Iran seizes oil tankers, threatens ‘massacre’ in Strait of Hormuz, hours before US talks
Iran seized two foreign oil tankers in the Persian Gulf Thursday, accusing them of smuggling fuel 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
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
The seizures come as Iranian rhetoric toward the U.S. has grown hostile.
Ezzatollah Zarghami, a former Iranian minister and ex–state broadcaster chief, 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.”
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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 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 “diplomacy is always [Trump’s] first option.”
Britain drags feet on IRGC terror designation as Iran-linked center allegedly sells extremist merchandise
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour government is facing intense criticism over its failure to swiftly outlaw Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The development comes as a London-based Islamic center has been accused of selling merchandise supporting terrorism.
Potkin Azarmehr, a British-Iranian expert on Iran who has written extensively on Iran’s influence operations in the United Kingdom, told Fox News Digital the “Islamic Centre of England is a regime outpost.
“The head of the center is directly appointed by Iran’s supreme leader. The letter of the appointment is publicly read during the inauguration ceremony. There is not a shred of doubt that the center is used to peddle the influence of Iran’s political Islam. It is also used to recruit disgruntled British individuals who are sent to Iran for training.”
The Daily Telegraph reported in late January that U.K. authorities were investigating the Islamic Centre of England for allegedly selling Hezbollah phone cases and pro-Iranian regime key rings. Britain has sanctioned the Iran-backed Lebanese terrorist movement, Hezbollah.
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The pro-Hezbollah and pro–Islamic Republic goods were reportedly sold at a bazaar Dec. 14, 2025, according to the paper. One key ring displayed the words, “With the kindness of God, Seyyed Ali [Khamenei] is our leader.” The Islamic Republic of Iran’s supreme leader, Khamenei, would order the murder of thousands of Iranian demonstrators just weeks later.
The bazaar also allegedly had stickers of late IRGC global terrorist Qassem Soleimani, who was responsible for the murders of over 600 military personnel, according to the Trump administration. President Trump ordered a drone strike in January 2020 that killed Soleimani in Iraq.
Emma Schubart, a research fellow at Britain’s Henry Jackson Society, told Fox News Digital, “The Islamic Centre of England is not an isolated religious institution; it is part of a wider ecosystem of Iranian state-linked influence operating openly in the U.K., and at the center of that ecosystem sits the IRGC.
“The U.K. Government is dragging its feet over designating the IRGC. By delaying action, ministers are allowing hostile Iranian networks to continue operating under the cover of civil society and religious life. This is a dangerous blind spot in Britain’s national security.”
The Islamic Centre of England is a registered charity. When asked about reports of the Islamic Center’s role in selling pro-terrorist merchandise, a spokesperson for the U.K.’s Charity Commission told Fox News Digital, “As part of our ongoing statutory inquiry into (the) Islamic Centre of England, we have raised concerns with the trustees about material sold by third parties at a recent event hosted at the charity’s premises. We take very seriously any alleged links between a charity and extremism or terrorism. Such links are abhorrent and corrosive to the trust on which the charitable sector depends.”
Azarmehr, however, countered, “The U.K. Charity Commission, the regulatory body, has been ‘investigating’ the center for five years with no decisions and no updates other than appointing an interim director, but the center carries on business as usual.
“The only tangible result is that every time you make a complaint to the charity about the center, they reply by saying that because they are investigating the center, they cannot comment.
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“The first head of the center, Ayatollah Mohsen Araki, is now a member of Iran’s powerful Assembly of Experts and a key figure in propagating Iran’s soft power abroad. Araki’s family have U.K. citizenship. The previous U.K. government, in which Alicia Kearns was part of its administration, even paid the center in excess of £100,000 in COVID-19 furlough.”
Kearns, who is the shadow minister for home affairs for the opposition Conservative party, is now demanding that the Islamic Center be shuttered.
“These latest revelations of terrorist tat being sold by the Islamic Centre of England are yet more evidence of why the center must be closed and those responsible for propagating terrorist propaganda face the law,” she told the Telegraph.
“The figures being idealized are responsible for the cold-blooded murder of tens of thousands of young Iranian protesters, adding to the many regional and international crimes of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
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A spokesperson for the Islamic Centre of England told Fox News Digital, “The trustees take all concerns about the center very seriously. We are currently reviewing matters pertaining to the Dec. 14 event and, in light of this, are unable to comment further at this time.”
The EU announced last week that it has classified the IRGC a terrorist entity. The U.S., Canada and Australia have previously designated the IRGC a foreign terrorist organization. The IRGC played a key role in the massacre of Iranian demonstrators last month.
