The U.S. military’s top uniformed and top civilian officials will take questions from the press on the Iran war Friday morning, as a weeks-long U.S.-Iran ceasefire remains in place — but with both sides ratcheting up their competition for control over shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are holding a news conference at 8 a.m. ET. They have jointly addressed reporters several times since Operation Epic Fury began in late February.
While fighting between the U.S. and Iran is paused, American forces have imposed a blockade on Iranian ports at President Trump’s direction, turning around over 30 ships so far, according to U.S. Central Command. Meanwhile, Iran has sought to control shipping traffic through the strait, claiming Thursday it had collected its first toll revenue at the waterway, a strategically important chokepoint that normally carries one-fifth of the world’s oil.
Tensions have grown in recent days, as the two countries carry out tit-for-tat interdictions of vessels. The U.S. intercepted and boarded a pair of Iran-linked oil tankers, and Iran has attacked and allegedly boarded at least two cargo ships in the strait.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards released an edited video Thursday that the corps claimed shows masked commandos zipping toward two cargo ships and climbing aboard. The Philippine government said 15 Filipino seafarers aboard vessels that were seized by Iran were “safe and unharmed.”
Mr. Trump said Thursday the U.S. has “total control” over the Strait of Hormuz. He also directed the military to “shoot and kill” any Iranian vessels that try to place mines in the waterway.
Shipping traffic in the strait remains well below pre-war levels.
Earlier this week, the president extended the two-week ceasefire with Iran indefinitelyoffering more time for what he described as a severely fractured Iranian leadership to make a deal with his administration. Mr. Trump told reporters Thursday that he will resume bombing Iran if it doesn’t come to the negotiating table, but he’s not in a hurry.
“I want to make the best deal. I could make a deal right now,” he said during an Oval Office event, later adding: “I don’t want to rush myself.”
A ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon was extended by three weeks on Thursday following White House talks between envoys for the two countries. Lebanon could play a key role in any resolution of the Iran conflict due to Israel’s campaign against Iranian proxy group Hezbollah. Iran had pushed for Israel to pause fighting Hezbollah in Lebanon as part of a ceasefire.
This week has also been marked by upheaval at the Pentagon, as Navy Secretary John Phelan left his post at Mr. Trump and Hegseth’s direction. The president told reporters Thursday that Phelan is a “wonderful guy” but had trouble getting along with others.
“He’s a hard charger, and he had some conflicts with some other people,” Mr. Trump said. “Got to get along, especially in the military.”