U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said on Aug. 13 that the United States could maintain its naval blockade of Iranian ports indefinitely amid the ongoing standoff around the Strait of Hormuz.
“We can hold it as long as we need to. Indefinitely, the United States Navy can maintain a blockade like that because we’ll rotate ships in and out, as we have and we’ll continue to,” Hegseth told reporters in Panama.
“Iran knows it can’t get in and out on this blockade and they know that there’s no timeline on it either. We’ll hold it as long as we need to.”
Hegseth said President Donald Trump has “all the options at his disposal” to ensure that Iran can no longer develop nuclear weapons.
Negotiations between the two nations to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz have faltered, with Iran threatening to continue restricting maritime traffic until the United States agrees to its conditions, including ending its naval blockade, withdrawing troops, and lifting sanctions on the regime.
The Trump administration has said that Iran cannot impose controls on the strait, including fees or fines on vessels transiting the waterway.
On Aug. 12, a U.S. Navy helicopter fired two Hellfire missiles at a Panama-flagged vessel after it ignored warnings and attempted to breach the U.S. naval blockade by sailing toward an Iranian port. The strikes disabled the vessel’s steering gear, the U.S. Central Command said.
This is a developing story and will be updated with additional details.
Friends Read Free
Copy
Facebook
Tweet
