Trump

U.S.-Iran war widens with tanker strikes, Hormuz blockade and oil-price shock as allies weigh record reserve release The United States and Iran signaled no quick end to their war as suspected Iranian attacks on fuel tankers near the Strait of Hormuz and fresh strikes across the Middle East kept the world’s busiest oil chokepoint effectively shut and sent crude higher. Nearly two weeks into a joint U.S.-Israeli air campaign, about 2,000 people have been killed — mostly Iranians and Lebanese — and global shipping and energy…

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Tuesday that U.S. forces destroyed 10 Iranian mine-laying vessels in the Strait of Hormuz within minutes of his warning that Tehran would face unprecedented military consequences if it did not remove mines from the strategic waterway. “We have hit, and completely destroyed, 10 inactive mine laying boats and/or ships, with more to follow,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said U.S. Central Command had been eliminating the vessels “with ruthless…

Trump threatens ‘unprecedented’ response if Iran mines Strait of Hormuz WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Tuesday warned Iran of severe military consequences if Tehran attempts to block the Strait of Hormuz with naval mines, saying the United States would respond at a level “never seen before.” The warning followed intelligence assessments indicating Iranian forces may be preparing to deploy dozens of mines in the narrow waterway, through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply transits. Trump said there were…

Opinion: From Mossadegh to Khamenei, America keeps relearning the true cost of regime change in Iran In Iranian politics, history is not past; it is precedent. The 1953 coup that toppled Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh under a covert U.S.-British operation did more than restore a monarch. It set the template for how Iranians interpret foreign power—and how easily short-term victories can harden into generational backlash. Seven decades on, Washington is again defining success by removal. The lesson from 1953 suggests the…

President Donald Trump’s Operation Epic Fury is colliding with a familiar political truth: foreign policy gambits rarely escape the gravity of domestic economics. As U.S. strikes in Iran disrupt the Strait of Hormuz and send oil markets lurching, the administration’s “America First” doctrine faces a stark test — can voters be persuaded that national security is worth higher gas prices in an election year? The White House is sharpening its case. Stephen Miller, the deputy chief of staff, recast the slogan on Fox News this…

Trump demands Iran’s ‘unconditional surrender’ as Israel steps up strikes; UN urges urgent diplomacy U.S. President Donald Trump said only Iran’s “unconditional surrender” would halt a spiraling Middle East war now in its seventh day, as Israel declared its forces were “crushing” the Iranian ruling system and regional fronts widened from Lebanon to the Gulf. The escalating conflict has already embroiled nations beyond the region, disrupted global energy and shipping, and unsettled areas once seen as relatively insulated from…

Justice Department releases mistakenly withheld FBI records on Trump-Epstein allegations The U.S. Department of Justice has released additional FBI documents that include interviews with a woman who alleged Donald Trump sexually assaulted her after she was introduced to him by Jeffrey Epstein. The department said the records were not made public under previous congressionally mandated disclosures because they were mistakenly marked “duplicative.” In a post on X, the department said the newly posted records were among 15…

Trump says Zelensky is obstacle to Russia deal, calls Putin ‘cooperative’ in Politico interview President Donald Trump said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is the obstacle to a settlement with Russia and described Russian President Vladimir Putin as cooperative, sharpening his pressure on Kyiv as the war grinds on. “Zelensky, he has to get on the ball, and he has to get a deal done,” Trump said in an interview with Politico. Returning to language he used during a tense White House meeting a year ago — when he and Vice…

Spain’s Sanchez condemns U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran, bans use of Spanish bases as Trump threatens trade retaliation Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez intensified his opposition to the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran, calling the campaign “Russian roulette” with the lives of millions and barring U.S. aircraft from using naval and air bases in southern Spain for the offensive against Tehran. His move drew an immediate threat from President Donald Trump to cut trade ties with Spain, escalating tensions between NATO allies.…

Trump warns monthlong Iran campaign as drones hit U.S. embassy in Riyadh WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump warned Monday that the U.S. assault on Iran could extend beyond a month as Tehran’s retaliation rippled across the region, including drone strikes that hit the U.S. embassy compound in Saudi Arabia and missile-and-drone attacks that forced Qatar’s state-run energy firm to halt liquefied natural gas production. “From the beginning we projected four to five weeks, but we have capability to go far longer than that,”…