President Donald Trump touted the “historic” rescue of the downed F-15E airmen behind enemy lines and issued a warning to Iran to make a deal before Tuesday night’s 8 p.m. ET deadline or face being “taken out.”
“This is a rescue that’s very historic,” Trump told the White House press corps in a Monday news conference. “It’ll go down to the books.”
“Late Thursday night, an American F-15 fighter jet went down deep inside enemy territory in Iran while participating in Operation Epic Fury, where we’re doing unbelievably well. Well, at a level that nobody’s ever seen before.”
Trump quickly paused his hailing of the rescue to add a warning for Iran to come to peace.
TRUMP REVEALS IRAN MADE ‘SIGNIFICANT PROPOSAL’ AFTER ULTIMATUM, BUT ‘NOT GOOD ENOUGH’
“The entire country can be taken out in one night, and that night might be tomorrow night,” Trump said.
Trump continued to press Iran to come to a peace deal, hours after saying the offers thus far are “not enough,” and War Secretary Pete Hegseth vowed the heaviest bombing of Iran to date.
TRUMP SAYS IRAN ‘NO LONGER A THREAT’ AFTER 32 DAYS — OUTLINES NEXT PHASE OF US WAR
“By the way, per the president’s direction, [Monday] will be the largest volume of strikes since day one of this operation,” Hegseth vowed, taking the mic just before Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan “Raizin’” Caine.
“Tomorrow, even more than today. And then Iran has a choice,” Hegseth added. “Choose wisely, because this president does not play around. You can ask Soleimani, you can ask Maduro. You can ask Khamenei.”
Trump, responding to a question from Fox News, noted there were military leaders warning against the dangerous exfiltration of the two airmen, citing the risks to a multitude of troops.
“There were military people, very professional, that preferred not doing it: These two were totally on board, which was very important,” Trump said, noting Hegseth and Gen. Caine.
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“But, no, there were military people that said, ‘You just don’t do this; you don’t go into the heart of a very powerful military.”
Trump noted that “half the people are wearing uniforms” in Iran, exacerbating the challenges of extracting the American airmen.
“I was surprised somebody said it’s the only time it’s ever been done,” Trump continued. “I said, that’s not possible, but it is possible because you’re going into hundreds of thousands of soldiers along the path. I mean, look at some of the helicopters, how they got hit.”
Trump, in a moment that went from serious to lighter, asked Caine “how many” people conducted the rescue.
INSIDE THE DARING RESCUE OF AIRMAN BEHIND ENEMY LINES: HOW CIA ASSISTED WITH ‘DECEPTION CAMPAIGN’
“I’d love to keep that a secret,” Caine shot back.
“I’ll keep it a secret, but it was hundreds and hundreds of these people,” Trump said.
“Hundreds of people went into this journey. Hundreds of people could have been killed. Forget about the equipment. A lot of equipment. Nobody cares of it. Hundreds of people could have been killed,” Trump added.
“So we had people that were within the military that said, ‘This is not a wise move,’” Trump said.
The United States added 178,000 jobs in March, blowing past expectations and showing a resilient labor market just as the war with Iran began escalating, sending up oil prices.
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The unemployment rate fell to 4.3% last month, down from 4.4%. The gains were concentrated in health care, construction, transportation and warehousing.
Despite the outsized headline figure, there were further indications that the job market remains wobbly. Wage growth declined to 3.5% in March from 3.8% in February, falling short of forecasts.
Jobs report estimates from January and February were also revised, upward and downward respectively. Combined, they show that U.S. payrolls fell by a net 7,000 over those two months.
The labor force participation rate, or the share of the overall population either employed or looking for work, fell to its lowest level since November of 2021.
“While this month’s jobs report delivered an upside surprise, we continue to believe that risks to the labor market remain elevated and higher oil prices from the Iran conflict could prove an additional impediment in the months ahead,” Scott Helfstein, head of investment strategy at Global X financial group, said in a note to clients.
