US launches 'defensive' strikes on Iranian island as Tehran talks hang in balance

President Donald Trump described the Iran conflict as a "very soft war" Monday, warning that American forces could strike further Iranian targets "in one hour" as he defended military action against the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism.

"It was the road to a nuclear weapon for Iran. And Iran is the number one state sponsor of terror anywhere in the world," the president said on "Hannity."

"And for we're talking about for the last 50 years, what they did, they've killed so many of our soldiers, so many people," he added before stating that they've "done this for years, and it was time for us to stop them."

Trump also invoked slain Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani as he warned against allowing Tehran to get a nuclear weapon.

"We cannot let Iran, an evil nation that killed many of our people. Soleimani is an example, no longer with us, but killed many of our people. We cannot let them have a nuclear weapon," he added.

Trump pointed to Operation Midnight Hammer, which targeted Iranian nuclear facilities in 2025, and suggested more strikes could be carried out quickly.

"We bombed out with Midnight Hammer. We bombed out all of their potential nuclear power.

"Now we might have to go after pickaxe, but that's not a big deal," he said of the nuclear site.

"We can do it. And literally we can do that in one hour."

"We go months and months. We talk. they're in not a good negotiating position," he said of the ongoing negociations with the Iranians.

"This isn't a war. This is a very soft war. We did have a big hit on them, and we hit them very hard," Trump added.

A senior Iranian official warned employees at three firms accused of working with Israel's army to leave their jobs or potentially face consequences, Iran International reported Monday.

Mohammad-Amin Aghamiri, secretary of Iran's Supreme Council of Cyberspace, named Axon, Unigen and Migos in an interview with state television and accused them of supplying artificial intelligence technology to Israel's defense and aerospace industries.

“We know who is engaged in what activities,” Aghamiri said. “We say explicitly that the hands of these people are stained with the blood of the people.”

“I think those who work at these companies should decide on their future as soon as possible, leave and not continue their cooperation,” he said.

Asked what would happen if employees ignored his warning, Aghamiri appeared to imitate President Donald Trump. “We will see what happens,” he said.

Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman said Monday he would support opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot for prime minister, uniting Israel’s Jewish-led opposition parties behind a single candidate, acccording to The Times of Israel.

Liberman ruled out joining a minority government backed by Arab lawmakers, one of the few possible paths to removing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“I was also clear on the topic of a minority government: It won’t happen,” he said.

The opposition holds 67 seats in the 120-member Knesset but remains divided between 48 lawmakers from Jewish-led parties and 19 Arab lawmakers.

Liberman also criticized Eisenkot’s campaign as “egotistical,” saying the bloc’s 48 seats fell well short of expectations.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe has advised President Donald Trump to maintain a “no war, no deal” approach toward Iran to allow the administration’s economic pressure campaign to continue, Axios reported Monday.

Citing a source, the outlet said that Ratcliffe told Trump prolonged economic hardship could force Iran to make concessions or generate enough domestic instability to spark a popular revolt. 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pushing for further strikes on Iran after Tuesday’s midterm elections, The Associated Press reported Monday.

Citing officials, the outlet said a return to full-scale war with Iran could help Netanyahu form an emergency government after he and his far-right allies lost their parliamentary majority in last week’s elections.

The officials also said diplomatic efforts made progress Monday, with Qatari mediators holding two rounds of talks with Iranian officials last week and more talks planned for this week.

One Israeli official also said Netanyahu was working with senior Trump administration officials to persuade the president to launch a quick but extensive air campaign but that Trump did not appear to have made a decision.

Netanyahu also pushed for the new strikes during a call with Trump over the weekend, the outlet said.

Saudi Arabia’s defense minister spoke with War Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday about strengthening military ties and easing regional tensions as the Houthis continued attacks targeting the region.

“In a call with [@SecWar], we reviewed the strategic defense cooperation between our two countries,” bin Salman said on X.

“We also discussed regional and global developments, including efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region and the continued Houthi terrorist attacks against the Kingdom,” he added.

The call came as the Yemeni Armed Forces said its fighters had thwarted Houthi militia attacks on the Al-Aqrud front.

“In a new war crime, the militia’s ballistic missiles targeted civilian villages in Al-Aqrud and Abdan, leaving 60 civilian martyrs and wounded, including children,” the military said of the Houthis.

The Saudi-led coalition also said Monday that it had shot down two drones in the Riyadh area.

U.S. allies in the Gulf are preparing for potential American strikes on Iran as early as this week amid growing concerns that Tehran could retaliate by targeting civilian and economic infrastructure.

Diplomatic efforts to de-escalate regional tensions remain stalled as Iran threatens an unrestrained retaliation, The Wall Street Journal reported.

