Tom Howell Jr.

The Fate of Hormuz: Iranian attacks force Gulf nations to find work-arounds to war-zone waterway

The crisis in the Strait of Hormuz is forcing Middle East nations to explore new routes for critical oil exports, easing the global supply crunch and reducing Iran's ability to use the waterway as a source of leverage.

August 19, 2026

Trump: U.S. not seeking talks with Iran as regional violence reemerges

President Trump said Tuesday his administration is not speaking to Iran and asserted U.S. control over the Strait of Hormuz while Tehran signaled a new phase of defiance and aggression in the region, raising tensions across the Gulf region.

August 18, 2026

Trump says U.S. won’t talk to Iran, will rely on economic pressure, blockade

President Trump said Tuesday there are no active or planned talks with Iran and his naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz will remain in "full force."

August 18, 2026

Iran denies rumors of back-channel peace talks with U.S. as 60-day ceasefire period lapses

Iran on Monday officially denied allegations that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was engaged in back-channel talks with the U.S. via Kurdish intermediaries in Iraq, maintaining Tehran's harsh stance against negotiations without concessions as the war continues.

August 17, 2026

Trump says making the Strait of Hormuz a U.S. territory remains a good idea

President Trump on Monday said making the Strait of Hormuz a U.S. territory would be a "great idea," repeating a proposal he floated in a speech a few days ago.

August 17, 2026

Trump praises young lifeguard Ryder Williams for ‘incredible’ rescue

President Trump on Monday hailed the heroics of a 16-year-old lifeguard who saved a boy caught in the rugged Californian surf in late July.

August 17, 2026

Trump threatens to bomb Oman if it ‘gets in the way’ of Iran negotiations

President Trump unleashed an expletive-laced threat toward Oman Monday, saying he would bomb the Middle East nation if it disrupts negotiations with Iran over the Strait of Hormuz.

August 17, 2026

State of Hormuz? Trump jokes about annexing Middle East waterway at heart of Iran war

President Trump says he might declare the Strait of Hormuz a "territory of the United States" and that a bit more pain at the pump for Americans will be worth keeping a nuclear weapon out of Iran's hands.

August 14, 2026

Trump says sailors on USS Lincoln were not deployed for too long

President Trump is dismissing concerns that sailors were deployed for too long on the USS Abraham Lincoln, an aircraft carrier that's been at sea since late 2025 and served as a launchpad for operations in Iran.

August 14, 2026

Treasury Secretary Bessent says U.S. set to deliver unprecedented economic pain on Iran

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says President Trump plans to drastically dial up financial pressure on Iran as the Middle East conflict reverts to an economic war of wills.

August 14, 2026

Iran asserts full claim to Strait of Hormuz, calls U.S. war ‘miscalculated’

Iranian officials taunted the U.S. and claimed full control and management of the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, contradicting President Trump's contention the U.S. is directing oil traffic through the waterway at the heart of the Middle East dispute.

August 13, 2026

Iran says Trump is relying on ‘fake intelligence,’ makes new demands over Strait of Hormuz

Iranian officials on Thursday said the U.S. "miscalculated" in waging war on their country and demanded payment for environmental damage in the Strait of Hormuz.

August 13, 2026

Karoline Leavitt is leaving the White House, Trump says

President Trump said Wednesday his press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, will be departing her role at the end of August to spend more time with her young children.

August 12, 2026

U.S. officials tout success of economic pressure on Iran even as Strait of Hormuz remains closed

Trump administration officials on Wednesday said economic pressure on Iran is working and will eventually force the regime to agree to a peace deal, even as commercial traffic in the Strait of Hormuz remains low.

August 12, 2026

Trump says Iran is teetering from his blockade: ‘Praise be to Allah’

President Trump said Wednesday that Iran is reeling from his pivot from military might to economic pressure, so he plans to maintain the U.S. naval blockade on the country's ports for the foreseeable future.

August 12, 2026

Drugmakers, health insurers battle over coupons for high-cost medicine

Patients with cancer, HIV, cystic fibrosis or conditions with high-cost medications often use coupons from drug manufacturers to help them pay for the drugs. That assistance runs out, however, and patients learn that the money was not counted toward their insurance deductible.

August 12, 2026

Consumer prices rose modestly in July, easing pressure on Federal Reserve

Inflation rose slightly in July as expected, a reading that could make the Federal Reserve less eager to hike interest rates.

August 12, 2026

Trump grapples with cycle of violence, diplomacy and economic pressure as Iran war nears sixth month

President Trump predicted in March that his military "excursion" into Iran would last several weeks. Instead, he's been trapped in a doom loop of violence and negotiations for nearly half the year, hamstrung by an aversion to deploying U.S. ground troops and the tenacity of a regime that's been on a war footing for decades.

August 11, 2026

Pakistani official sees signs of ‘some sort’ of peace deal forming in Middle East

A Pakistani official said parties inched closer to an elusive peace between the U.S. and Iran on Tuesday, the latest murmur of progress as mediators scrounge for common ground on the Strait of Hormuz and ending the war.

August 11, 2026

Hard-liners strengthen grip on power in Tehran, want concessions from Trump before reopening strait

Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei on Monday handed more power to political hard-liners as he staffed key positions in Iran's security and intelligence establishment, potentially dimming peace prospects as Tehran reaffirmed demands for U.S. concessions to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

August 10, 2026