Surveys conducted by the BLS for this report were completed by March 12. At the time, the full brunt of the war had yet to hit the job market.
Three weeks later, gasoline prices have surged to more than $4 a gallon, a level that, if it is sustained, would sap U.S. consumers of hundreds of dollars in annual discretionary income.
On Wednesday, the Atlanta Federal Reserve lowered its real-time gross domestic product estimate to 1.9%, down from more than 3% just before the start of the war.
On Tuesday, the BLS reported the hiring rate in February fell to just 3.1% of the U.S. workforce, a level last recorded in April 2020, as the Covid pandemic bore down.
Job openings also fell in February, though they appear to be stabilizing overall. The rate of layoffs also remains at an all-time low.
Meanwhile, many Americans’ views of the economy and Trump’s handling of it continue to sink to new depths.
A CNN poll out this week found that just 31% of respondents approved of how Trump is managing U.S. economic performance, with just 27% saying they approved of his handling of inflation, down from 44% a year ago. His overall approval rating appears to have stabilized at about 35%.
A construction worker at a new building in Pasadena, Calif.Mario Tama / Getty Images file
A debate is now underway about how many jobs the U.S. would need to add each month to keep the unemployment rate — 4.3% as of Friday — stable.
Over the past year, a massive drop in overall immigration to the U.S., coupled with a growing number of baby boomers leaving the workforce, mean fewer overall jobs need to be created for the economy to absorb newcomers to the labor force and keep the overall unemployment rate steady, according to economists with the Dallas Federal Reserve.
That overall number of new jobs needed is known as the “breakeven” employment rate. The economists wrote in a note published this week that the breakeven employment rate now may be close to zero.
If the overall workforce continues to shrink, even fewer new jobs will be needed to incorporate workers entering the labor force, such as recent college graduates or parents who put their careers on hold for a few years.
That won’t necessarily make looking for a job any easier. The median spell of unemployment is now about 2½ months, with the average much longer — about six months. About 25% of all unemployed workers are out of work for at least 27 weeks.
Savannah Guthrie returned to the “TODAY” anchor desk Monday, more than two months after her mother disappeared.
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“We are so glad you started your week with us, and it is good to be home,” Guthrie said at the start of the show. She wore a bright yellow dress, echoing the yellow ribbons and flowers left at her mother’s home.
“TODAY” co-anchor Craig Melvin, wearing a yellow tie, patted Guthrie’s hand and replied: “Yes, it is good to have you at home.”
The two anchors then turned to the morning’s top headlines, including an opening segment about the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. “Well, here we go, ready or not,” Guthrie said. “Let’s do the news.”
Savannah Guthrie on Monday’s “TODAY.”TODAY
Guthrie, who has co-anchored “TODAY” since 2012, stepped away from her role in early February after Nancy Guthrie, 84, went missing from her home near Tucson, Arizona. Authorities have described the case as a possible kidnapping or abduction.
Guthrie told Hoda Kotb last month that she believed returning to the “TODAY” anchor desk is “part of my purpose right now,” even though it was difficult to imagine going back to a workplace she associates with “joy and lightness.”
“I can’t come back and try to be something that I’m not. But I can’t not come back because it’s my family,” Guthrie said in the interview, her first since the start of the ordeal. “I don’t know if I can do it. I don’t know if I’ll belong anymore, but I would like to try.”
Savannah Guthrie greets fans Monday in Rockefeller Plaza.TODAY
In the second hour of Monday’s show, Guthrie greeted “TODAY” fans gathered outside on Rockefeller Plaza, some wearing yellow pins and holding signs with her mother’s photo. Guthrie fought back tears as she held co-host Jenna Bush Hager’s hand and thanked her supporters for their prayers and letters.
“You guys have been so beautiful,” she said. “I’ve received so many letters, so much kindness to me and my whole family. We feel it. We feel your prayers.”
