U.S. PLANS INDEFINITE IRAN BLOCKADE
PHOTO CAPTION: A vessel near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, August 10, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
PANAMA CITY, Aug. 13 — The U.S. military has enough ships and other assets to maintain its naval blockade of Iran indefinitely by rotating forces in and out of the region, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday.
His comments indicate that the Pentagon believes the United States can continue applying economic pressure on Tehran while negotiations to end the war remain stalled. The conflict began in February.
“Indefinitely the United States Navy can maintain a blockade like that because we’ll rotate ships in and out, as we have, and we’ll continue to,” Hegseth told reporters in Panama.
He spoke after addressing the crew of the USS Gridley, a guided-missile destroyer that had previously deployed to the Middle East.
President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the United States was in control of the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran has maintained significant leverage over shipping despite months of U.S. military operations.
“The U.S.A. has total control over the Strait of Hormuz. I THINK WE WILL KEEP IT! Our Naval Blockade is being called, by everyone, ‘A WALL OF STEEL,’ and there is nothing Iran can do about it,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The war began with U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran on Feb. 28. Tehran subsequently effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas had previously been shipped.
The United States then imposed a naval blockade on Iranian shipping and ports while saying it would protect freedom of navigation for vessels traveling to and from non-Iranian ports. Washington has deployed tens of thousands of troops to the Middle East since the war began, including more than 20 warships.
Since the blockade began, the U.S. military has redirected more than 55 commercial vessels it said were attempting to breach it. That included disabling three ships and boarding two, according to the military.
Earlier this week, a U.S. Navy MH-60 helicopter fired two Hellfire missiles into the engine room of a Panama-flagged vessel after it ignored warnings from U.S. forces, the military said.
Months of U.S. strikes have hit Iran’s leadership and damaged significant portions of its military capabilities, including its navy, but have not broken Tehran’s grip on the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has retaliated with missiles and drones against U.S. allies in the region and has also targeted commercial ships it says are transiting the strait without permission.
Trump has repeatedly shifted between threats of escalation and statements that a peace agreement is near. He has so far avoided some of the most escalatory options, including deploying ground troops, seizing strategic islands and bombing desalination plants.
The president is also under pressure to end a war that is deeply unpopular in the United States ahead of November’s midterm elections. High fuel prices have become a particularly important issue in rural areas that have supported him in the past.
(Source: Reuters)
