US Defense Chief: "In Contact With Central Command's Attacked Vessel...Hope South Korea Steps Up"

Japan, Australia, and Europe Also Urged to Join
Call for Action to Reopen the Strait of Hormuz
"Ceasefire Has Not Ended"

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on May 5 (local time) called on countries including South Korea and Japan to participate in "Project Freedom"—an operation to rescue ships trapped in the Strait of Hormuz.

At a briefing that day, Secretary Hegseth was asked whether South Korea showed any signs of joining Project Freedom. He responded, "We strongly hope they will do so."

He said, "We are in contact with the attacked ship, and both Central Command and the Combined Maritime Forces are communicating. I believe these attacks reflect the indiscriminate nature of Iran's actions."

He went on to say, "We hope South Korea will step forward, and we hope Japan, Australia, and Europe will do the same. However, we are not waiting for them to act before we move."

Pete Hegseth, U.S. Secretary of Defense. Photo by Yonhap News

Secretary Hegseth added, "We are trying to set the conditions so we can hand things over to our allies. President Trump made it clear on Truth Social, saying, 'These are your ships; you need to join in their defense.'"

U.S. President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social the previous day, saying, "Iran has fired several times at unrelated nations, including South Korea's cargo ship, in connection with vessel movements related to Operation Project Freedom." He urged South Korea to participate in the U.S. operation to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

On March 14, President Trump publicly called on five countries—South Korea, China, Japan, the United Kingdom, and France—to dispatch warships to the Strait of Hormuz. The countries he mentioned are highly dependent on energy supplies that pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

In addition, Secretary Hegseth stated that a ceasefire is still in effect. When asked if the ceasefire had ended, he said, "The ceasefire is not over. This (Project Freedom) is a separate, distinct operation, and we anticipated some turbulence in the early stages."

He said, "Iran is also aware of this. Ultimately, whether any issue escalates to a ceasefire violation will be determined by the President. However, we urge Iran to act with caution so as not to cross that threshold."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.