Savannah Guthrie walks with Jenna Bush Hager outside the “TODAY” studios.TODAY
Nancy Guthrie’s family reported her missing around noon Feb. 1 after she did not show up at a friend’s house for virtual church services, according to the Pima County Sheriff’s Office. She was last seen the previous night around 9:45 p.m. after having dinner at her daughter Annie Guthrie’s home, according to authorities.
The investigation into her disappearance gripped the nation and put an intense spotlight on the quiet Catalina Foothills area of Tucson. Authorities have not identified a suspect or motive, though the FBI released chilling doorbell camera video of an armed and masked man outside Nancy Guthrie’s home on the morning she was reported missing.
The bureau described him as a man of average build, 5 feet, 9 inches to 5 feet, 10 inches tall, wearing a black Ozark Trail Hiker Pack 25-liter backpack.
Guthrie and her siblings, Camron Guthrie and Annie Guthrie, have provided updates on the case via social media. In emotionally wrenching videos on Instagram, they have thanked members of the public for their prayers and made direct appeals to Nancy Guthrie’s possible abductor.
“Someone knows how to find our mom and bring her home,” Guthrie wrote in the caption to a Feb. 24 video post.
The family is offering up to $1 million for information that leads to the 84-year-old’s recovery. The FBI is offering a reward of up to $100,000 for “information leading to the recovery of Nancy Guthrie and/or the arrest and conviction of anyone involved in her disappearance.”
Kotb, a “TODAY” contributor, substituted for Guthrie. In that period, Guthrie withdrew from NBC’s coverage of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics; Mary Carillo stepped in to co-host the opening ceremony alongside NBC Sports’ Terry Gannon.
Guthrie visited the “TODAY” set March 5. In photos taken from outside the studio by a photographer for The Associated Press, Guthrie could be seen wiping tears and embracing her colleagues. The visit was not televised.
Savannah Guthrie hugs Al Roker during a visit to “TODAY” on March 5.Charles Sykes / Invision / AP
“I really wanted to come and see everybody. I just love this beautiful place that we call home, where we get to come and be every day,” Guthrie told Kotb, adding: “When times are hard, you want to be with your family.”
Tax season is stressful enough, but avoidable mistakes can turn a routine filing into an expensive headache.
With Tax Day just 10 days away, even small errors can mean the difference between a smooth refund and frustrating delays. In some cases, they can even trigger IRS notices or unexpected penalties.
Here are five common filing missteps to watch out for and how to avoid them:
1. Choosing the wrong filing status
Your filing status is one of the most important choices on your tax return because it helps determine your tax rate, your standard deduction and which credits you may be eligible to claim. Pick the wrong one, and you could end up paying more than you owe, getting a smaller refund or triggering delays if the IRS flags the return for review.
For many taxpayers, the confusion comes from life changes that happened during the year, like getting married or divorced, having a child, moving in with a partner, supporting an aging parent or sharing custody. Even if your situation feels straightforward, the IRS rules can be less intuitive, especially for taxpayers who aren’t sure whether they qualify as “head of household” or whether they can still file as “qualifying surviving spouse” after a spouse has died.
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Head of household, in particular, can be costly to get wrong. It typically comes with a larger standard deduction and more favorable tax brackets than filing as single – but it has strict requirements tied to paying more than half the cost of keeping up a home and having a qualifying dependent. If you don’t meet the rules and claim it anyway, you may have to pay back tax benefits later, plus penalties and interest.
When in doubt, the IRS has an online filing-status tool, and many tax software programs will walk you through the questions to help you choose the right category.
2. Leaving credits on the table
One of the biggest and most expensive tax-season mistakes is failing to claim every credit or deduction you qualify for. That can mean a smaller refund or a higher bill.
“I think the top mistake people make is not fully understanding or taking the time to really research what are all the different deductions and the ways that you can put a little bit of extra money in your pocket that are available to you,” said Bill Sweeney, senior vice president of government affairs at AARP.
