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Iran seizes oil tankers, threatens ‘massacre’ in Strait of Hormuz hours before US talks
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Iran seized two foreign oil tankers in the Persian Gulf on Thursday, accusing them of fuel smuggling and detaining 15 foreign crew members, ahead of high-stakes U.S.–Iran talks Friday in Oman.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) navy said it intercepted the two ships near Farsi Island, claiming they were carrying about 1 million liters of smuggled fuel, Reuters reported.
The crews — made up of 15 foreign nationals — were taken into custody and referred to Iran’s judicial authorities, according to Iranian state media.
US POSITIONS AIRCRAFT CARRIERS, STRIKE PLATFORMS ACROSS MIDDLE EAST AS IRAN TALKS SHIFT TO OMAN
Iran seized two oil tankers Thursday while former Iranian minister Ezzatollah Zarghami threatened to make the Strait of Hormuz a «massacre and hell» for U.S. forces. (Giuseppe Cacace/AFP via Getty Images)
The IRGC alleged the vessels were part of an organized fuel-smuggling network that had been operating in the region for several months.
Iranian officials said the ships were identified through intelligence monitoring and seized during coordinated naval operations in the Persian Gulf, a vital artery for global energy markets.
According to The Jerusalem Post, Iranian authorities framed the operation as a significant blow to illegal fuel trafficking, though they did not immediately disclose the vessels’ nationalities or destinations.
US MILITARY WARNS IRAN IT WILL NOT TOLERATE ANY ‘UNSAFE’ ACTIONS AHEAD OF LIVE-FIRE DRILLS IN STRAIT OF HORMUZ
Iran seized two foreign oil tankers in the Persian Gulf on Thursday, allegedly carrying 1 million liters of smuggled fuel. (Giuseppe Cacace/AFP via Getty Images)
The seizures come as Iranian rhetoric toward the U.S. has grown hostile.
Former Iranian minister and ex–state broadcaster chief Ezzatollah Zarghami issued a warning, threatening violence in the Strait of Hormuz, through which around one-fifth of the world’s oil and petroleum product consumption passes.
«I am sure that the Strait of Hormuz will be the place of massacre and hell for the U.S.,» Zarghami said Thursday.
«Iran will show that the Strait of Hormuz has historically belonged to Iran. The only thing the Americans can think of is playing with their vessels and moving them from one place to another,» he added.
IRANIAN MEDIA CLAIMS DRONE SHOT DOWN BY US WAS CONDUCTING SURVEILLANCE IN A ‘ROUTINE AND LAWFUL MISSION’
Steve Witkoff, U.S. special envoy to the Middle East and Jared Kushner are scheduled to meet Iranian officials in Oman on Friday. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Zarghami later repeated the threat, calling the Strait a potential «killing field» for American forces and signaling Iran’s willingness to escalate amid mounting regional pressure.
Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are scheduled to meet Iranian officials in Oman on Friday.
The pair are traveling from Abu Dhabi after two days of talks related to Russia and Ukraine.
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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed Thursday that Friday’s talks were still on, stating that «diplomacy is always [Trump’s] first option,» she told reporters.
middle east,us navy,iran,israel,foreign affairs,world
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Dem governor under fire after illegal alien allegedly stabs woman to death at bus stop: ‘Heinous’
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EXCLUSIVE: The Department of Homeland Security is calling on Virginia’s Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger to ensure local law enforcement cooperates with federal immigration officials by handing over an illegal immigrant with a lengthy criminal record who allegedly killed a woman earlier this week at a Virginia bus stop.
Police in Fairfax County, Virginia, arrested an illegal immigrant from Sierra Leone earlier this week on charges of second-degree murder after he allegedly fatally stabbed a woman, Stephanie Minter, 41, who was found dead at a local bus stop with several wounds to the upper body.
The alleged suspect, Abdul Jalloh, 32, also has a criminal history of more than 30 arrests, according to DHS, including for rape, malicious wounding, assault, identity theft, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, assault and pick-pocketing.
