All posts tagged: @LCO26Q

Trump to relax oil blockade on Cuba as Russian tanker nears the island

Trump to relax oil blockade on Cuba as Russian tanker nears the island

Published by Sam Flores

An old Soviet-era Lada car drives past a truck belonging to a private Cuban company (mipyme) parked in front of a gas station with an IsoTank of imported fuel in Havana on March 19, 2026. Adalberto Roque | Afp | Getty Images U.S. President Donald Trump said he has “no problem” with a Russian crude tanker delivering fuel to Cuba, appearing to reverse course over his administration’s oil blockade as the island grapples with a deepening energy crisis. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday, Trump said: “If a country wants to send some oil into Cuba right now, I have no problem with that, whether it’s Russia or not.” His comments come as a Russian-flagged oil tanker, the sanctioned Anatoly Kolodkin, makes its way to Cuba carrying an estimated 730,000 barrels of crude oil. The tanker is reportedly expected to reach port on Monday and is seen as something of a lifeline to the Caribbean nation, which is facing its biggest test since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Cuba had been …

Trump warns US could ‘take the oil in Iran’ as Mideast war escalates

Trump warns US could ‘take the oil in Iran’ as Mideast war escalates

Published by Sam Flores

Smoke rises from the direction of an energy installation in the Gulf emirate of Fujairah on March 14, 2026. Smoke could be seen rising from the direction of a major UAE energy installation on March 14, in what appeared to be the latest strike targeting the Gulf’s petroleum facilities hours after the US struck Iran’s Kharg Island. – | Afp | Getty Images U.S. President Donald Trump said he could “take the oil in Iran” and seize Iran’s export hub of Kharg Island, as hostilities in the Middle East continued into its fifth week. Trump told the Financial Times on Sunday that his “preference would be to take the oil,” comparing it to the U.S. military operation in Venezuela earlier this year where the U.S. effectively gained control of the Latin American country’s oil industry, following the capture of its leader Nicolas Maduro. The Trump administration has weighed sending ground forces to the Kharg Island, according to Reuters, with one of its sources warning or such an operation being “very risky.” Tehran has the ability …

Trump calls Strait of Hormuz the ‘Strait of Trump’

Trump calls Strait of Hormuz the ‘Strait of Trump’

Published by Sam Flores

President Donald Trump speaks during the Future Investment Initiative Summit in Miami, March 27, 2026. Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty Images President Donald Trump on Friday winkingly referred to the Strait of Hormuz, the vital oil-shipping route and a key choke point in the Iran war, as the “Strait of Trump.” Iran has to “open up the Strait of Trump — I mean, Hormuz,” the president said in a speech at the Future Investment Initiative in Miami, garnering laughs from the crowd. “Excuse me. I’m so sorry. Such a terrible mistake,” he said, feigning apologetics before clarifying, “The fake news will say, ‘He accidentally said’ — No, there’s no accidents with me, not too many. If there were, we’d have a major story.” The comment came as the strait has emerged as a key source of conflict in the war, which is poised to enter its second month even as the U.S. boasts that it has “obliterated” Iran’s military. Iran’s continued ability to effectively block the strait — blocking the path that normally ferries …

Zelenskyy courts Saudi support as U.S. reportedly weighs redirecting Ukraine aid to Middle East

Zelenskyy courts Saudi support as U.S. reportedly weighs redirecting Ukraine aid to Middle East

Published by Sam Flores

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Munich, Germany on Feb. 15, 2025. Sean Gallup | Getty Images Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday kicked off a surprise visit to Saudi Arabia, seeking support for Kyiv as the U.S. reportedly weighs shifting military resources to the Middle East amid escalating tensions with Iran. Zelenskyy met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah to discuss the escalating military tensions in the Middle East and the war in Ukraine. The Ukrainian leader said he expected to hold “important meetings” during this trip, as Kyiv offered its air-defense expertise and drone technology to countries in the region reeling from the Iranian strikes. More than 200 Ukrainian experts have been dispatched to advise Middle East countries on how to intercept attacks that have wreaked havoc on energy infrastructure across the region. Zelenskyy is hoping to draw support from the Gulf nations in Kyiv’s war against Russia, which is now in its fifth year and Western military aid faces new uncertainty. Iran’s Shahed-136 ‘kamikaze’ drone has become a fixture of …

Trump extends pause on attacking Iran energy facilities to April 6

Trump extends pause on attacking Iran energy facilities to April 6

Published by Sam Flores

President Donald Trump on Thursday said he was extending an ongoing brief pause in attacking Iran’s energy facilities by 10 days, to April 6, at the request of the government of the Islamic Republic. Trump’s move avoids escalating the war with Iran at a time the United States has signaled it wants a negotiated end to the conflict and as the key Strait of Hormuz remains almost completely closed to oil shipments. His announcement came as key U.S. stock market indexes fell and oil prices rose. “As per Iranian Government request, please let this statement serve to represent that I am pausing the period of Energy Plant destruction,” Trump said in a Truth Social post. “Talks are ongoing and, despite erroneous statements to the contrary by the Fake News Media, and others, they are going very well. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” The original five-day pause on U.S. attacks on Iran’s power plants and energy infrastructure was due to end Friday. Trump had announced the first pause on Monday on Truth Social. …