In response to the heightened risk, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have conducted security drills, including emergency exercises at major airports, the outlet said.

In Abu Dhabi, attendees at an international energy conference cut their visits short following government advisories.

Meanwhile, schools in the Saudi capital of Riyadh shifted to remote instruction this week following threats and cross-border attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

Mediators said that several Arab nations have privately warned Tehran that any strikes against their domestic infrastructure could trigger individual or collective military retaliation.

An Iranian official issued a warning Monday that the nation's economy is spiraling out of control under mounting wartime pressure, Iran International reported.

Mohsen Zanganeh, chairman of parliament’s Special Committee for Supporting Production, warned that skyrocketing production costs are suffocating Iran’s manufacturing base.

Producer prices, he said, have risen faster than consumer prices over the past year — exposing deep fractures in Tehran’s industrial core.

“Some decisions made by executive agencies, particularly the Central Bank, are inconsistent with the goal of supporting production,” Zanganeh said, also pointing at the regime.

Vice President JD Vance expressed optimism Monday about reaching a deal with Iran but warned that Tehran remains unpredictable and with President Donald Trump retaining “kinetic” options.

“We've had a number of good conversations with the Iranians,” Vance said at Joint Base Andrews, adding that he had also spoken with President Donald Trump about the negotiations.

“The president and I both feel pretty good about the prospects for potentially coming to a negotiated settlement,” he said.

“We're going to keep on working at it. You never know, of course, the Iranians are always a little unpredictable, and as the president always says, he retains kinetic options. He retains non-kinetic options.

“But we've certainly made some progress. We'll see if we can make some more.”

“We haven't set deadlines,” he said of the negotiations with Tehran.

“We've said, here's what we want. And what we want is having destroyed their nuclear program.

“We want to make sure they don't rebuild it or try to rebuild it. That's what matters most to the United States.

“I think the thing I've picked up is they care a lot, obviously, about their sovereignty.

“They care a lot about economically rebuilding.

“We do think that there is a pathway there, but it really does require a firm commitment and a verifiable commitment that they don't rebuild that nuclear program,” he added.

Vance's remarks came after he sent a letter to Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, last week.

A ship was struck by a projectile off the Oman coastline on Monday, leaving a hole in its side, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said on X.

“The Master reports the vessel has been struck by an unknown projectile which has caused a hole on the starboard side,” the maritime authority said.

“Vessel and crew safe, no environmental impact reported.”

“Vessels are advised to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity to UKMTO, whilst authorities investigate,” the maritime authority added.

President Donald Trump said Monday that oil prices plunged $10 in what he called the largest single-day drop in history, predicting further declines as he touted military victory over Iran adding that Tehran wants to make a deal.

“And oil today is down $10, which is the biggest drop in oil in history,” Trump said during his final midterm election campaign speech near the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington.

“There has never been any single day where oil has gone down that much, down $10," he added.

“And it's going to go down a lot further because we're winning with Iran, easily winning.

“Their navy is gone. Their air force is gone, falling all over the runways of Iran and little pieces, the anti-aircraft missile capacity is way down and their missile building capacity is way down,” the president said.

Trump also claimed Iran was facing severe economic pressure, including soaring inflation.

“They have no money and they have about the only thing they have is the highest inflation in the last 15 years for any country, over 300% inflation.

“And they want to make a deal and that could happen,” he added.

President Donald Trump said Monday that Iran knows it will never be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon, claiming Tehran recently said that it would not develop one.

“And now we're in first place, and we have no nuclear weapons for Iran,” the president said at a final midterm rally in Washington, D.C.

“We're not going to allow Iran ever to have a nuclear weapon.

“And they understand that. They've understood that and they've said it even recently, ‘we will not have a nuclear weapon,’” Trump said.

Iran is weighing whether to change the country's nuclear doctrine in the event of another war with the United States while insisting its nuclear program is peaceful and that it is committed to its international obligations, state media reported Monday.

"Although Iran has made every endeavour to demonstrate the peaceful nature of its nuclear program, the other side is looking for excuses," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baqaei said at a press conference, according to Iran's Fars News Agency.

"This issue is real, but at the decision-making level, we are still a member of the NPT and remain committed to our obligations," he said.

His remarks followed comments from Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei, who said Oct. 31 that Iran had not yet decided whether to change its nuclear doctrine.

“No new decision has been made yet,” he said as an internal debate continued.

“Of course, the discussion is now whether, if another war breaks out, we want to maintain the same doctrine as before,” Rezaei said.

The remarks come as President Donald Trump said Monday on the "Pod Force One" podcast with Miranda Devine that Iran wants a deal, but stressed that the U.S. would not allow Tehran to obtain nuclear weapons. 

