The US naval blockade of Iran is just an example of ‘polite’ behaviour during the ongoing ceasefire and US forces are ready to strike Iran’s power plants and energy industry if ordered, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said yesterday.
Standing alongside two of the US military’s most senior officers, Hegseth said Iran needs to choose wisely as it prepares for negotiations with the US.
“We are reloading with more power than ever before, and better intelligence,” Hegseth said at a Pentagon news briefing. “We are locked and loaded on your critical dual-use infrastructure, on your remaining power generation, and on your energy industry. We’d rather not have to do it.”
President Donald Trump said yesterday that the two sides were ‘close’ to a peace deal to end the war that has engulfed the Middle East.
A 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon took effect last night.
The war has resulted in the largest-ever disruption of global oil and gas supplies.
Analysts have said that Iran can withstand a complete halt in oil exports of up to two months before being forced to curb production.
Hegseth, in comments aimed at the Iranian leadership, said that the blockade ‘is the polite way that this can go’.
Admiral Brad Cooper, the head of US Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East, said the military was adjusting tactics, techniques and procedures, but he did not provide any details.
During the same briefing, General Dan Caine, chairman of the US military’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, added that American forces are ‘ready to resume major combat operations at literally a moment’s notice’.
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