Trump says Iran let 10 oil ships through Strait of Hormuz as ‘present’

Trump says Iran let 10 oil ships through Strait of Hormuz as ‘present’

Published by Sam Flores

Iran allowed 10 oil tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz this week as a “present” to the United States, President Donald Trump said Thursday. “They said, ‘To show you the fact that we’re real and solid and we’re there, we’re going to let you have eight boats of oil … and they’ll sail up tomorrow,’” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting, referring to Iran. He added: “They then apologized for something they said, and they said, ‘We’re going to send two more boats.’ And [it] ended up being 10 boats.” The comments provide an answer to questions raised two days earlier, when Trump first said Iran “gave us a present” related to oil and gas, without elaborating. Trump made the claim after insisting in the meeting that the U.S. has “very substantial talks going on with respect to Iran,” even though Tehran has denied direct talks have taken place. U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said in the Cabinet meeting that the U.S. has had “multiple reach-outs from the region and others who want …

Israel says it has killed Iran navy chief

Israel says it has killed Iran navy chief

Published by Sam Flores

FILE PHOTO: In this photo released by the Iranian Presidency Office, President Ebrahim Raisi waves as he visits an exhibition of the Revolutionary Guard navy capabilities while accompanied by the guard’s navy commander Alireza Tangsiri, in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas, Iran, Friday, Feb. 2, 2024. Iranian Presidency Office | AP Israel’s Defense Forces said Thursday that Iranian naval commander Alireza Tangsiri had been killed in a “precise strike” in the port city of Bandar Abbas, accusing him of being responsible for efforts to close the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz. The IDF said in a social media post that Tangsiri “oversaw maritime terrorism carried out against countries in the Middle East, as well as against U.S. and other nations’ energy infrastructure.” U.S. Central Command later confirmed Tangsiri’s death in a post on X. Tangsiri’s death from the Israeli airstrike “makes the region safer,” said the commander of CentCom, Adm. Brad Cooper, adding that strikes on the Iranian navy would continue. Iran has not yet commented on the report. Shipping traffic through the …

Could U.S. attack Iran’s Kharg Island as it sends more troops?

Could U.S. attack Iran’s Kharg Island as it sends more troops?

Published by Sam Flores

A satellite view of Qeshm Island in Hormozgan Province, Iran, within the Strait of Hormuz region on January 17, 2026. Gallo Images | Gallo Images | Getty Images The U.S. is preparing to send thousands more troops to the Middle East, prompting speculation about a ground attack on Iran amid conflicting accounts of peace talks. The Pentagon is reportedly preparing to send about 3,000 troops from the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East, alongside two Marine Expeditionary Units, to assist military operations in Iran. Military experts said that the number of additional troops being deployed to the region appears to be consistent with plans for discrete and time-limited operations — rather than a sustained ground campaign. It puts two strategic Iranian islands in the spotlight and raises questions about a potential move to seize the Islamic Republic’s nuclear materials. “All announcements regarding troop deployments will come from the Department of War. As we have said, President Trump always has all military options at his disposal,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told CNBC in …

Iranian negotiators ‘better get serious soon, before it is too late’

Iranian negotiators ‘better get serious soon, before it is too late’

Published by Sam Flores

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a ceremony for newly sworn in U.S. Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin in the Oval Office at the White House on March 24, 2026 in Washington, DC. Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images U.S. President Donald Trump has told Iran to “get serious soon” about a peace deal with Washington, or face the consequences. “They better get serious soon, before it is too late, because once that happens, there is NO TURNING BACK, and it won’t be pretty!” he posted on Truth Social early Thursday. The president described Iranian negotiators as “very different” and “strange” and said they were “begging” the U.S. to make a deal to end the war that has raged for almost four weeks. Trump’s comments come after contradictory statements from Washington and Tehran regarding the status of peace talks. The U.S. has said talks over a proposed peace plan have been taking place, while Iran denies any direct interaction with Washington. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reportedly told state media on Wednesday that officials …

U.S. Postal Service seeks 8% fuel surcharge for package deliveries

U.S. Postal Service seeks 8% fuel surcharge for package deliveries

Published by Sam Flores

Postal carrier Marc Jacques delivers the mail in a neighborhood on March 19, 2026 in Miami, Florida. Joe Raedle | Getty Images The U.S. Postal Service on Wednesday said it is seeking to impose a temporary 8% fuel surcharge for package and express mail deliveries to deal with rising transportation costs, which include higher oil prices as a result of the Iran war. If approved by the Postal Regulatory Commission, the surcharge would take effect April 26 and remain in place until Jan. 17, 2027, the Postal Service said in a notice on its website. The 8% surcharge would apply to postage on Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail, USPS Ground Advantage, and Parcel Select products. First-class stamps and other mail services would not be affected. Oil prices have jumped more than 40% since Feb. 28, when the United States and Israel attacked Iran. Read more U.S.-Iran war news FedEx and UPS, two major package shippers, for years have imposed fuel surcharges on deliveries. Those surcharges have sharply increased since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran …