Trump admin tried to make peace with IRGC directly before signing MOU

Former Vice President Mike Pence praised the crew of the USS Abraham Lincoln on Sunday before offering thanks for what he called a “job well done” after the aircraft strike carrier’s Middle East deployment.

Pence also added comments by CENTCOM chief, Admiral Brad Cooper.

“The Lincoln Carrier Strike Group is a strong team of high-achieving Americans standing tall with immense, justified pride in everything they accomplished…History will record this deployment as one of the most operationally intense and consequential of the modern era,” Cooper had said.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) chief Adm. Brad Cooper praised the crew of the USS Abraham Lincoln on Sunday after visiting the aircraft carrier amid reports of concerns about mental health and conditions while stationed in the Middle East.

In a statement posted on X, Cooper also described his recent visit to the Lincoln as “awe-inspiring” and said he wished “every American could see the crew in action” before citing “camaraderie, teamwork and resilience.”

Cooper acknowledged that prolonged service at sea is “uniquely challenging and tough,” but said the Lincoln had the fewest mental health cases among the Navy’s 11 active aircraft carriers.

He credited the ship’s leadership, particularly senior enlisted leaders, with making mental health and crew resilience a priority.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shared an image of a Likud election campaign billboard on Sunday that featured Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem beneath the slogan, “They want Netanyahu to lose.”

Netanyahu posted a photo of the billboard on X with the message: “Don’t let them win.”

Israel is scheduled to hold its next Knesset election on Oct. 27, with Netanyahu’s ruling Likud party campaigning to remain in power

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called for killing “30 to 40” people in Gaza every night as he criticized Israel’s recent reduction in strikes on the enclave.

Speaking on a podcast with former hostage Rom Braslavski, Ben-Gvir said Israel should carry out broader targeted killings, extending beyond people who pose an immediate threat.

“There are people there who are not worthy of life,” he said. “They shouldn’t live.”

Ben-Gvir, who oversees Israel’s police and prisons but does not control the military, also renewed his call for Palestinians to leave Gaza and for Israeli settlements to be reestablished there.

“It’s no secret, I disagree with the prime minister,” he said. “I think targeted assassinations should be carried out in Gaza, taking down 30 to 40 every night. Not just those who pose an immediate threat — there are people there who are not worthy of life. They shouldn’t live. They’re not even people.”

The remarks come as the Trump administration pushes a Gaza peace plan calling for an end to military operations, Hamas disarmament and an Israeli withdrawal.

“I see all of Gaza as ours,” Ben-Gvir in the interview. “Settlements not just in Gush Katif but throughout Gaza, encouraging as much emigration as possible, sending them to their countries, and for the terrorists, no emigration, nothing, just to kill them one by one.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Israel carried out fresh airstrikes in Gaza on Sunday even as President Donald Trump’s envoys met regional mediators in Cairo to advance a new peace plan.

The Israeli military said it targeted Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists in Khan Younis and Nuseirat.

Palestinian medics said at least five people were wounded in one strike on a tent encampment, with one later dying from their injuries.

A separate strike on an apartment in Nuseirat wounded several others.

The renewed strikes come as Washington calls for an immediate halt to military operations under Trump’s Gaza roadmap, which envisions Hamas disarming and Israeli forces withdrawing from the enclave.

Reuters contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump’s envoys met Egyptian, Qatari and Turkish mediators in Cairo on Sunday in a renewed push to advance the administration’s Gaza peace plan.

Jared Kushner and Gaza envoy Nickolay Mladenov joined talks that also included Hamas officials in some sessions, according to a diplomatic source.

Kushner also met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

The envoys are expected to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday as Washington presses both sides to move forward with a plan calling for an end to military operations, Hamas disarmament and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

Reuters contributed to this report.

President Trump needs to level with Americans about the Iran war, arguing the administration set unrealistic expectations early on that the conflict would end quickly, Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., said Sunday.

“This is going to be a longer-term fight, and I think that he needed to set appropriate and honest expectations here,” Bacon told CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday.

The U.S. still holds the advantage over Iran, according to Bacon, but he urged Trump to stop publicly predicting an imminent deal and instead keep economic and military pressure on Tehran.

“The president should say less, keep the pressure on: This blockade is crippling to Iran, and we need to keep that blockade ironclad,” Bacon added.

Bacon also criticized Trump’s response to concerns about the USS Abraham Lincoln’s prolonged deployment, saying the president should acknowledge the toll that long deployments take on service members and their families.

The prolonged Iran war is stretching the U.S. carrier fleet and forcing Washington to pull critical naval power away from the Pacific at a dangerous moment, retired Navy Capt. Brent Sadler warned Sunday.

