyed eight Iranian boats.
Two U.S.-flagged merchant vessels made it through the strait, the U.S. military said, with shipping giant MAERSK confirming that one of its vehicle carriers was escorted out "under U.S. military protection."
Hegseth said that hundreds of ships from nations around the world were now lining up to transit the strait and said the military was in active communication with them. “As a direct gift from the United States to the world, we have established a powerful red, white and blue dome over the strait,” he said.
Iran denied there had been any successful crossings of commercial vessels or oil tankers, and said none of its navy ships suffered damage.
Source: Drudge Report
