What we're covering
• New arrival: The aircraft carrier the USS George Washington is now in the Middle East, preparing to relieve the taxed USS Abraham Lincoln, according to the US military. The Lincoln has been at sea for an extended deployment due to the war with Iran, leading to concern among lawmakers and military families after reports of the crew’s worsening mental health.
• Oil prices rise: Global crude rose to nearly $94 a barrel today — its highest level since late July — after President Donald Trump threatened “crushing economic warfare” against Iran. Tehran dismissed Trump’s warning as a “diversion,” promising such a move “will only bring further defeat.”
• Arms threat: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned it could deploy more “destructive” weapons if fighting restarts, according to Iranian media.
Trump threatens Iran's trading partners, but who is still doing business with Tehran?
Countries that continue to do business with Tehran will face “TREMENDOUS Economic Consequences,” according to US President Donald Trump, who urged allies to “stand with the United States” to defeat Iran.
His threat could put China, India and even Germany in the firing line.
Iran exported to 147 countries in 2022, according to the most recent data from the World Bank. It imported goods from 114 countries that year.
China is by far Iran’s biggest trading partner, accounting for the bulk of Iran’s oil and non-oil exports. Iranian exports to China amounted to $22.4 billion in 2022, according to the World Bank. Imports from China stood at $15.6 billion.
Other Asian countries, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates are also significant export destinations for Iran. The country’s imports come mostly from the United Arab Emirates, China, Turkey, India and Germany, a 2024 World Bank report shows.
Last year, Germany exported goods worth €962 million ($1.1 billion) to Iran and imported goods worth €235 million ($275 million), according to the country’s statistics office. Imports increased marginally on the prior year, but both exports and imports have plummeted by around half or more since 2018, when the United States reinstated extensive sanctions on Iran.
Bilateral trade between India and Iran amounted to $1.1 billion between April and December 2025, according to India’s commerce ministry. Major Indian exports to Iran include basmati rice, tea, sugar, fresh fruits and pharmaceutical drugs.
USS George Washington arrives in Middle East to relieve USS Abraham Lincoln
The aircraft carrier the USS George Washington arrived in the Middle East on Wednesday as it prepares to relieve the troubled USS Abraham Lincoln, the US military confirmed earlier today.
“The George Washington Carrier Strike Group is operating in the Middle East during a scheduled deployment after arriving in the CENTCOM theater yesterday,” US Central Command (CENTCOM) posted on X.
The aircraft carrier will relieve the Abraham Lincoln, which has been at sea for an extended deployment due to the Iran war, sparking concerns among lawmakers and military families after reports of the crew’s worsening mental health.
A sailor went overboard off of the Abraham Lincoln earlier this month, three US officials told CNN, adding to concerns of deteriorating living conditions and mental health during the ship’s record-breaking deployment.
The George Washington carrier group headed for the Middle East after a port visit in Vietnam on August 5, a US official told CNN last week, adding that the swap had been previously planned.
The ship’s rotation to the Middle East leaves the US without an aircraft carrier in the Pacific.
The US military has released footage of the aircraft carrier USS George Washington where it will relieve the USS Abraham Lincoln, a US official said.
CNN’s Lucas Lilieholm and Kevin Liptak contributed reporting.
Yemen's military says it conducted 81 operations targeting Houthis over past day
Yemen’s Armed Forces said it carried out 81 “operations” against Houthi targets over the past 24 hours, as tit-for-tat attacks between the military and the Iran-backed militant group escalate.
The military operations targeted what the armed forces said were Houthi sites and members of the militant group, and resulted in the “neutralization of commanders and fighters and the destruction of equipment and vehicles.”
CNN is unable to independently verify the claims.
The operations were in response to repeated Houthi attacks on what the armed forces said were civilian targets, as well as a “blockade imposed on the Yemeni people” caused by the group’s targeting of maritime ports and airports.
Remember: Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis have also claimed several attacks in recent days, including against what it described as Saudi military vessels in the Red Sea, Saudi Aramco’s Jazan refinery in southwestern Saudi Arabia and other locations such as Mokha, a strategic port city in Yemen.
The violence has flared up in recent weeks after the Houthi group declared a blockade of Saudi shipping in the Red Sea.
Piles of fresh produce sit unsold in Iranian markets as rampant inflation bites
Piles of fruit and vegetables are sitting unsold in some Iranian markets as rampant inflation has made them too expensive for many people to buy.
Videos posted on social media show sellers at Tehran and Karaj wholesale markets sitting beside their fresh produce, waiting to sell goods like melons, watermelons, pears, bananas and grapes, but with no one arriving to buy it.
