US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, held a press briefing at the Pentagon today (Tuesday) following Iran's attacks on international shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and the United Arab Emirates.
Secretary Hegseth outlined the goals of Project Freedom, the naval operation to secure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz. "This operation is separate and distinct from Operation Epic Fury. Project Freedom is defensive in nature, focused in scope, and temporary in duration-with one mission: protecting innocent commercial shipping from Iranian aggression."
"To what remains of Iran's forces: if you attack American troops or innocent commercial shipping, you will face overwhelming and devastating American firepower," he added. We prefer this to be a peaceful operation, but are locked and loaded to defend our people."
"What we're demonstrating with Project Freedom is they [Iran] 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.
Gen. Caine stated that Iran's attacks have not reached the level at which military operations would resume. However, he outlined the scope of Project Freedom: "On the surface, guided missile destroyers and other warships are detecting and defeating Iranian threats. This includes fast boats and one-way attack drones. In the air, more than 100 fighters, attack aircraft, and other manned and unmanned aircraft, synchronized by the 82nd Airborne Division are in the air 24 hours a day, providing defensive overwatch for the enhanced security area."