US strikes Iranian missile launchers as Tehran retaliates, attacks American bases in Jordan

President Donald Trump said Sunday that Iran would have used a nuclear weapon if it had one, warning that Israel and much of the Middle East could have been destroyed, with the United States or Europe possibly “next.”

“If they would have had a nuclear weapon, they would have fired it,” Trump said on “Sunday Night in America.”

“These are very violent, evil people.”

“So I think the Middle East would have essentially been gone, but Israel definitely would have been gone,” he added.

“I guess we would be next, or Europe, or someplace. But no, you cannot let them have a nuclear weapon, and they won’t have a nuclear weapon,” he added.

Trump also praised the success of the blockade of Iranian ports and Washington’s financial pressure campaign, saying Iran had become “a failing nation.”

“The blockade has been unbelievable,” he said. “The financial hits that we’re giving them” have contributed to Iran’s decline.

“Their navy’s gone. Their air force is gone. Their leaders are gone. All of their anti-aircraft — I mean, it’s all wiped out. They’re tough people,” Trump said.

The president also said he was surprised when Tehran began targeting Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait at the start of the war, but argued the attacks eroded Iran’s regional support.

“Everybody was shocked. I was surprised,” Trump said. “I thought it was a real good thing because they lost all the support that they had.”

U.S. Central Command on Sunday rejected Iran’s claim that U.S. strikes aimed at preventing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps from laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz were an “act of aggression.”

CENTCOM called the accusation “false,” in a post shared on X and said U.S. forces took “limited, precise action” against IRGC minelaying forces that posed an imminent threat to the strategic waterway.

“In essence, Iran created the threat and the U.S. military eliminated it to protect civilian mariners, commercial shipping, and the free flow of global commerce,” CENTCOM said.

The U.S. Treasury plans to roll out new sanctions targeting Iran on a weekly basis, beginning with banks that help Tehran access the global financial system, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Reuters on Sunday.

“You’re going to see a lot more of these every week,” Bessent told the outlet ahead of a G20 finance leaders meeting in North Carolina.

“We’re starting with the banks, and we’re telling the banks it’s not okay to have Iranian money and to aid the regime.”

Bessent said the administration could go as far as cutting a financial institution off entirely from the U.S. dollar-based financial system.

His comments came after the Treasury Department imposed penalties Friday on the United Arab Emirates branches of Egypt’s Banque Misr over alleged financial links to Iran.

U.S. forces struck Iranian missile launchers on Larak Island on Sunday after intelligence indicated Tehran was preparing to fire rockets carrying sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz, Fox News chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst reported.

The plan to launch rockets with sea mines was designed to redeploy the explosives in the strait after U.S. forces demined the area, he said on "The Big Weekend Show."

President Donald Trump had said Aug. 25 that the U.S. Navy had informed him that all mines had been removed from the strait’s waters.

Trump also warned Iran that any vessel caught laying new ones would be “immediately and systematically destroyed.”

The developments came as U.S. forces in Jordan faced missile attacks Sunday in retaliation for the strikes on Larak Island.

Yingst said American forces stationed in Jordan had multiple air-defense systems to counter such threats, including Patriot and THAAD missile-defense systems deployed in the region.

“At this point, there are no significant impacts, and nearly all of the incoming missiles have been intercepted,” Yingst said.

“These are serious attacks,” he added.

Jordan’s Armed Forces confirmed Sunday that its military had intercepted eight missiles fired from Iran that entered Jordanian airspace on Sunday, Reuters reported, citing state TV.

The announcement came after U.S. forces struck two Iranian missile launchers on Larak Island on Sunday, U.S. Central Command spokesman Capt. Tim Hawkins told Fox News.

Oil prices rose more than 2% in early Monday trading in Singapore, with Brent crude climbing above $90 a barrel.

The gains came after U.S. forces struck two Iranian missile launchers on Iran's Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz.

Tehran responded by attacking U.S. forces in Jordan, a source told Fox News' Trey Yingst.

Brent crude futures climbed $2.22, or 2.52%, to $90.32 a barrel as of 2202 GMT, while U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude rose $2.01, or 2.41%, to $85.41 a barrel, Reuters reported.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed Sunday that it had launched a combined ballistic missile and drone attack on two U.S. air bases in Jordan in response to the U.S. strike on Iran’s Larak Island.

Citing a statement carried by Tasnim News, Iran International reported that the IRGC said it targeted technical and maintenance infrastructure, as well as areas where fighter jets were stationed, also claiming to have inflicted “heavy damage.”

Reuters reported that Iranian media claimed the targets were King Hussein Air Base and Al-Azraq Air Base in Jordan.

The war with Iran is putting new pressure on an issue President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans cannot afford to lose sight of before the midterm elections: housing affordability.

Rising diesel prices are making it more expensive to build homes at a time when buyers are already confronting high mortgage rates and a limited supply of affordable options. The national average price of on-highway diesel recently reached $5.65 a gallon, nearly $2 higher than a year ago, according to Energy Information Administration data.