The war has dealt another major blow to Iran’s economy, deepening the state of economic crisis the country was already in. The price of food has more than doubled since July last year, and basic food items like eggs, rice, meat and bread have effectively become “luxury goods” for many, the state-affiliated Iranian Labour News Agency said Monday, citing the Statistical Center of Iran.
Another seller speaking at Tehran’s Central Fruit and Vegetable Market on Tuesday morning described a steep drop in people coming to the market due to skyrocketing prices. In an Instagram video, he pans across a near-empty parking lot, comparing it to last year when vehicles were packed “lip to lip,” and vendors lined both sides of the road.
Other markets are affected by the dire economic situation too. In another video, a vendor who sells power and construction tools outlines the near-impossible nature of trying to import cargo into Iran, detailing a complicated supply chain that passes through several countries.
Trump is squeezing Iran's economy and oil sales. But it still holds sway in Hormuz
Tehran and Washington are doubling down on competing claims of control over the Strait of Hormuz, as US President Donald Trump steps up his pressure campaign on Iran’s economy.
But the reality of who wields influence in the waterway is more nuanced than either side is willing to admit. Shipping traffic remains severely restricted, demonstrating that many shipowners are not willing to risk a possible Iranian attack and underscoring Tehran’s ongoing leverage over Hormuz.
Even when accounting for so-called “dark” transits by vessels trying to avoid detection, only about two to three Very Large Crude Carriers, or VLCCs, have transited the strait every day since July 7 on average, according to Kpler, which tracks ships using transponders and satellite data. That compares with roughly eight VLCC transits daily before the war.
Yet, notwithstanding the drop in transits, increasing volumes of oil are bypassing the strait altogether or relying on US protection and ship-to-ship transfers to move oil covertly out of the Persian Gulf.
Analysts are divided on which side has more control. Dimitris Maniatis, the CEO of Marisks, a maritime security firm based in Greece, says Iran “exerts near full control” through the “threat of attack.” He told CNN that Iran is likely turning a blind eye to some transits, which in many cases involve tankers ultimately owned by Iranian, Russian, Chinese or Turkish interests.
On the other hand, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright has said America’s ability to escort ships out of the region is only growing, noting that oil flows are higher than tracking services suggest.
Iran’s IRGC threatens to deploy more “destructive” weapons if war restarts
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned it could deploy more “destructive” weapons if the war restarts, Iranian media said today, after US President Donald Trump said he had paused US talks with Tehran.
An IRGC spokesperson threatened that if the conflict resumes, “the weapons we use will be completely different from the past in every respect,” according to Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency.
Trump said Wednesday the situation with Iran is “good,” as he’s paused US negotiations with the country. “Right now, I think the situation is so good,” Trump told reporters, suggesting talks could start again “at some point.”
CNN’s Alejandra Jaramillo contributed reporting.
Tanker seized in Gulf of Aden being taken to Somalia, maritime agency says
A tanker in the Gulf of Aden has been boarded by six armed persons and is being redirected to Somalia, according to a report made to the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) center.
The Royal Navy-affiliated UKMTO, which monitors maritime security in the region, said earlier Thursday a ship had broadcast a distress call after being approached by an “unauthorised vessel” 136 nautical miles (around 156 miles) east of Yemen’s port city of Mukalla.
In a later update, the maritime agency said it had received confirmation that the tanker was boarded by six armed persons, who are now “in control of the vessel and redirecting to Somalia.”
UKMTO did not name the vessels involved or state which group is behind the hijacking, but Somali pirates are known to be profiting from the Iran war as commercial ships, avoiding conflict routes through lengthy detours around Africa, sail into their strike zone.
Maritime intelligence group Marisks said the apparent redirection of the vessel “strongly indicates a piracy-related hijacking” and demonstrates the “significant resurgence of piracy and armed maritime activity across the Gulf of Aden and wider Somali basin.”
Clashes have also ramped up in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in recent weeks after the Iran-backed Houthis declared a blockade on ships from Saudi Arabia, the main backer of Yemeni government forces.
On Wednesday, the militant group claimed to have targeted eight Saudi oil tankers since late July – when the blockade was declared – including three in the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea, the Houthi-run Saba news agency said.
CNN’s Farida Elsebai and Eleni Giokos contributed reporting.
Iran’s battle-hardened economy faces another Trump squeeze
Iran, already drained by years of sanctions and grappling with the strains of war, now confronts yet another test as President Donald Trump threatens to further tighten the economic screws on the Islamic Republic.
Trump announced Wednesday that the US would exert more financial pressure on Iran as a deal to end the war remains at an impasse. Yet unless his administration uncovers fresh methods to quickly choke off Tehran’s revenue streams, it will once again encounter a regime practiced in sanction evasion and resourceful in finding new ways to generate income as it bets on its ability to outlast Washington in economic endurance.
