"US controls Strait of Hormuz": Pete Hegseth amid escalating tension with Iran

He also asserted that US operations have ensured the continued movement of commercial shipping and oil through the key waterway despite Iranian opposition.

Speaking to the reporters outside of US CENTCOM headquarters in Tampa, Florida, Hegseth said, "... the U.S. Central Command has known that Project Freedom, the idea of running ships through the Strait of Hormuz, has never stopped. It just went underground... we've been protecting commercial shipping going through the Strait of Hormuz, as the president announced, to the tune of over 100 million barrels that have moved through and more. in the middle of the night, protected by the United States in a way that Iran can't stop. They can't see it, and they can't stop it..."

Pete Hegseth said the US blockade has halted around 140 ships linked to Iranian ports and asserted that the United States controls the Strait of Hormuz.

He added, "If our blockade is ironclad, which it is. We just disabled another tanker attempting to leave just yesterday. Our blockade has stopped almost 140 ships attempting to navigate in or out of Iranian ports. If our blockade is ironclad, which it is, and we're able to move commercial shipping in and out of the Strait of Hormuz, who controls the Strait of Hormuz? President Trump said it, and he's right. The United States of America controls the Strait of Hormuz. We're able to move oil in and out and other things with partners and have done so now for weeks and weeks in ways the Iranians don't want to acknowledge. That's a powerful reality on the ground..."

Further, speaking about the incident involving a US Apache helicopter that was shot down by Iran, he said the pilots were in "good shape" and commended their performance in a "contested environment".

"The Apache pilots are in good shape. What they did bringing that thing down was incredible. It was just class A work by the great Americans who are incredibly skilled. People don't realise this is a contested environment. As we've noted, we're running ships through. Iran doesn't really know how to see them or how to sense them. And so they're doing well, good spirits, and we're grateful for everything they've done to protect the shipping and our interests in the process," he said. (ANI)