Iran | DD News

August 19, 2026 12:28 AM

Trump says no talks planned with Iran, Tehran says Strait of Hormuz still shut

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday no talks were taking place with Iran and none were scheduled, and he insisted that the Strait of Hormuz was open, contradicting an earlier Iranian assertion that the critical waterway remained shut to shipping. The receding prospects of a deal to end the nearly six-month conflict drove up oil prices again on Tuesday, while stock markets sagged and borrowing costs for major economies including the U.S. hit multi-decade highs, amid concerns about the lo...

August 15, 2026 7:33 PM

Iran defiant on strait as Trump tells Americans to accept high gas prices

Iran called on the U.S. to accept defeat while President Donald Trump blasted Tehran as "very evil" and told Americans to brace for continued high fuel prices as a result of the war. Progress toward peace talks and oil tanker traffic through the strategic Strait of Hormuz waterway remained halted, with no sign the warring parties were moving toward ending the conflict that the U.S. and Israel launched on February 28. "This strait will be opened and closed only under Iran's command, and so long...

August 17, 2026 3:10 PM

Trump’s Secret Flight: When Presidential Security Means Keeping Everyone Guessing

The most extraordinary detail about Donald Trump’s secret aircraft switch in Ankara may be the catering truck. But the real story is not the truck. It is why U.S. security officials decided that the President’s location had to be concealed, even from some of the people travelling with him. On July 8, after the NATO summit in Ankara, Trump publicly boarded the familiar blue-and-white Air Force One. Cameras filmed him climbing the stairs. Journalists followed him onto the aircraft. https://y...

August 14, 2026 12:36 AM

Iran, US make competing claims over control of Strait of Hormuz

The Strait of Hormuz is "under Iran's control and management", the recently appointed head of Iran's Basij paramilitary unit said on Thursday, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump said the United States had "total control" of the strategic waterway. Hossein Taeb said the U.S. had sought to disrupt what he described as the Islamic Republic's popularity in the region by launching another war in the Strait of Hormuz, but had once more been defeated despite claiming Iran had neither an air force...

August 14, 2026 12:32 AM

US can keep naval blockade on Iranian ports ‘indefinitely,’ Pentagon chief says

The U.S. military has enough assets to maintain a naval blockade of Iran indefinitely, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Thursday, adding ships could be rotated in and out of the region as needed. Hegseth's comments suggest he is advising U.S. President Donald Trump that the U.S. military can keep applying economic pressure on Iran for as long as needed to help so-far failed negotiations to end the conflict, begun in February. "Indefinitely the United States Navy can maintain a blockade l...

August 14, 2026 12:26 AM

After US criticism, Israel ties Lebanon withdrawal to Hezbollah disarmament

Israel won't withdraw from southern Lebanon until Hezbollah is disarmed, the defence minister said on Thursday, qualifying remarks he made a day earlier that had suggested Israeli forces would occupy the territory indefinitely and drew U.S. criticism. Israel seized a swath of south Lebanon during a war with Hezbollah earlier this year and has said it will keep forces there to shield northern Israel from attack by the Iran-backed group, which ignited the latest hostilities when it opened fire at...

August 13, 2026 9:43 AM

Trump claims US has ‘total control’ of Hormuz

US President Donald Trump has said the United States has “total control” over the Strait of Hormuz and indicated that Washington intends to retain its hold over the strategic waterway. “The U.S.A. has total control over the Strait of Hormuz. I THINK WE WILL KEEP IT!” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. The US President described the naval blockade in sweeping terms. He said Iran could do nothing to challenge it. “Our Naval Blockade is being called, by everyone, ‘A WALL OF STEEL,...

August 8, 2026 1:21 AM

Trump loses 21 straight court battles for state voter rolls as midterms near

The Trump administration's streak of courtroom defeats in its effort to obtain state voter rolls reached 21 this year when a judge ruled this week that states are not required to share the records with the federal government. With President Donald Trump's Republicans defending slim majorities in both chambers of Congress, his administration has mounted an aggressive effort to expand federal oversight of elections ahead of the November 3 midterms. Trump argues that widespread noncitizen voting ...

August 5, 2026 11:19 PM

Trump says US held ‘all-day negotiation’ with Iran on Tuesday

U.S. President Donald Trump said there was an "all-day negotiation" on Tuesday with Iran, characterizing the talks positively while also threatening to hit Iran "really hard" if a deal with Tehran was not reached. DETAILS AND QUOTES: "They had an all-day negotiation," Trump told Fox News' "@ Night with Trace Gallagher" show. "We are having very good discussions," he added. Qatar said on Tuesday mediators were making progress in efforts to end the Iran war, although Tehran has denied Trump's ...

August 5, 2026 12:43 AM

Qatar says progress made toward US-Iran talks on ending war

Qatar said on Tuesday mediators were making progress in efforts to end the U.S.-Iran war, driving oil prices lower, although Tehran has denied President Donald Trump's assertion that talks are already under way. Benchmark Brent crude fell more than 4% after the comments from Qatar, extending Monday's steep losses on hopes that an arrangement could soon be reached to restore traffic through the blockaded Strait of Hormuz. But for now, the strait remained virtually shut, with another ship coming ...