Trump says ‘anything could happen’ in US-Iran war ahead of meeting with Gulf leaders

Retired Gen. Joseph Votel, a former commander of U.S. Central Command, said Friday that new activity at Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain could indicate Tehran is preparing the deeply buried site for future nuclear work.

“Well, this is this is further evidence here that that Iran is trying to, if not, you know, rebuild the program right now, at least prepare the facilities so they can continue to pursue this approach well into the future,” Votel said on “America Reports.”

Votel noted that Pickaxe Mountain, near Iran’s Natanz nuclear complex, provides Tehran the ability to build facilities deeper underground. New satellite imagery shows Iran has added soil over tunnel entrances at the site, increasing protection against potential airstrikes.

President Donald Trump warned Iran last week over activity at the site, saying the U.S. could “hit them very hard” if necessary.

Votel said U.S. intelligence and military officials are likely closely monitoring the activity as the war continues.

“Yeah, that’s right, and it’s not just the president, but of course the intelligence community and the military as well, and our extraordinary intelligence community,” he said. “I’m sure has been focused on this and making sure we’re keeping a very, very sharp eye on this.”

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., called Friday for an end to the U.S.-Iran war, criticizing President Donald Trump over rising gas prices and contrasting them with pledges Trump made as a presidential candidate.

Sanders highlighted Trump’s campaign promises to bring gasoline below $2 a gallon and avoid starting new wars.

“President Trump this week: $4.44 a gallon gas ‘is a very inexpensive price’ to pay for the Iran War he started,” Sanders wrote on X.

“Enough. End the war NOW!” he added.

Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., urged President Donald Trump on Friday to make China’s reported support for Iran a centerpiece of his talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping next week, according to a letter obtained by Fox News.

Slotkin pointed to reports that Chinese companies have provided Iran with satellite imagery and supplied components supporting Tehran’s drone and missile programs.

“For months, we have known that Chinese companies are helping the Iranian military target and attempt to kill U.S. troops,” Slotkin wrote.

“Given all of this, I urge you to make this a centerpiece of your talks with President Xi next week,” she added, calling on Trump to make clear that the reported support “must stop immediately.”

President Donald Trump said Iran is seeking a deal with the U.S. as he weighs whether to take further military action against Tehran, according to NewsNation.

In an exclusive phone interview with NewsNation’s Robert Sherman, Trump was asked about his recent comments that he was considering whether to “annihilate” Iran.

“We’ll see what happens,”Trump told NewsNation.

Asked what he wants to see from Iran before making that decision, Trump said Tehran is seeking an agreement because it is “losing in every way” financially and militarily. “If the deal’s not a correct deal, then I wouldn’t even think about it,” he said. “But right now, they want to make a deal because they’re losing in every way.”

Trump’s comments come as the U.S.-Iran war enters its seventh month and the president weighs whether to launch another significant attack against Iran.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf taunted the U.S. military Friday over aircraft losses during the war, arguing that American fighter jets are already being “hunted down.”

“The era when your F-35s and F-15s get hunted down and you have to report them damaged has already begun. What was once pure nightmare fuel is now the daily reality. Live with it,” Ghalibaf wrote on X.

Ghalibaf shared a graphic purporting to detail U.S. aircraft damaged or destroyed during Operation Epic Fury, including fighter jets, refueling aircraft, helicopters and drones.

He also shared a post highlighting recent remarks from Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine about emerging threats facing U.S. forces.

“We have to assume from now on that our formations will be hunted by autonomous systems, jammed across the spectrum and tracked in real time,” Caine said.

Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company told at least two oil refining customers in Europe that they will not be given any crude next month following an attack on its East-West pipeline, according to a report from Bloomberg. 

European customers usually receive Saudi Arabian crude every month under contract agreements and this decision applies to all European buyers, Bloomberg reported, citing people informed of the matter. 

Saudi Arabia was forced to temporarily close its East-West oil pipeline last week following a drone attack launched from Iraq, which President Donald Trump said he believes Iran was behind. 

