(AURN News) — The Pentagon says a ceasefire with Iran is holding. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth defended a new U.S. military operation called Project Freedom, an effort to escort commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz, which has been effectively shut down since late February.
Hegseth called the operation temporary and separate from the broader Iran war, insisting the ceasefire remains intact even after Iranian vessels fired on U.S. ships in the Strait yesterday, prompting the U.S. Navy to sink several Iranian boats.
But questions are piling up quickly. Shipping companies are not convinced the route is safe. Oil prices have climbed past $100 a barrel, and Iran is calling the operation a ceasefire violation, with military commanders warning that any foreign force entering the Strait will be treated as a hostile target.
There are also roughly 170 million barrels of oil sitting on stranded tankers in the Gulf, and analysts say clearing the backlog could take months.
Click play to listen to the report from AURN White House Correspondent Ebony McMorris. For more news, follow @E_N_McMorris & @aurnonline.
