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strikeSep 5, 2026

After hitting oil tankers, Iran targets Navy warships and U.S. retaliates with 'higher economic cost' in new escalation that could transform the war | Fortune

Summary

President Donald Trump has downplayed his war on Iran as “small potatoes,” but those potatoes are getting bigger as both sides are escalating beyond their stalemate in the Strait of Hormuz. For months, Iran’s military has failed to completely close off the narrow waterway, as U.S. forces shepherd more oil tankers through, eroding Tehran’s geopolitical leverage. Similarly, the U.S. military has failed to completely reopen the strait, as Iranian attacks on commercial vessels prevent a return to prewar traffic flows, keeping oil prices high. But with the U.S. naval blockade also strangling Iran’s economy, Tehran was widely expected to try changing the equation with a fresh cycle of attacks—and it did. Iran launched missiles at U.S. bases around the Persian Gulf earlier this week, then on Saturday it launched missiles at a Navy aircraft carrier and destroyer. That prompted the U.S. military to strike three Iranian oil tankers that were deemed to be operating in the “shadow network” that funnels money to the regime’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. “Let the message to the IRGC be clear: If you shoot at two of our ships, we will impose an even higher economic cost — taking out three of yours,” U.S. Central Command chief Adm. Brad Cooper said in a statement. “We will not hesitate to defend American forces, and if necessary, destroy Iran’s limited and exposed oil fleet.” For Hamidreza Azizi, senior Iran analyst at the International Crisis Group, the fighting appears to represent a new phase of escalation. Until now, Iran’s military had focused on tankers and commercial shipping around the Strait of Hormuz, he pointed out in a post on X. Meanwhile, its direct attacks on U.S. forces had been limited to bases around the Gulf. “Attempting to strike U.S. warships enforcing the blockade therefore crosses a different threshold,” Azizi added. “The attempt failed, but there is no reason to assume the next one will. A successful strike — especially one causing significant U.S. casualties — could rapidly transform the conflict.” Iran’s attack on U.S. warships also follows a report in the Financial Times this week that said Russia is secretly helping Iran develop supersonic cruise missiles. A ramjet propulsion system, which would enable a missile to travel at several times the speed of sound, would likely power anti-ship and land-attack cruise missiles. Such a weapon would force U.S. Navy ships and aircraft to move much farther away from Iran, breaking the chokehold on its economy. For now, the naval blockade has proved to be a potent economic weapon, and Iranian officials have admitted that conditions are dire and suggested time is running out. The Treasury Department has also vowed to inflict an “economic D-Day” on Iran with wider sanctions aimed at countries that facilitate its illicit oil trade and other financial transactions. But Azizi warned that adding economic pressure will not necessarily make Iran more cautious, especially if Tehran sees it as unsustainable. That means the U.S. attacks on Iranian oil tankers will likely spark even more escalation. “The greater the squeeze on Iran, the greater the incentive to act,” he wrote. “And the more Tehran comes to see that pressure as existential, the more likely it is to conclude that it has less to lose — and that increasingly risky actions are worth attempting.”

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  • Jason MaBy Jason Ma

    President Donald Trump has downplayed his war on Iran as “small potatoes,” but those potatoes are getting bigger as both sides are escalating beyond their stalemate in the Strait of Hormuz. For months, Iran’s military has failed to completely close off the narrow waterway, as U.S

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strikeUnverifiedUSRussiaUkraine
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U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump's son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner, are visiting Moscow and Kyiv over the weekend in an effort to end the war between Russia and Ukraine. "We have an idea for peace," Trump told reporters on Friday.

"I sent Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, two great negotiators. They've done a great job, and we sent them over to see whether or not we can get something done. And there may be a good chance that we'll do it," he said. Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy confirmed the news in a post on X.

"Today, it has been clearly established that U.S. envoys will be in Ukraine and Russia in the coming days. We have the details from the U.S. President’s team. We discussed today that Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will visit Moscow and then Kyiv on Sunday.

We are preparing for the visit," Zelenskyy wrote. TRUMP ANNOUNCES SURPRISE THREE-DAY CEASEFIRE IN RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR The pair will visit Russia first on Saturday and, according to Russian state-affiliated media outlet Tass, have already landed in Moscow.

