Iran says US miscalculated over Strait of Hormuz despite Trump’s claim of ‘total control'

U.S. Army Special Forces veteran Jim Hanson said Thursday that he does not expect a major military escalation with Iran before the midterm elections, while predicting the Iranian regime could collapse before the end of President Donald Trump's term.

"President Trump said he's going low key," Hanson said on "Jesse Watters Primetime." "He's going with economic and diplomatic and squeezing them so they have no dimes to rub together to feed their people or to operate their country."

Hanson said he expects the U.S. to retaliate, however, if Tehran launches additional strikes.

"I think it's going to slow down for the foreseeable future, but we'll see, and President Trump's set up either way," he said. "You know, Department of War is ready to squash anybody who pops their head up anywhere in theater."

Hanson argued that the Iranian regime is unlikely to withstand the economic pressure and setbacks it has sustained during the war.

"If I had to bet right now, I would say the Islamic Republic of Iran is unlikely to survive the full term of the Trump presidency," he said. "So he's created the conditions for the collapse of that regime and the chance for the Iranian people to put in a better government."

Government Accountability Institute President Peter Schweizer said Thursday that he believes Iran is unlikely to surrender to the United States and argued that Washington should seek to "precipitate the collapse of the Iranian regime."

"[Iran] had an opportunity to negotiate a deal, and they walked away from it," Schweizer said on "Life, Liberty & Levin." "What they are concerned about is their own survival as a regime. They're not concerned about the people around them."

"The prospects going forward are for the United States to essentially precipitate the collapse of the Iranian regime," he continued.

Schweizer stressed that he was not calling for U.S. troops to be deployed on the ground in Iran.

"I don't think it should involve boots on the ground," he said. "I think this is something that could be handled internally in Iran."

Schweizer argued that he does not believe the Iranian government will fundamentally change its position toward the United States.

"This is not a regime that is going to at some point say, 'Guess what, we were wrong or we were on the wrong path, the Americans aren't so bad.' That is not going to change," Schweizer said. "So we need to expect that this is gonna come to a head."

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday that the Trump administration is preparing unprecedented economic measures against Iran, with additional announcements expected next week.

"Watch this space for more announcements coming next week because we are going to apply measures like have never been seen in the history of economic isolation on a country," Bessent said during an interview on Newsmax.

Bessent said the administration's strategy would combine further economic pressure with the ongoing blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

"It will be a combination of economic isolation like the world has never seen before, and the continued blockade in the Strait of Hormuz that will keep anything from going in or out of the Iranian ports," he said.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Thursday that Iran is attempting to hold the global economy "hostage" but argued that Tehran is pursuing a "losing strategy."

During an interview with Fox News' Bret Baier, Wright said Iran is causing economic difficulties in the region but predicted its ability to disrupt global markets will continue to diminish.

"Look, Iran is attempting to hold the world economy hostage and to terrorize their neighbors," Wright said. "They've built up a giant arsenal. So are they causing difficulties in the region? Absolutely. But they have a losing strategy at the end that will lead to the collapse of this regime in Iran as their economy gets strangled."

"But are they causing some difficulties for their neighbors and the world economy? Absolutely," he continued. "But their ability to cause difficulties are declining. Our ability to escort and bring products out of that region is growing."

Wright's comments came after President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the U.S. is in "total control" of the Strait of Hormuz.

The energy secretary said an average of 8 million to 9 million barrels of oil per day are currently moving through the strait.

Wright also expressed optimism about gas prices, which he said are hovering around a nationwide average of $4 per gallon.

The Trump administration's goal is to bring the national average down to $3 per gallon, according to Wright.

"The question is just the timing of that," he said.

The Trump administration announced Thursday that it will impose new tariffs on imported drones and drone components, including products from several U.S. allies.

The White House said President Donald Trump signed a proclamation imposing a 100% ad valorem tariff on drones of certain sizes or with capabilities considered particularly sensitive to national security. Smaller drones will face a 25% tariff.

The administration will also impose a 15% tariff on drones and components from the European Union, Japan, Liechtenstein, South Korea, Switzerland and Taiwan, while drones from the United Kingdom will face a 10% ad valorem tariff, according to the White House.

In the proclamation released by the White House, Trump said Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick had examined the national security effects of imports of unmanned aircraft systems, or UAS, and their components.

"The Secretary found that import penetration from foreign producers of UAS is substantial and that the United States is too reliant on foreign sources of UAS and UAS components," Trump said.

The White House said the tariffs will take effect in 21 days.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Thursday said Iran attacked two of its vessels as they transited the Strait of Hormuz, blasting Tehran for what it called “flagrant” maritime violations.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the two vessels were affiliated with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), a state-owned energy company and one of the largest oil producers in the world.

The vessels were targeted in “unprovoked attacks,” the ministry said. No injuries were reported.

