WASHINGTON, August 13. /TASS/. The US military can maintain a naval blockade of Iran indefinitely, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth told reporters.

"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," Reuters quoted him as saying.

The United States and Israel launched a military operation against Iran on February 28. In June, Washington and Tehran signed the memorandum of understanding calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities on all fronts, including in Lebanon. However, the United States resumed large-scale strikes on Iran overnight on July 8, accusing Tehran of violating the terms of the agreement concerning the Strait of Hormuz.

On August 5, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Iran and Oman had agreed on coordinates for a new route through the Strait of Hormuz. He said the future deal would not reopen the strait immediately, as that depends on US actions.