Trump skips ceasefire red line, claiming Iran wants deal

WASHINGTON, May 5 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday refused to spell out what would constitute a violation of the fragile ceasefire with Iran, reiterating Tehran wants a peace deal with Washington.

Asked by reporters in the Oval Office what actions by Tehran would cross the red line of the ceasefire, Trump gave no specifics.

"Well, you'll find out, because I'll let you know," he said, adding that Iran is "looking around for little boats to try and compete with our great Navy."

"They (the Iranian leaders) know what to do," he said. "They know what not to do, more importantly."

"Iran wants to make a deal," Trump said.

Trump insisted that "nobody's going to challenge the blockade" imposed by the U.S. Navy, though hours earlier, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine told reporters at the Pentagon that Iran has attacked U.S. forces "more than 10 times" since the ceasefire began earlier last month.

Two U.S. Navy destroyers passed through the strait on Monday under a sustained Iranian attack, including missiles, drones and small boats. Trump said U.S. forces destroyed seven or eight Iranian small boats in the engagement.

The U.S. blockade against Iranian ports has redirected 51 vessels "to turn around or return to port" as of Tuesday, the U.S. Central Command said on X.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday morning at a Pentagon news briefing that the "ceasefire is not over" and the U.S. military operation to guide commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz, named Project Freedom, is a "temporary" operation and separate from the massive attacks against Iran launched by the Trump administration on Feb. 28.