All posts tagged: Foreign policy

U.S. to use new economic tactics on Iran; Navy to relieve carrier

U.S. to use new economic tactics on Iran; Navy to relieve carrier

Published by Sam Flores

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaking with CNBC on Aug. 4th, 2026. CNBC The U.S. will be applying economic measures “that have never been seen on Iran,” according to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. “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,” Bessent said in an interview with Newsmax, without elaborating further. His statements come as U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly said late Thursday stateside that the U.S. military can keep a naval blockade of Iran going “indefinitely.” The Navy will rotate ships in and out “as we have, and we’ll continue to,” Hegseth told reporters. Media reports have said that the U.S. aircraft carrier USS George Washington was headed to replace the USS Abraham Lincoln, which has been deployed for over 250 days in the Middle East. Its deployment had been expected to end in May. The George Washington strike group departed Vietnam on Aug. 12, …

Iran looks to join BRICS bank as war with U.S. drags on

Iran looks to join BRICS bank as war with U.S. drags on

Published by Sam Flores

A woman and a child walk past Iranian-made Zolfaghar missiles displayed at Azadi Square in Tehran on July 24, 2026. Afp | Getty Images Iran is set to join the BRICS New Development Bank, the country’s central bank chief said Thursday, as Tehran seeks to shore up its economic alliances almost six months into its war with the U.S. and Israel. The BRICS alliance was set up in 2006 by founding members Brazil, Russia, India and China, with South Africa joining in 2010. It has since expanded to include Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Indonesia, with various other nations — including Belarus, Cuba and Nigeria — joining as partner countries. Iranian state media reported Thursday that Abdolnasser Hemmati, governor of the Central Bank of Iran, had announced Iran would soon become a member of the BRICS bank. Hemmati is currently in India ahead of next month’s BRICS summit, according to Iran’s Tasnim News Agency. “We are seeking to establish bilateral and trilateral monetary cooperation with member states,” Hemmati said, according …

Houthi attack kills six in first death in Red Sea since Iran war began

Houthi attack kills six in first death in Red Sea since Iran war began

Published by Sam Flores

The navigation bridge of a sunken vessel is all that is seen at the surface of the water in the Port of Mokha the day after an attack by the Houthis on the city Mokha, held by Yemen’s internationally recognised, Aden-based government on August 10, 2026. Khaled Ziad | Afp | Getty Images Iran-backed Houthi rebels killed six people aboard a cargo ship in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on Tuesday, the first reported fatalities from attacks targeting Red Sea shipping in more than a year. Within hours, U.S. forces said they had fired missiles at a container ship that allegedly attempted to breach Washington’s blockade of Iranian ports in the Gulf of Oman. The twin incidents illustrate how the Iran war, now in its sixth month, is inflicting a widening toll on two of the world’s most critical shipping lanes. And even as diplomats offer vague signs of progress toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz, hostilities between the U.S. and Iran appear to be on the rise. President Donald Trump, in an aggressively hostile Truth …

Trump claims ‘100% control’ of Hormuz, demands Iran pay reparations

Trump claims ‘100% control’ of Hormuz, demands Iran pay reparations

Published by Sam Flores

US President Donald Trump speaks before signing an executive order calling for more research and flexibility on vaccines, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on August 10, 2026. Jim Watson | Afp | Getty Images The U.S. and Iran are close to “some sort of arrangement” over the Strait of Hormuz, a senior Pakistani minister said Tuesday, offering another glimmer of hope for a deal even as the warring powers appear to be hardening their negotiating stances. Pakistan’s defense minister, Khawaja Asif, told reporters that “things are shaping up again in favor of a peace arrangement or a deal,” according to Bloomberg News. “The signals in the last two to three days are that we are close to some sort of an arrangement,” he added, without providing further details. The Pakistani official’s comments came after a Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson told Al Jazeera that talks between Iran and Oman about opening a shipping channel through the Strait of Hormuz were at a “critical juncture.” Asked to respond to Asif’s remarks, …

Trump slams NYC pied-à-terre tax, eyes federal block

Trump slams NYC pied-à-terre tax, eyes federal block

Published by Sam Flores

(COMBO) This combination of pictures created on November 19, 2025 shows Democratic candidate for Mayor of New York City Zohran Mamdani on October 19, 2025 in New York City and US President Donald Trump in Washington, DC, October 24, 2025. Angela Weiss, Saul Loeb | Afp | Getty Images President Donald Trump on Tuesday decried New York City’s pied-à-terre tax and said he is exploring whether the federal government “has any legal right to avert this disaster, before it is too late.” The tax on nonprimary residences of wealthy owners “doesn’t work in America, and must be stopped, NOW!” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. Trump’s vow to seek federal intervention against the tax, which was pushed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani and passed by the New York State legislature in late May, came one day after a Staten Island judge temporarily blocked the new policy. New York City government quickly filed a motion to seek an appeal of that order, placing the judge’s order on hold. Mamdani’s office did not respond to CNBC’s request …

