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US Defense Secretary: US blockade on Iran 'going global'

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Friday that the U.S. blockade on Iran is going global, adding Tehran had a chance to make a "good deal" with Washington.

April 24, 2026

Phil Stewart and Bhargav Acharya/Reuters

US Defense Secretary: US blockade on Iran 'going global'

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth holds a briefing on the Iran war, amid a ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran, at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 24, 2026.

Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Friday that the U.S. blockade on Iran is going global, adding Tehran had a chance to make a "good deal" with Washington.


"Our blockade is growing and going global," Hegseth told reporters.


"No one sails from the Strait of Hormuz to anywhere in the world without the permission of the United States Navy," he said.

Thirty-four ships had been turned around from the Strait of Hormuz by the U.S. Navy so far, he said.


-Phil Stewart, writing by Bhargav AcharyaEditing by Tomasz Janowski and Michelle Nichols/Reuters

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