US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Thursday that the US Navy has the resources to maintain the blockade of Iranian ports "indefinitely" by implementing a system of rotating ships deployed in the region.
"The US Navy can maintain this blockade indefinitely," Hegseth told reporters in Panama City. "We will rely on rotating ships in and out, as we have done previously, and we will continue to do so."
His remarks indicate the US military's readiness to maintain economic and military pressure on Tehran during the stalled negotiations to end the trade war that began last February.
The rotation plan coincides with Washington's intention to send the aircraft carrier USS George Washington to the Middle East to replace the USS Abraham Lincoln, which has been deployed for more than 250 days.
US President Donald Trump asserted on Wednesday that the United States has "total control" of the Strait of Hormuz and will maintain it, describing the naval blockade as a "steel wall."
Hegseth: The blockade of Iranian ports will continue "indefinitely"