Trump extends Jones Act waiver as Iran war roils oil market

Trump extends Jones Act waiver as Iran war roils oil market

Published by Sam Flores

President Donald Trump delivers remarks at Red Rock Casino Resort Spa in Las Vegas, Nevada, Aug. 5, 2026. Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters The Trump administration on Monday narrowed its waiver of the Jones Act while extending it for another 90 days, leaving in place fewer U.S. shipping restrictions in an effort to keep fuel flowing amid the Iran war. President Donald Trump’s second extension of the waiver comes as the war continues to create economic turmoil through the disruption of global oil markets, just a few months before inflation-weary Americans head to vote in the midterm elections. After the Trump administration’s latest signals of a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz failed to materialize, oil prices have resumed their climb while U.S. petroleum reserves have fallen to their lowest level in decades. Trump issued his first 60-day waiver of the Jones Act on March 17, less than three weeks after the U.S. and Israel started the war by launching heavy strikes on Iran. The Trump administration extended the waiver in mid-May for another 90 …

Trump foreign licensing income surged to .5 million

Trump foreign licensing income surged to $59.5 million

Published by Sam Flores

President Donald Trump at an official arrival ceremony at Qasr al Watan, or Palace of the Nation, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, May 15, 2025. Win Mcnamee | Getty Images President Donald Trump’s foreign real-estate licensing business boomed during his first year back in office, generating $59.5 million in 2025 as international developers paid a premium to brand luxury towers, golf courses and coastal resorts with the Trump name. Foreign licensing revenue, including for the use of the Trump name on properties around the world, rose 71% from 2024. The sum was nearly 10 times higher than in 2023, according to a CNBC analysis of Trump’s annual financial disclosure — fueled by the Trump Organization’s reversal of the company’s first-term pledge to pursue “no new foreign deals whatsoever.” The Trump Organization’s second-term ethics policy bars new material transactions with foreign governments but allows deals with private foreign companies Four Trump-affiliated licensing LLCs not listed in his 2024 disclosure generated $20.25 million in 2025, accounting for 82% of the increase. Five other licensing LLCs that …

Trump signals shift to economic pressure as Iran hardens Hormuz stance

Trump signals shift to economic pressure as Iran hardens Hormuz stance

Published by Sam Flores

US President Donald Trump steps off of Air Force One upon arrival at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, on August 7, 2026. Kent Nishimura | Afp | Getty Images U.S. President Donald Trump has signaled he’s prepared to let economic pressure take its toll on Iran rather than launching further military strikes, as Tehran insists the Strait of Hormuz will only reopen if Washington agrees to several conditions. Trump, who last week projected confidence in an imminent deal between Washington and Tehran, told Axios on Sunday that he is prepared to wait for economic distress to mount in Iran, backing away from a renewed military offensive. “We are low-keying it,” Trump said, “We are only semi-negotiating with them. We are just watching Iran with its huge inflation and the fact they have no money.” The president also posted a chart on Truth Social showing the plunging value of the Iranian rial between 2025 and now, with the title “Iran has no money” and “currency is trash” in text. Iranian officials have set …

Trump signals shift to economic pressure as Iran hardens Hormuz stance

Trump signals shift to economic pressure as Iran hardens Hormuz stance

Published by Sam Flores

US President Donald Trump steps off of Air Force One upon arrival at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, on August 7, 2026. Kent Nishimura | Afp | Getty Images U.S. President Donald Trump has signaled he’s prepared to let economic pressure take its toll on Iran rather than launching further military strikes, as Tehran insists the Strait of Hormuz will only reopen if Washington agrees to several conditions. Trump, who last week projected confidence in an imminent deal between Washington and Tehran, told Axios on Sunday that he is prepared to wait for economic distress to mount in Iran, backing away from a renewed military offensive. “We are low-keying it,” Trump said, “We are only semi-negotiating with them. We are just watching Iran with its huge inflation and the fact they have no money.” The president also posted a chart on Truth Social showing the plunging value of the Iranian rial between 2025 and now, with the title “Iran has no money” and “currency is trash” in text. Iranian officials have set …

Netanyahu says Trump’s new Gaza plan is unacceptable

Netanyahu says Trump’s new Gaza plan is unacceptable

Published by Sam Flores

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference in Jerusalem on March 19, 2026. Ronen Zvulun | Afp | Getty Images Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin ⁠Netanyahu restated his rejection of U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest Gaza plan in televised remarks to his right-wing government on Sunday, even as Israel’s military has effectively halted attacks in the territory under pressure from ​Trump. Netanyahu is struggling in the polls as ​he seeks re-election at a vote due on ​Oct. 27 but is caught between far-right ministers angered by concessions in Gaza and his key military backer, Trump, who wants progress toward ending the conflict there with a new 15-point roadmap. Israel has scaled back attacks in Gaza since Monday, when Nikolay Mladenov, the Gaza envoy for Trump’s Board of Peace that oversees the ceasefire, met with Netanyahu. A ⁠source familiar ‌with Israel’s position said it had agreed that the military would only act against ⁠what it perceives as immediate threats in Gaza and no longer carry out targeted assassinations as it had been doing on …