When a Ceasefire Includes Daily Combat
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine stood before reporters on May 5, 2026, to insist the U.S.-Iran ceasefire "is not over", then proceeded to detail more than 10 Iranian attacks on American forces, nine attacks on commercial vessels, two seized container ships, six Iranian boats sunk by U.S. helicopters, and cruise missiles fired at Navy destroyers, according to Pentagon briefing transcripts. All since the ceasefire began on April 8.
The contradiction exposes how the Trump administration has turned the word "ceasefire" into a legal shield. By maintaining that a ceasefire exists despite ongoing combat, the White House avoided triggering War Powers Resolution requirements when the conflict hit its 60-day deadline, according to administration statements. The resolution, passed after Vietnam to check executive war-making, requires presidents to update Congress 60 days after beginning military action. The administration cited the ceasefire to skip that reporting, even while launching Project Freedom, a new operation involving 15,000 troops, guided-missile destroyers, more than 100 aircraft, and the 82nd Airborne Division, per U.S. Central Command.
The mechanism works through competing definitions. Caine told reporters that Iran's attacks fall below the threshold of "major combat operations," a technical designation that determines whether War Powers reporting applies. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi counters that the continuing U.S. naval blockade constitutes "an act of war and thus a violation of the ceasefire," according to Iranian state media. Both governments are redefining terms to suit strategic needs while their forces exchange fire daily in the Strait of Hormuz.
The Operation That Isn't a War
Project Freedom operates 24 hours a day. U.S. Central Command reported that on May 4, Iran launched multiple cruise missiles, drones, and small boats at civilian ships under American military protection. U.S. helicopters sank six of those boats. Two Navy destroyers navigated through an Iranian barrage on May 5 while escorting commercial vessels through the strait. More than 100 U.S. military aircraft patrol the skies continuously.
Hegseth described this as a "temporary solution" and "temporary mission," insisting Project Freedom is "separate and distinct from Operation Epic Fury", the original military campaign that began in late February, according to the Pentagon briefing. The operation-naming strategy creates administrative separation between what is functionally a continuous military engagement. Epic Fury becomes Project Freedom, combat operations become escort missions, and the War Powers clock stops ticking.
The strait normally carries 20% of the world's oil but has been largely closed since late February, according to maritime industry reports. More than 22,500 mariners remain stranded on 1,550 vessels in the Persian Gulf, unable to leave while missiles fly overhead, per the International Maritime Organization. The crews, ranging from 15 to 25 personnel per vessel, face dwindling food supplies, medical emergencies without evacuation options, and psychological strain from months of confinement in a combat zone. Ship owners are paying an estimated $8,000 to $15,000 per day in idle vessel costs, totaling more than $18 million daily across the stranded fleet, according to shipping industry analysts.
Two U.S.-flagged merchant vessels sailed through unscathed on May 5 as part of the new operation, but the broader shipping freeze continues, according to Central Command. Iran fired at targets in the United Arab Emirates on May 4, including a tanker owned by Abu Dhabi's state energy company and facilities in Fujairah, the UAE's only major port that bypasses the strait, per Emirati officials. The attack on Fujairah signals Iran is targeting alternative routes, not just the chokepoint itself.
How the War Powers Workaround Functions
The War Powers Resolution creates a 60-day window during which presidents can conduct military operations before seeking congressional authorization. The clock starts when armed forces are "introduced into hostilities," according to the 1973 law. But the resolution contains no enforcement mechanism beyond congressional action and no clear definition of when hostilities end or what constitutes a ceasefire.
That ambiguity has become the administration's legal pathway. When Operation Epic Fury reached its 60-day mark in late April, the White House faced a choice: seek congressional authorization, withdraw forces, or redefine the situation to stop the clock. By declaring a ceasefire on April 8, despite ongoing attacks, the administration argued that "hostilities" had formally ended, even as combat continued, according to White House counsel statements reviewed by legal scholars.
The strategy then required renaming the military operation. Project Freedom was announced as a "humanitarian escort mission" rather than a combat operation, which allowed the Pentagon to classify it as separate from Epic Fury, according to Defense Department documentation. This administrative separation meant the War Powers clock for Epic Fury stopped with the ceasefire, while Project Freedom, despite involving the same forces in the same location conducting similar operations, was categorized as a new mission not yet subject to the 60-day requirement.
The process bypasses Congress through paperwork rather than law. No vote is required to rename an operation. No judicial review examines whether a ceasefire violated daily qualifies as a ceasefire under the War Powers Resolution. The administration simply declares the terms, and unless Congress forces a confrontation through a concurrent resolution demanding troop withdrawal, a step requiring majority votes in both chambers, the executive branch's definitions stand by default.
The Definitional Battlefield
Trump previously claimed on May 4, 2026, that the ceasefire had "terminated" hostilities, language that suggested the conflict had ended, according to White House transcripts. Now, with combat intensifying, Hegseth maintains the ceasefire "is not over," which implies it remains in effect. The shifting rhetoric serves the same purpose: avoiding the reporting requirement that would force the administration to justify the operation's legal basis to Congress.
Araghchi said talks between the countries are "making progress," even as Iranian forces attack U.S. vessels and American helicopters sink Iranian boats, according to Iranian diplomatic statements. Trump told Fox News that Iran will be "blown off the face of the Earth" if the country interferes in the Strait of Hormuz, while simultaneously saying Iran's latest peace proposal likely wouldn't be acceptable because "they have not yet paid a big enough price." Iran warned that U.S. forces will be attacked if they enter the strait, a threat already being carried out daily, per Iranian military statements.
The diplomatic language of progress coexists with the military language of annihilation because both serve institutional purposes. Negotiations justify the ceasefire designation. Threats justify the military buildup. Neither accurately describes what's happening in the water.
Constitutional Checks Become Word Games
The pattern extends beyond Iran. Presidential administrations of both parties have used semantic manipulation to circumvent War Powers constraints, according to congressional research reports. Operations get renamed, hostilities get redefined as "kinetic military actions," and ceasefires get declared while combat continues. The constitutional framework designed to force democratic deliberation about war has devolved into arguments about vocabulary.
Congress retains the power to force the issue. The War Powers Resolution allows lawmakers to demand troop withdrawal through a concurrent resolution, though that requires political will that has proven scarce across multiple administrations. Some members have questioned whether the ceasefire claim holds up legally, but no formal challenge has emerged as of May 5, according to congressional records.
Meanwhile, 15,000 American service members conduct round-the-clock combat operations their own government won't officially acknowledge as combat. They patrol skies, escort vessels through missile barrages, and sink attacking boats, all as part of a "temporary mission" with no defined end date, operating under a ceasefire that both sides violate daily. The Strait of Hormuz remains closed. The mariners remain trapped. And the War Powers clock remains stopped, frozen by a ceasefire that exists in name only.