Hegseth says U.S. not seeking a fight during operation to reopen Strait of Hormuz in World Economy News 06/05/2026 Iran has been harassing commercial ships for too long in the Strait of Hormuz, but does not control the critical chokepoint the U.S. has been attempting to crack open this week, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Tuesday. In a press briefing, Hegseth appeared to signal Washington’s desire not to re-escalate tensions with Tehran, noting that the U.S. is “not looking for a fight” and the push to unblock the strait — dubbed “Project Freedom” — is a “temporary” measure. “Project Freedom is defensive in nature, focused in scope and temporary in duration, with one mission, protecting innocent commercial shipping from Iranian aggression. American forces won’t need to enter Iranian waters or airspace,” Hegseth said. However, he reiterated a warning that the U.S. will hit Iran with “overwhelming firepower” should Tehran attack commercial shipping. The comments come after U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly suggested that the war in Iran could stretch on for another three weeks, even as he claimed the U.S. had already “won” the conflict. But, speaking to ABC News, Trump stressed that he was not under any significant time constraint to end the campaign. The White House has faced increasing pushback from some U.S. lawmakers over the war, especially after a 60-day deadline under which Trump must halt military operations unless he receives Congressional approval was reached last week. Trump argued that the conflict had “terminated,” adding that an ongoing ceasefire with Iran had essentially stopped that clock. Hegseth claimed that truce is not over despite Monday’s attacks. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday warned that military action would not yield a resolution to the crisis, but also said that talks in Pakistan were making headway. Trump told ABC that the U.S. had “control” over the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for roughly a fifth of t