Overview
- U.S. officials, in reports published Wednesday, said planners are considering the name Operation Sledgehammer if the fragile truce collapses.
- The White House told Congress in early April that Operation Epic Fury had ended, but the Pentagon still uses the name and says the ceasefire only paused major combat.
- Officials say a new operation name could be used to argue the 60‑day War Powers clock resets, a claim Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth linked to the truce and Senator Tim Kaine challenged.
- Iran continues to limit ship traffic in the Strait of Hormuz and the U.S. is enforcing a naval blockade, while the president reviews options to reopen the waterway without restarting a full air campaign.
- Pentagon leaders say the regional U.S. force is now larger than at the start of the war, and senators are questioning cost estimates of roughly $25–$29 billion that Senator Patty Murray called suspiciously low.