Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks to members of the media during a press briefing at the Pentagon in Washington. (AP Photo) US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, while providing update on West Asia conflict on Tuesday, said that America is “not looking for a fight” but “Iran cannot be allowed to block innocent countries” from transiting the Strait of Hormuz as Washington’s aim remains to “protect” ships from Tehran’s “aggression.” Mentioning President Donald Trump ’s initiative ‘Project Freedom’, Hegseth said that the project is different from US military’s Operation Epic Fury, which was launched on February 28 against Iran. The defence secretary said Project Freedom’s mission is to “protect innocent commercial shipping from Iranian aggression.” Hegseth called on other countries to help the United States and expects them to “step up” in an effort to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Issuing a warning to Tehran, he said Iran will “face overwhelming US firepower” if it tries to disrupt Project Freedom.…