AVERAGE TAX REFUND TOPS $3,700 MIDWAY THROUGH FILING SEASON, TREASURY SAYS
Sweeney also warned taxpayers not to rely on last year’s return as a blueprint for filing because of recent changes to the tax code from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
“This would be a good year given that there are these changes to the tax code, to make sure not to assume that what you did last year will convey over to this year. Really take a fresh look at your tax situation and see if there’s money that you’re leaving on the table,” he said.
3. Missing key deadlines
An extension can buy you time to file your paperwork, but it doesn’t give you extra time to pay. For most taxpayers, the IRS deadline to pay what you owe is April 15, 2026 – even if you request an extension to file later.
“Remember that even if you claim an extension, the money is owed on April 15,” said Mike Faulkender, co-chair of American Prosperity at the America First Policy Institute.
WHAT TRUMP’S NEXT PICK TO LEAD THE FEDERAL RESERVE MEANS FOR YOUR WALLET
Faulkender, a former Treasury official and IRS commissioner, said taxpayers who need more time should still estimate their bill and pay by the filing deadline to help avoid added costs.
“You have to actually send in a check or have the payment deducted from your account by the filing deadline,” he said.
If you can’t pay in full by April 15, pay what you can to help limit penalties and interest on top of your tax bill.
4. Entering bank account details incorrectly
If you choose direct deposit for your refund, the IRS relies on the routing and account numbers you provide. One wrong digit can lead to delays.
If you pay what you owe by direct debit, incorrect banking details can also lead to a rejected payment and potentially result in penalties and interest.
5. Filing before all your tax forms arrive
Timing matters when it comes to filing your taxes. Submitting your return before you’ve received all your key paperwork, like W-2s or 1099s, can lead to errors, missing income or a return you have to amend later.
Faulkender said there’s a simple way to double-check what’s been reported under your name before you file.
“One of the things that I learned last year when I was IRS commissioner, was that if you create an account on irs.gov, you can see everything that’s been filed under your tax ID,” he said.
“We’re supposed to receive all of our W-2s and our 1099 forms in the mail in January and February. But if you’re missing one, or you misplaced it rather than requesting it again, you can actually go and see what was filed under your taxpayer identification number if you create an account on IRS.gov.”
Filing late can also cost you extra money, especially if you owe. The goal is to wait until you have what you need, then file as soon as you’re ready.
The Trump administration filed an emergency motion to restore White House ballroom reconstruction, warning “time is of the essence” and saying President Donald Trump and his staff’s “security and safety” are at risk by the judge’s “untenable” ruling.
In the filing, Justice Department lawyers said the partially built project includes “deep Top Secret excavations, foundations, and structures” that must be completed quickly to protect sensitive construction and security features from exposure.
“This order is untenable and must be stayed in that the building is under construction, with deep Top Secret excavations, foundations, and structures, already built, and ready to receive heavily fortified, for security reasons, steel, bullet, ballistic, and blast proof glass, and drone proof roofing materials, which must be finished quickly, and not allowed to be exposed to the conditions and elements of an open construction site,” Friday night’s motion urges.
“Time is of the essence!”
JUDGE WARNS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION AGAINST ‘IRREVERSIBLE’ WHITE HOUSE BALLROOM CONSTRUCTION WORK
The appeal asks the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to stay U.S. District Judge Richard Leon’s order halting the project, which Leon ruled cannot proceed without congressional approval.
The administration argues the judge himself acknowledged that work needed to secure the White House grounds and protect the president and staff can continue.
“In granting this shocking, unprecedented, and improper injunction, one that could have been sought long ago, prior to the start of construction (in that there was full knowledge, through large scale media attention and publicity, that the White House ballroom was planned to be built, and there would have been a great deal of time for them to object, long before the start of construction, even though their objection would likewise have been baseless and frivolous), the district court took the erroneous, sweeping view that Congress did not authorize the ballroom construction at the White House — yet correctly allows construction ‘necessary to ensure the safety and security of the White House and its grounds, including the ballroom construction site, and provide for the personal safety of the President and his staff,’” the DOJ argued.
