SecWar talks military action in the Strait of Hormuz: ‘Shoot and kill’
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth gave a broad summary Friday morning at the Pentagon focused mostly on the president’s recent orders regarding the Strait of Hormuz
by Summer Lane | April 24, 2026
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth delivered an update on the war with Iran on Friday morning at the Pentagon, highlighting U.S. military strength while simultaneously declining to offer a clear timeline on when the conflict could come to an end.
“For 47 years, Iran has been at war with America—killing our citizens, our soldiers, and our allies, while previous administrations looked the other way,” Hegseth said in a prepared statement. “The real endless war is the war that Iran has waged on us for 47 years. President Trump is the only president with the guts and moral clarity to finally do something about it.”
Hegseth’s comments directly address the underlying issue: the lack of a timeline for a ceasefire resolution with Iran, amid a war that has seemed to continually escalate, as the Strait of Hormuz has been leveraged by Iran as an effective weapon to inflict economic terrorism on the globe.
And on the subject of the Strait, the secretary was asked about a report circulating in the media regarding the possibility that it could take up to six months to completely clear the shipping channel of mines – a catastrophic possibility for the flow of oil and fertilizer in that region of the world, if true.
“We would not speculate on a timeline; I saw that report, it was based on, again, another leak from a closed-door session which was supposed to be classified, and apparently, allegedly, that was something that was said…we’re tracking that very closely,” Hegseth responded.
The original report was published by The Washington Post and cited a “classified briefing for lawmakers,” suggesting that “gasoline and oil prices could remain elevated through the midterm elections.”
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell told the outlet that the claims leaked from the briefing were “inaccurate” and “false.”
On Friday, Hegseth discussed the current U.S. Naval blockade on the Strait of Hormuz. “Iran has an important choice—a chance to make a deal, a good deal—a wise deal. As a part of that effort, the United States has imposed an ironclad blockade that grows more powerful by the day,” he said.
He also noted that non-Iranian vessels are currently being allowed to transit the waters. He additionally acknowledged President Trump’s order to “shoot and kill” any vessels caught dropping mines into the Strait.