“The reality is we are operating in a world where we need 15 carrier strike groups – we only have 11,” Sadler told “The Sunday Briefing,” after the replacing the long-deployed USS Abraham Lincoln with the USS George Washington highlighted a deeper shortage of available carriers.

“We need to build more ships. That’s the simple solution – it’s the core problem – to deal with an increasingly dangerous world.

“It’s going to take time, but the world isn’t going to wait for us.”

Sadler also warned that moving the George Washington from the Pacific to support the Iran mission could send the wrong message to Beijing.

“When you take an aircraft carrier like the George Washington at the moment that the Chinese are at the peak of their most complex and aggressive military exercises in the Southern Theater Command in South China Sea, and you move it to a fight against Iran,” Sadler postulates, “it provides and sends a signal that we’re not going to be present.”

Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., blasted the Trump administration’s handling of the Iran war Sunday, arguing that problems aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln reflect a broader failure to plan for the conflict or explain how it will end.

“There is a lot, a lot of fear that this administration and the Secretary of Defense are way over their head,” Gallego told ABC’s “This Week” that he had recently seen messages and photos from a Lincoln crew member’s spouse that he said contradicted claims that problems aboard the carrier had been resolved.

He also pushed back against calls for Congress to approve another $17 billion for military operations without a clearer strategy.

“What is the end goal here?” he asked. “How are we going to get out of this quagmire? What is actually the mission?”

Gallego warned that Congress should not keep funding an open-ended conflict without answers, saying he does not want the U.S. pulled into “another 20-year war.”

Maryland Democrat Gov. Wes Moore sharply criticized President Trump on Sunday over reported conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln and the broader conduct of the Iran war.

“The response of the president of the United States pisses me off,” Moore, an Army veteran, told CNN’s “State of the Union” that service members deserve missions that are “explainable,” “understandable” and “winnable.”

“Right now, frankly, we’re not seeing any of those things taking place with this war in Iran that he started.”

The Trump administration is likely to unveil another round of sanctions on Iran this week, according to former deputy National Security Advisor Victoria Coates on Sunday.

Coates predicted the measures could take aim at Tehran’s economic ties with China.

“We’re probably going to get more sanctions on Iran, coming this week,” Coates told “Sunday Morning Futures.”

“They probably are going to be China related.”

The expected sanctions could also feed into President Donald Trump’s agenda with Chinese President Xi Jinping ahead of their planned September meeting.

The comments come as Washington looks for additional ways to squeeze Iran economically while the war and disruption in the Strait of Hormuz continue.

Iran-backed Houthi attacks are turning the Bab el-Mandeb Strait into another pressure point in the Iran war, threatening a critical shipping route linking the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden.

The threat intensified after the Houthis attacked the Egyptian-owned cargo ship Tihamah, killing crew members and, according to Yemen’s Coast Guard, striking again after rescuers arrived.

Tanker traffic through the strait has also fallen sharply since the Houthis declared a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia last month.

The waterway is not as vulnerable as the Strait of Hormuz because ships can reroute around Africa, but doing so adds time and cost.

With Hormuz already disrupted, escalating attacks near Bab el-Mandeb could put additional pressure on global energy and commercial shipping.

Read Fox News’ Efrat Lachter full report.

Monday will mark 60 days since the U.S. and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding, with little apparent progress toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz or resolving Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.

Iran continued attacks in the strait over the weekend, with a bulk carrier reporting a projectile strike Saturday after an Emirati oil vessel was targeted a day earlier.

President Donald Trump said Friday the U.S. blockade effectively controls which ships can pass through the waterway.Tensions are also rising on Israel’s northern front after Hezbollah wounded three Israeli soldiers in what Israel called a ceasefire violation, prompting new Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon.

Initial reports indicated both Hezbollah operatives and civilians were killed, while Hezbollah has threatened a response.

Fox News’ Trey Yingst contributed to this report.

The Israeli Defense Forces said it killed two senior Hezbollah commanders in southern Lebanon after an attack that Israel says seriously wounded three of its soldiers and violated the ceasefire.

Israel said strikes killed Ali Samir Al-Haj Hassan, a battalion commander in Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force, and Abu Hassan Alaa, a senior commander in the group’s “Badder Unit.”

The IDF said both men were involved in planning attacks against Israeli troops operating in the security zone.

Israel’s prime minister’s office accused Hezbollah of operating from a military compound where civilians were present.

The IDF said Hassan’s family members were harmed in one strike but were not targeted, accusing Hezbollah of using them as human shields.

