"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 during a trip to Panama.
His comments indicate that the Pentagon is assuring President Donald Trump of the US military's ability to sustain pressure on Iran for as long as necessary, as negotiations to end the conflict that began in February of this year have yet to yield results.
A day earlier, President Trump declared that the United States controls the Strait of Hormuz. "The U.S.A. has total control over the Strait of Hormuz," and will keep it, he wrote on Truth Social.
But Iran refuted these claims. The Strait of Hormuz is "under Iran's control and management", said Hossein Taeb, the newly appointed head of the Basij paramilitary force, according to the semi-official Fars news.