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Also, the lawyers wrote, the judge ignored the administration’s overtures to have him visit the site to see the privately funded $400 million project.
“The judge was given an opportunity to see the construction taking place at the site, but surprisingly, never responded to our invitation,” Trump Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate wrote.
Preservationists challenging the construction say the administration unlawfully bypassed federal review and authorization requirements, but the DOJ rejected the judge’s claims that congressional approval is needed for a privately funded ballroom.
WHITE HOUSE TOUTS TRUMP’S ‘BOLD VISION’ FOR TOWERING INDEPENDENCE ARCH FOR AMERICA 250
“For decades, Congress has vested the President with overlapping statutory authorities that allow the President to make the improvements he deems necessary to White House grounds and structures,” Shumate wrote. “Yet, a district judge ordered the President to halt ongoing reconstruction of the East Wing of the White House by April 14, leaving a massive excavation and structurally completed site adjacent to the now open and exposed Executive Mansion and threatening grave national-security harms to the White House, the President and his family, and the President’s staff.”
“Almost 400 Million Dollars of private donations and contributions (No taxpayer dollars are being used to build this long sought, and desperately needed, ballroom!) have already been committed, or spent, in the purchase of heavy, large scale, and other types of building materials. The path to this injunction confirms its unfairness, untenability, and danger to the White House and the people working and living within its walls,” he added.
TRUMP PAUSES OIL EXEC SUMMIT TO PEEK AT WHITE HOUSE BALLROOM’S PROGRESS
The new motion filed by the National Park Service said the federal district court lacks the constitutional authority “to entertain this suit, which rests on a single pedestrian’s subjective architectural feelings.”
The initial lawsuit against the construction was brought by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a nonprofit organization, alleging Trump exceeded his authority when he razed the historic East Wing and launched construction on the new building.
Friday’s motion argues the claims are “legally baseless” and “no Trust member has standing.”
TRUMP ADMIN DEFENDS WHITE HOUSE BALLROOM AS NATIONAL SECURITY MATTER
“The President has complete authority to renovate the White House,” Shumate concluded.
The East Wing was originally built in 1902 and expanded four decades later during Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidency.
The ballroom is part of Trump’s broader push to reshape Washington’s monumental core, which also includes plans for a 250-foot (76-meter) arch and changes at the Trump Kennedy Center.
TRUMP ADMIN FIGHTS IN COURT TO KEEP WHITE HOUSE EAST WING DEMOLITION, $300M BALLROOM BUILD ON TRACK
“I would like to thank the hardworking Commissioners and Staff of the National Capital Planning Commission, who just voted overwhelmingly, 8-1, to approve the magnificent White House Ballroom now rising on this Hallowed Ground,” Trump wrote Thursday night on Truth Social.
“I am pleased to announce that even Board Member Senator Rand Paul, known as an extraordinarily difficult vote, voted a strong YES,” Trump said. “For more than 150 years, every President has dreamt about having a Ballroom at the White House to accommodate people for Grand Parties, State Visits, and even, in the Modern Day, Inaugurations.”
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“I am honored to be the first President to finally get this much-needed project, which is on time and under budget, underway,” the president added. “When completed, it will be the Greatest and Most Beautiful Ballroom of its kind anywhere in the World, and a fabulous complement to our Beautiful and Storied White House!”
Trump has lamented legal challenges to his administration’s agenda, rebuking “rogue judges” siding with “baseless” Democrat lawyers and lawsuits.
“In the Ballroom case, the Judge said we have to get Congressional approval,” Trump wrote this week on Truth Social. “He is WRONG! Congressional approval has never been given on anything, in these circumstances, big or small, having to do with construction at the White House.”
The daring U.S. military rescue of a seriously wounded airman is being hailed as an American success story, as President Donald Trump announced “we got him!” and detailed the “AMAZING show of bravery and talent,” turning a potential American setback into a show of might.
