All posts tagged: @LCO26Q

war with Iran, Hezbollah not over after Tehran halts strikes

war with Iran, Hezbollah not over after Tehran halts strikes

Published by Sam Flores

Iran’s military has ceased strikes against Israel, but will resume hostilities if the Israel Defense Forces continue to attack Lebanon, Tehran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs told CNBC on Monday. Hours later, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the war against Iran and its Lebanon-based proxy Hezbollah “has not yet ended,” though he insisted both are weaker than ever. Iran and Israel traded strikes Sunday night for the first time since the U.S. and Iran agreed to a fragile ceasefire in mid-April. The Islamic Republic fired missiles toward northern Israel after accusing Jerusalem of repeatedly violating the truce through its strikes on Lebanon, which included an attack on Beirut’s southern suburbs on Sunday. Israel said it carried out a “large-scale strike on strategic defense systems” in response. President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post earlier Monday that, despite the latest outbreak of violence, both Israel and Iran “are looking to do an immediate CEASEFIRE!” “Final negotiations on ‘Peace’ are proceeding, subject to ignorance or stupidity getting in its way,” Trump wrote. He added that …

Russia’s Sechin says U.S. companies benefit from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz

Russia’s Sechin says U.S. companies benefit from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz

Published by Sam Flores

Rosneft Chief Executive Igor Sechin said on Saturday that U.S. energy companies were the main beneficiaries of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and that Washington was trying to change the fundamental contours of the global energy markets to suit U.S. interests. Iran blockaded the Strait, the main route for about a fifth of world oil supplies and other vital goods including fertilisers, after the United States and Israel attacked Iran and killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in February. The U.S. has blockaded Iranian ports. The closures of the Strait has rattled global markets, sending oil prices to multi-year highs, stoking global inflation and undermining economic growth world-wide. Speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Sechin, a long-standing ally of President Vladimir Putin, also said that the OPEC+ group of leading oil producers has lost some of its potential with the withdrawal of the United Arab Emirates from the alliance. “The closure of the Strait of Hormuz is an attempt to reshape global energy market regulations to benefit the United States. The …

Trump says he could meet Iran’s supreme leader ‘if it was to make a deal’

Trump says he could meet Iran’s supreme leader ‘if it was to make a deal’

Published by Sam Flores

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during an event in the Oval Office of the White House on June 03, 2026 in Washington, DC. Kevin Dietsch | Getty Images President Donald Trump on Thursday said he would be “honored” to meet Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei. The U.S. president said he would meet the Iranian leader if a deal is reached to end the U.S.-Iran war, which has dragged on into its fourth month. Trump was taking questions from reporters in the Oval Office after making an announcement about coal. “If we make a deal, it’s possible that I would meet,” he said. “I’d be okay with that.” Khamenei was named the supreme leader in Iran after his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed on the first day of fighting. Trump said that despite U.S.-Israeli strikes killing his father and other members of his family, he expects that Khamenei would be a “professional.” “In some circles, he has a very good reputation, actually,” Trump said. Mixed messages have emerged recently out of negotiations to end …

Israel Benjamin Netanyahu CNBC exclusive interview on Iran war

Israel Benjamin Netanyahu CNBC exclusive interview on Iran war

Published by Sam Flores

Netanyahu blasts ‘fraudulent lies’ in digital information battle Israel is fighting a battle against “horrendously unfair and fraudulent lies,” Netanyahu said. Addressing global criticism of the war, Netanyahu took aim at certain Western television stations and social media outlets, adding that the country must “get better” at fighting what he called the “digital information battle.” “The question is, do you succumb to the lies? No, I protect my people,” he said. “They hate us because we do defend ourselves. What do we do? Stop defending ourselves? Of course not — we have to fight.” — Hugh Leask Israeli economy expected to outperform in 2026 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks with CNBC from Jersusalem on June 3rd, 2026. CNBC Netanyahu wasn’t wrong when he said “buy anything in Israel, because Israel is going up.” Israel’s economy is expected to outperform major developed markets in 2026. Capital markets are also outperforming, with the Tel Aviv 35 surging and the shekel rising. Despite nearly three years of constant war, the central bank still expects Israel’s economy to …

Trump says Iran agreed to not have nuclear weapons, but ‘they can change their mind’

Trump says Iran agreed to not have nuclear weapons, but ‘they can change their mind’

Published by Sam Flores

President Donald Trump takes questions from reporters during a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House on May 27, 2026 in Washington, DC. Win Mcnamee | Getty Images The Iranian regime has agreed not to have nuclear weapons, President Donald Trump told the New York Post’s “Pod Force One” podcast — but he added that Tehran could still “change their mind.” “I did have to say we have to do something about Iran, because regardless of how well we’re doing [economically] we can’t let them have a nuclear weapon,” he said in the interview, which was published Wednesday. “They’ve already agreed they’re not going to have a nuclear weapon.” When asked to confirm that the Iranian regime had agreed to that term, Trump said: “Oh yeah, they’ve agreed to that.” “I mean, now they can change their mind, but that was one of the things they’ve had to agree, they’ve agreed to that. That was the big thing,” he said. Iran’s foreign ministry declined to comment on Trump’s interview when contacted by …