For decades, the Iranian government has expanded domestic production while operating a complex network of front companies to procure essential goods, largely from China, for its 92-million-strong population. At the same time, it has come up with new ways to export oil, using fleets of sanctioned “dark” tankers that switch off their trackers to deliver cargoes to other ships and ultimately to Beijing, its principal customer.
This week President Masoud Pezeshkian said that Iran’s economic difficulties “have multiplied several times over” and that its “revenue has declined.” Even so, the country has managed to keep fuel and food flowing to a hard-pressed population throughout six months of war with the US.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi dismissed Trump’s approach as little more than “doubling down” on “failed policies,” while contrasting that Washington itself is wrestling with “unprecedented debt” and “surging interest costs.”
“The problem is not that economic pressure has no effect. It clearly does,” Danny Citrinowicz, the former head of the Iran branch of Israel’s military intelligence said on X. The “problem is assuming that economic pain will necessarily produce Iranian capitulation before it produces Iranian escalation.”
Turkey calls on Israel to end "reckless attacks" after Netanyahu defends Syria strike
Turkey’s Defense Ministry called on Israel to end its “reckless attacks” after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended an Israeli strike on a military air base in Syria.
Defending the strike, Netanyahu alleged on Wednesday that Turkey — a NATO ally of the US that is one of Israel’s top regional adversaries — was intent on deploying forces there.
In response, Turkey’s Defense Ministry said Thursday there was no Turkish military delegation at the Syrian air base before or during Israel’s attack.
The defense ministry added that it was “essential” that Israel stops “such reckless attacks and fulfills the requirements of international law.”
Netanyahu acknowledged on Tuesday that Israel carried out the strike, which was later criticized by the Trump administration’s Syria envoy, Tom Barrack, as an “unnecessary escalation.”
The Israeli prime minister said Turkey was going to deploy military capabilities to the air base south of Aleppo – a claim Turkey dismissed as “untenable.”
Turkey pointed to the upcoming October elections in Israel as a reason for Netanyahu’s actions, including what it said was his “intent to pursue expansionist and destabilizing policies in the region.”
CNN’s Tal Shalev contributed reporting.
Oil prices jump 2% after Trump's threat of "economic warfare"
Oil prices jumped more than 2% on Thursday after President Donald Trump threatened “economic warfare” against Iran.
Brent crude futures, the global benchmark, were up 2.4% to almost $94 a barrel early morning ET — its highest level since late July. WTI futures, the US benchmark, rose 2.5% to $86.
Trump warned on Wednesday that the United States would unleash a “crushing economic operation” against Iran, though did not give details. He also threatened to penalize countries doing business with and providing “any type of lifeline” to Iran.
“Oil smuggling, swap lines, cash transfers, exchange houses, ship registries, front companies — It all needs to stop NOW,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “You know who you are.”
Tensions escalated this week after the deadline for Washington and Tehran to negotiate a peace deal formally expired on Monday, despite relations having nosedived — and fighting restarted — weeks prior.
While increasing volumes of the oil are finding routes out of the Middle East, the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed, keeping energy prices elevated and pushing up global inflation.
On Wednesday, official data from the United Kingdom and euro area showed that consumer price inflation rose by 2.9% in the 12 months to July in both economies, with energy price hikes a contributing factor.
Trump’s latest threats “will only bring further defeat," Iran’s foreign minister says
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi dismissed Donald Trump’s threat to impose “crushing” economic sanctions on the Islamic Republic, calling it a “diversion” and promising the move “will only bring further defeat.”
The US federal debt hit a record $40 trillion on Tuesday, according to the Treasury Department, a grim milestone that leaves the US spending more on interest payments than on national defense and 50% more than on children’s programs.
“Doubling down on failed policies will only bring further defeat – and enmity of Iranians. US economic terrorism threatens global economy and sovereignty worldwide,” Araghchi added.
Also responding to Trump’s move, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said US decision-making was based on “flawed calculations.”
Gharibabadi said the war has failed to deliver the results the US wanted, so “now they’ve given their next failure a new name: ‘economic war.’”
Global oil prices have remained high since the US and Israel went to war against Iran in February, closing of the Strait of Hormuz. There are growing concerns of a fuel supply crisis as global reserves rapidly decline.
CNN’s Aida Karimi and Billy Stockwell contributed reporting.
Here's what Trump has said on status of US-Iran war talks and Strait of Hormuz
Global oil prices remain high as US-Iran peace talks stall, with the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz causing a fuel supply crisis, as US President Donald Trump claims that “right now, I think the situation is so good” with Tehran.
