Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Tuesday that the ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran was still in effect, despite numerous ceasefire violations by both sides in recent days.

“No, the ceasefire is not over,” Hegseth said during a press briefing at the Pentagon alongside Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine. “Ultimately, this is a separate and distinct project,” Hegseth said of the new U.S. mission to escort commercial shipping vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, “and we expected there would be some churn at the beginning, which happened, and we said we would defend and defend aggressively, and we absolutely have.” 

“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,” the defense secretary continued.

President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that U.S. forces would ensure the Strait of Hormuz is reopened to commercial traffic by escorting vessels and deflecting missile and drone attacks from Iran. Referring to the operation as “Project Freedom,” Trump warned on Monday that Iran would be “blown off the face of the earth” if the regime attempted to interfere. 

Hegseth continued, “This is about the straits. This is about freedom of navigation. This is about international waterways. This is about free flow of commerce, all the things that happened before and that only Iran is contesting. So right now, the ceasefire certainly holds, but we’re going to be watching very, very closely.”

Caine said similarly that even though Iran has fired on commercial vessels nine times, seized two container ships and attacked U.S. forces more than 10 times since the ceasefire began, that is all “below the threshold of restarting major combat operations.”

Hegseth was pressed by reporters whether Trump was considering seeking congressional authorization to continue military operations in Iran, as many lawmakers believe the president has run out the 60-day clock for a war launched without congressional approval. 

“Our view is … that ultimately, with the ceasefire, the [60-day] clock stops. If it were to restart, that would be the president’s decision. That option is always there, and Iran knows that, and that’s why their choices on freedom are important,” Hegseth said. “The president retains the opportunity and the capabilities — more capabilities than we have at the start of this — to restart major combat operations if necessary.”

Asked about alleged assertions by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Mossad Director David Barnea that Israel would not abide by or participate in the ceasefires in Iran or Lebanon, Hegseth rejected claims that Israel was forcing the American president’s hand. 

“I will say those questions are based on the false premise that somehow President Trump is being pulled in by Prime Minister Netanyahu to any of these actions,” Hegseth told reporters. “President Trump has led at every step of this based on his view of American interests and America First, and we’re grateful that Israelis have been very capable partners at many steps of this.”

“They may have some objectives at times that are slightly different than ours, but there’s only one hand on the wheel ultimately directing this, whether it’s Project Freedom or previously Operation Epic Fury, and it’s President Trump,’ he continued. “So we’re grateful for their input, their insights, the existential nature of the threat they face from an Iranian bomb, the capabilities that they can bring to that, but ultimately the coordination will happen with the leadership of President Trump.”