Iran ceasefire holds, not looking for a fight: US

TRUCE STRESS | Defence secy Hegesth says Project Freedom to force open Strait of Hormuz in Iran for shipping is temporary

AP

DUBAI

The war with Iran risked reigniting after the US tried to force open the Strait of Hormuz for commercial shipping, though a ceasefire seemed to be holding on Tuesday even after the United Arab Emirates (UAE) said Iran fired missiles and drones at it. 

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Project Freedom operation to protect commercial ships was temporary and the four-week-old ceasefire was not over. 

"We're not looking for a fight," Hegseth told reporters. "Right now the ceasefire certainly holds, but we're going to be watching very, very closely."

Iran's parliament speaker and chief negotiator, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, accused the US of undermining regional security with the effort to end Iran's stranglehold on the strait and warned that Tehran will respond. Qalibaf said breaches of the ceasefire by the US and its allies had endangered shipping through the waterway.

"We know well that the continuation of the current situation is unbearable for the United States, while we have not even begun yet," he said in a social media post.

The US military said two American-flagged merchant ships successfully transited the strait on Monday, the first day of the effort, and that it fired on Iranian forces, sinking six small boats that were targeting vessels. Disputing Washington's claim of sinking six boats, an Iranian military commander said two small civilian cargo boats were hit on Monday, killing five civilians, Iran's state TV reported.

Ship tracking data showed a Panamanian-flagged crude oil tanker heading toward the centre of the strait on Tuesday morning after leaving an anchorage in the Persian Gulf, though it was unclear if it would try to pass through. The tanker had a stated destination of Singapore, according to the MarineTraffic ship tracking site.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said the hostilities on Monday showed there was no military solution to the crisis. Araqchi said peace talks were progressing with Pakistan's mediation and warned the US and the UAE against being drawn into a quagmire. Araqchi was travelling to Beijing on Tuesday for talks with his Chinese counterpart, his ministry said.

Recent acts of aggression are below the threshold: Dan Caine

Washington: Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine told reporters at the Pentagon on Tuesday that Iran’s recent acts of aggression are below the threshold of “major combat operations.” That means Tehran, in the Trump administration’s view, has not violated the tenuous ceasefire. “Since the ceasefire was announced, Iran has fired at commercial vessels nine times and seized two container ships, and they’ve attacked U.S. forces more than ten times – all below the threshold of restarting major combat operations at this point,” Caine said.