Hegseth: 'The Ceasefire Is Not Over'

The US-Iran ceasefire is still in effect despite renewed clashes in the Strait of Hormuz, according to the Pentagon's top two leaders. "The ceasefire is not over," defense chief Pete Hegseth told reporters at the Pentagon on Tuesday, reports CNBC. As for those clashes, they fall "below the threshold of restarting major combat operations at this point," said Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Dan Caine. The general tallied them up: Iran has attacked US forces more than 10 times, fired at commercial vessels nine times, and seized two container ships since the ceasefire took effect on April 7.

This week's friction in particular stems from the US mission to help commercial ships navigate the strait safely under what's known as Project Freedom. "Ultimately, this is a separate, distinct project," said Hegseth, "and we expected there would be some churn at the beginning." Hegseth added that the US mission shows that Iranian forces "don't control the strait," though Iran's state broadcaster described Project Freedom as a failure and said it shows that Tehran's grip on the waterway has "intensified," reports the New York Times.