Hegseth and Caine Hold News Conference as Iran Ceasefire Faces Strait of Hormuz Tests

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine are holding a news conference Tuesday morning as the ceasefire in the Iran war faces serious tests.

U.S. Navy destroyers on Monday fended off a sustained barrage of Iranian missiles, attack drones and small boats while helping two commercial vessels transit the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran's foreign minister said the violence showed "there's no military solution" to the war. He warned that the U.S. and its regional partners should be "wary of being dragged back into quagmire by ill-wishers."

Two U.S. Navy destroyers transited the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, dodging a barrage of Iranian drones and missiles, defense officials told CBS News. U.S. Central Command said two U.S.-flagged commercial vessels also sailed through the strait as part of "Project Freedom," an initiative by President Trump to move ships through the waterway.

U.S. Central Command said Monday the U.S. destroyed six Iranian boats that had attempted to interfere with commercial vessels the Navy was guiding through the strait. Mr. Trump later said it was seven ships.

Iran's state-run IRNA news agency rejected the assertion, saying none of its fast boats were destroyed Monday.

Mr. Trump told Fox News on Monday that Iran will be "blown off the face of the Earth" if the country interferes in the Strait of Hormuz, according to Fox News reporter Trey Yingst.

Iran has warned that U.S. forces will be attacked if they enter the strait. Iran has sought to control the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint that normally carries around 20 percent of the world's oil and has been largely closed since the war began in late February.

Iran also fired at targets in the United Arab Emirates and at a tanker owned by the Abu Dhabi state energy company on Monday, the U.S.-allied state said.

The back-and-forth could pose a test to the U.S. and Iran's fragile ceasefire, which Mr. Trump extended indefinitely last month while the two sides negotiate a longer-term deal.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Monday that talks between the two countries are "making progress." He warned the U.S. and the United Arab Emirates "should be wary of being dragged back into quagmire by ill-wishers."

Mr. Trump said over the weekend that Iran's latest peace proposal likely wouldn't be acceptable because "they have not yet paid a big enough price."