The proliferation of pro-Iran activism unfolded last weekend in London. Nigel Farage, leader of the Reform Party in the United Kingdom, posted on X, “When people in Britain are chanting support for the thuggish regime in Iran, we are in serious trouble as a nation.”
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Video footage embedded in Farage’s post and other clips on social media shows a mix of pro-Palestinian and pro-Iran regime messaging at the protests.
Multiple Fox News Digital inquiries to the British prime minister’s office went unanswered.
Zelenskyy reveals 55,000 Ukrainian death toll as peace talks continue
Ukrainian forces have lost over 55,000 people over the course of Russia’s invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced Thursday.
Zelenskyy made the announcement as U.S., Russian and Ukrainian negotiators meet in for a second day of talks Abu Dhabi this week. Zelenskyy also said a “large number of people” are missing in Ukraine.
The total is lower than an independent estimate from the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, which published a report last week which found that there have been nearly 500,000 total people killed and 1.5 million wounded or injured on both sides of the conflict. That includes an estimated 140,000 troops killed for Ukraine, compared to 325,000 for Russia.
RUSSIA FIRES NEW BALLISTIC MISSILE AT UKRAINE, KILLING AT LEAST FOUR
Russia carried out its largest ballistic missile attack of the war earlier this week, targeting Ukrainian infrastructure with more than 70 missiles and 450 attack drones, Zelenskyy said Tuesday.
Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said five people were injured and three more were rescued in Kharkiv after a drone strike caused a fire in a residential high-rise building.
The large-scale strikes came after President Donald Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to pause attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure for one week, as freezing temperatures caused widespread power and heating outages.
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Trump announced the week-long pause last Thursday, but Russia resumed its attacks several days before the period was set to expire, striking a maternity ward in Zaporizhzhia and a bus of Ukrainian miners, leaving 12 people dead.
Zelenskyy said the work of his negotiating team will be “adjusted accordingly,” as his country prepared for this week’s round of meetings in the United Arab Emirates with U.S. and Russian officials on Wednesday and Thursday.
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U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff met with his Russian counterpart Kirill Dmitriev in Florida on Saturday and said the discussions were constructive, amid ongoing hostilities.
US special envoy Witkoff announces US, Ukrainian and Russian delegations agree to prisoner swap
U.S. special presidential envoy for peace missions Steve Witkoff announced on Thursday that delegations from the U.S., Ukraine and Russia had agreed to the exchange of hundreds of prisoners.
“Today, delegations from the United States, Ukraine, and Russia agreed to exchange 314 prisoners — the first such exchange in five months,” a Thursday post on X declared.
“This outcome was achieved from peace talks that have been detailed and productive. While significant work remains, steps like this demonstrate that sustained diplomatic engagement is delivering tangible results and advancing efforts to end the war in Ukraine,” the post continued.
WITKOFF SAYS TALKS WITH RUSSIAN ENVOY WERE ‘PRODUCTIVE AND CONSTRUCTIVE’ AMID TRUMP ADMIN’S PEACE PUSH
“Discussions will continue, with additional progress anticipated in the coming weeks. We thank the United Arab Emirates for hosting these discussions, and President Donald J. Trump for his leadership in making this agreement possible,” the post noted.
President Donald Trump’s administration has been aiming to try to help broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.
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The president said in a Wednesday Truth Social post that “the War between Russia/Ukraine” was one of the topics during a phone call he had that day with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said in a Tuesday post on X that he “would urge President Trump to start a process to provide Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles which would be a game changer militarily.”
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“In the coming days and weeks, we must apply more pressure to Putin. Any negotiation that is seen as overly rewarding aggression will set in motion catastrophes all over the world. The opposite is equally true. If negotiations result in a free, strong and independent Ukraine — who had to make concessions — then the world will be far more stable,” Graham asserted.
Trump calls family of Staff Sgt Ollis to confirm Medal of Honor award
In a heartfelt moment captured on video, President Donald Trump called the family of Staff Sgt. Michael Ollis to personally confirm that the fallen U.S. Army Ranger would receive the Medal of Honor, recognizing his heroism and sacrifice after he died shielding an allied soldier in Afghanistan in 2013.
In the video, Ollis’ father, Robert, was seen taking the call from the president, with his shock written across his face.
“We’re very nervous,” Robert can be heard saying on speakerphone.
“You should be, because your son is going to get the highest honor that you can have,” Trump said. “There is no higher honor than the Congressional Medal of Honor.”
TRUMP SIGNS ‘MEDAL OF HONOR ACT’ TO RAISE PENSIONS FOR AMERICA’S MILITARY HEROES
Robert’s mouth hung open in disbelief before his expression turned to joy, breaking into a wide smile.