Citing U.N. Security Council Resolution 2817, the ministry described the attacks as acts of piracy by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The resolution, adopted in March, demanded that Iran halt strikes against Arab Gulf states and shipping lanes.

“The Ministry emphasized that targeting commercial shipping and using the Strait of Hormuz as a tool of economic coercion or blackmail represents acts of piracy by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, and constitutes a direct threat to the stability of the region, its peoples, and global energy security,” the agency said.

UAE officials further urged Iran to commit to the complete and unconditional reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and called for the immediate “cessation of all hostilities.”

Vice President JD Vance on Thursday said he is confident that the United States will emerge from its war with Iran in a stronger position, particularly with respect to Tehran’s nuclear program and stable fuel prices for Americans.

In an interview with Fox News host Will Cain, Vance said the U.S. is “accomplishing both of those goals.”

“The thing I can say with confidence is, I think this ends with the United States in a stronger position with Iran not having a nuclear weapon and with the Strait of Hormuz return to a place where oil and gas prices are stable for the American people,” Vance said.

One of the biggest challenges to making progress, however, is Iran’s history of making agreements and failing to honor them.

“It's inherently an unpredictable thing because the Iranians themselves are unpredictable and they sometimes don't honor the commitments they've made to us,” he added.

“They make a deal. They don't honor the deal.”

Vance said the “seesaw nature” of the conflict also reflects the administration’s ability to use a range of diplomatic, military and economic tools depending on which issue it needs to prioritize, whether the focus is combat operations, Iran’s nuclear program or energy prices.

“We're using those tools very selectively, very strategically, to get the outcome that the president of the United States needs to get for the benefit of the American people,” Vance said.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Thursday said its forces killed Hamas commander Jamal Mahmoud Abu Kamil, who was among the terrorists who carried out the deadly invasion of Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Kamil, 43, was targeted in a military strike Thursday morning after an Israeli aircraft struck his vehicle as he drove along Al-Rashid Street, a major coastal road southwest of Gaza City, according to the Ministry of Interior and National Security in the Gaza Strip.

The IDF said Kamil remained an active threat to Israeli forces and civilians for more than two years following the Oct. 7 attack.

“Throughout the war and in recent months, the terrorist advanced terror attacks against IDF troops and Israeli civilians,” the IDF said in a post on X.

Kamil reportedly served as director of police for the Gaza Governorate, the primary municipal police authority in Gaza City. 

Iran will soon become a member of the BRICS New Development Bank (NDB), the country’s central bank chief said, as Tehran seeks to deepen financial ties with nations outside the Western-led economic system.

The NDB, which was founded in 2015 by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, acts as an alternative to the Western-led World Bank and finances projects in developing economies.

Central Bank of Iran Gov. Abdolnaser Hemmati, who traveled to India to attend the BRICS summit, said the move would allow Tehran to establish direct financial partnerships with other members, reducing reliance on global intermediaries, according to Tasnim News Agency on Wednesday.

“We are seeking to establish bilateral and trilateral monetary cooperation with member states,” Hemmati said.

Iran would still need to complete the bank’s required financial and administrative onboarding process before it can officially access its services.

Joining the bank would give Iran access to financing for infrastructure projects in areas such as transportation, sanitation, digital systems and urban development. It could also allow Iran to conduct trade with other members using their national currencies.

The move comes as years of U.S. sanctions and the war with Iran have severely constrained Tehran’s access to the global financial system, contributing to soaring inflation and weaker economic growth.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday said allegations of poor living conditions aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Middle East have been “completely misrepresented,” following reports of supply shortages, plumbing issues and crew members threatening to jump off the ship.

"We make sure every ship, every crew, every captain has everything we can provide them at every single moment. Some deployments are longer than others, and I have more respect and gratitude for those sailors than anybody. What they do in those high seas in those austere conditions with less port calls, it's incredible,” Hegseth told reporters during a visit to Panama.

“I want them home as soon as everybody else. I want folks rotated as quickly as possible.”

A plan is already underway to replace the USS Abraham Lincoln, according to Reuters, citing sources. The preplanned rotation involves the USS George Washington, which is currently heading to the region to take over the Lincoln’s mission, the outlet reported.

Hegseth’s response came after Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., decried what he called “widespread reports” of supply shortages, contaminated water, plumbing problems, deteriorating mental health, deck safety issues and disruptions to mail delivery.

Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., also echoed Blumenthal’s concerns, citing reports that crew members had threatened to jump off the ship.

The Abraham Lincoln has been at sea for eight months since departing Naval Base San Diego on Nov. 21, 2025. The carrier has spent roughly the past six months in the Middle East supporting U.S. military operations in the region amid the war with Iran.

Naval deployments typically last between six and nine months, although durations can be extended during periods of conflict.