Diesel does not show up directly on a homebuyer’s closing documents, but it touches nearly every part of the construction process. It fuels the trucks that deliver lumber, concrete and appliances, as well as the heavy equipment that prepares lots and builds new homes.

The Trump administration has made lowering housing costs a central second-term goal, focusing on reducing regulations, speeding up permitting and increasing supply. But the conflict in Iran has created a new economic headwind: higher energy costs that can erase savings elsewhere in the building process.

Builders are already contending with elevated financing, labor and material costs. Add more expensive fuel, and it becomes harder to deliver the lower-priced homes families need.

That leaves the administration with a difficult task heading into November: making progress on affordability while an overseas war raises costs at home.

As the war with Iran rattles energy markets and raises fears of a wider regional conflict, governments around the world are turning to one of the oldest safe havens, gold.

Central banks have been quietly building their gold reserves amid a mix of inflation concerns, mounting government debt, trade tensions and geopolitical instability.

A World Gold Council survey found that 89% of central banks expect global gold reserves to rise over the next year, while a record 45% said they plan to increase their own holdings.

The Iran conflict has added fresh urgency to those concerns. Disruptions to oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz have pushed up energy prices and highlighted how quickly a regional crisis can ripple through the global economy.

Gold is attractive because it is not tied to the policies or financial health of any single country.

During periods of war, market volatility and currency uncertainty, it can offer governments a way to diversify their reserves and protect against shocks. China has drawn much of the attention, but Poland, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, the Czech Republic, Chile, Jordan and Ghana have also been among the biggest buyers.

The buying spree is a signal that many countries expect the uncertainty surrounding Iran, inflation and global growth to persist.

The head of the Iranian parliament’s national security commission, warned Sunday of retaliation after U.S. forces struck two Iranian missile launchers on Larak Island.

“Retesting our will only makes the cost of your humiliating defeats even heavier,” Ebrahim Azizi said in a post on X.

“Undoubtedly, no crime, at any level, goes unanswered; a response that is devastating, more painful, and instructive, which will complete the chain of your failures,” he added before warning Washington: “Wait in fear and terror!”

“Test our will once more, and pay a heavier price. Retaliation is coming,” Azizi said before adding: “JUST RUN!”

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) spokesperson Hossein Mohebi also called the attack a “strategic and fatal mistake” by Washington in its economic war, saying it would shift the balance against those who planned it and carry significant costs, according to Iran International.

President Donald Trump’s new oil deal with Venezuela could give the U.S. another source of crude as the war with Iran continues to disrupt global energy markets.

Trump announced the U.S. had secured majority control of more than 65 billion barrels of Venezuela’s proven oil reserves through a partnership with private businesses. Venezuela holds more than 300 billion barrels of proven reserves, the largest oil stockpile in the world.

The agreement comes as the conflict with Iran has sharply curtailed oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint that handled roughly 20% of global petroleum flows before the war. The disruption has helped push U.S. gasoline prices above $4 a gallon, while the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve has fallen below 300 million barrels.

Trump’s Venezuela deal could eventually provide additional heavy crude for U.S. Gulf Coast refineries and give Washington another tool to bolster energy security and replenish the strategic reserve.

But the impact will not be immediate. Venezuela’s oil infrastructure has deteriorated after years of underinvestment, and significantly increasing production could take years.

The agreement therefore represents a long-term energy bet — one that could become increasingly important if the Iran conflict continues to squeeze global oil supplies.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said Sunday that its forces have redirected 83 ships and disabled three others while enforcing the blockade of Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz.

CENTCOM also released an image of a sailor directing an MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter onto the flight deck of the USS Delbert D. Black as the guided-missile destroyer operated in the Arabian Sea.

“As of Aug. 30, CENTCOM forces have redirected 83 commercial vessels, disabled 3 and boarded 2 to ensure compliance with the blockade,” the force said in a post shared on X.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRCG) claimed Sunday that the U.S. strike on Larak Island killed and wounded several Iranian fighters and civilians.

The guards also vowed to respond and punish those responsible, state broadcaster IRIB reported, according to Reuters.

The IRGC did not provide a precise casualty toll, Reuters reported.

According to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), the IRGC said in a statement that the “terrorist enemy's aggression on Larak Island will be met with punishment for the aggressor.”

“The American-Zionist adversary, once more acting out of frustration over its domestic challenges and waning influence in the region, aims to resurrect its malevolent presence and sway public perception,” the statement read.

Crude oil exports that crossed the U.S. blockade line in the Strait of Hormuz averaged 6.7 million barrels per day over the past week, TankerTrackers said Sunday.

“This figure reflects our extensive research, which combines AIS data with hundreds of daily satellite images, including the visually identified AIS-offline tankers; some of which aren't even pinging in the Middle East,” TankerTrackers said on X.

“It also includes vessels that reactivate their AIS days after departing the blockade line,” it said.