“He’s looking down at you right now, he’s saying, ‘Well, my mom and dad are handling this pretty well,’” Trump said of their son.
“Thank you so much, Mr. President. You have no idea the happiness we have,” Robert said.
“Thank you for facilitating this! This is so wonderful,” Ollis’ mother, Linda, said, adding that the family had advocated for years for their son to receive the honor and had reached out to countless people before it was finally approved.
Trump acknowledged the family’s efforts, noting that such actions are often how acts of heroism are ultimately brought to light.
“Otherwise, how are we going to know, right? You know, people don’t know. So I think that’s fantastic,” Trump said.
The decision follows years of advocacy from veterans’ groups, elected officials and the Staten Island community in New York City to formally recognize Ollis’ actions, which supporters have long argued met the standard for the nation’s highest military honor.
Ollis was killed in Afghanistan on Aug. 28, 2013, when he used his body to shield a Polish army officer during a suicide bombing. He was 24 years old.
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The Medal of Honor is the nation’s highest military decoration and is awarded for acts that go above and beyond the call of duty. While the standards for awarding the medal have evolved over time, it has always recognized “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life,” according to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society. The current criteria were established in 1963 during the Vietnam War.
As the call continued, Trump reflected on the extraordinary nature of Ollis’ actions and the courage required to make such a sacrifice.
“I read what your son did, and it’s — I wouldn’t do it, Linda,” Trump said, addressing Ollis’ mother.
“I’m not brave enough either,” Linda said with a soft laugh.
“Neither am I. Even though I’m a Vietnam vet, I still wouldn’t have done it,” Robert said.
Trump encouraged the family to gather together and celebrate, telling them their son would be proud.
Toward the end of the call, a woman could be heard shouting in the background, “Yes, we’re going to the White House, we love you, we’re praying for you every day. Yes, let’s do this MAGA.”
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Robert identified the woman as his daughter, motioning for her to calm down.
“Hey Robert, bring them all down,” Trump said, before ending the call.
Maduro ally Alex Saab arrested in joint US-Venezuelan operation, official says
Alex Saab, a former businessman and close ally of captured former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, was arrested in the Latin American country on Wednesday as part of a joint operation between the U.S. and Venezuela, according to a U.S. law enforcement official.
Saab, 54, who had previously been held in the U.S., is expected to be extradited to the U.S. in the coming days, the U.S. official told Reuters.
A lawyer for Saab, Luigi Giuliano, was cited in the Colombian newspaper El Espectador later on Wednesday, denying the arrest as “fake news.” Journalists aligned with Venezuela’s government also made social media posts denying that Saab had been arrested.
Giuliano told Venezuelan news site TalCual that Saab may make an appearance to refute the arrest allegations himself but was consulting with the government about what had happened.
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Venezuela’s top lawmaker, Jorge Rodríguez, did not confirm or deny the reports during a press conference, saying he had no information concerning the possible arrest.
This comes after the U.S. operation to attack Venezuela and arrest Maduro, and the Trump administration’s subsequent seizing of oil tankers from the country.
Saab’s arrest would suggest a new level of collaboration between U.S. and Venezuelan authorities under the government of interim President Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro’s former deputy, who currently controls Venezuela’s law enforcement agencies and actions.
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The U.S. official highlighted the significance of Rodriguez’s cooperation in the joint operation.
Raul Gorrin, the head of Venezuela’s Globovision TV network, was also arrested in the operation, the official said.
Saab, who was born in Colombia, was previously detained in the African nation of Cape Verde in 2020 and held in the U.S. for more than three years on bribery charges. He was eventually granted clemency in exchange for the release of Americans held in Venezuela.
Before he was granted clemency, U.S. officials had charged Saab with taking around $350 million out of Venezuela through the U.S. as part of a bribery scheme connected to Venezuela’s state-controlled exchange rate.
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Saab denied the allegations and appealed to have the charges dismissed on grounds of diplomatic immunity. An appeals court had not ruled on Saab’s appeal by the time the prisoner swap went through.
When he returned to Venezuela at the end of 2023, Maduro praised Saab’s loyalty to the country’s socialist revolution and called him a national hero.
Maduro later appointed Saab as industry minister, a position he held until last month, when he was dismissed by Rodriguez following the arrest of the country’s former leader.
US positions aircraft carriers, strike platforms across Middle East as Iran talks shift to Oman
The U.S. military has bolstered its presence across the Middle East amid escalating tensions with Iran, as nuclear talks were thrown into uncertainty Wednesday before being moved to Oman.
U.S. and Iranian officials had been expected to meet Friday in Istanbul, with several Middle Eastern countries participating as observers.
