U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks during a press briefing at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, on May 5, 2026.
Chip Somodevilla | getty images
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday that the fragile ceasefire with Iran is still in effect, a day after Tehran attacked US forces and the commercial ships they were protecting in the Strait of Hormuz.
“The ceasefire is not over,” Hegseth told reporters at a press briefing at the Pentagon.
Iran’s aggression came in response to the US launching “Project Freedom”, an effort to get commercial ships out of the Persian Gulf, where many have been stranded since the war began on February 28.
Hegseth said there is a difference between the operation, which President Donald Trump announced Sunday evening, and a broader conflict focused on countering Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
“At the end of the day, this is a different, specific project,” he said, “and we expected there would be some churn in the beginning, which happened. And we said we would defend and defend aggressively, and we have absolutely done that.”
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Kane said that, since the ceasefire was announced on April 7, Iran has fired on commercial ships nine times, seized two container ships and attacked US forces more than 10 times.
But those figures “are below the threshold for resuming major combat operations at this point,” he said.
This is developing news. Please check back for updates.