MAY 5, 2026
U.S. declares ceasefire intact as forces guide first ships through contested Strait of Hormuz amid ongoing attacks
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine said Tuesday that the ceasefire with Iran remains in effect, even as Iran launched fresh missile and drone attacks against the United Arab Emirates and U.S. forces in the Strait of Hormuz. Two U.S.-flagged merchant ships have transited the new American-guarded route, dubbed "Project Freedom," while hundreds of other vessels remain bottled up in the Persian Gulf. Iran's parliament speaker and chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said the U.S. effort violates the ceasefire and warned, "We have not even begun yet."
The U.S. military began guiding commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday under what CENTCOM has called "Project Freedom," a route running through Oman's territorial waters to the south. CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper told reporters that U.S. forces destroyed six Iranian small boats that threatened commercial shipping during the operation's first day and "defeated each and every one of those threats." Hegseth described the effort as "separate and distinct" from the ongoing military operation — "defensive in nature, focused in scope and temporary in duration."
At a Pentagon briefing Tuesday, Gen. Caine said Iran had fired on commercial vessels nine times, seized two container ships, and attacked U.S. forces more than ten times since the ceasefire took effect — all, he said, "below the threshold of restarting major combat operations at this point." Caine described Tuesday as a "quieter" day in the strait and said more than 100 U.S. military aircraft were patrolling the area. Iran disputed the U.S. account of the boat sinkings, with an Iranian military commander telling state television that two small civilian cargo boats were struck, killing five civilians.
The United Arab Emirates, a key U.S. ally, came under Iranian missile and drone attack for a second consecutive day on Tuesday. The UAE Defense Ministry said its air defenses engaged 15 missiles and four drones on Monday, while a drone sparked a fire at an oil facility in Fujairah that wounded three Indian nationals. Leaders from India, Pakistan, the EU, Lebanon, and Canada condemned the attacks on the UAE; Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the targeting of civilians and infrastructure "unacceptable."