Fox News' James Cirrone and Reuters contributed to this report.

The U.S. military is capable of maintaining a naval blockade of Iranian ports indefinitely, War Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday.

Hegseth said the U.S. has enough ships to rotate in and out of the region, suggesting that, in his view, President Donald Trump has the ability to apply economic pressure on Iran for as long as needed.

"Indefinitely the United States Navy can maintain a blockade like that because we'll rotate ships in and out, as we have, and we'll continue to," Hegseth told reporters while in Panama.

He had been addressing sailors aboard the USS Gridley, a guided-missile destroyer, which had previously deployed to the Middle East.

Hegseth's comments came after Trump said Wednesday that the U.S. is in "total control" of the Strait of Hormuz, a claim Iran disputes.

"The U.S.A. has total control over the Strait of Hormuz. I THINK WE WILL KEEP IT! Our Naval Blockade is being called, by everyone, “A WALL OF STEEL,” and there is nothing Iran can do about it," he wrote on Truth Social.

Reuters contributed to this report.

The U.S. military is launching "the first-ever multi-domain, multinational attack drone task force," U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said Thursday, a move preceded by months of Iranian drone strikes on American military bases in Gulf nations and other high-value targets.

The unit, dubbed Task Force Falcon Strike, will use one-way, unmanned attack drones that will operate "above, on, and below the sea," according to CENTCOM.

The drones will be operated both by U.S. military support staff and regional support partners, CENTCOM said.

Falcon Strike will build the work of a previous drone-focused task force launched nine months ago called Scorpion Strike, which was the U.S. military's first "one-way attack drone squadron in the Middle East."

“Task Force Falcon Strike will expand on Scorpion Strike’s success given the tremendous innovation happening among our regional allies and partners,” said Adm. Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander. “Integrating and deploying our new capabilities together will help us rapidly realize the new possibilities that are on the horizon.”

President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner acknowledged the six-year anniversary Thursday of the breakthrough that launched the Abraham Accords, saying that the "Middle East is once again at an inflection point" as negotiations on ending the U.S. war against Iran continue.

"The Middle East is once again at an inflection point. There are breakthrough opportunities today that many will say are impossible. But we have seen what can happen when leaders reject conventional thinking, focus on common interests, and have the courage to pursue a better future," said Kushner, one of Trump's longest-serving and most trusted advisors.

"The Abraham Accords showed that a different path is possible. Now we have an opportunity to build an even broader movement around cooperation, shared prosperity and security—and replace the failed ideas of the past with a new model that gives people across the region something better to believe in and build toward," he added. "We surprised the world once. With the right leadership, focus, patience and courage, I believe we can do it again."

The Abraham Accords, achieved under the first Trump administration, normalized relations between Israel and several Muslim-majority nations, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco.

Israeli defense minister Israel Katz said Thursday that Israeli forces would not withdraw from southern Lebanon before Hezbollah is disarmed, adding conditions to an earlier statement that brought swift rebuke from the U.S. government.

During his visit to southern Lebanon on Wednesday, Katz said he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been "unequivocally clear" that "we are not withdrawing from this security ​zone," according to Reuters.

"We will cleanse this area and ensure the security of the northern residents," Katz reportedly added.

After Katz's comments, a U.S. State Department official told Reuters that a permanent Israeli military presence in southern Lebanon would violate the trilateral agreement signed in late June.

This agreement, brokered by the U.S., stipulated that Israel was to initiate a phased withdrawal from southern Lebanon as Hezbollah, an Iran-backed terrorist group, lays down their weapons.

Thus far, Hezbollah's leadership has refused to disarm and strongly opposes the deal Lebanon signed with Israel.

Reuters contributed to this report.

The Turkish Defense Ministry sought to clarify its new military pact with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, saying Thursday that the agreement is "defensive in nature and does not identify any country as a common enemy or adversary."

Turkish military spokesperson Rear Adm. Zeki Akturk the Mecca Joint Defense agreement, signed on Aug. 7, aims to institutionalize existing friendly relations between the three participating countries, according to a report from Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency.

The agreement's main objectives, Akturk said, are to boost regional security and stability, enhance military cooperation and strengthen their ability to work together during potential crises.

"In this context, the aim is to begin with command-post and field exercises and, at later stages, conduct joint exercises involving land, naval, air, air defense and unmanned systems," he said.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has said President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan wants the alliance to eventually expand beyond its three founding members and identified Egypt as a potential participant. Fidan said negotiations over the pact had been underway for two years and eight months.

Fox News Digital's Efrat Lachter contributed to this report.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., is demanding greater transparency from the Department of War about conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln.

The aircraft carrier has been deployed to the Middle East for the past six months in support of the Iran war, but it has been at sea even longer — 250 consecutive days since departing Naval Base San Diego on Nov. 21, 2025.