Fox News’ Yonat Friling contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump is signaling a new round of economic pressure on Iran, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent promising measures as soon as next week that go beyond Washington’s already expansive sanctions campaign.

The administration’s options include:

– Hit Chinese “teapot” refiners that buy large volumes of Iranian crude.

– Sanction bigger Chinese banks that facilitate Iran-linked transactions — a step that could risk retaliation from Beijing.

– Expand the sanctions dragnet against oil shippers, currency exchanges and front companies helping Tehran evade restrictions.

– Push for a land blockade with help from Iran’s neighbors, though experts say it would be difficult to enforce.

– Use new secondary tariffs against countries doing business with Iran if Congress gives Trump additional authority.

The challenge: Many of those steps carry economic or diplomatic costs, and years of sanctions have shown Tehran can often find new routes around U.S. pressure.

Reuters contributed to this report.

The top U.S. commander overseeing the Iran war visited the USS Abraham Lincoln on Saturday as the aircraft carrier prepares to return home after an extended nine-month deployment marked by reports of deteriorating conditions aboard the ship.

CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper praised the crew after the Lincoln spent more than 200 days in a combat zone and launched more than 10,000 sorties.

“The Lincoln Carrier Strike Group is a strong team of high-achieving Americans standing tall with immense, justified pride in everything they accomplished,” Cooper said in a statement. “History will record this deployment as one of the most operationally intense and consequential of the modern era.”

The visit comes as lawmakers raise concerns about fresh food shortages, plumbing problems and sailors’ mental health after months without a port call.

The Pentagon has disputed reports that conditions aboard the carrier are unsafe.

The U.S. is moving its last aircraft carrier in the western Pacific toward the Middle East as the Iran war puts growing strain on the Navy’s fleet and crews.

The USS George Washington is leaving the Pacific and is expected to replace the USS Abraham Lincoln, whose deployment has been repeatedly extended to support operations against Iran.

The move will temporarily leave the region without a U.S. carrier as China steps up military activity around key American allies.

Analysts say the shift underscores the broader cost of the open-ended Iran conflict, which is stretching carrier deployments, raising concerns about sailor fatigue and potentially creating years of maintenance backlogs.

“The administration says that the Pacific is supposed to be the most important behind the Western Hemisphere,” said Greg Poling, director of the Southeast Asia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Instead, the U.S. is “doing the exact opposite” of its previously expressed goal of pulling out of the Middle East, he added.

No one expects China to invade Taiwan because an American aircraft carrier has left the region, but the carrier’s absence gives the Chinese another opportunity to show its strength, according to Bryan Clark, a former Navy submariner who is a defense analyst at the Hudson Institute.

“They’re using this as part of the narrative to demonstrate to the Philippines, to Japan, to Indonesia and others that the U.S. is not the big dog in the western Pacific anymore,” Clark said. “They would just prefer that countries in the region decide that China is the bigger power and the U.S. is not able to guarantee their security anymore.”

Adm. Frank Bradley, head of the U.S. Special Operations Command, has been trying to reassure regional allies of Washington’s commitment.

He was in Manila on Thursday, telling his Filipino counterparts that U.S. special operations forces are ready to step up joint exercises to strengthen the countries’ alliance. He also is expected to travel to Japan.

“We have the ability to project force, the United States, anywhere on the globe,” Bradley told The Associated Press. “And when the threat in the region of the Middle East has been attended to, we will redeploy and reorient and be able to project that force wherever else it might be required.”

“I also feel very confident in the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ ability to protect their sovereignty here and for us to remain close with them,” he said.

AP contributed to this report.

The Trump administration reportedly opened a secret backchannel to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) that is terrorizing the Strait of Hormuz after U.S. officials began questioning whether Tehran’s formal negotiators actually had the authority to end the war.

Iraqi Kurdish President Nechirvan Barzani served as the intermediary because of his unusually strong relationships in both Washington and Tehran, Axios reported Sunday.

In mid-May, then-Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard asked Barzani to contact IRGC commander Gen. Ahmad Vahidi and determine whether the Guard supported the positions being taken by Iran’s negotiating team.

Barzani ultimately spoke directly with Vahidi on May 14, Axios reported.

Vahidi said the IRGC backed the negotiators and preferred resolving the crisis diplomatically.

The White House later explored holding secret U.S.-Iran talks in Erbil, but Iranian officials reportedly raised security concerns and the meeting never happened.

President Donald Trump has hailed the war-fighting effort and questioned peace-making because of the multiple layers of leadership and command that the months of U.S. and Israeli strikes have already removed.