The pipeline runs from the Persian Gulf to the Red Sea. 

U.S. Central Command said Friday that 105 commercial ships have been directed by American forces during the blockade on Iranian ports. 

CENTCOM released a new video showing a military helicopter and a fighter jet taking off from the flight deck of the USS Boxer warship stationed in the Middle East. 

“Boxer and its embarked Marine Expeditionary Unit continue to enforce the U.S. blockade against Iran,” CENTCOM said. 

European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas said Friday that attacks from Iran-backed Houthis against Saudi Arabia are “unacceptable” and are damaging the global economy. 

Kallas said in a post on X that she spoke to Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister “about diplomatic efforts to end the fighting in Yemen and restore freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.” 

“Maritime passage must be unimpeded and toll-free. Europe is helping protect shipping in the Red Sea from Houthi attacks,” she added. 

Hussain Abdul-Hussain, a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital on Thursday that Saudi Arabia is currently facing “the biggest threat” ever to its production of oil as the Houthis are launching cross-border attacks and seizing territory near the Red Sea’s Bab el-Mandeb Strait. 

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre (UKMTO) said in a report released Friday that commercial ships face “substantial” risks if they travel through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait along the coast of Yemen, where Iran-backed Houthi rebels have been seizing territory. 

The U.K. maritime agency also issued a “substantial” threat assessment for the connecting Gulf of Aden, while in the risk in the Strait of Hormuz remains “severe.” 

“Since the Houthi announced a maritime blockade on Saudi shipping 6 fatalities have been reported to UKMTO,” it also said. “The recent reported capture of Mokha by Houthi forces reflects increased Houthi control along sections of the Red Sea coastline.” 

The United Nations said Friday that clashes between Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces and Iran-backed Houthi forces have displaced more than 112,000 people in Yemen in just two weeks.

“The rapidly escalating hostilities along Yemen’s western coast have also forced more than 3,000 people to embark on dangerous boat journeys across the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to safety in Djibouti, where host communities risk being overwhelmed,” it added. 

The Houthis have been launching cross-border attacks against Saudi Arabia and seizing territory near the Red Sea’s Bab el-Mandeb Strait in recent weeks. 

Three sources told Reuters in July that Iran’s leadership had discussed using the Houthis to shut the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and recently conveyed the request to the group. A source close to the Houthis said at the time that missiles and drones had been deployed near the waterway and that the group was awaiting an order to begin attacking shipping. 

Fox News Digital’s Efrat Lachter contributed to this post. 

The Iranian government organized a massive rally in its capital of Tehran on Friday in an attempt to stress national unity during the war against the U.S. 

Estimates varied of the number of people volunteering to receive limited military training and defend the country in an effort described as “Janfaday-e Iran,” or the “ones who sacrifice their lives for Iran,” according to The Associated Press. 

They marched through downtown Tehran in combat uniform, carrying flags, as onlookers cheered. The volunteers would be an additional layer of security to the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and the Basij militia, which has played a key role in quashing anti-government protests. 

Iranian state media claimed 300,000 people took to the streets. 

The new head of the Basij, Hossein Taeb, declared in a speech as the rally began that the volunteers will be ready for “full-fledged defense” and similar rallies will take place in other cities soon. 

The new trainees will make a “nightmare” for Iran’s enemies, Taeb added, as Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, military commanders and other senior officials watched the march. 

Some participants trampled flags of the U.S. and Israel, while others chanted “Death to America” and “Death to Israel,” the AP reported. 

The Associated Press contributed to this post. 

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre (UKMTO) said in a report Friday that commercial shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz remains heavily reduced during Operation Epic Fury, as gas prices are rising in the U.S. 

“U.S. enforcement activity against Iranian-linked shipping has increased over the past seven days, with CENTCOM announcing multiple vessel disablement actions in the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman,” the UKMTO said. 

