President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Iran has been "very much destabilized" after being a "big burden on Iraq," and that U.S. oil companies are now entering Iraq at “levels that have never been seen before.”
The president, speaking alongside Iraq’s new prime minister Ali al-Zaidi at the White House, said “Iran was a big burden on Iraq because they were the bully of the Middle East.”
“But they're not going to have that problem anymore, because Iran has been very much destabilized. And really, their military power is just a tiny fraction of what it was just four months ago,” Trump added.
"So they're not going to have that problem. I think it's really, in a sense that's given them freedom to do what they have to do. And I think that's one of the reasons that our oil companies are going in there at levels that have never been seen before,” Trump also said.
President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Iran and Hezbollah may be added to a bill aimed at pressuring Moscow to end its war with Ukraine.
The late Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said in January that Trump approved the bipartisan bill that he had been working on for months with Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and others.
When asked Tuesday if he wanted the Russian sanctions bill signed within the next week or two, Trump said, “I know that Lindsey wanted it very badly.”
“I think they may be adding Iran to it. They're going to add Iran, which is a very big thing if they did that, they may add Hezbollah too,” Trump said.
“So we're looking at that, but they're seriously thinking, and this is in honor of Lindsey. And this was his thing. He wanted this more than any other thing, you know, you know how he felt. And there's a good chance that it gets done. But they'd like to add Iran and they'd like to add Hezbollah to it. That's what I'm hearing,” Trump also said.
Fox News Digital’s Bonny Chu contributed to this post.
President Donald Trump said Tuesday that “I think what we've done to Iran is we've taken away almost all of their military capability.”
"I gave them a chance. I wanted to give them a chance at making a deal. You know, we had a deal two days ago. It was done. And then all of a sudden, they couldn't do it,” Trump said. “They didn't like something about the deal. They couldn't do it. And they shot first. And that was a big mistake that they shot first because we have been knocking the hell out of them."
"They’re very difficult people," Trump added.
{{#rendered}}President Donald Trump said multiple “strong partners” of the U.S. reached out to him after he announced plans to impose a fee on cargo passing through the Strait of Hormuz and told him “we'd love to do it a different way.”
Trump made the remark at the White House on Tuesday after revealing he was backing away from the U.S. charging a 20% fee, replacing the measure with “Trade and Investment Deals that the various Gulf States will be making into the United States.”
“So I put it out yesterday. I thought it was good. I was called by different people, different countries, kings and emirs and all of the people that we all know and we all love. And they've been, frankly, they've been very strong partners. And they said, ‘we'd love to do it a different way, we'd love to invest in the United States with billions and billions of dollars,’ and continue our record setting, because we would, there's never been a time like this for the United States with the factories, with the plants, with everything else,” Trump said.
“’And we would like to invest tremendously in the United States as opposed to charging a fee.’ And I like that, actually, because I don't think anybody should be able to charge a fee for the Strait or for any other strait relationship in terms of other sections of the world,” Trump added. “I don't think anybody should be really in that position. But we were doing it as a reimbursement. The Gulf states are going to invest a tremendous amount of money into the United States, and that was very satisfactory to me. I think it's actually much better.”
The Bahrain News Agency reported Tuesday that 10 people have been jailed in the Middle Eastern country over “two separate cases involving violence and sabotage linked to the Iranian attacks on the Kingdom of Bahrain in March.”
Each of the defendants received prison sentences of up to five years, the report said.
“According to the Public Prosecution, the cases originated from reports submitted by the Ministry of Interior's relevant security authority after the defendants were apprehended in the act at two separate locations for their involvement in violent and destructive acts carried out during the Iranian attacks,” the report added.
In March, around the beginning of Operation Epic Fury, Bahrain’s Interior Ministry had said “Iranian aggression targeted a hotel and two residential buildings in Manama,” the country's capital, among other targets.
Fox News Digital's Emma Bussey contributed to this post.
President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he is backing away from the U.S. charging a 20% fee on cargo moving through the Strait of Hormuz, replacing the measure with “Trade and Investment Deals that the various Gulf States will be making into the United States.”
“Oil is flowing like never before, thanks to the awesome Power of the United States Military,” the president wrote on Truth Social. “A special salute to Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dan Caine, and Commander of the United States Central Command, Admiral Brad Cooper. Because of them, and all members of the Most Powerful Military anywhere in the World, BY FAR, the Strait of Hormuz is open to ALL Ship traffic except for Iran — and that is because of their lying, violent, malicious leadership, which is taking them down the path of TOTAL DESTRUCTION.”
“We will therefore have a FULL Blockade, but only on Ships coming to and from Iranian ports, or carrying anything have to do with Iranian cargo. Based on highly productive conversations with Middle East leadership, I have decided to replace the 20% United States Reimbursement Fee with Trade and Investment Deals that the various Gulf States will be making into the United States,” Trump continued.
