Last UpdateJuly 14, 2026, 2:39 AM EDT
President Donald Trump reportedly said the U.S. is prepared to hit Iran “very hard” tonight and tomorrow as tensions escalate over the Strait of Hormuz, naming Pickaxe Mountain as a possible target for a “nice big fat shot.”
WHAT TO KNOW
- President Trump reportedly said the U.S. is prepared to strike Iran “very hard” tonight and tomorrow, naming Pickaxe Mountain as a possible target.
- Trump also said the U.S. will charge a 20% fee on cargo moving through the Strait of Hormuz while reinstating a blockade on Iranian ports.
- CENTCOM said U.S. forces will resume a naval blockade against Iran on Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET.
- Iran’s foreign minister mocked Trump’s proposed Hormuz fee, saying Iran has “always been the guardian” of the strait.
- The renewed fighting comes after Iran claimed the Strait of Hormuz was closed and the U.S. launched strikes on Iranian military targets.
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5 hours ago
PINNED
Trump defends US strikes on Iran, says another ‘major attack’ is coming
President Donald Trump on Monday defended U.S. strikes on Iran, saying Tehran’s military capabilities have been badly weakened and warning that another “major attack” is coming tonight.
“We were in Vietnam for 19 years. We’re here for four months, so I think we’ve done a lot,” Trump told reporters when asked whether months of U.S. strikes on Iran have become the “new normal” for Americans.
Trump said U.S. forces have “knocked out” Iran’s navy, air force, missile capabilities and drone manufacturing. He argued the strikes were necessary to prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
“If we didn’t do it, they would have had a nuclear weapon. If they had a nuclear weapon, Israel would no longer be with us. The Middle Eastprobably would no longer be with us,” Trump added.
The president also said the U.S. should be reimbursed for “protecting” the Strait of Hormuz, the key shipping route at the center of escalating tensions in the region.
“I want to be reimbursed because we’re protecting a very rich portion of the world,” he said.
Trump accused Iran of dragging out negotiations for decades and said his administration has taken a tougher approach than previous presidents.
“This is what they’ve done for 47 years,” Trump said. “The difference is nobody negotiated like I do. And this should have been done by Bush and Obama and Biden and people before them.”
Posted by Sophia Compton
Just Now
CENTCOM announces new wave of attacks to ‘degrade Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping’
U.S. Central Command said the military carried out a new wave of strikes against Iran on Monday, aiming to “further degrade Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping.”
“During the five-hour mission, U.S. forces successfully struck military targets across Iran including Bushehr, Chah Bahar, Jask, Konarak, Abu Musa, and Bandar Abbas to further degrade Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping,” CENTCOM said on X.
“CENTCOM forces employed precision munitions against Iranian coastal defense systems, missile and drone sites, and maritime capabilities,” the post added.
More than 50,000 U.S. service members remain deployed across the Middle East, as the military says American forces remain “vigilant, lethal, and ready.”
Posted by Landon Mion
2 hours ago
Newt Gingrich compares Trump’s Iran strategy to Lincoln’s ‘Anaconda’ strategy
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich compared President Donald Trump’s Iran strategy to Abraham Lincoln’s Civil War-era “Anaconda” strategy, saying the U.S. is gradually tightening pressure on Tehran while trying to avoid a major ground war.
During an appearance on FOX Business’ “Kudlow,” Gingrich said Trump is working to weaken Iran without getting the U.S. “sucked into” a larger conflict.
“This may strike you as a strange analogy, but when Abraham Lincoln became president and the South seceded, the senior general outlined for him what he called an anaconda strategy, that they would gradually surround and crush the rebellion,” Gingrich said.
“Well, if you watch week after week, our allies are getting madder at Iran, not at us. The Iranians are gradually losing power and capability. We are coercing them,” he added.
Gingrich said Trump is moving “slower” than some would like, but argued the president is taking a steady approach.
“We are going to respond week by week. We’re going to grind them down,” Gingrich said.
He also said Trump is seeking to avoid a large land war in Iran, noting the country is “twice the size of Texas” with about 100 million people.
“I fully expect at some point in the not too distant future that the Iranian regime will break,” Gingrich said.
Posted by Sophia Compton
4 hours ago
Trump backed Saudi strikes on Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen: report
Houthi supporters hold up weapons as they demonstrate against airstrikes on Sanaa International Airport, in Sanaa, Yemen, on July 13, 2026. (Credit: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah)
President Donald Trump backed Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s decision to launch an unusual attack against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, two U.S. officials told Axios.
Saudi Arabia targeted Sanaa airport Monday, triggering retaliatory Houthi missile attacks and marking the most serious cross-border escalation between the two sides since 2022, the outlet reported.
Posted by Sophia Compton
4 hours ago
Waltz backs Trump’s Iran blockade, says regime is trying to ‘hold the world’s economy hostage’
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz defended President Donald Trump’s decision to reinstate a blockade against Iran, saying Tehran violated a post-conflict agreement by targeting international shipping.
Speaking exclusively with Fox News Digital after Trump announced the blockade would return at 4 p.m. ET Tuesday, Waltz said Iran is “attacking ships” and “putting mines in place.”
“We had a memorandum of understanding. We had an agreement. And the Iranian regime isn’t abiding by it,” Waltz said.
Waltz said Trump gave Iran time to mourn its former supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but Tehran responded by targeting foreign ships and trying to “hold the world’s economy hostage.”
He said 143 countries at the United Nations have condemned the attacks.
“The president, for one, isn’t going to stand by and just let them violate the agreement, attack international shipping with no consequences,” Waltz said.
Asked whether the crisis can be solved militarily, Waltz said force is “part of it,” while also pointing to the administration’s economic pressure campaign, Operation Economic Fury.
Waltz said Iranian negotiators want “access to cash” because they “know what a terrible state their economy is in.”
“Until then, [Treasury] Secretary Scott Bessent has his foot on the neck of the Iranian economy,” he said.
He added that technical nuclear negotiations are still continuing, including talks over Iran’s highly enriched uranium and enrichment program.
“This regime is obsessed, it seems, with getting its hand on a nuclear weapon. We’re not going to have it. We’re not going to allow it,” he said.
Fox News Digital’s Efrat Lachter contributed to this report.
Posted by Sophia Compton
5 hours ago
UAE says Iranian missile attacks on tankers kills crew member, injures 8 in Strait of Hormuz
The United Arab Emirates’ Ministry of Defense on Monday said two national tankers were targeted by two Iranian cruise missiles while transiting the southern shipping lane of the Strait of Hormuz within Omani territorial waters.
In a series of posts on X, the ministry said the Mombasa and Al Bahiyah tankers were hit in the attack, killing one Indian crew member aboard the Mombasa and injuring eight others, including four seriously.
The injured include six Indian nationals and two Ukrainian nationals, according to the ministry.
The attack also caused material damage to both tankers after fires broke out on board. Officials said the fires have since been brought under control.
The Ministry of Defense condemned the incident as a “blatant attack” and “a serious violation and a clear breach of international law that threatens the security and stability of the region.”
“The UAE reserves its full right to respond to this escalation and to take all necessary measures to protect its territory, its citizens and residents, in a manner that safeguards its sovereignty, security, and stability, and protects its national interests,” the ministry said.
Posted by Sophia Compton
