From the Oval Office to the Pentagon, the million-dollar question everyone has asked Donald Trump and his top officials is: will the truce with Iran hold? And, despite Tehran’s dozen attacks against American ships since April 8, the unanimous response was that the ceasefire is holding.
During a meeting at the White House with a group of children to launch a new school fitness project, the US president insisted that Iran wants a deal and that a negotiated solution is still possible.
For him, the military operation and the tensions in Hormuz are just “skirmishes”, because “Tehran has no chance, it has never had one”: “They know what they have to do” to avoid violating the truce. When asked specifically by a journalist, however, what the limit beyond which Washington might decide to resume fighting could be, the commander-in-chief did not provide further details, simply replying: “You’ll find out.”
The Donald also expressed irritation at the attitude of his Iranian interlocutors who “speak to him with respect” behind the scenes but then go on TV to deny it. And he urged Tehran to “do the smart thing, because we don’t want to kill again.”
Pete Hegseth also spoke on the ceasefire in a briefing at the Pentagon, assuring that for now “the truce holds”, but warning Iran that the situation could change at any moment and the American armed forces are “loaded”, like weapons. “It is up to the president to decide if the situation degenerates into a violation of the ceasefire.”
The same concept reiterated by the Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dan Caine, according to whom the attacks suffered so far do not exceed the “threshold” necessary for a resumption of large-scale operations, such as those the world witnessed with Epic Fury at the beginning of the war. However, the general specified, when and if that threshold will be exceeded is a political evaluation. Hegseth then argued that Iran does not control the Strait of Hormuz and that with Project Freedom the United States has created a “red, white dome and blue” above the strategic stretch of sea.
The transit of two US commercial ships on Monday would demonstrate that the way is “clear. It’s a gift to the world,” the defense secretary said. However, senior Pentagon officials revealed to CBS that the two US Navy destroyers dodged an Iranian bombardment.
The USS Truxtun and USS Mason, supported by Aapache helicopters and other aircraft, were reportedly attacked by small boats, missiles and drones aimed at them in what officials described as a sustained attack that did not hit either ship. Hegseth was also asked about the infamous ‘kamikaze dolphins’. «I can neither confirm nor deny whether we have any. However, I can confirm that Iran does not have any,” he replied.
Last week the Wall Street Journal quoted Iranian officials as saying that Tehran was preparing to use dolphins armed with mines to attack American ships. Meanwhile, the Pasdaran have issued a clear warning to all boats, not to cross the strait through unauthorized routes, threatening a “firm response”. While the Iranian Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, spoke about the attacks on the United Arab Emirates, which Tehran has denied, underlining that the events in Hormuz make it clear that there is no military solution to a political crisis.
“As the talks are making progress thanks to Pakistan’s gracious effort, the United States should guard against being dragged back into a quagmire by bad actors. The United Arab Emirates should do the same”, the minister wrote on X, later branding Project Freedom as “a dead project”.