A senior U.S. official confirmed to Fox News Digital that the talks, focused on restarting negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program, will now take place in Oman.
“The agreement to move forward with this happened only after several Arab country leaders lobbied the Trump administration today – making the case the U.S. should not walk away,” the source said.
US MILITARY WARNS IRAN IT WILL NOT TOLERATE ANY ‘UNSAFE’ ACTIONS AHEAD OF LIVE-FIRE DRILLS IN STRAIT OF HORMUZ
Satellite imagery from Plant Labs shows U.S. aircraft, naval vessels and logistical platforms positioned throughout the region at the end of January.
“The military buildup is consistent with a force preparing for a variety of potential strike options,” Philip Sheers, a research associate with the Defense Program at the Center for a New American Security, told Fox News Digital.
Sheers cautioned that visible movements alone do not indicate a strike is imminent, saying “positioning of platforms is not the only precondition to preparedness for a strike.”
“Additional maintenance equipment, munitions and intelligence, among other elements, may still be needed before a desired strike can be executed,” he said, adding that “operational details will be classified and are difficult to discern based on aircraft and ship movements alone.”
U.S. naval assets in the region include the aircraft carrier strike group centered on the USS Abraham Lincoln, operating in the Arabian Sea, as well as destroyers deployed throughout the eastern Mediterranean and Red Sea region.
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The images of Duqm Airport in Oman appear to show a U.S. V-22 Osprey aircraft, which Sheers, who viewed the images, said could support “search-and-rescue missions to recover personnel after a mission.”
Images from Muwaffaq Salti Airbase in Azraq, Jordan, appear to show C-130 aircraft, which Sheers said could be used for “search and rescue at sea or for other logistics operations.”
“It’s clear that there are multirole combat aircraft stationed here, which would support ground strikes and defensive counterair operations,” Sheers added while stating that helicopters were also visible, though their type, he said, could not be determined from the available imagery.
Sheers also cited the presence of Iran’s Shahid Bagheri drone carrier, saying its potential role could be to “harass, fatigue or distract U.S. surface ships in the area” and force U.S. forces to expend time and munitions defending themselves.
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Wednesday also saw Secretary of State Marco Rubio say the U.S. would only engage in meaningful talks if they addressed Iran’s ballistic missile program, support for militant groups across the Middle East and its treatment of its own people, in addition to its nuclear activities.
“If the Iranians want to meet, we’re ready. They’ve expressed an interest in meeting and talking. If they changed their mind, we’re fine with that, too. We prefer to meet and talk,” Rubio told reporters at the inaugural Critical Minerals Ministerial meeting at the State Department.
As previously reported by Fox News Digital, U.S. Central Command warned Iran against what it called “escalatory behavior” in international waters, vowing the United States would protect its personnel and assets.
On Tuesday, U.S. forces shot down an Iranian drone that approached the Abraham Lincoln in international waters, according to U.S. Central Command, underscoring rising tensions.
“What is clear is the United States is moving a variety of intelligence, logistics, search and rescue, strike and air defense platforms into the region,” Sheers added.
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“Those are clear signals to Iran of increasing U.S. strike capability, but the potential timing and targets of a possible strike are not clear and may not become clear,” he said.
Trump says Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei should be ‘very worried’ amid tensions
President Donald Trump said Iran’s supreme leader should be “very worried” at the moment as tensions between the U.S. and the Islamic Republic continue to escalate.
“NBC Nightly News” anchor Tom Llamas spoke with Trump regarding concerns over the president’s credibility as he threatens Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the Iranian regime over its killing of thousands of protesters.
“I would say he should be very worried, yeah. He should be. As you know, they’re negotiating with us,” Trump said, when asked if Iran’s leader should be concerned.
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“I know they are, but the protesters have said, where are the Americans? We promised them we would have their back. Do we still have their back?” Llamas asked.
“We’ve had their back. Look, that country’s a mess right now because of us. We went in, we wiped out their nuclear,” Trump responded.
He added, “If we didn’t take out that nuclear, we wouldn’t have peace in the Middle East, because the Arab countries could have never done that. They were very, very afraid of Iran. They’re not afraid of Iran anymore.”
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Trump elaborated on the U.S. position for Iran to end its nuclear enrichment program and threatened to send military strikes “right back” at the country if it chose to ignore warnings.
“They tried to go back to the site. They weren’t even able to get near it. It was total obliteration, but they were thinking about starting a new site in a different part of the country. We found out about it. You do that, we’re going to do things to you,” Trump said.
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The rest of Trump’s interview will air over the next few days, with a separate segment of the interview expected to air before the Super Bowl on Sunday.
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