“Traffic remains approximately 90% below pre-conflict levels, however [there] has been a steady flow of movement since the 24-26 Jun peak,” it also said. “Tankers remain the predominant vessel type transiting the Strait. The southern Omani route remains the highest-risk corridor, accounting for 22 of 35 projectile strike incidents reported by UKMTO since 6 Jul 26.” 

AAA reported Friday that the national average price for a gallon of gas climbed by around three cents, to $4.47 a gallon. 

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said Friday that his country will not deploy military assets to the Middle East in a way “that would involve or enter war,” a report said.

“There won’t be deployment that would involve or enter war. I can tell you that very clearly,” ​Lee said, according to Reuters. “We won’t deploy military assets in any form to that end.”

He reportedly added that ⁠it “is also clear that we must do the minimum as other countries do to protect our commercial shipping and crude shipments, and also the safety of ​our people.”

The remarks come after President Donald Trump said in mid-August that he personally reached out to South Korea’s president to request support for U.S. operations against Iran, but that Lee had declined.

South Korea’s presidential office then said earlier this month that it was reviewing options, including military measures, to support freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reported.

Fox News Digital’s Emma Bussey contributed to this post.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre (UKMTO) said Friday that a tanker was hit as it traveled out of the Strait of Hormuz. 

The UKMTO said the targeting of the ship by an “unknown projectile” happened on Wednesday, and although the crew has been reported safe, the damage assessment and environmental impact remains unclear. 

Iranian state media claimed Tehran struck a Togo-flagged oil tanker, the Trend, for what it called an “illegal attempt” to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, according to The Associated Press. 

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ navy warned that unauthorized passage through the strait would result in the “destruction” of offending vessels, state media reportedly added. 

It is not clear if the UKMTO report is describing the attack that Iran claimed. 

The Associated Press contributed to this post.

Iran is under mounting military and economic pressure that could force the regime to escalate its conflict with the U.S. or eventually implode, regional experts said Thursday.

“Both scenarios are possible at the same time,” Middle East Institute adjunct fellow Nazee Moini said on “The Story.”

“The Islamic regime is under extreme pressure for all the good reasons, militarily, economically,” the expert added before stating that everything Washington has done so far has brought Iran one step closer to a state of affairs where they either have to “gamble for restriction, go all out militarily and try to raise the cost of U.S. or eventually implode.”

“Both scenarios are possible at the same time,” Moini added.

Her remarks came as President Donald Trump said Thursday that he hoped the war with Iran was nearing its end, while weighing a “big decision” over whether to escalate U.S. military action to “annihilate” the Iranian regime or pursue a path to end the conflict.

Yesterday’s Fox News Digital live blog offers additional coverage of the conflict with Iran.

Washington approved the potential foreign military sale of 48 F-35 Lightning II aircraft and related equipment to Saudi Arabia, valued at about $24.3 billion, the State Department announced Thursday. 

According to a statement, the package includes 48 F-35 takeoff-and-landing jets, 49 Pratt & Whitney engines, advanced communications and cryptographic hardware, electronic warfare support, training simulators, and long-term technical and logistical services. 

The agreement is intended to advance U.S. foreign policy and national security goals by strengthening a non-NATO ally in the Gulf region and enhancing Saudi Arabia’s air-to-air and air-to-ground self-defense capabilities while reinforcing homeland defense and NATO forces. 

Lockheed Martin and Pratt & Whitney will serve as the primary contractors for the deal, the State Department said. 

“The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the military balance in the region,” the statement said, adding that there will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of the proposed sale. 

President Donald Trump told Axios Thursday that he will soon be making a “big decision” on how the Iran war progresses.

“I have a big decision coming up. Do I want to go in and annihilate them [the Iranian regime] or do I not? It’s a big decision. Anything could happen with me,” he told the outlet.

Trump has made similar statements throughout the war, but his comments come before a Tuesday meeting with leaders from six Gulf countries on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York City.

The president told Axios that his approach to the conflict going forward will depend on what the allied heads of state tell him at that meeting.

“I want to find out where they are and how they are doing. We have been very protective of them,” he said.

Trump will meet at U.N. headquarters in Manhattan with leaders from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman.