“George Washington” to the Region... Hagerty Threatens Tehran
In a new sign of sustained military pressure on Iran, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth confirmed that the United States will continue the blockade imposed on Tehran “as long as necessary.”
Hegseth told reporters, “The US Navy can maintain a blockade of this kind for an indefinite period, because we are rotating ships, taking them out and bringing them in, as we have done, and we will continue to do so...”
Bloomberg News also quoted a White House official as saying that “sanctions and the naval blockade have left Iran completely bankrupt,” adding that “Trump has many tools to pressure Iran and can use them in the coming months.”
These comments coincided with a US move to replace one of the most prominent military assets deployed in the Middle East. Washington is preparing to send the aircraft carrier USS George Washington to the region to replace the USS Abraham Lincoln.
According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, citing US officials familiar with the matter, the George Washington will move from Japan toward the Middle East as part of a pre-planned rotation schedule.
This means that Washington is not withdrawing the aircraft carrier currently in the region without a replacement, but rather swapping it for another, while the naval blockade on Iran continues.
The decision to replace the carrier comes after the Lincoln had been deployed for an extended period exceeding 250 days, with only brief stops at ports, according to the newspaper.
The Lincoln had originally begun its deployment in November last year, before Washington redirected it to the Middle East in January, prior to the outbreak of the US war with Iran.
The carrier played a key role in the US bombing campaign dubbed “Operation Epic Fury,” before later participating in the enforcement of the blockade on Iranian ports.
However, the length of its deployment sparked criticism and questions within the United States, particularly among members of Congress, regarding the living conditions of the sailors aboard and the impact of the extended deployment on the crew.
Meanwhile, following President Donald Trump’s confirmation that his country has “full” control over the strategic Strait of Hormuz, and his insistence on maintaining the naval blockade, which he described as an “iron wall” that Iran cannot withstand, Iran’s new military command announced that no vessel can safely transit the strait without permission and supervision from Tehran.
Ibrahim Zolfaghari, spokesperson for the “Seal of the Prophets” Command, stated that the strait remains under the full management and control of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and that the armed forces are monitoring the movements of Americans and Israelis in the region.
Threatening a stronger response to any threat from “enemies,” according to state media reports.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi viewed that “the United States has always misjudged due to intelligence failures... and the best example is the war against Iran.”
He warned that “the worst of false news is false intelligence... so exercise caution.”
Tehran also justified its efforts to impose fees on ships passing through Hormuz through a new rationale this time: “environmental damage caused by navigation traffic in the strategic waterway,” whereas its previous justification had been “ensuring security and protecting ships.”
Spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, Ismail Baghaei, wrote on X that decades of pollution in the Gulf have caused damages to Iran estimated in the trillions of dollars.
He added that “countries and companies benefiting from navigation through the strait have a legal and ethical obligation to help address environmental damage,” noting that environmental protection should focus on any future management of the waterway.