“Those Investments will be MASSIVE but, at the same time, extraordinarily good for them, and their future,” the president added, noting that, "As everyone is aware, we have the largest Dollar Investment into the United States, of any Country in History, but these new Investments will make that Number even larger, and we will see Factories, Plants, and Equipment pour into the United States at Historic levels, which will create additional millions of High Paying AMERICAN Jobs!
“The days of Iran killing hundreds of thousands of people, including 52,000 protestors, are OVER and, most importantly, IRAN WILL NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON!” Trump concluded.
{{#rendered}}President Donald Trump greeted Iraq’s new prime minister Ali al-Zaidi at the White House on Tuesday, telling reporters “this man just won a very big election... they are very well represented.”
“We love Iraq,” Trump added.
American bases and troops stationed in Iraq faced repeated drone and rocket attacks from Iran-backed militia groups during Operation Epic Fury. The groups retaliated against the U.S. operation by targeting key installations, including Al Asad Air Base. The attacks coincided with the March crash of a U.S. KC-135 refueling aircraft that killed six service members, though U.S. officials said the crash was not caused by hostile or friendly fire and remains under investigation. In response to the broader threat, U.S. forces carried out targeted airstrikes against Iran-backed militia infrastructure, including command facilities and weapons storage sites, according to U.S. military officials.
In March, the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad had said that all U.S. citizens in Iraq should leave "immediately," as "Iran-aligned terrorist militias have attacked the International Zone in central Baghdad on multiple occasions." That announcement came after a missile reportedly struck a helipad inside the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.
Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also said in March that AH-64 helicopters "have been striking against Iranian-aligned militia groups to make sure that we suppress any threat in Iraq against U.S. forces or U.S. interests."
Fox News' Benjamin Weinthal contributed to this post.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that he has a message for Iran's leaders -- "Don't count on there being silence if you attack us."
"Don't count on a replay; it will be a different broadcast — one far more powerful," Netanyahu added in a post on X following reported Iranian attacks on countries in the Middle East.
Netanyahu also said Tuesday that "We are prepared for every scenario,” according to The Times of Israel.
“The days when someone can attack us without paying a heavy price are over,” Netanyahu reportedly added. “We proved that in confronting Iran’s axis of evil, and we will continue to act decisively against anyone who harms us. That is how we have acted, and that is how we will continue to act.”
Israel launched its Operation Roaring Lion military campaign against Iran in late February and has been fending off aggression from the Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorist group in Lebanon in recent weeks.
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson demanded "normal and safe passage" be restored in the Strait of Hormuz Tuesday before the United States reinstated a naval blockade targeting Iranian ports.
Lin Jian made the remark when asked by Iranian state media about the renewed U.S. military blockade and if Beijing is “prepared to take any concrete steps to mitigate the impact of these measures against Iran and deepen its economic and military cooperation with Iran." President Donald Trump said Monday he was reinstating the blockade because Iran broke the recent ceasefire deal by launching missile attacks on commercial tankers and by trying to shut down the Strait of Hormuz.
“China is deeply concerned over resumed military conflict in the Gulf region. China calls on relevant parties to heed the strong call for peace and stability from the region and beyond, remain calm and exercise restraint, safeguard the hard-won ceasefire, avoid the return of war and more importantly, prevent the fighting from spreading and hurting more innocent people,” Lin Jian said Tuesday.
“Respect for the lawful rights and interest of the coastal countries of the Strait of Hormuz and an early resumption of normal and safe passage at the Strait is what the international community want to see. Relevant parties need to work in the same direction and seek a proper settlement,” he added.
{{#rendered}}
The Norwegian shipping company Stolt-Nielsen said its chemical tanker Stolt Magnesium caught fire Tuesday after an “explosion of an unidentified external device" while it was traveling in the Arabian Sea off the coast of Oman, according to Reuters.
The incident unfolded around 12:40 a.m. local time Tuesday morning and sparked a fire in the ship’s engine room, Reuters added.
All of the personnel on the ship reportedly are safe and accounted for.
The incident follows reported Iranian attacks against two oil tankers from the United Arab Emirates that were traveling in the Strait of Hormuz.
U.S. Central Command released a video Tuesday showing flight operations on board the USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier, hours ahead of a resumption of a blockade on Iranian ports.
The USS George H.W. Bush, which has more than 60 aircraft on board, helped enforce the original naval blockade against Iran, according to CENTCOM.
The first blockade started on April 13 and ended on June 18.
“CENTCOM forces redirected more than 140 compliant vessels, disabled nine non-compliant ships, and allowed over 50 commercial vessels supporting humanitarian aid to pass through the blockade during the two-month period,” it said on X.