The request from the Trump administration comes after the newly elected Democratic governor of Virginia signed an executive order to end cooperation between federal immigration officials and state and local law enforcement, a move several Democratic Party governors have taken recently amid President Donald Trump’s move to increase deportation operations around the country.
The DHS request asking Virginia officials to cooperate with ICE also comes after an illegal immigrant allegedly murdered someone just days after being released from jail for a separate crime in December.
Abdul Jalloh, 32, and Gov. Abigail Spanberger (Department of Homeland Security/Getty Images)
«We are calling on Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger and Virginia’s sanctuary politicians to commit to not releasing this murderer and violent career criminal from their jail without notifying ICE,» said Deputy Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis.
«This illegal alien’s murder of an innocent, beautiful American woman came less than 24 hours before Governor Spanberger’s demonization of ICE law enforcement. This heinous criminal is a perfect example of why we need cooperation from sanctuary jurisdictions and the importance of third country removals for the safety of the American people.»
Spanberger’s representatives did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Jalloh entered the United States illegally in 2012, according to DHS, and immigration officials lodged an immigration detainer against him in 2020, whereupon he was granted a final order of removal by a judge who said he could be removed to any country other than Sierra Leone.
ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT WITH PRIOR DEPORTATION SHOOTS DEPUTY IN CHEST, DIES AFTER EXCHANGE: DHS
Protesters, using whistles to alert neighborhoods to ICE activity, face off with Minneapolis police officers in Minneapolis Jan. 24, 2026. (Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images)
DHS indicated that ICE cooperation to ensure Jalloh’s deportation is evident after a case Fox News covered in December when a criminal illegal alien from El Salvador, Marvin Morales-Ortez, 23, allegedly killed a man just a day after Fairfax County jail officials let him go.
The immigrant from El Salvador had been in custody on charges of malicious wounding and brandishing a gun, but police released him after the Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, led by George Soros-backed prosecutor Steve Descano, dropped the charges.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Fairfax County Sheriff’s office to inquire about why the man had not been handed over to ICE.
The sheriff’s office said, «ICE was aware of Morales-Ortez’s incarceration and elected not to seek a judicial warrant to ensure he remained in custody.
Marvin Morales-Ortez, who is living in the country illegally, was released from Fairfax County custody and then allegedly committed a murder the next day. (Fairfax County Police Department/Getty Images)
«The Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office follows all local, state and federal laws when determining whether a person is subject to release from the ADC,» the sheriff’s office told Fox News Digital at the time. «Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is automatically notified any time a person is booked into the ADC.»
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The same sheriff’s office did not get back to Fox News Digital’s media inquiry for this story on DHS urging officials to cooperate with federal officials.
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Los archivos del fallido golpe de Estado de 1981 en España reivindican la figura del rey Juan Carlos: ¿Volverá a su país?
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Trump says he plans to order federal ban on Anthropic AI after company refuses Pentagon demands
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President Donald Trump on Friday said he was ordering every federal government agency to stop using Athropic AI immediately.
«THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA WILL NEVER ALLOW A RADICAL LEFT, WOKE COMPANY TO DICTATE HOW OUR GREAT MILITARY FIGHTS AND WINS WARS! That decision belongs to YOUR COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF, and the tremendous leaders I appoint to run our Military,» Trump began in a lengthy Truth Social post Friday afternoon.
He added, «The Leftwing nut jobs at Anthropic have made a DISASTROUS MISTAKE trying to STRONG-ARM the Department of War, and force them to obey their Terms of Service instead of our Constitution. Their selfishness is putting AMERICAN LIVES at risk, our Troops in danger, and our National Security in JEOPARDY.»
The president said he would immediately direct every federal agency to stop using Anthropic technology.
Secretary of War for Public Affairs Sean Parnell speaks to the media. Earlier this week, Anthropic leadership refused demands from the Department of War to use its artificial intelligence for «all lawful purposes.» (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
«We don’t need it, we don’t want it, and will not do business with them again!» he continued.
