The US has warned Iran it is “locked and loaded” to defend Trump’s ‘Project Freedom’ fuelling renewed concerns about the possibility of escalating global tensions. Speaking today at the Pentagon briefing room, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth warned Iran they will face “overwhelming American firepower” if they attack American troops.

He said: “To what remains of Iran’s forces if you attack American troops or innocent commercial shipping you will face overwhelming American firepower. The president has been very clear about this.

“We prefer this to be a peaceful mission but we are locked and loaded to defend our people, our ships, our aircraft and this mission without hesitation.”

Hegseth then went on to say that the US has established a “powerful red, white and blue dome” above the Strait of Hormuz.

He said this is to provide 24/7 surveillance of “peaceful” commercial vessels – except for those from Iran. The US Defence Secretary then seemed to criticise NATO, saying that “the world needs this waterway far more than we do”.

Hegseth said the US is “stabilising the situation so Hormuz can flow again” but “expect the world to step up”.

“At the appropriate time and soon we will hand responsibility back to you”, he added.

On Sunday, Trump announced “Project Freedom”, saying it would involve the US military “guiding” commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz.

Following the news briefing Hegseth was asked a series of questions, one reporter asked whether the ceasefire is over due to the US operations in the strait.

Firing straight back Hegseth said: “No, the ceasefire is not over. Ultimately, this is a separate and distinct project, and we expected there would be some, some churn at the beginning, which happened,”

But he urged Iran to be “prudent” in keeping their actions beneath the threshold of restarting conflict.

“Right now, the ceasefire holds,” he commented. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Dan Caine said Iran has attacked US forces more than 10 times since the ceasefire was announced but said that is below the “threshold of restarting major combat operations.”