The cease-fire may be holding, but the pressure is building.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said Tuesday the truce with Iran remains intact even as Tehran tests the limits with new activity in the region.
“Not over. Ultimately, this is a separate and distinct project,” Hegseth told reporters. “We said we would defend and defend aggressively.”
"The ceasefire is not over."
Secretary Hegseth says America's ceasefire with Iran still stands despite the recent military action in the region:
"This is a separate and distinct project, and we expected there would be some churn at the beginning… Ultimately, the president is… pic.twitter.com/znOraVx87l
— Fox News (@FoxNews) May 5, 2026
The comments come after a spike in hostilities from Iran, raising fresh questions about how long the fragile agreement can last.
Hegseth made clear the administration is drawing a firm line, warning Tehran not to push beyond what he called a critical threshold.
“Certainly, we would urge Iran to be prudent in the actions that they take to keep that underneath this threshold,” he said.
He emphasized the U.S. mission is narrowly focused but strategically vital.
“This is about the straits. This is about freedom of navigation. This is about international waterways. This is about the free flow of commerce.”
Behind the scenes, the standoff is already playing out on the water.
Hegseth revealed that six ships attempted to bypass the U.S. military blockade of Iranian ports as operations began under Project Freedom.
“In fact, six ships tried to run the blockade out of Iranian ports as Project Freedom commenced, and they were all turned around,” he said.
🚨 JUST NOW: SecWar Pete Hegseth announces 6 Iranian ships TRIED and brutally FAILED to run through President Trump's blockade at the start of Project Freedom
"As a direct gift from the United States to the world, we have established a powerful RED, WHITE and BLUE DOME over the… pic.twitter.com/R5Ow2aQnw5
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) May 5, 2026
More over at The New York Post:
Hegseth insists cease-fire with Iran is 'not over' https://t.co/EdLOGZBSlH pic.twitter.com/3uPsi3BGo3
— New York Post (@nypost) May 5, 2026
