All posts tagged: @LCO27F

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, …

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 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 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 …

Russia sanctions bill honoring Lindsey Graham breezes through Senate

Russia sanctions bill honoring Lindsey Graham breezes through Senate

Published by Sam Flores

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meets with U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine May 30, 2025. Ukrainian Presidential Press Ser | Via Reuters Read more CNBC politics and policy coverage The bill would impose tariffs of up to 100% on countries that are within the top five purchasers of Russian crude oil or gas, which includes China and India. Oil revenue is key to funding Russia’s military action. It also includes sanctions on Russian leaders and officials, targeting Russian President Vladimir Putin, oligarchs and financial institutions. At the request of President Donald Trump, the bill extends sanctions on Iran’s weapons and energy sectors.  Following the vote, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn, told reporters on Capitol Hill that Graham would be “proud of what we’ve done.” Blumenthal worked on the legislation with Graham before his death. “These sledgehammer sanctions and tariffs will stop all who are complicit in this murderous, criminal war of aggression against a brave free people,” Blumenthal said. “To the people of Ukraine, we are with you.” Sen. …

Trump teased Iran deal, markets soared. Why it keeps happening

Trump teased Iran deal, markets soared. Why it keeps happening

Published by Sam Flores

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during an event in the Oval Office of the White House on Aug. 6, 2026 in Washington, DC. Alex Wong | Getty Images The Trump administration this week sparked enthusiasm that the U.S. and Iran could soon strike a deal on the Strait of Hormuz, driving down oil prices and sending stocks soaring — only for no deal to emerge. If that sounds familiar, it may be because President Donald Trump has claimed dozens of times that the U.S. is close to an agreement that will end the war it began more than five months ago. Investors have reacted to many of those claims with bursts of buying on hopes a breakthrough is near, even as the war instead appears to be widening and progress on Trump’s chief stated goal — containing Iran’s nuclear ambitions — is at a standstill. “There’s tremendous optimism bias in the market,” Helima Croft, global head of commodity strategy at RBC Capital Markets, told CNBC. Markets continue to assume incentives for both the U.S. and …

Top Democrat proposes killing tax breaks for overseas oil production

Top Democrat proposes killing tax breaks for overseas oil production

Published by Sam Flores

U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) speaks to reporters after a roundtable on rising energy costs on Capitol Hill on March 17, 2026 in Washington, DC. Anna Moneymaker | Getty Images Sen. Martin Heinrich will introduce a bill, shared exclusively with CNBC, to end tax breaks for U.S. oil and gas companies that operate overseas while the industry reaps massive profits as the war with Iran spikes oil prices. The bill comes days after President Donald Trump ripped major U.S. oil and gas producers for making “too much money” amid the conflict that has raised gasoline prices, and warned that companies like ExxonMobil and Chevron are going to have to “give some of that back to the public, and they better cut the retail price, the consumer price.” Trump has, at the same time, pushed U.S. oil and gas companies to invest in Venezuela after he ousted the country’s former president, Nicolás Maduro. Heinrich, D-N.M., who is the top Democrat on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said the bill would “help put American energy …

Iran’s chief negotiator accuses Trump of ‘theater diplomacy’

Iran’s chief negotiator accuses Trump of ‘theater diplomacy’

Published by Sam Flores

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf speaks at a press conference in Tehran, Iran, Dec. 2, 2025. Shadati | Xinhua News Agency | Getty Images Iran’s chief negotiator has accused U.S. President Donald Trump of staging “theater diplomacy,” as Washington and Tehran offer conflicting accounts of bilateral engagement aimed at ending their monthslong hostilities. “‘Massive attack coming … wait, never mind, they want to negotiate.’ That’s theater diplomacy on loop,” Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliament speaker and top negotiator, wrote in a post on X on Thursday in an apparent gibe at Trump. The remarks came days after Trump called off planned strikes and said the outlines of a deal had already been settled with Tehran. Iranian officials have rejected the claim, saying no talks were underway. The conflict is meanwhile broadening across the region, with Gulf energy infrastructure and key shipping choke points under renewed threat. Saudi Arabia is bracing for “multiple coordinated attacks” by Iraqi militia factions working with Iran-backed Houthis, a Saudi official told CNN. Intelligence reports from Saudi Arabia and regional …

Ukraine hits one of Russia’s biggest oil refineries in drone attack

Ukraine hits one of Russia’s biggest oil refineries in drone attack

Published by Sam Flores

People queue to refuel their cars at a Gazpromneft petrol station in Yaroslavl on July 15, 2026. Russia — one of the world’s largest oil producers — has introduced a swath of restrictions on petrol sales across the country, as Ukrainian strikes on its refineries, depots and logistics crimp domestic supply. Igor Ivanko | Afp | Getty Images Ukraine’s military on Thursday struck two Russian oil refineries hundreds of miles from its border, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, as Kyiv continues to target the country’s energy infrastructure. Ukraine’s armed forces struck the Bashneft-Novoil refinery in Bashkortostan and the Slavneft-Yanos refinery in the Yaroslavl region, Zelenskyy said. In a post on social media, Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s long-range sanctions had “once again worked to limit Russia’s oil revenues, which it uses to finance the war and the killing of Ukrainians.” The Slavneft-Yanos facility in Yaroslavl, which is situated hundreds of miles from the Ukraine border and about 170 miles (274 kilometers) northeast of Moscow, is one of Russia’s biggest oil refineries. It has previously been targeted by Ukraine’s …