US military chief announces 'threshold to resumption of major combat operations': Iran has attacked US forces 10 times so far
Iran has launched more than ten attacks on US forces since the ceasefire took effect nearly a month ago, US Army Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine said on Tuesday, according to German news agency DPA.
Since the truce took effect on April 8, Iran has fired at merchant ships nine times and captured two container ships, Caine said at a news conference in Washington, adding that the incidents, however, remained “below the threshold of resuming major combat operations at this stage.”
Caine, the highest-ranking officer in the US military, noted that on Monday alone, Iran launched an attack on Oman and three on the United Arab Emirates. Iranian forces also used cruise missiles, drones and speedboats against US troops acting to restore commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, he said, according to Agerpres.
US attack helicopters successfully repelled these attacks, the general added.
“So far, it's quiet today,” noted Dan Caine.
The US military chief also said that Iranian attacks in the region have left about 22,500 sailors stranded aboard more than 1,550 merchant ships in the Gulf.
The Strait of Hormuz – which connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea – is a vital artery for global oil transit, and its blockade amid the war has disrupted global energy markets.
US forces have established an extended security zone in the southern part of the strait near Oman, General Caine explained. US infantry, naval and air units are securing the area to deter further Iranian attacks on merchant ships.
In the same press conference, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described the effort as a “powerful dome (of the Strait of Hormuz) in red, white and blue.”
Tensions escalated on Monday as the dispute over control of the largely blocked Strait of Hormuz intensified, threatening the fragile truce.
This escalation of tensions took place against the background of the launch of the new American initiative called “Project Freedom”, announced by President Donald Trump and intended to help blocked ships pass safely through the strait, despite the risk of Iranian attacks.