Photos showed Kushner and Witkoff greeted by Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev shortly after landing in Moscow. Kushner and Witkoff are expected to later travel to Kyiv on Sunday, Zelenskyy confirmed. Zelenskyy also said that Ukraine will work to keep Russian airspace safe during the Americans’ visit.

CIA DIRECTOR JOHN RATCLIFFE MET WITH RUSSIAN INTELLIGENCE OFFICIALS IN VISIT TO MOSCOW, KREMLIN SAYS "Just as we did during previous diplomatic visits by the American side, we will ensure the normal functioning of Russian airspace so that the negotiators can arrive safely.

We are looking out for them, not for Russia. There will be no air strikes from our side, and Russia must do the same, ensuring there are no air strikes from its side for the time needed to hold these talks and handle the logistical matters related to this American visit," he wrote on X.

ZELENSKYY CONGRATULATES TRUMP ON TURNING 80 IN BIRTHDAY CALL, VOWS MORE UKRAINE PEACE TALKS AT G7 ON TUESDAY "Our goal is to make the visit and the talks with the U.S. side as constructive and substantive as possible. We need to look for real options for how to move this war toward an end.

We will see what proposals Steve and Jared bring and what they are told in Moscow in response," the Ukrainian president concluded. Zelenskyy, in a subsequent Saturday morning post on X, said he had already communicated with Witkoff and Kushner ahead of their planned Sunday meeting.

"I have just spoken with the U.S. President’s envoys. They have already begun working with the Russian side today. From the moment of this conversation, we are ready to observe a ceasefire in airstrikes against the cities involved in the negotiation process.

From now through the end of Saturday, as well as on Sunday and Monday, Ukraine is ready to refrain from strikes on Moscow, and we expect the Russians to do the same regarding Kyiv," he wrote. "Today, I also received reports from Defense Minister Yevhenii Khmara and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Mykhailo Drapatyi on the situation at the front, the dynamics of threats in Ukraine’s airspace, our steps, and active defensive operations.

I am grateful to every one of our warriors for effectively defending Ukraine’s positions," Zelenskyy's post continued. "On the diplomatic track, our actions must be, and will be, just as strong and effective – one hundred percent. The plan for tomorrow’s diplomatic engagements in Kyiv, involving the U.

S. team, has been approved. We are waiting for Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and are ready for a substantive conversation. Thank you to everyone who stands with Ukraine!" Zelenskyy concluded. Zelenskyy’s Friday message came the same day that a Russian drone strike targeted the Security Service of Ukraine’s headquarters in Ukraine, Zelenskyy wrote in a public message on the app Telegram.

RUSSIA LAUNCHES BALLISTIC MISSILE ATTACK ON KYIV HOURS AFTER ZELENSKYY WARNS OF MAJOR STRIKE Zelenskyy alleged the strike directly targeted the head of the Security Service's office. He also wrote that he was directing the head, Oleksandr Poklad, to prepare a retaliatory strike.

"I gave Poklad the task of adequately, noticeably and, if possible, mirroring the Russians' response to this attack, when everything is prepared. Our military will support this response. Glory to Ukraine!" he wrote. PUTIN UNLEASHES NEW FURY ON UKRAINE AS REPORT EXPOSES FEAR HANGING OVER WAR’S END At least nine people were injured in the explosion, Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko also wrote on Telegram.

The visit also comes just one day after German officials formally accused Russia of attempting an explosive drone attack on a major airport in Germany. RUSSIA’S STRIKES NEAR MOLDOVA RAISE ALARM OVER PUTIN’S PLANS FOR EUROPE’S EASTERN FLANK "The attack on the aircraft in Leipzig was concrete; it could have triggered a catastrophe had it succeeded.

The attacker was, at most, covert, but even here there is now certainty: The German government has named Russia as the mastermind. Patterns of attack, police investigations, and intelligence findings prove Russian responsibility for the drone attack," Stefan Kornelius, a spokesperson for the German federal government, wrote Friday.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP Fox News Digital contacted the White House and the foreign ministries for Russia, Ukraine and Germany for further comment.

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- Two US peace negotiators will visit Ukraine on Sunday after visiting Moscow, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday. Ukraine’s president said Kyiv would guarantee the safety of Russian airspace during the visit of Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Moscow, after which they are expected to travel on to Kyiv.

