A sharp warning to allies in Europe and Asia has accompanied an escalation in US rhetoric against Iran, with Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth framing both issues as part of a broader shift in American global strategy.
“Europe and Asia have benefited from our protection for decades, but the time for free riding is over,” Hegseth said.
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“America and the free world deserve allies who are capable, who are loyal, and you understand that being an ally is not a one way street. It's a two way street. We are not counting on Europe, but they need the Strait of Hormuz much more than we do, and might want to start doing less talking and having less fancy conferences in Europe and get in a boat.”
In a detailed statement outlining recent military actions and policy direction, Hegseth said the United States had already begun enforcing a sweeping maritime crackdown targeting Iranian activity.
“Just this week we seized two Iranian Dark Fleet ships in the Indo Pacific region that had left Iranian ports, before the blockade went into effect.”
The remarks point to what officials describe as a rapidly expanding naval blockade aimed at restricting Iran’s ability to operate and export through key global shipping routes. Hegseth made clear that the operation is ongoing and intensifying.
“We seized their sanctioned ships, and we will seize more. Our blockade is growing and going global. No one sails from the Strait of Hormuz to anywhere in the world without the permission of the United States.
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The blockade is tightening by the hour. We are in control. Nothing in, nothing out. Iran's battered military, the IRGC specifically, has been reduced to a gang of pirates with a flag.”
He accused Iranian forces of disguising aggression under political messaging while engaging in destabilising actions at sea.
“They cloak their aggression in slogans, but the world now sees them for what they are, criminals on the high seas. They don't control anything. They're acting like pirates, acting like terrorists. They're the ones who lay indiscriminate mines, who shoot at random ships, who killed 45,000 of their own people, innocent protesters in the course of weeks, their own people.”
Hegseth also claimed that Iran is aware of the extent of US naval dominance in the region.
“They know that we, the United States of America, control the flow of global shipping, and we know that they know their real Navy is at the bottom of the Arabian Gulf.”
Framing the confrontation as part of a decades-long conflict, he added:
“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.”
The statement reiterated that Washington is in no rush to negotiate, but left the door open for diplomacy under strict conditions.
“President Trump said it again yesterday, we have all the time in the world, and we're not anxious for a deal. Iran knows that they still have an open window to choose wisely, as we said previously, choose wisely at the negotiating table. All they have to do is abandon a nuclear weapon in meaningful and verifiable ways.”
At the same time, the US warned of sustained economic and military pressure if Tehran refuses.
“Or instead, they can watch the regime's fragile economic state collapse under the unrelenting pressure of American power—a blockade, as long as it takes, whatever President Trump decides, because the bottom line remains the bottom line: Iran will never get a nuclear bomb.”
The Pentagon also outlined new rules of engagement in the region, authorising direct action against perceived threats in critical waterways.
“Moreover, President Trump has authorized the United States Navy to destroy any Iranian fast boats that attempt to put mines in the water or disrupt passage through the Strait of Hormuz, to shoot and kill. Our commanders have clear rules of engagement: if Iran is putting mines in the water or otherwise threatening American commercial shipping or American forces, we will shoot to destroy, no hesitation, just like the drug boats in the Caribbean.”
Hegseth downplayed US reliance on the Strait of Hormuz, suggesting that the burden of disruption would fall more heavily on other regions.
“We barely use the Strait of Hormuz as a country. Our energy doesn't flow through there, and we have plenty of energy. Just look at the new global Congo line headed to Texas, a beautiful picture.”
The remarks signal a shift in expectations from Washington, with implications for both transatlantic and Indo-Pacific alliances, especially as tensions around Iran and global shipping routes intensify.
“Our blockade is only growing and going global, and as the President said, we have all the time in the world. Iran has a historic chance to make a serious deal, and the ball is in their court.”
“Europe and Asia have benefited from our protection for decades, but the time for free riding is over,” Hegseth said.
Also Read: After tariff wars, Trump is opening a new front in US-China rivalry
“America and the free world deserve allies who are capable, who are loyal, and you understand that being an ally is not a one way street. It's a two way street. We are not counting on Europe, but they need the Strait of Hormuz much more than we do, and might want to start doing less talking and having less fancy conferences in Europe and get in a boat.”
In a detailed statement outlining recent military actions and policy direction, Hegseth said the United States had already begun enforcing a sweeping maritime crackdown targeting Iranian activity.
“Just this week we seized two Iranian Dark Fleet ships in the Indo Pacific region that had left Iranian ports, before the blockade went into effect.”
The remarks point to what officials describe as a rapidly expanding naval blockade aimed at restricting Iran’s ability to operate and export through key global shipping routes. Hegseth made clear that the operation is ongoing and intensifying.
“We seized their sanctioned ships, and we will seize more. Our blockade is growing and going global. No one sails from the Strait of Hormuz to anywhere in the world without the permission of the United States.
Also Read: India slams Trump’s ‘hellhole’ remark as ‘uninformed,’ says it misrepresents India-US ties
The blockade is tightening by the hour. We are in control. Nothing in, nothing out. Iran's battered military, the IRGC specifically, has been reduced to a gang of pirates with a flag.”
He accused Iranian forces of disguising aggression under political messaging while engaging in destabilising actions at sea.
“They cloak their aggression in slogans, but the world now sees them for what they are, criminals on the high seas. They don't control anything. They're acting like pirates, acting like terrorists. They're the ones who lay indiscriminate mines, who shoot at random ships, who killed 45,000 of their own people, innocent protesters in the course of weeks, their own people.”
Hegseth also claimed that Iran is aware of the extent of US naval dominance in the region.
“They know that we, the United States of America, control the flow of global shipping, and we know that they know their real Navy is at the bottom of the Arabian Gulf.”
Framing the confrontation as part of a decades-long conflict, he added:
“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.”
The statement reiterated that Washington is in no rush to negotiate, but left the door open for diplomacy under strict conditions.
“President Trump said it again yesterday, we have all the time in the world, and we're not anxious for a deal. Iran knows that they still have an open window to choose wisely, as we said previously, choose wisely at the negotiating table. All they have to do is abandon a nuclear weapon in meaningful and verifiable ways.”
At the same time, the US warned of sustained economic and military pressure if Tehran refuses.
“Or instead, they can watch the regime's fragile economic state collapse under the unrelenting pressure of American power—a blockade, as long as it takes, whatever President Trump decides, because the bottom line remains the bottom line: Iran will never get a nuclear bomb.”
The Pentagon also outlined new rules of engagement in the region, authorising direct action against perceived threats in critical waterways.
“Moreover, President Trump has authorized the United States Navy to destroy any Iranian fast boats that attempt to put mines in the water or disrupt passage through the Strait of Hormuz, to shoot and kill. Our commanders have clear rules of engagement: if Iran is putting mines in the water or otherwise threatening American commercial shipping or American forces, we will shoot to destroy, no hesitation, just like the drug boats in the Caribbean.”
Hegseth downplayed US reliance on the Strait of Hormuz, suggesting that the burden of disruption would fall more heavily on other regions.
“We barely use the Strait of Hormuz as a country. Our energy doesn't flow through there, and we have plenty of energy. Just look at the new global Congo line headed to Texas, a beautiful picture.”
The remarks signal a shift in expectations from Washington, with implications for both transatlantic and Indo-Pacific alliances, especially as tensions around Iran and global shipping routes intensify.
“Our blockade is only growing and going global, and as the President said, we have all the time in the world. Iran has a historic chance to make a serious deal, and the ball is in their court.”
