Iran live updates: Pentagon officials provide update on war with Iran

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said the U.S. is "locked and loaded" in the Strait of Hormuz as it moves to open up the Strait of Hormuz.

"We prefer this to be a peaceful operation, but are locked and loaded to defend our people, our ships, our aircraft, and this mission without hesitation," Hegseth said during a press conference at the Pentagon Tuesday.

Hegseth warned Iran, telling it to "let innocent ships pass freely."

American ships are "shouldering the initial risk from the front" in its efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Hegseth said Tuesday.

"We're not looking for a fight. But Iran also cannot be allowed to block innocent countries and their goods from an international waterway," Hegseth said.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are scheduled to hold a press conference at 8 a.m. ET on Tuesday, according to the Department of Defense.

South Korea's Defense Ministry on Tuesday said it is "communicating closely with the United States and other relevant countries" regarding the situation in the Strait of Hormuz, after a South Korean-owned tanker was hit by an alleged Iranian attack off the coast of the United Arab Emirates on Monday.

President Donald Trump blamed Tehran for the incident, writing on social media of his "Project Freedom" operation that began Monday, "Perhaps it's time for South Korea to come and join the mission!"

The South Korean Defense Ministry said Tuesday that it had been "actively participating in discussions on international cooperation to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz."

The statement added that the ministry will "carefully review our position while comprehensively taking into account international law, the safety of international maritime routes, the (Republic of Korea)-U.S. alliance and the security situation on the Korean Peninsula and domestic legal procedures."

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of the Iranian parliament who led Tehran's negotiating delegation to Islamabad in April, said in a post to X on Tuesday that Iran knows "full well that the continuation of the status quo is intolerable for America; while we have not even begun yet."

"The new equation of the Strait of Hormuz is in the process of being solidified," Ghalibaf wrote on X, in a reference to Tehran's claimed control of the strait. "The security of shipping and energy transit has been jeopardized by the United States and its allies through the violation of the ceasefire and the imposition of a blockade; of course, their evil will diminish."

U.S. Central Command began its "Project Freedom" mission on Monday to guide commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz despite continued Iranian threats against and attacks on cargo vessels in the strategic waterway.

Top Iranian officials have warned that the operation could prompt a new round of fighting, and on Monday the United Arab Emirates accused Iran of launching new missile and drone attacks against it.