The ceasefire between Iran and the US “is not over,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said at a Pentagon press conference on Tuesday, a day after Iran fired missiles and drones at the UAE and Oman.

The attacks on the Gulf states, a response to an American initiative to escort commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz, raised the prospect of renewed conflict. Earlier, an Israeli source told CNN that Israel and the US are coordinating preparations for a potential new round of strikes to squeeze Iran into easing its negotiating position.

“The intention would be to carry out a short campaign aimed at pressuring Iran into further concessions in negotiations,” the source said, adding that the strikes would target energy infrastructure and senior Iranian officials, and were mostly prepared ahead of the ceasefire last month. Iran has previously said it would respond to attacks on its energy sites by targeting similar facilities of US allies in the region.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said that if he were to order a return to war against Iran, it would probably take 2-3 weeks to achieve his aims. But Hegseth and Dan Caine, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, signaled that the US wasn’t looking to restart the fighting.

Speaking about the US initiative to help commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz, which is being blocked by Iran, Hegseth said that “American forces won’t need to enter Iranian waters or airspace.”

“We’re not looking for a fight,” he stressed, adding that “we’d prefer this to be a peaceful operation, but we are locked and loaded to defend our people, our ships, our aircraft, and this mission without hesitation.”

Hegseth also said that Washington plans to “hand over” the effort to secure the Strait of Hormuz “to the world.”

“Hundreds of ships from nations around the world are lining up to go through the strait,” claimed Hegseth, while emphasizing that America’s “iron-clad blockade [of Iranian ports] remains in full effect.”

Caine likewise said at the Tuesday press briefing that Iran’s attacks on US forces have fallen “below the threshold of restarting major combat operations at this point.” He added that US forces are ready to resume major combat operations against Iran if they are ordered to do so.

US Central Command “and the rest of the joint force remain ready to resume major combat operations against Iran if ordered to do so. No adversary should mistake our current restraint with a lack of resolve,” Caine said.

Hegseth: Trump isn’t being ‘pulled in’........

© The Times of Israel