US defence chief: Iran naval blockade could continue indefinitely

The United States could maintain its naval blockade of Iranian ports indefinitely while increasing economic pressure on Tehran, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on August 13, as ceasefire talks stall and disruptions to global oil supplies intensify.

Hegseth said the US military had sufficient naval forces to sustain its presence in the region and enforce the blockade, which Washington says has inflicted significant economic damage on Iran, Caliber.Az reports per foreign media.

"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.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent separately said Washington planned to impose additional financial measures against Iran.

"Watch this space for more announcements coming next week because we are going to apply measures like have never been seen in the history of economic isolation on a country," he said in an interview on Newsmax's "Rob Schmitt Tonight" programme.

By Sabina Mammadli