Live Update 
From the Liveblog of
Thursday, August 13, 2026
From the Liveblog of
Thursday, August 13, 2026
US can keep naval blockade on Iranian ports ‘indefinitely,’ Hegseth says
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US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth waves from a Navy ship taking part in a multinational military exercise in Panama City, August 13, 2026. (AP/Matias Delacroix)
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the United States military can keep a blockade on Iranian ports for as long as needed.
“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 tells reporters.
He adds that reports about poor conditions aboard aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln are “completely misrepresented.”
“We make sure every ship, every crew, every captain has everything we can provide them at every single moment. Some deployments are longer than others, and I have more respect and gratitude for those sailors than anybody. What they do in those high seas, in those austere conditions, with less port calls – it’s incredible,” he says.
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