There will be a six-month phase out period for agencies such as the Department of War, he added.
«Anthropic better get their act together, and be helpful during this phase out period, or I will use the Full Power of the Presidency to make them comply, with major civil and criminal consequences to follow,» he wrote.
He continued, «WE will decide the fate of our Country — NOT some out-of-control, Radical Left AI company run by people who have no idea what the real World is all about.»
Earlier this week, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei refused demands from the Department of War to use its artificial intelligence for «all lawful purposes,» but Amodei said no, concerned over the possibility it could be used for «mass domestic surveillance» or «fully autonomous weapons.»
TOP AI FIRM ALLEGES CHINESE LABS USED 24K FAKE ACCOUNTS TO SIPHON US TECH
President Donald Trump on Friday said he was ordering every federal government agency to stop using Anthropic AI immediately. (Kenny Holston-Pool/Getty Images)
«The Department of War has stated they will only contract with AI companies who accede to ‘any lawful use’ and remove safeguards in the cases mentioned above. They have threatened to remove us from their systems if we maintain these safeguards; they have also threatened to designate us a ‘supply chain risk’ — a label reserved for US adversaries, never before applied to an American company — and to invoke the Defense Production Act to force the safeguards’ removal,» Amodei said in a Thursday statement.
He declared that the «threats do not change our position: we cannot in good conscience accede to their request.»
Assistant to the Secretary of War for Public Affairs Sean Parnell declared in a post on X that the department does not want to engage in either of those activities but is asking to use Anthropic’s AI for all legal purposes.
«The Department of War has no interest in using AI to conduct mass surveillance of Americans (which is illegal) nor do we want to use AI to develop autonomous weapons that operate without human involvement,» Parnell said in the post. «Here’s what we’re asking: Allow the Pentagon to use Anthropic’s model for all lawful purposes.»
«This is a simple, common-sense request that will prevent Anthropic from jeopardizing critical military operations and potentially putting our warfighters at risk. We will not let ANY company dictate the terms regarding how we make operational decisions. They have until 5:01 PM ET on Friday to decide. Otherwise, we will terminate our partnership with Anthropic and deem them a supply chain risk for DOW,» he noted.
PENTAGON TAPS MUSK’S XAI TO BOOST SENSITIVE GOVERNMENT WORKFLOWS, SUPPORT MILITARY OPERATIONS
Anthropic Co-founder and CEO Dario Amodei declared this week that the «threats do not change our position: we cannot in good conscience accede to their request.» (Chance Yeh/Getty Images for HubSpot)
Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering Emil Michael accused Anthropic and Amodei of lying.
In a post on X, Michael called Amodei «a liar» who «has a God-complex.»
«He wants nothing more than to try to personally control the US Military and is ok putting our nation’s safety at risk. The @DeptofWar will ALWAYS adhere to the law but not bend to whims of any one for-profit tech company,» he asserted.
In another post he asserted, «Anthropic is lying. The @DeptofWar doesn’t do mass surveillance as that is already illegal. What we are talking about is allowing our warfighters to use AI without having to call @DarioAmodei for permission to shoot down an enemy drone swarms that would kill Americans.»
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«It is the Department’s prerogative to select contractors most aligned with their vision. But given the substantial value that Anthropic’s technology provides to our armed forces, we hope they reconsider,» Amodei said in a statement sent on Thursday to Fox News Digital. «Our strong preference is to continue to serve the Department and our warfighters — with our two requested safeguards in place. Should the Department choose to offboard Anthropic, we will work to enable a smooth transition to another provider, avoiding any disruption to ongoing military planning, operations, or other critical missions. Our models will be available on the expansive terms we have proposed for as long as required.»
«We remain ready to continue our work to support the national security of the United States,» he added.
Fox News Digital’s Alex Nitzberg contributed to this report.
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