Details about the rescue are trickling in, including senior administration officials telling Fox News how the CIA deflected enemy attention with a “deception campaign.”
The CIA spread word in Iran through multiple sources that U.S. forces had already found the second of two airmen who ejected from their F-15, and were moving him out of Iran in a maritime exfiltration elsewhere, sources told Fox News, but that was designed to buy time to find the stranded weapons system officer.
The CIA picked up a distress signal, passing the intelligence on to the Pentagon and White House, which ordered the immediate rescue mission, according to sources.
MORNING GLORY: PRESIDENT TRUMP IS ON THE CUSP OF A HISTORIC ACHIEVEMENT
There was initial fear the “beacon signal” was an Iranian “trap,” sources said.
“There was a lot at stake here,” the source said.
Once the CIA confirmed Saturday morning that this was not a trap, the missing airman was located using advanced technical capabilities.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe informed Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Dan “Raizin’” Caine and, ultimately, Trump.
“Within eight hours, we had planes in motion,” the source said. “Within almost 12 hours we were on the ground in Iran.
TRUMP TELLS ‘STRANGE’ IRANIAN NEGOTIATORS TO ‘GET SERIOUS SOON’ OR ‘IT WON’T BE PRETTY’
“We’ve seen before what they do with prisoners. We were going to expend every effort to make sure we got to him first.”
The U.S. used MQ9 Reaper drones to protect the area around where the airman was hiding and fired on anything that came close to that area and any area where U.S. forces were operating to prevent crowds or any Iranians from approaching, sources confirmed to Fox News.
“We executed multiple large-scale strikes in the surrounding area using every tactical jet in the U.S. inventory and B-1 Bombers to keep him safe,” according to a senior U.S. official.
Trump saluted the complex operation to exfiltrate the “highly respected colonel.”
“We have rescued the seriously wounded, and really brave, F-15 Crew Member/Officer, from deep inside the mountains of Iran,” Trump wrote Sunday morning on Truth Social, announcing an Oval Office news conference set for 1 p.m. ET Monday. “The Iranian Military was looking hard, in big numbers, and getting close.”
MORNING GLORY: WHAT WILL DONALD TRUMP’S LEGACY BE AS A WARTIME PRESIDENT?
“This type of raid is seldom attempted because of the danger to ‘man and equipment.’ It just doesn’t happen!” Trump said. “The second raid came after the first one, where we rescued the pilot in broad daylight, also unusual, spending seven hours over Iran. An AMAZING show of bravery and talent by all!”
One night earlier, Trump hailed “one of the most daring Search and Rescue Operations in U.S. History.”
“My fellow Americans, over the past several hours, the United States Military pulled off one of the most daring Search and Rescue Operations in U.S. History, for one of our incredible Crew Member Officers, who also happens to be a highly respected Colonel, and who I am thrilled to let you know is now SAFE and SOUND!” Trump wrote Saturday night on Truth Social.
“This brave Warrior was behind enemy lines in the treacherous mountains of Iran, being hunted down by our enemies, who were getting closer and closer by the hour, but was never truly alone because his Commander in Chief, Secretary of War, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and fellow Warfighters were monitoring his location 24 hours a day, and diligently planning for his rescue,” he said.
The injured airman was the second of two crew members from the warplane Iran claimed it had brought down with its air defenses on Friday.
Several aircraft were destroyed during the U.S. rescue mission, Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guards claimed Sunday according to the Tasnim news agency. An Iranian military spokesperson said a C-130 military transport plane and two Black Hawk helicopters were among the downed craft.
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Israeli intelligence had assisted the CIA in determining the location of the missing WSO and removing doubt about an Iranian “trap,” halting its attacks in the area to facilitate the mission, an Israeli security official told Reuters.
“All Israelis rejoice in the incredible rescue of a brave American pilot by America’s dauntless warriors,” Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote in a statement Sunday morning. “This proves that when free societies muster their courage and their resolve, they can confront seemingly insurmountable odds and overcome the forces of darkness and terror.”
