Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday outlined Mission Freedom, a day-old U.S. army operation to help industrial vessels caught within the Persian Gulf to get out through the Strait of Hormuz, as fully separate from hostilities with Iran that started with joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on the nation on Feb. 28.
“This operation is separate and distinct from Operation Epic Fury. Mission Freedom is defensive in nature, centered in scope, and momentary in period, with one mission: defending harmless industrial transport from Iranian aggression,” Hegseth mentioned at a press briefing.
Hegseth mentioned American forces wouldn’t must enter Iranian waters or airspace for Mission Freedom, including: “We’re not on the lookout for a battle.”
“However Iran additionally can’t be allowed to dam harmless nations and their items from a global waterway,” he mentioned, calling Iran the “clear aggressor,” and accusing the Islamic Republic regime of “weaponizing a crucial chokepoint for its personal monetary profit.”
“Iran’s plan, a type of worldwide extortion, is unacceptable,” Hegseth mentioned. “That ends with Mission Freedom.”
Hegseth mentioned U.S. warships and plane aiding two industrial vessels to transit the strait on Monday confirmed “the lane is evident.”
He mentioned U.S. Central Command was actively speaking with tons of of ships from world wide that “wish to get out of the Iranian lure that they’ve been caught inside.”
“We would favor this to be a peaceable operation, however are locked and loaded to defend our folks, our ships, our plane and this mission with out gestation,” he mentioned. “To Iran: Let harmless ships go freely. These worldwide waters belong to all nations, to not Iran to tax, toll for management.”
