Iran live updates: Attacks on US below threshold of resuming fighting, Caine says

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters that Iran does not control the Strait of Hormuz.

"They said they control the strait. They do not," Hegseth said.

"Iran has an ability to make that deal, but what we're demonstrating with Project Freedom is they don't control the strait. We know Iran is embarrassed by the fact that our blockade is holding, and we can run ships through, and we're going to help the world run ships through," Hegseth said Tuesday.

The fragile ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran continues to hold, with Iranian attacks being below the threshold of ending the agreement, U.S. officials told reporters on Tuesday.

"Since the ceasefire was announced, Iran has fired at commercial vessels nine times and seized two container ships, and they've attacked U.S. forces more than 10 times, all below the threshold of restarting major combat operations at this point," Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters Tuesday.

The decision to restart military operations is a political one Caine and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth did not comment on.

"Right now the ceasefire certainly holds but we're going to be watching very, very closely," Hegseth said.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said the U.S. is "locked and loaded" in the Strait of Hormuz as it moves to open up the waterway.

"We prefer this to be a peaceful operation, but are locked and loaded to defend our people, our ships, our aircraft, and this mission without hesitation," Hegseth said during a press conference at the Pentagon Tuesday.

Hegseth warned Iran, telling it to "let innocent ships pass freely."

American ships are "shouldering the initial risk from the front" in its efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Hegseth said Tuesday.

"We're not looking for a fight. But Iran also cannot be allowed to block innocent countries and their goods from an international waterway," Hegseth said.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are scheduled to hold a press conference at 8 a.m. ET on Tuesday, according to the Department of Defense.