CENTCOM added that at President Donald Trump’s direction, it will “resume blockading maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports” later this afternoon, beginning at 4 p.m. ET.
The Bahrain Defence Force said Tuesday that its air defense systems “intercepted and destroyed a number of treacherous Iranian aerial aggressions” this morning.
“The General Command of the Bahrain Defence Force announces that Iran continues its systematic hostile approach through its sinful aggressions targeting civilians in the Kingdom of Bahrain,” it said in a statement posted on X.
“The General Command emphasizes that the deliberate use of missiles and drones to target civilians and private property constitutes a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law,” the statement added.
The reported attacks come after U.S. Central Command said American forces struck Iranian targets “to further degrade Iran's ability to attack commercial shipping.”
The U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet headquarters is located in Bahrain.
{{#rendered}}Qatar’s foreign ministry said Tuesday that an Iranian attack against two oil tankers from the United Arab Emirates that were crossing the Strait of Hormuz is “unacceptable” and a “dangerous escalation.”
“The State of Qatar strongly condemns the attack targeting two UAE oil tankers as they transited the Strait of Hormuz, describing it as a serious violation of the safety of international navigation, a direct threat to global energy supplies, and a clear breach of international law,” Qatar’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stresses that the continuation of such unacceptable attacks represents a dangerous escalation that threatens regional security and stability and undermines efforts to promote regional peace and stability,” it also said.
The United Arab Emirates’ Ministry of Defense on Monday said the two national tankers were targeted by two Iranian cruise missiles while transiting the southern shipping lane of the Strait of Hormuz within Omani territorial waters.
In a series of posts on X, the ministry added that the Mombasa and Al Bahiyah tankers were hit in the attack, killing one Indian crew member aboard the Mombasa and injuring eight others, including four seriously.
Fox News Digital’s Sophia Compton contributed to this post.
U.S. Central Command said the military carried out a new wave of strikes against Iran on Monday, aiming to "further degrade Iran's ability to attack commercial shipping."
"During the five-hour mission, U.S. forces successfully struck military targets across Iran including Bushehr, Chah Bahar, Jask, Konarak, Abu Musa, and Bandar Abbas to further degrade Iran's ability to attack commercial shipping," CENTCOM said on X.
"CENTCOM forces employed precision munitions against Iranian coastal defense systems, missile and drone sites, and maritime capabilities," the post added.
More than 50,000 U.S. service members remain deployed across the Middle East, as the military says American forces remain "vigilant, lethal, and ready."
The United Arab Emirates’ Ministry of Defense on Monday said two national tankers were targeted by two Iranian cruise missiles while transiting the southern shipping lane of the Strait of Hormuz within Omani territorial waters.
In a series of posts on X, the ministry said the Mombasa and Al Bahiyah tankers were hit in the attack, killing one Indian crew member aboard the Mombasa and injuring eight others, including four seriously.
The injured include six Indian nationals and two Ukrainian nationals, according to the ministry.
The attack also caused material damage to both tankers after fires broke out on board. Officials said the fires have since been brought under control.
The Ministry of Defense condemned the incident as a “blatant attack” and "a serious violation and a clear breach of international law that threatens the security and stability of the region."
"The UAE reserves its full right to respond to this escalation and to take all necessary measures to protect its territory, its citizens and residents, in a manner that safeguards its sovereignty, security, and stability, and protects its national interests," the ministry said.
{{#rendered}}President Donald Trump on Monday defended U.S. strikes on Iran, saying Tehran’s military capabilities have been badly weakened and warning that another “major attack” is coming tonight.
"We were in Vietnam for 19 years. We're here for four months, so I think we've done a lot," Trump told reporters when asked whether months of U.S. strikes on Iran have become the “new normal” for Americans.
Trump said U.S. forces have “knocked out” Iran’s navy, air force, missile capabilities and drone manufacturing. He argued the strikes were necessary to prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
"If we didn't do it, they would have had a nuclear weapon. If they had a nuclear weapon, Israel would no longer be with us. The Middle East probably would no longer be with us," Trump added.
The president also said the U.S. should be reimbursed for “protecting” the Strait of Hormuz, the key shipping route at the center of escalating tensions in the region.
"I want to be reimbursed because we're protecting a very rich portion of the world," he said.
Trump accused Iran of dragging out negotiations for decades and said his administration has taken a tougher approach than previous presidents.
"This is what they've done for 47 years," Trump said. "The difference is nobody negotiated like I do. And this should have been done by Bush and Obama and Biden and people before them."
Yesterday's Fox News Digital live blog offers additional coverage of the conflict with Iran.
Live Coverage begins here