Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday warned Iran would face “devastating American firepower” if it tests U.S. efforts to help commercial ships transit the Strait of Hormuz. But he argued the U.S.-Iran ceasefire is “not over” as the administration tries to avoid broader violence and political blowback amid a fresh wave of Iranian attacks.

“If you attack American troops or innocent commercial shipping, you will face overwhelming and devastating American firepower,” Hegseth said at a Pentagon press conference. “We prefer this to be a peaceful operation, but are locked and loaded to defend our people, our ships, our aircraft and this mission without hesitation. To Iran: Let innocent ships pass freely.”

Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, offered fresh details of Project Freedom, which President Donald Trump launched Monday to help stranded ships out of the Strait of Hormuz — a vital energy chokepoint whose closure has wreaked havoc on the global economy.

Hundreds of fighter jets, helicopters, drones and surveillance aircraft are watching over a security area on the southern side of the strait, protecting commercial vessels and targeting Iranian fast boats, drones and missiles.

“As a direct gift from the United States to the world, we have established a powerful red, white and blue dome over the strait,” Hegseth said.

Hegseth stressed that Project Freedom is distinct from Operation Epic Fury, the U.S. military campaign that saw weeks of strikes against Iranian forces and infrastructure.

The announcement follows the first clashes since the U.S. and Iran struck a ceasefire on April 8. The U.S. military said it sank several Iranian military boats, and the United Arab Emirates said Iran fired missiles and drones at its territory, attacks that Caine said U.S. forces helped deflect.

The White House told Congress hostilities with Iran have “terminated” and there has been “no exchange of fire … since April 7, 2026” — a claim lawmakers have sharply disputed. The latest activity in the strait is likely to intensify that debate when Congress returns from recess next week.

Iran has continued attacks around the Persian Gulf since the ceasefire was announced, Caine said, firing at commercial vessels nine times, seizing two container ships and attacking U.S. forces more than 10 times.

Officials downplayed those incidents Tuesday, with Caine calling them “below the threshold of restarting major combat operations,” and Hegseth said they were expected “churn.” Both declined to say what would restart major combat operations, as Trump is reportedly mulling fresh airstrikes on Iran.“We said we would defend and defend aggressively, and we absolutely have,” Hegseth said. “Iran knows that, and ultimately, the president is going to make a decision whether anything were to escalate into a violation of a ceasefire. But certainly, we would urge Iran to be prudent in the actions that they take, to keep that underneath this threshold.”

Caine said the decision would be a political one, but he downplayed Iran’s actions as “low harassing fire.”

“It feels like Iran is grasping at straws to try to do something across the southern flank,” Caine said. “Their command and control structure remains very fractured, and I think they’re struggling to maintain control.”

Some Republican hawks have urged Trump to resume major military action, with former Vice President Mike Pence and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham calling for him to “finish the job.”

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to clarify a quote from Caine.