Washington/Tehran, Aug. 14 -- The US on Thursday asserted that it could maintain its naval blockade of Iranian ports indefinitely and would continue to increase economic pressure on Tehran amid the stalled ceasefire talks, tightening of global oil supplies and rising regional tensions.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said the US military had the capacity to maintain a naval presence in the region for as long as necessary to enforce the blockade, which has inflicted significant economic damage on Iran.
"Indefinitely the United States Navy can maintain a blockade like that because we'll rotate ships in and out, as we have, and we'll continue to," Hegseth told reporters during a visit to Panama.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent separately sa...