Iran threatens ‘long and painful strikes’ on US positions as Trump faces war powers deadline

The AAA national average price for regular gas soared more than nine cents higher in one day, surging from $4.30 as of Thursday to $4.392 as of Friday.

The current figure is a whopping $0.333 higher than the week-ago average price of $4.059, according to AAA. The year-ago average for regular gas was just $3.187.

However, the highest recorded AAA national average regular gas price was $5.016 on June 14, 2022, which was during President Joe Biden's White House tenure.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment on Friday.

The U.S. conflict with Iran remains unresolved, and the Trump administration has been enforcing a blockade on Iranian ports.

Oil prices are currently elevated. Brent Crude international futures were over $111 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate U.S. futures over $105 per barrel during early trading, Barron's reported on Friday morning.

The Israel Defense Forces issued an evacuation order Friday for a village in southern Lebanon after accusing Hezbollah of violating a ceasefire agreement. 

“In light of the terrorist Hezbollah party violating the ceasefire agreement, the Defense Army is compelled to act against it forcefully and does not intend to harm you,” IDF Arabic spokesperson Avichay Adraee wrote on X in a warning to residents of Habbouch. 

“Out of concern for your safety, you must evacuate your homes immediately and move away from the village for a distance of no less than 1,000 meters to open areas,” he added. 

“Anyone present near Hezbollah elements, their facilities, and their combat means exposes their life to danger!” Adraee also said.

Iranian state media reported Friday that Tehran has delivered its latest negotiation plan to Pakistan regarding an end to the conflict with the U.S. 

Pakistan has served as a key mediator in talks between the Iranian regime and the Trump administration. 

The text of the plan was sent to Pakistan on Thursday night, according to Iran’s IRNA news agency. Further details were not immediately available. 

The report cited Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghai as saying in a televised interview that ending the war and achieving lasting peace is Tehran’s priority in negotiations with the U.S. 

Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment.

A U.S. delegation was supposed to visit Islamabad, Pakistan last week for a second round of in-person talks, but that trip ultimately was canceled by President Donald Trump. 

“I just cancelled the trip of my representatives going [to] Islamabad, Pakistan, to meet with the Iranians. Too much time wasted on traveling, too much work!” Trump wrote on Truth Social last Saturday. 

“Besides which, there is tremendous infighting and confusion within their ‘leadership.’ Nobody knows who is in charge, including them. Also, we have all the cards, they have none! If they want to talk, all they have to do is call!!!” Trump added. 

Fox News’ Thomas Ferraro contributed to this report.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino confirmed Thursday that Iran's national team will compete in the 2026 World Cup, with all three of its group-stage matches set to be played on U.S. soil.

The decision all but ensures politics will follow the matches.

Infantino said Thursday at the FIFA World Congress in Vancouver, Canada: "Let me start at the outset confirming, straightaway for those who maybe want to say something else or want to write something else, that of course Iran will be participating at the FIFA World Cup 2026. And of course Iran will play in the United States of America."

The backdrop is a period of heightened tension between the United States and Iran following a joint U.S.-Israeli operation that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei earlier this year.

Despite earlier speculation about potential venue changes, the schedule remains unchanged.

Iran will open its campaign on June 15 against New Zealand at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, followed by a matchup with Belgium on June 21 at the same venue.

The Israel Defense Forces said Friday that troops have found more than 7,500 weapons in southern Lebanon during operations against the Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorist group. 

Over the last 24 hours, Israeli forces have dismantled over 40 Hezbollah infrastructure sites, including command centers and military structures, according to the IDF. 

Among the weapons found, troops also discovered more than 200 grenades, 60 explosive belts and 20 anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles, the IDF also said. 

The Israel Defense Forces shared a video showing some of the weaponry spread across tables. 

As the Trump administration escalates its campaign against Iran through sanctions, naval pressure and financial enforcement, a central question is emerging: Can unprecedented economic strain truly weaken the regime, or will Iran’s rulers once again absorb the pain, suppress unrest and survive?

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a Tuesday post on X that the "Economic Fury" campaign already has disrupted "tens of billions of dollars in revenue" that would otherwise support terrorism, while arguing Iran’s inflation has doubled and its currency has sharply depreciated under the current maximum pressure campaign.

Bessent also warned that Kharg Island, Iran’s primary oil export terminal, is nearing storage capacity and could soon force production cuts, which he said may cost the regime an additional roughly $170 million per day in lost revenue.

The escalating pressure campaign marks one of the most aggressive U.S. efforts in years to economically isolate Iran. But the central question is whether this strategy can force meaningful concessions from a regime that has historically absorbed economic pain, or whether it risks triggering broader instability — from energy market shocks to regional escalation — before Iran is pushed to a breaking point.

A senior administration official told Fox News Digital that Treasury is aggressively expanding "Economic Fury" beyond traditional sanctions by targeting Iran’s ability to generate, move and repatriate funds across oil, banking, cryptocurrency and covert trade networks.

But Alireza Nader, an Iranian independent analyst based in Washington, is skeptical that economic pressure alone will force a strategic breaking point. 

"It looks like a game of chicken and I think the regime thinks that it can win this game of chicken with President Trump," he told Fox News Digital.

"I don’t see this economic blockade … leading to some sort of breaking point for the regime," Nader added, arguing that Iran’s leadership has repeatedly shown it is willing to let ordinary citizens bear extraordinary suffering to preserve power.

Analysts warn global famine fears are rising as food prices climb and fragile supply chains are strained during the Strait of Hormuz crisis, raising the risk of a prolonged, Suez-scale, eight-year disruption.

As the conflict entered Thursday, the U.S. maintained its naval blockade of traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports, while Iran continued to effectively close the Strait.

"Best case, there is an agreement between the U.S. and Iran within the next few weeks, and the Strait reopens," Lars Jensen, CEO and partner at Vespucci Maritime, told Fox News Digital.

"And it has to be a deal where there is trust that Iran is sufficiently satisfied with the deal such that they do not suddenly close the strait again.

"Even in that case, it will still take months for the supply chains to revert back to normality."

President Donald Trump announced April 21 he would delay renewed strikes on Iran until it presents a proposal for long-term peace, effectively extending a 14-day ceasefire indefinitely. 

Trump said Washington’s blockade of Iranian ports has been effective, urging Tehran to "just give up" as tensions escalate over the waterway.

"Worst case, we can look at the eight-year closure of the Suez Canal from 1967 to 1975," Jensen said.

President Donald Trump said Thursday that he’d “probably” consider pulling U.S. troops out of Italy and Spain.

His remarks came a day after he announced his administration was conducting a review of potentially reducing U.S. troops in Germany.

“Yeah, probably,” Trump said when asked by a reporter about troops in the two countries. “Why shouldn’t I?” he asked.

“Italy has not been of any help to us, and Spain has been horrible, absolutely horrible.”

Yesterday's Fox News Digital liveblog has additional coverage of the Iran conflict.

A senior official from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned that the U.S. would face “long and painful strikes” on its regional positions if its military launched any new attacks on Iran, a report said. 

"We've seen what happened to your regional bases, we will see the same thing happen to your warships,” Aerospace Force Commander Majid Mousavi added in an Iranian media report, according to Reuters.

A 60-day War Powers Resolution deadline is approaching Friday, requiring President Donald Trump to either seek congressional authorization or end military operations in Iran. 

A senior administration official said Thursday that, for War Powers Resolution purposes, the "hostilities that began on Saturday, February 28 have terminated." 

Fox News Digital’s Emma Bussey contributed to this report.