On Aug. 12, Blumenthal sent a letter to War Secretary Pete Hegseth and Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao decrying "widespread reports" of supply shortages, contaminated water, plumbing issues, deteriorating mental health, deck safety issues and a disruption of mail delivery.

Last Thursday in San Diego, 200 spouses and family members had a town hall with the acting Navy secretary to voice their concerns over the mental health and safety conditions on the Lincoln.

Blumenthal requested Cao respond to a list of his questions about the status of the ships and the sailors on board by Aug. 27.

In part, he wants to know how the Navy will sustain various carrier strike groups in the Middle East if the war continues over the next year to two years, and what "habitability" problems sailors are currently facing.

Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., shares Blumenthal's concerns, posting on social media Wednesday night that he is requesting an official oversight visit with a bipartisan Senate Delegation to the USS Abraham Lincoln.

"The stories of crew members threatening to jump off the ship are a frightening alarm bell as to how bad the situation has become: moldy showers, sporadic hot water, rationed meals and soap, broken toilets, and grueling 12- to 16-hour shifts with no days off," Gallego wrote.

In a statement to Task & Purpose, Navy officials denied there was an increase in "reported suicidal ideation or suicide attempts aboard the ship.”

Fox News' Liz Friden contributed to this report.

South Korea's Incheon airport has become the world's busiest for international travelers, as officials credit the boost in traffic in part to sustained tensions in the Middle East amid the Iran war.

Incheon International Airport Corp., the airport’s operator, told the Yonhap News Agency that travelers who would normally have connected through Middle Eastern hubs such as Dubai have been rerouted through Incheon in recent months.

The airport, which is in the capital Seoul, served 38.39 million international passengers in the January-June period, up 6.3% from the year before, according to the operator.

More than 30 countries, including the United Kingdom, France and Canada, have issued a joint statement condemning Iran's practice of executing people who participated in protests earlier this year against the regime.

The countries, with the addition of European Union's top diplomat, said they "condemn in the strongest terms the ongoing executions of protesters and use of the death penalty by the Islamic Republic of Iran."

"The use of capital punishment to silence dissent, intimidate communities, and punish individuals exercising their human rights can never be justified," they added. "The people of Iran must be free to exercise their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly without fear."

The collection of nations, which also included Germany, Ireland, Italy and Spain, also called on Iran to "immediately end the use of the death penalty and release all those arbitrarily detained."

"We further call on Iran to listen to the voice of its people as they demand change, and to take meaningful steps toward ensuring respect for human rights," the statement concluded.

Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi responded by saying "countries like France should stop lecturing the world about 'human rights' and international law. The hypocrisy is blatant and embarrassing."

"Your backing of Israel’s genocide in Gaza—and aggression against Iran—has destroyed whatever moral high ground you imagined you had," Araghchi said on social media.

The United Nations estimates that Iran has executed at least 56 people on national security-related charges since March 19, with at least 27 individuals having been involved in the protests at the start of the year.

Hapag-Lloyd, one of the world's largest container shipping companies, said disruptions to traffic through the Strait of Hormuz during the Iran war contributed to a 73% year-over-year decline in net profit.

The German company said Thursday in its earnings report that the total profit across all its business segments totaled $83 million, down from $306 million last year.

Operating profit in the Liner Shipping segment fell to $153 million from $167 million, weighed down by higher bunker, insurance, storage, rerouting and inland transportation costs after the strait was shut down.

Altogether, the conflict in the Middle East cost Hapag-Lloyd around $600 million in the second quarter, though strong exports from Asia and improved U.S. demand helped offset some of the impact.

Tehran is likely to become more aggressive in the coming days as a new phase approaches, Fox News senior strategic analyst and retired Gen. Jack Keane warned Wednesday, arguing that Iran may believe President Donald Trump will be reluctant to take military action ahead of the midterm elections.

“When they look at this phase here, they see the midterms coming. My gut feel is that they're likely going to get more aggressive because they don't believe the president will do much prior to the midterms in terms of military actions,” Keane said on Fox News' "Special Report."

“But they have miscalculated with him time and time again, and he is totally capable of shutting them down once and for all and crushing him with the ability that he has literally at his fingertips.”

“We have more capability in the region now than we had on Feb. 28, and it all is ready. So that leverage is there. It's his decision to be sure,” he warned.

Keane’s warning came as Trump said Tuesday that the United States has “total” control over the Strait of Hormuz, as Washington and Tehran remain at an impasse over arrangements for reopening the vital waterway.

An Iranian source also told Reuters Wednesday that there were no talks with Washington on extending the June interim agreement, saying Tehran saw “nothing to extend,” with the 60-day negotiating period outlined in the memorandum of understanding fast approaching its Aug. 17 deadline.