Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth insisted Tuesday that the American-led operation to reopen the Strait of Hormuz is “separate and distinct” from the wider war with Iran, the most concrete public admission yet that the conflict has evolved far beyond its original scope.
Neither Hegseth nor Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Dan Caine described how the U.S. would help protect ships moving through the strait, a vital passageway for the world’s energy supplies. Two American-flagged commercial ships and several Navy destroyers faced fire from Iranian forces as they passed through this week.
The outbreak of violence — and continued Iranian threats to target ships trying to navigate the strait — demonstrate that Tehran still has the power to threaten the waterway and global oil shipments. And Hegseth’s assertion that the fight over the waterway is different from the military’s broader Epic Fury operations underscores the Trump administration’s scramble to avoid bigger fallout.
The mission in the strait, dubbed Project Freedom, is “defensive in nature, focused in scope and temporary in duration,” Hegseth said at a press conference with Caine. “We’re not allowing ourselves to get distracted.”
Hegseth said the U.S. planned to hand over the mission “to the world” but did not cite talks with specific allies that would take over the operation — or when the American military role would be completed.
“The world has expressed a desire to be a part of this,” he added. “As is often the case, or maybe is almost always the case, American leadership is required.”
Since the U.S. and Iran agreed to a cease fire last month, Iran has fired on commercial vessels nine times and seized two container ships, while engaging with U.S. forces “more than 10 times,” Caine said. But he said that those battles did not constitute a resumption of hostilities and fell “below the threshold of restarting major combat operations.”
Neither official described what it would take to cross that threshold. It’s the latest element of uncertainty around the expanding war, which was initially launched to destroy Iran’s nuclear capabilities but has now evolved into a battle over reopening the strait. With commercial vessels unwilling to brave the threat of Iranian violence c, some 20 percent of the world’s oil supply has been cut off, sending fuel prices soaring and roiling the global economy.
The Trump administration, after months of haranguing allies over defense spending and slapping tariffs on longtime allies, has grown frustrated by their refusal to assist the U.S. in the Hormuz mission. Foreign officials have complained that the administration has failed to specify what kind of help they’re looking for, and about the lack of notice before launching air attacks on Iran in February.
The U.K., France and Germany have held several meetings with European countries to come up with a game plan for demining the strait and restarting the free flow of shipping. But those countries have insisted hostilities must be over before they would deploy their own ships.
Hegseth on Tuesday said that the U.S. is in touch with a South Korean-flagged commercial ship hit by Iranian fire, and expressed frustration that the U.S. is still going it alone.
“We hope South Korea would step up, just like we hope Japan would step up, just like we hope Australia would step up, just like we hope Europe steps up,” Hegseth said. “But we’re not waiting for them to do so. We’re looking to set the conditions to hand to them.”
Neither Iran nor the U.S. have accepted each other’s terms for a wider peace deal, though Trump told Congress last week that hostilities are over. The move appeared intended to avoid the 60-day legal deadline under which operations must halt unless lawmakers authorize military force.
A ceasefire with Tehran, Trump argued, effectively put that deadline on hold.
