All posts tagged: @NG26M

Iran war hangs over Trump’s China trip: Analysis

Iran war hangs over Trump’s China trip: Analysis

Published by Sam Flores

As President Donald Trump prepares to head to China for crucial negotiations with the leader of the No. 2 global power, it is becoming clear that the political and economic damage unleashed by the Iran war can’t be easily left behind. Even if a deal to get oil tankers moving again were reached tomorrow — and there is little sign of that — Americans are facing the prospect of months or more of new inflation worries. The question now isn’t whether Trump will secure his war aims with dignity. It is whether his presidency can ever recover from the war’s body blow.  Trump is banking little political goodwill from the stock market that keeps grinding to records. The S&P 500 has risen 7.3% since Feb. 27, just before the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran. Meanwhile Trump’s net approval rating has fallen to the lowest of his two terms, according to CNBC’s All-America Economic Survey. Stocks are rising on faith in artificial intelligence and traders’ well-earned sense that Trump will find a way to get out …

Netanyahu says Iran war is ‘not over;’ Trump rejects latest offer

Netanyahu says Iran war is ‘not over;’ Trump rejects latest offer

Published by Sam Flores

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference, amid the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran, in Jerusalem, March 19, 2026. Ronen Zvulun | Reuters Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that the war with Iran is “not over,” as the U.S. and Israel still aim to bring an end to Tehran’s nuclear ambitions. “There’s still nuclear material, enriched uranium that has to be taken out of Iran,” he said in a taped interview on CBS’s “60 Minutes” that is set to air Sunday night. “There is still enrichment sites that have to be dismantled, there’s still proxies that Iran supports, there are ballistic missiles that they still want to produce … there’s work to be done.” Pressed for how the U.S. and Israel would remove the nuclear material, Netanyahu said: “You go in, and you take it out.” Read more CNBC politics coverage Netanyahu’s comments come ahead of President Donald Trump’s expected trip to China later this week, where he’s expected to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The war and the …

Project Freedom aims to reopen Hormuz Strait. Experts are skeptical

Project Freedom aims to reopen Hormuz Strait. Experts are skeptical

Published by Sam Flores

Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz near Bandar Abbas, Iran, May 4, 2026. Amirhosein Khorgooi | ISNA | WANA | Via Reuters Defense and geopolitical experts are skeptical that “Project Freedom,” the Trump administration’s new effort to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial traffic, will succeed. “In my view, it’s not a solution at all,” Jennifer Kavanagh, senior fellow and director of military analysis at Defense Priorities, a libertarian-leaning foreign policy think tank, said of the operation. “It doesn’t really address the underlying problem here, which is that the uncertainty about the safety of transit means that ship captains and shipping companies are hesitant to take the risk,” Kavanagh said in a phone interview. The administration, however, says its day-old effort to defend ships transiting the strait from Iranian attacks is already working. “We’ve now opened a passage through the Strait of Hormuz to allow for the free flow of commerce to proceed,” U.S. Central Command leader Adm. Brad Cooper said Monday, just hours after Project Freedom commenced. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday …