‘Don’t need to worry about it’

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday brushed aside concerns that the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz because of the Iran war, which has sent oil prices soaring, will continue to be a problem for the United States and the world for much longer.

“We’re dealing with it and we don’t need to worry,” Hegseth said at the Pentagon press conference.

Hegseth criticized media reports claiming that the US military had no plans to reopen the Strait of Hormuz before the war began.

“We planned for it. We recognize it,” Hegseth told a reporter Friday who asked why the Pentagon had not planned to close the strait to traffic.

“Ultimately, we want to do this sequentially in the way that makes the most sense for what we want to accomplish.”

Neither Hegseth nor Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine said how the United States would open the strait to traffic of oil tankers and other ships.

On Thursday morning, Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CNBC that the US Navy is not ready to escort oil tankers through the strait. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Sky News hours later that the US Navy and possibly an international coalition would begin escorting the ships through the strait as soon as “militarily feasible”.

When asked on Friday how long it will take for the Strait of Hormuz to be opened to traffic, Hegseth said, “The only thing that prohibits passage through the straits right now is Iran opening fire on ships.”

“This is not a strait that we would allow to be discussed or a strait where there is no flow of goods,” Hegseth said.

When asked about removing the mines laid by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz, Caine said, “We have various options to solve many problems.”