“No adversary should mistake our current restraint with a lack of resolve.” General Dan Caine, Washington’s top military officer, said that to reporters on Tuesday, adding that US Central Command and the rest of the joint force “remain ready to resume major combat operations against Iran if ordered to do so.”
His remarks followed a rough Monday in the Hormuz strait. Iran fired missiles and drones at US forces, and Washington said it hit six Iranian boats that it said threatened commercial shipping. It was the sharpest escalation since a truce of nearly a month. Iran denied that any of its combat ships were hit but accused the United States of killing five civilian passengers on boats.
The Pentagon threatened a “devastating” response to further attacks on shipping. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the US was “not looking for a fight” in the strait, but vowed that Iranian attacks would “face overwhelming and devastating American firepower.”
Claims and denials
The United Arab Emirates said it was engaging a barrage of missiles and drones from Iran for a second day in a row, calling the attacks “a dangerous escalation and an unacceptable transgression.” Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya central command rejected this “categorically.” Its statement said the armed forces “did not launch any missile or drone operation against the United Arab Emirates these past days.”
The Revolutionary Guards’ navy warned of a “firm response” if any ship left its approved route through the strait. Iran’s chief negotiator said Tehran “had not even started yet.” Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who has become a key figure in the peace talks, said the status quo was “intolerable for America” and that Tehran would not surrender control of Hormuz.
Despite the clashes, Danish freight giant Maersk said one of its ships had sailed through the strait under US escort, part of Trump’s effort dubbed “Project Freedom.”
Talks and the economy
President Donald Trump urged Iran to “do the smart thing” and make a deal, saying he did not want to kill more Iranians. Earlier he had called the war “a little skirmish.” Negotiations are deadlocked, with only one round of direct talks held so far.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran was ready for dialogue but objected to a US policy of maximum pressure paired with an expectation that Iran will “ultimately capitulate.” “Such an equation is impossible,” he said.
Israel’s new air force chief, Omer Tischler, said the country was prepared to “deploy the entire air force eastward if required.” Military chief Eyal Zamir said the IDF “remains on high alert across all fronts.”
Stocks fell on Tuesday after crude prices surged the day before. The war began more than two months ago with US-Israeli strikes on Iran, and energy costs have hurt consumers and complicated Trump’s position months before the midterm elections. EU chief Ursula von der Leyen called the attacks “unacceptable.” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz urged Tehran to “return to the negotiating table,” echoing French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Macron planned to speak with Pezeshkian later that day.
Sources
Sources
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- US forces ready to resume combat operations against Iran if ordered
