On Friday morning, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and General Dan Caine provided an update on Operation Epic Fury. They reported that the naval blockade against Iran is not only holding steady but is also expanding globally. American forces have successfully seized multiple tankers across the Indo-Pacific region and have disabled a container ship that attempted to breach the blockade.
Hegseth opened the press conference by retrospectively looking back at past wars, drawing a contrast between what he called the long, often unclear missions in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan – and the more focused approach of the current campaign.
“Operation Epic Fury has been laser-focused from the very start,” Hegseth said. “Clear mission objectives – and ultimately Iran will not have a nuclear weapon.”
Hegseth called Iran’s battered military a “gang of pirates with a flag… the world now sees them for what they are, criminals on the high seas. They don’t control anything.”
Blockade Goes Global
As of Friday morning, 34 non-Iranian ships have reportedly turned around rather than attempt passage to or from Iranian ports. The blockade has now spread well beyond the Gulf region.
This week, American forces also seized two Iranian “Dark Fleet” tankers – ships that had departed Iranian ports before the blockade took effect and were believed to have slipped through. “They thought they’d made it out just in time,” Hegseth said. “They did not.”
The first seizure occurred on Monday, April 20, when U.S. forces boarded the tanker Tiffany, a massive ship capable of carrying about 2 million barrels of oil. On Wednesday, April 22, they took control of another vessel, the stateless tanker Majestic X, in the Indian Ocean. The U.S is still holding both ships and their crews.
The Tuskegee Incident
On Sunday, April 19, the container ship Tuskegee – about 965 feet long, roughly the size of an aircraft carrier – tried to break through the blockade.
After a six-hour standoff, the crew ignored repeated warnings from the U.S. Navy, including five warning shots. Eventually, CENTCOM gave the order to disable the ship. A destroyer fired nine inert rounds into the engine room, bringing the vessel to a stop. U.S. Marines “fast-roped”, dropping in from helicopters, boarded the ship, and took control of both the vessel and its crew, who are now in custody.
Hegseth said the incident was meant to send a clear message. “This is not a fake blockade. This is a real, full blockade. We’ll use up to and including lethal force if necessary.”
Shoot-to-Kill Orders for Mine-Laying
Hegseth also announced that President Trump has authorized Navy commanders to destroy any Iranian “fast boats” attempting to lay mines in the Strait of Hormuz or disrupt commercial shipping routes.
“If Iran is putting mines in the water or otherwise threatening American commercial shipping or American forces, we will shoot to destroy,” he said. “No hesitation – just like the drug boats in the Caribbean.”
Iran has attacked five merchant ships and seized two others since the campaign began, including ships Iran itself had cleared to proceed, as previously reported by DX.
A Message to Tehran
The Department of War made clear the blockade isn’t the goal itself – it’s a tool meant to push things toward a deal. They said Iran still has a chance to come to the table, but only if it agrees to fully and verifiably give up any effort to develop nuclear weapons.
“The clock is not on their side,” Hegseth said. “Either they make a deal at the negotiating table, or they watch the regime’s fragile economic state collapse under unrelenting pressure.”
A second aircraft carrier is expected to join the blockade within days.
Europe Called Out
Hegseth also used the briefing to call out European allies, brushing off a recent conference as more for show than substance. He pointed out that the U.S. doesn’t rely heavily on the Strait of Hormuz for energy, while Europe depends heavily on it, and said those countries should be sending ships rather than holding meetings.
“Get in a boat,” he said.
Gen. Caine wrapped up by honoring the 63 people killed in the 1983 U.S. Embassy bombing in Beirut, marking the 43rd anniversary of what he noted was the first attack on Americans by Iranian-backed forces.
Operation Epic Fury enters its 55th day with 13 American service members killed and 400 wounded as of Sunday, according to Defense Casualty Analysis System data.