Also on Wednesday, Trump took to Truth Social to announce the US would exert more financial pressure on Iran. The president’s latest conflicting string of messaging comes after he told administration envoys earlier this week to halt their conversations with Iran, per a US official.
Here’s the latest on what Trump has said regarding the ongoing war in Iran:
- Trump told reporters Wednesday that talks could resume again with Iran “at some point” and reiterated his claim that the United States is in “possession” and in “complete control” of the Strait of Hormuz.
- Hours later on Wednesday, Trump shared on Truth Social that the US would begin “the MOST CRUSHING ECONOMIC OPERATION EVER TAKEN AGAINST ANY COUNTRY.” Tehran faces “Economic Warfare and Isolation on an unprecedented scale,” he added. The president did not offer further details about the economic operation or what measures it would entail.
- Trump continued, warning there would be economic consequences for any “country that allows its financial institutions, businesses, airports, or government entities to provide any type of lifeline to Iran.”
Catch up on other headlines:
- Iraq’s parliament speaker called on Iran to grant Iraqi oil exports going through the Strait of Hormuz “special status,” according to the state-run Iraqi News Agency.
- In the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait — where clashes have intensified in recent weeks — data shows at least 45 vessels crossed, including eight tankers and eight cargo ships going to the Gulf of Aden. Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis claimed Wednesday to have targeted eight Saudi oil tankers since late July, when it declared a maritime blockade on Saudi shipping, according to a Houthi-run news agency.
- Meanwhile, the number of US service members wounded since the start of the Iran war has passed 750, according to the Defense Department’s war casualty database.
CNN’s Tal Shalev, Lisa Wong, Alejandra Jaramillo, Billy Stockwell, Mostafa Salem, Molly English, Piper Hudspeth Blackburn and Magdalena Vitores Moreno contributed reporting.
Trump says he's launching "crushing economic operation" against Iran
President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that the US would exert more financial pressure on Iran as a deal to end the war remains at an impasse.
The president did not offer further details about the economic operation or what measures it would entail. He also wrote that there would be economic consequences for any “country that allows its financial institutions, businesses, airports, or government entities to provide any type of lifeline to Iran.”
Earlier on Wednesday, Trump said the “situation” with Iran “was so good,” telling reporters that talks could resume again, “maybe at some point.”
He also answered a question about potential sanctions at an event at the White House. “Well, we have things that we could sanction,” Trump said. “We have very draconian sanctions, and we’ll see what happens.”
Over 750 US service members have been wounded since war in Iran began
The number of US service members wounded since the start of the Iran war has passed 750, according to the Defense Department’s war casualty database.
The Pentagon updated the database on Wednesday, recording more than 50 additional wounded soldiers, as talks between Tehran and DC to end the conflict remain at an impasse.
The Defense Department created the “Overseas Operations” category last month in DCAS for service members killed and wounded “starting July 7.” The Pentagon has yet to provide any additional details or specify the conflict in which the casualties have occurred.
The July 7 date aligns with the day that President Donald Trump’s administration told Congress that a new conflict with Iran had begun in a War Powers Act notification.
CNN has reached out to the Pentagon for additional clarity on the category.
Wednesday’s updated numbers come weeks after the Pentagon drew scrutiny from media outlets and lawmakers after the killed and wounded numbers decreased in DCAS as Iranian attacks continued. Four deaths and dozens of injuries disappeared from the totals last month before being restored.
"We conveyed a message": Netanyahu defends Israeli strike in Syria
We heard more from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday about an Israeli strike on a military air base in Syria.
Netanyahu defended the strike, once again asserting that Turkey — a NATO ally of the US that is one of Israel’s top regional adversaries — was intent on deploying forces there.
“How will I describe it?” he continued, adding that the message was: “Don’t.”
The Trump administration’s Syria envoy, Tom Barrack, criticized Israel’s actions on Tuesday as an “unnecessary escalation that does not advance regional stability.”
But on Wednesday, Israel’s military chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, issued a veiled warning to Turkey as he met with Israeli troops in Syria. “We must prevent the development of terrorist threats, while also preventing the formation of a significant military threat on our borders,” Zamir said.
He did not explicitly mention Turkey in his comments. “We know how to use our operational capabilities precisely, where and when needed,” Zamir added.
Any country aiding Iran to receive "tremendous economic consequences," Trump says
US President Donald Trump ramped up his efforts to isolate Iran, threatening Tehran with an “economic D-Day,” according to a post he shared on social media. He promised “tremendous economic consequences” for any country aiding Iran.
But the efficacy of such a plan was called into question.