The weekend rescue left Trump resolute in swift and decisive victory amid a 10-day deadline to reopen the Hormuz Strait to oil tankers, issuing a stunning expletive-laced warning Sunday morning.
“Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “There will be nothing like it!!!
“Open the F–in’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah,” he added.
Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin, Trey Yingst and Reuters contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump directed a profanity-laced message to Iran on Sunday, signaling the U.S. will target the regime’s power plants and bridges on Tuesday if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened.
“Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran,” Trump’s post read. “There will be nothing like it!!!”
“Open the F—– Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH!” read Trump’s message to Iran’s leaders. “Praise be to Allah.”
Trump on Sunday told Fox News chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst that he believes he’ll be able to make a deal with Iran by tomorrow — the president’s deadline for Iran to reopen the strait.
TRUMP CALLS ON WORLD TO BUILD ‘DELAYED COURAGE’ SEIZE KEY OIL ROUTE FROM IRAN
“I think there is a good chance tomorrow, they are negotiating now,” the president said.
If Iran fails to make a deal, Trump said, “You’re going to see bridges and power plants dropping all over their country.”
“If they don’t make a deal and fast, I’m considering blowing everything up and taking over the oil,” he said.
EX-NATO AMBASSADOR WARNS US AND ALLIES MUST ‘STOP THE SNIPING’ AND UNITE TO END IRAN CONFLICT
Iran has hampered passage through the narrow waterway, which is crucial for the global oil trade, since the onset of the war to use as one of its bargaining chips. Iranian interference in the strait has significantly impaired the movement of oil tankers along the waterway, causing global oil prices to rise.
Trump’s latest message shows the president is hardening his threats to strike Iran’s critical infrastructure if Tehran doesn’t reopen the Strait of Hormuz by his Monday deadline.
On Saturday, Trump posted a reminder to Iran about his 10-day deadline to reopen the strait, writing, “Time is running out – 48 hours before all Hell will reign down on them.”
The president has previously issued such threats before extending them when mediators have claimed progress toward ending the war on agreeable terms.
Trump earlier announced that he would be holding a press conference at the White House on Monday alongside members of the military.
Fox News Digital’s Peter Pinedo and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Oil prices surged Thursday, threatening to further drive up the price of gas as hopes for a near-term resolution to the Iran war faded following President Donald Trump’s address to the nation.
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Stocks were volatile, with major indexes plunging early in the day before moving higher at the close on shifting headlines about the war in the Middle East.
U.S. indexes recovered their early losses on news that Iran’s deputy foreign minister said his country would outline a “new navigation regime” in the Strait of Hormuz after the war ended, injecting fresh optimism into markets over the future of the key waterway.
At the closing bell at 4 p.m. ET, the S&P 500 closed up 0.11%, the Nasdaq Composite ended higher by 0.18%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 61 points. The Russell 2000 index, which tracks smaller companies, rose 0.7%.
Fourth-generation Iowa farmer Mark Mueller is no stranger to the ups and downs of the agriculture industry. But right now, he thinks America is on the cusp of a farm crisis.
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“I am more concerned now than I have been in my 30 years of farming,” Mueller told NBC News.
Even before the Iran war, Mueller said, many farmers felt they were being squeezed. Consolidation in the fertilizer industry and increased competition from abroad have resulted in higher prices for fertilizer and feed — and smaller returns on Mueller’s corn and soybean crops.
Many farmers who couldn’t pay their bills in recent years went under. In 2025, the number of Chapter 12 farm bankruptcies reached 315, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. That was up 46% from the previous year.
Now, the Iran war is putting even more pressure on farmers.
Before the war, roughly a third of the world’s fertilizer ingredients and a fifth of its oil supplies passed every day through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway off Iran’s southern coast. But since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, the strait has been effectively closed by Tehran, leaving scores of tankers stranded.