Political strategist Colin Reed joins 'Fox & Friends First' to analyze how Abdul El-Sayed's anti-Israel comments are creating dividing lines among local Democrats as Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., throws her support behind his GOP opponent Mike Rogers.

The rare move has shaken up a race where El-Sayed holds a small lead in the polls with just one day before Election Day.

Stevens, who was considered the more moderate establishment candidate in her primary against El-Sayed earlier this year, said she remains "a very proud Democrat" who loves Michigan.

She insisted, however, in the video message posted to social media over the weekend that she could not support El-Sayed, citing his backing from radical left-wing political streamer Hasan Piker.

"Hey Michigan, as you may have seen, our Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, Abdul said that I was no longer welcome in his campaign and that I should stay away and he's right. And that's why I'm endorsing Mike Rogers for the United States Senate today," Stevens said in a video posted on X.

Fox News senior strategic analyst Gen. Jack Keane discusses President Trump’s warning that military action against Iran remains on the table and assesses Tehran’s threats, ongoing negotiations and U.S. military posture in the region.

Trump is weighing whether the U.S. should launch further action against Iran after the midterm elections, an option reportedly heavily favored by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who spoke with Trump on Saturday night.

A Republican member on the House Armed Services Committee told Fox News Digital ahead of the midterm elections that the Trump administration has a key decision to make on the future of the U.S.-Iran war as "continuing to do just enough not to lose, but not enough to win, is not OK."

Rep. Pat Harrigan, R-N.C., made the comments as Vice President JD Vance declared during a Fox News town hall that he promises "Donald Trump is not going to let Iran become a forever war." Official and military sources also told Fox News this week that movements are being made in the Middle East to give the president options if he decides to resume strikes against Iran.

"I share my constituents and many Americans' perspective that I'm very, very frustrated that this war is not over. The way that ultimately this administration went about conducting the war, it needed to execute it and wrap it up in a very short period of time, and we are not there yet," said Harrigan, who is running for re-election in North Carolina's 10th Congressional District.

"That being said, Iran can't have a nuclear weapon. And so at the end of the day, I do believe that this was a war that was inevitable at some point, but the party that's in power and the administration that decided to pull the trigger on it is responsible for the outcome, and they're responsible for the outcome in a very short period of time. Otherwise, things get really, really difficult," Harrigan continued. "And I think we've been seeing that, both from a political perspective but also from a policy perspective."

"And so while the administration needs to wrap this up, we are not in a forever war, but we need to make sure that we're not... we keep the mission the same. We accomplish the mission. And we do what it takes to either win or come home," Harrigan added. "And that binary decision has to get made by this administration."

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Greg Norman.

This is an excerpt from an opinion article by E.J. Antoni, Ph.D., Chief Economist and the Richard F. Aster fellow at the Heritage Foundation.

American families aren’t imagining it: we’ve had affordability problems since at least 2022. The situation was improving markedly throughout last year, right up until this February, but overseas conflicts reversed some of that progress. Once the wars with Iran and in Ukraine conclude, affordability will start to improve again.

The cost-of-living crisis started during the Biden administration when prices rose so much faster than earnings that people’s paychecks shrunk in terms of their purchasing power. Although the average American’s weekly paycheck grew roughly 17% during President Joe Biden’s term, it bought about 4% less.

For many families, that meant canceling vacation plans or being unable to buy a newer vehicle. For others, it meant having to put some necessities — like rent, prescriptions and food — on credit cards. Even when inflation came down, families were still facing high costs since inflation is the rate of price increases, not the prices themselves.

To add insult to injury, 40-year-high inflation prompted the fastest rise in interest rates in just as long. Not only did prices rise rapidly, but so did borrowing costs. That was a deadly one-two punch for homeownership affordability as higher home prices and mortgage interest rates combined to double the monthly payment on a median-priced home in just four years.

But affordability was improving after January 2025. Real (inflation-adjusted) weekly paychecks rose roughly 2% on average from January 2025 through February of this year. While not a windfall, it was still good progress and reversed half the cumulative losses from the Biden years as income growth outpaced inflation.

Tax and regulatory reform, along with sound energy policy, were spurring economic activity and wage growth while keeping inflation down. Then the Iran war broke out. Global energy markets specifically and supply chains broadly were severely disrupted, causing costs to skyrocket.

Oil prices quickly rose from $60 or $70 per barrel, depending on the market, to $100 or $120. Prices at the pump soon followed, but the energy shock is spilling over to more sectors of the economy with each passing day.

Fox News' Madeleine Rivera reported on the latest threats from Iran's ayatollah directed at the U.S. this week as Iranian negotiators sat for yet another round of peace talks in Doha, Qatar.

Iranian Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei issued fresh threats against the U.S., however.