Iran said Aug. 28 that restrictions it placed in the strait would continue until U.S. military actions against Iran end and relevant commitments are implemented, Reuters reported, citing a statement.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) confirmed Sunday that it received a delayed report of an incident at 8:53 p.m. UTC on Aug. 29 concerning a tanker struck in the Strait of Hormuz off the Omani coastline.

UKMTO said the incident happened 12 nautical miles north of Khasab, Oman, and that the tanker was struck by an “unknown projectile while transiting inbound in the Strait of Hormuz.”

The authority said, “No casualties or environmental impact are reported at this time," and that investigations are now underway.

UKMTO also said that vessels are advised to "transit with caution and report any suspicious activity to UKMTO.”

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., joined "The Sunday Briefing" to discuss the conflict with Iran and tensions in the Strait of Hormuz as well as President Donald Trump's new oil deal with Venezuela.

Ret. Air Force Gen. Charles Wald joined "America Reports" to discuss the conflict with Iran and argued it is only a "matter of time" before the regime in Tehran falls apart.

Former U.S. ambassador to the E.U. Gordon Sondland joined Fox News to discuss Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pressing G20 nations for more economic sanctions on Iran and why Europe must choose between the U.S. and Iran.

Former Trump Deputy National Security Advisor KT McFarland joined "Fox & Friends Weekend" on Sunday to discuss the details of a historic U.S. oil deal with Venezuela and analyzes the U.S. military tightening its grip on the Strait of Hormuz.

Chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst reported on the new written statement from Iran's supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, and the impact of U.S. sanctions on the economy.

Fox News' Jonathan Hunt provided new details on the Trump administration's economic pressure on Iran on Saturday.

The pressure is continuing to mount on Iran as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's "Operation Economic Outcast" takes effect.

Fox News chief correspondent Jonathan Hunt reported from Tel Aviv on tensions in the Strait of Hormuz as the United States and Iran claim control on "Fox Report."

Iran's options continue to dwindle as the U.S.'s Operation Economic Outcast takes hold.

Morale is said to be high as the aircraft carrier the USS George Washington has arrived in the Arabian Sea near the vital Strait of Hormuz and close to Iran. 

The carrier, CVN 73, has replaced the USS Abraham Lincoln. Fresh from a visit to Vietnam three weeks ago, the 5,000 sailors aboard this mobile airfield, base to approximately nine operational squadrons of advanced strike fighters, electronic attack planes and helicopter assets are, according to senior officers, ready and willing to carry out their new mission.

"Morale aboard USS George Washington remains high among our sailors," Capt. Nicholas DeLeo, the ship’s Commanding Officer, told Fox News Digital. He added "I see this as I walk the deck plates, seeing them take pride in their work — whether conducting flight operations, maintaining our systems or supporting one another on the ship. The dedication and teamwork I see across the ship is outstanding, and that spirit keeps us ready and resilient."

The George Washington, a Nimitz-class carrier, is the flagship of Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 5, and is reported to be accompanied by several warships, including the guided missile cruiser USS Robert Smalls (CG 62) and the guided missile destroyer USS Shoup (DDG 86).

Commander of Carrier Strike Group Five, Rear Adm. Jeff Heames, told Fox News Digital "The teams aboard USS George Washington and Carrier Strike Group Five are ready, determined, and resourced for sustained operations. Our Sailors understand the importance of the mission and continue to execute with precision and professionalism every day."

With the carrier group now operating in the Middle East, it falls under US Central Command (CENTCOM). The command’s former Commander, Gen. Joseph Votel, (Ret.), recently told Fox News’ America Reports about the George Washington’s expected mission, saying "Being able to continue to have credible military capability in the Middle East is really important, so the arrival of the George Washington is I think a good example of that."

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Paul Tilsley.

Israel will strike Iran again if Tehran attempts to rebuild its nuclear or ballistic missile programs, even if the Islamic Republic reaches a new agreement with the United States, Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen said Saturday, according to Al Jazeera.

“If Iran makes the mistake and tries to renew its nuclear programme or ballistic missile programme, even if there is an agreement with the United States, we will be there to attack,” Cohen told Israeli news outlet Ynet.

Cohen argued that Iran would have obtained nuclear weapons had Israel not acted and said Israeli intelligence assesses that joint U.S.-Israeli strikes set Tehran’s nuclear program back by two to four years.

“We have already proven our capabilities,” Cohen said.

The warning comes as Iranian officials signal they are open to renewed diplomacy with Washington while continuing to resist U.S. pressure over the Strait of Hormuz and Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.

Fox News' Jasmine Baehr contributed to this report.

Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei issued a statement marking Islamic Unity Week on Sunday, calling on Islamic countries across the Middle East to confront the "real enemy."

The written statement was posted to Khamenei's Telegram account, saying division among Islamic countries only helps Islam's enemies.

“My emphatic and repeated recommendation ⁠to the rulers of Islamic countries, especially the countries of West Asia ‌and the Gulf, is ​to identify your real enemy, ‌understand his plan and confront it,” ​Khamenei wrote.

He went on to argue that all Gulf Arab states should be "united under the flag of Islam."