He called on Russia to also halt its air attacks on Ukraine during the negotiators’ visit. Donald Trump, the US president, said: “We have an idea for peace … I sent Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, two great negotiators.” The New York Times reported that Washington has asked both sides for a ceasefire during the envoys’ visit.

Kushner is Trump’s son-in-law and Witkoff deals in real estate. - The headquarters of Ukraine’s SBU intelligence agency took a direct hit from a Russian drone on Friday, Amy Hawkins reports from Kyiv. Zelenskyy said he had instructed the SBU to deliver an “appropriate, tangible response” to the strike, while the foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, described it as a “major escalation”.

Zelenskyy said: “The drone was aimed directly at the office of the head of the security service in that building.” At least nine people were injured in Friday’s strike, according to Kyiv’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko. - Air Tanzania said it was suspending flights from Dar es Salaam to Moscow from Friday, becoming the first airline to do so after Zelenskyy warned this week that the skies over Russia were unsafe because of Ukraine’s retaliatory drone attacks.

The airline said on Facebook that it took the step after “a routine risk assessment of the operating environment along the route”. Vladimir Putin on Thursday falsely claimed that Ukraine was threatening to attack civilian aircraft. Moscow has protested to the UN’s aviation agency after Ukraine asked it to have member countries keep their airlines out of Russian airspace.

“Ukraine does not threaten civilian aviation as such – not a single civilian aircraft,” Zelenskyy said during the week. “There will simply be drones in Russia’s skies on a scale that has to be taken into account.” - A “massive” overnight Russian attack on the Odesa region killed one person and injured at least five others, including a child, regional head Oleh Kiper said on Friday.

The attacks damaged multiple residential buildings, including two multistorey blocks. Strikes elsewhere in Ukraine killed two police officers in Dnipro, officials said, while a drone attack in Kyiv wounded three people after hitting a residential building.

- In Russia, a large-scale Ukrainian drone strike hit the Black Sea resort city of Sochi and the nearby district of Sirius, regional officials said on Friday. They said the attack sparked a blaze at an oil depot. Russian media outlets reported two oil depots were hit, with one fire in Sochi and another in Sirius.

- Finnish authorities said they were investigating how a Russian-made drone ended up on the shore in the Pellinge archipelago east of Helsinki. Finland’s border guard said it appeared to be a Geoscan 701 drone, manufactured by a Russian company. “The device model in question is used by both state and civilian operators, and it is not possible at this stage to determine its intended use or identify the country or entity operating it.

” - A World Health Organization warehouse storing humanitarian medical supplies was struck during an air attack on the Kyiv region, continuing what the WHO said was a pattern of such attacks across Ukraine. In 2026, at least 20 attacks have affected depots storing humanitarian goods including healthcare supplies, said a WHO spokesperson in Geneva.

- A vice-president in the far-right party of French presidential contender Marine Le Pen has sparked a furore by saying France would “turn off the tap” to Ukraine if National Rally (RN) came to power. Louis Aliot claimed the RN “condemned the Russian aggression” but said the war had “weakened Europe”.

One of Le Pen’s leading rivals in the elections, centre-right politician Edouard Philippe, who served as Macron’s first prime minister, retorted that “turning off the tap to Ukraine is serving Russia”. “Weakening Ukraine, as Marine Le Pen wishes, is threatening the security of Europe and France.

I will do everything to prevent it.” Le Pen herself entered the fray, claiming that her party was pushing for a “diplomatic resolution of this abominable war”. - The head of Memorial, Russia’s Nobel peace prize-winning rights group, has told AFP she fears a fresh crackdown after September’s legislative elections, with more people arrested and sent to fight in Ukraine.

Elena Zhemkova also vowed to keep up the fight for human rights in Russia, despite her group being declared illegal and herself forced into exile. “Unfortunately, I think that now everything is getting worse, but not so fast,” the 65-year-old said. “But after the elections, there will be a very sharp deterioration.

” Ukraine war briefing: Zelenskyy calls air truce as Kushner and Witkoff head for Kyiv via Moscow Direct hit on SBU headquarters in Kyiv targeted intelligence chief; airline suspends Moscow flights after Zelenskyy warning.

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