The United States says its ceasefire with Iran remains intact despite rising tensions in the Strait of Hormuz after Iran launched fresh attacks on Gulf allies and both sides traded fire.
U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters at a Pentagon briefing on Tuesday that the ceasefire is not over.
“No, the ceasefire is not over. Ultimately, this is a separate and distinct project, and we expected there would be some churn at the beginning, which happened,” he said.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine said Iran has attacked U.S. forces more than ten times since the ceasefire was announced, but the strikes remain below the threshold for restarting major combat operations.
The UAE said it came under attack from Iran for the first time since the ceasefire began in early April, with air defences engaging 15 missiles and four drones fired from Iranian territory. Authorities in Fujairah said one drone sparked a fire at an oil facility, wounding three Indian nationals.
Oman was also targeted, with authorities confirming that a residential building near the strait was struck, leaving two foreign workers wounded, four vehicles damaged, and nearby windows shattered.
The U.S. military sank six small Iranian boats in the Strait of Hormuz after Iran launched cruise missiles, drones, and small boat attacks against U.S. Navy ships and commercial vessels under American protection. Trump later said seven small Iranian boats were destroyed and confirmed there was no U.S. damage, apart from a South Korean vessel that was struck.
Hegseth dismissed Iran’s claim that it controls the Strait of Hormuz.
“They said they control the strait. They do not,” he said, adding that the U.S. is “locked and loaded” to defend its people, ships, aircraft, and escort mission.
The tensions centre on Trump’s “Project Freedom” initiative, launched on Sunday, under which the U.S. military escorts commercial ships through the strait.
Iran blamed the initiative for triggering the attacks, with an Iranian military official telling state television that the U.S. must be held accountable for what he described as adventurism in the strait.
An Israeli source told CNN that Israel and the U.S. are also coordinating preparations for a potential new round of strikes aimed at pressuring Iran into further concessions in ongoing negotiations.
The planned campaign, described as short, would target energy infrastructure and senior Iranian officials, and was largely prepared ahead of last month’s ceasefire.
Analysts warn that the escalating attacks are threatening the already shaky ceasefire as both sides struggle to make progress in talks on a lasting end to the war.
S&P Global Energy has warned that even after the Strait of Hormuz reopens, it will take a minimum of seven additional months to fully restore upstream oil production, with the supply crisis potentially stretching into 2027.
The UAE condemned what it called renewed Iranian aggression and called for an immediate halt to the attacks. The European Union, Canada, and several other nations also condemned the strikes and called for de-escalation and a return to diplomacy.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi dismissed the U.S. escort initiative, writing on X that “Project Freedom is Project Deadlock,” while warning Washington and the UAE against being dragged into what he called a quagmire.
