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PANAMA CITY: The U.S. military has enough assets to maintain a naval blockade of Iran indefinitely, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Thursday, adding ships could be rotated in and out \u200bof the region as needed.<\/strong><\/p>\n Hegseth\u2019s comments suggest he is advising U.S. President Donald Trump that the \u200cU.S. military can keep applying economic pressure on Iran for as long as needed to help so-far failed negotiations to end the conflict, begun in February.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIndefinitely the United States Navy can maintain a blockade like that because we\u2019ll rotate ships in and out, as \u200bwe have, and we\u2019ll continue to,\u201d Hegseth told reporters.<\/span><\/p>\n He spoke in Panama after addressing the crew aboard \u200bthe USS Gridley, a guided-missile destroyer, which had previously deployed to the Middle East.<\/span><\/p>\n Trump \u2060on Wednesday said the United States is in control of the Strait of Hormuz.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe U.S.A. has total control over the \u200bStrait of Hormuz. I THINK WE WILL KEEP IT! Our Naval Blockade is being called, by everyone, \u201cA WALL OF \u200bSTEEL,\u201d and there is nothing Iran can do about it,\u201d he wrote on his Truth Social platform.<\/span><\/p>\n After the start of the war, which began with U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, Tehran effectively shut the strait, through which a fifth of the world\u2019s \u200boil and liquefied natural gas was previously shipped.<\/span><\/p>\n The U.S. subsequently imposed a naval blockade on Iranian shipping and ports, \u200bwhile saying it would protect freedom of navigation for vessels traveling to and from non-Iranian ports.<\/span><\/p>\n Washington has poured tens of thousands of \u200ctroops \u2060into the Middle East since the war started, including more than 20 warships.<\/span><\/p>\n Since the blockade started, the U.S. military has redirected more than 55 commercial vessels that were attempting to run the blockade, including disabling three ships and boarding two.<\/span><\/p>\n Earlier this week, a U.S. Navy MH-60 helicopter fired two Hellfire missiles into a Panama-flagged ship\u2019s engine room after it \u200bignored warnings from U.S. forces, \u200bthe military said.<\/span><\/p>\n Months of \u2060U.S. strikes, which have hit Iran\u2019s leadership and damaged large parts of Iran\u2019s military capabilities, including its Navy, have not broken Tehran\u2019s grip on the Strait of Hormuz.<\/span><\/p>\n Iran \u200bhas been striking back with missiles and drones against Washington\u2019s allies in the region, \u200bwhile also targeting \u2060commercial ships transiting the strait without its permission.<\/span><\/p>\n Trump has repeatedly oscillated between threats of escalation and claims that a peace deal is imminent. So far, he has resisted some of the most escalatory steps like deploying ground troops or \u2060seizing strategic \u200bislands and bombing desalination plants.<\/span><\/p>\n