The US cease-fire with Iran remains in place, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said, a day after Iran launched missiles at the United Arab Emirates, and the US military sank six Iranian small boats.
The exchange of fire on May 4 has stoked fears that the halt in hostilities announced nearly a month ago had unraveled, and all-out fighting from Tehran, as well as US and Israeli forces, would resume.
US naval forces began escorting some of the commercial shipping vessels that have been blocked in the Persian Gulf as a result of Iran closing the chokepoint waterway.
Speaking at a Pentagon news conference, Hegseth said that operation was only a “temporary solution,” and he again demanded Iran stop its blockade.
US warships are also blockading Iranian ports as part of the standoff.
"Iran cannot be allowed to block innocent countries and their goods from an international waterway," Hegseth told reporters.
The Iranians “said they control the strait. They do not," he said.
'Cease-Fire Not Over'
Asked about the cease-fire, Hegseth said: "The cease-fire is not over."
"We said we would defend and defend aggressively, and we absolutely have. Iran knows that, and ultimately, the president can make a decision whether anything were to escalate into a violation of a cease-fire," he said.
General Dan Caine, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Iran had attacked US forces "more than 10 times" since the April 8 cease-fire. However, he said, that "fell below the threshold of restarting major combat operations."
An estimated 22,500 sailors and mariners on more than 1,550 commercial ships were stuck in the Gulf, unable to transit the strait, Caine said.
Speaking to Fox News on May 4, US President Donald Trump again warned Iran against targeting US vessels, saying it would be “blown off the face of the earth” if it did.
Iran’s launching of four missiles at the United Arab Emirates prompted an angry response from the US ally, which threatened retaliation. Three of the missiles were intercepted by air defenses, UAE’s military said, while the fourth fell into the sea.
An Iranian drone also hit the UAE port of Fujairah, sparking a fire, and injuring three Indian nationals working there, authorities said. Located on the Gulf of Oman, the port has become even more crucial after Tehran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Amid the fraying cease-fire, Tehran and Washington have exchanged proposals for a peace settlement. Among the biggest obstacles is the fate of Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Washington wants Tehran to give up its uranium, including its highly enriched uranium, which can be used for building a weapon.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baqaei was quoted as saying there were no talks over Iran's nuclear capabilities at this stage.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, meanwhile, was traveling to Beijing for talks. China relies heavily on Middle Eastern oil exported and shipped via the Strait of Hormuz, and Chinese officials have been quietly involved trying to help broker a settlement and get the ship traffic moving again.
