Washington DC: United States Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday morning (local time) announced the launch of ‘Project Freedom’ for the reopening
of the Strait of Hormuz. During a press conference, accompanied by General Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Hegseth said that ‘Project Freedom’ will be different from “Operation Epic Fury” and will be defensive in nature. “As you know, President Trump has directed U.S. Central Command to restart the free flow of commerce through the Strait of Hormuz under the umbrella of Project Freedom. To be clear, 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,” Hegseth told media.
US War Secretary Pete Hegseth stated that Operation "Project Freedom" is of a temporary nature for the United States.
"To our partners, allies, and the rest of the world: this is a temporary mission for us. As I said earlier, the world needs this waterway much more than we do.… pic.twitter.com/ClNL56ppll— Visioner (@visionergeo) May 5, 2026
Divulging more details about ‘Project Freedom,' Heset said that the US forces would not enter Iranian waters. “American forces won't need to enter Iranian waters or airspace, it's not necessary. We're not looking for a fight, but Iran also cannot be allowed to block innocent countries and their goods from an international waterway. Iran is the clear aggressor, harassing civilian vessels; threatening mariners from every nation, indiscriminately; and weaponising a critical choke point for its own financial benefit, or at least trying to,” he added.
“To our partners, allies, and the rest of the world: this is a temporary mission for us. As I said earlier, the world needs this waterway much more than we do. We will stabilise the situation so that trade can resume, but we expect the world to step up,” the US Defence Secretary said.
Also Read: War at Tipping Point! Iran’s Final 30-Days Ultimatum to US To Reopen Hormuz, End War
Notably, the Strait of Hormuz has been blocked by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) since the start of the war in West Asia on February 28, following the US and Israeli airstrikes on Tehran. However, after the first round of ceasefire talks between the two countries failed, the US forces imposed a naval blockade in the strait. For the unversed, the key waterway accounted for 20 per cent of the world’s crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) trade before the start of the war.