‘I don’t care’ if Iran negotiations are over

‘I don’t care’ if Iran negotiations are over

Published by Sam Flores

Asked if he believed it was time to formally end the U.S.-Iran ceasefire that is nominally still in place, Trump said, “Let’s say I knew exactly what you’re asking … and I sort of do. Why would I tell you?” He also said that the U.S.’ NATO allies “should come in and help us out” because they rely on the oil that flows through the Hormuz Strait more than the U.S. does. “We don’t need it, we have a lot of oil,” he said. But when asked if he has reached out to NATO to participate in reopening the strait, Trump said, “They would if I wanted them to, but I’m not sure I want them to.” “We don’t need them. We don’t need NATO. They were very, very weak and very sad, what they said,” Trump said. “They said, ‘We’ll help you as soon as the war is over.’” PRESIDENT TRUMP Hello. EAMON JAVERS Hello, Mr. President. It’s Eamon Javers here with CNBC. How are you, sir?  PRESIDENT TRUMP Hello, Eamon. What’s going on, …

Trump hits out at critics, says Tehran ‘really wants’ a deal

Trump hits out at critics, says Tehran ‘really wants’ a deal

Published by Sam Flores

US President Donald Trump waves as he returns to the White House in Washington, DC, on May 31, 2026 after golfing at his Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia. Brendan Smialowski | Afp | Getty Images U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday lashed out at critics as a potential agreement with Iran remains elusive, saying that Tehran “really wants to make a deal” and that it will be a good one for the U.S. and its allies. His comments come as air strikes between the U.S. and Iran resumed over the weekend, with each side claiming to have hit military targets near the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, a waterway that typically handles around 20% of the world’s global oil traffic. “Iran really wants to make a deal, and it will be a good one for the U.S.A. and those that are with us,” Trump said in a Truth Social post. “But don’t the Dumocrats, and various seemingly unpatriotic Republicans, understand that it is MUCH tougher for me to properly do my job and …

Grocery shock on the horizon for U.S. elections as Iran war drags on

Grocery shock on the horizon for U.S. elections as Iran war drags on

Published by Sam Flores

A customer shops in a grocery store on March 11, 2026 in Miami, Florida. Joe Raedle | Getty Images Rising grocery prices in the U.S. as the result of the Iran war could be among the most politically damaging outcomes of the conflict just months before a critical U.S. election.  Two years earlier, President Donald Trump won reelection after hammering the high costs of eggs, bacon and other grocery store staples. Now he and the Republican Party may be faced with even higher food prices as they try to retain control of Congress in this year’s midterm elections. Democrats are looking to capitalize on the spike by pinning it on Trump’s decision to go to war, while Republicans are choosing their words to downplay economic forecasts of higher prices for the fuel and fertilizer needed to produce and ship the food voters eat. “Our messaging is affordability and accountability,” Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., the ranking member of the House Natural Resources Committee, said in an interview. “It’s a pretty tailored message, pretty narrowly focused, and …

Iran’s war propaganda homes in on Trump with Lego memes

Iran’s war propaganda homes in on Trump with Lego memes

Published by Sam Flores

Young Iranian women walk past a state building covered with a giant anti-U.S. billboard depicting a symbolic image of the destroyed USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, in downtown Tehran, Iran, on Feb. 26, 2026, the final day of Iran-U.S. talks that take place in Geneva. Morteza Nikoubazl | Nurphoto | Getty Images Wartime propaganda has evolved for the social media age, and Iran is now vying with the U.S. to be the world’s biggest keyboard warrior. As the real-world bombardment in the Middle East continues and casualties mount, both sides in the month-old war are also firing off ironic, pop-culture-steeped memes on the online battlefield. Iran’s new leaders have quickly assumed an online fighting posture, amping up their memes and pointed attacks on the U.S. and Israel. “What we’re seeing is not just a war of weapons, but it’s also a war of aesthetics,” said Nancy Snow, a professor and author who studies propaganda. “Whoever controls the meme controls the mood.” Iran’s prime target is President Donald Trump, with state media and top officials alike …

U.S. to destroy Iran’s oil wells, Kharg Island if deal not reached

U.S. to destroy Iran’s oil wells, Kharg Island if deal not reached

Published by Sam Flores

Satellite view of Kharg Island, located in the Persian Gulf off the coast of Iran. Gallo Images | Gallo Images | Getty Images U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that the U.S. will “completely” obliterate Iran’s electric generating plants, oil wells and Kharg Island if the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz is not “immediately” reopened and a peace deal is not reached “shortly.” “The United States of America is in serious discussions with A NEW, AND MORE REASONABLE, REGIME to end our Military Operations in Iran,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “Great progress has been made but, if for any reason a deal is not shortly reached, which it probably will be, and if the Hormuz Strait is not immediately “Open for Business,” we will conclude our lovely “stay” in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!), which we have purposefully not yet “touched.”” His comments come as the Iran war enters its fifth week and …