The strait’s closure has driven up global prices for fertilizer and for the diesel fuel that powers most of America’s heavy agricultural equipment.
The double whammy is hitting farmers just as they head into the spring planting season.
“This is that perfect storm where everything comes together and hammers the farmer,” said Mueller, who also serves as the president of the Iowa Corn Growers Association.
Mueller said his fertilizer supplier was selling a nitrogen fertilizer he needs for $795 per ton on Feb. 22, a few days before the war started. At the end of March, it was $990, Mueller said, a nearly $200 jump in just a few weeks.
Meanwhile, the price he’s paying for diesel has jumped, too. Diesel is now averaging $5.51 nationwide, up from $3.76 right before the war, according to AAA.
Mueller said he got most of the fertilizer he needs for spring before the war — but had to buy some at the higher prices. He’s holding off on purchasing the additional fertilizer he needs for summer, hoping prices will come down.
Mark Mueller, a farmer and president of the Iowa Corn Growers Association, thinks America is on the cusp of a farm crisis.Courtesy of Iowa Corn
President Donald Trump’s tariffs have also added to the cost of goods that farmers import from overseas — and frustrated many of the foreign buyers of America’s agricultural products.
“Our government made our life more difficult by walking away from trade deals or instituting tariffs or just basically making our customers angry — our customers being other nations and companies in other nations,” said Mueller.
Lance Lillibridge, a corn and cattle farmer from Vinton, Iowa, told NBC News he plans to use less fertilizer this year.
“I’m probably going to see a reduction in yield,” said Lillibridge. “If there’s not the supply out there, then the price is going to go up.”
If the war continues, the higher prices could ripple through the supply chain and ultimately result in higher prices at the supermarket.
“We’re talking about all the crops and all the food products that we consume on a daily basis,” said Gregory Daco, chief economist at EY-Parthenon.
“Anything that is grown and that requires fertilizers, which is most of everything that we consume, is potentially affected by this rise in fertilizer prices,” said Daco. “And as a result, we may see these prices rise rapidly across grocery stores in the U.S.”
Take corn, for example. If corn prices spike, then feeding cattle becomes more expensive for many farmers. Plus cattle farmers are also dealing with the higher fuel prices. The cost of beef has already hit record highs — in part from shrinking cattle herds and drought — and it could surge even more.
“I worry about how much more consumers will continue to pay for beef,” said Will Harris, a fourth-generation cattle farmer in Bluffton, Georgia. “I think that I can produce it as cheap as anybody else, but I don’t know where consumers draw their lines.”
It may take a while for price increases on the farm to show up at the grocery store. Farmers are just planting their spring crops now, and it could take months for them to be harvested and sent off to distribution centers and eventually grocery stores.
But consumers may see higher prices sooner rather than later, because of higher transport costs with pricier diesel.
“If you’re feeling these costs now, it’s only going to continue to increase as the supply chain fills with higher-cost goods,” said Lillibridge.
“Corn is used in over 4,000 products,” he added. “It’s not just food — it’s industrial products, like your paper that you would put in your printer has cornstarch in it, plastics, just tons of things have industrial uses from corn.”
Economists say the longer the war stretches on, the larger the effects could be.
Newly harvested corn in Inwood, Iowa. Consumers may see higher prices sooner rather than later because of higher transport costs with pricier diesel. Jim West / UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty images file
“Right now, our farmers can get the product — it’s just really expensive,” said Faith Parum, an economist at the American Farm Bureau Federation, an advocacy group for farmers and ranchers. “We’re slowly starting to hear the longer this goes on, we’re also going to have issues with even the availability of the fertilizer.”
That could further strain farmers.
“We’re going on to year four of losses across the farm economy,” said Parum. “It’s going to become harder and harder for them to put a crop in the ground.”
Before the war, the Agriculture Department estimated that farm sector debt could reach a record $624.7 billion in 2026.
Farmers have received some financial assistance from the federal government over the years. In December, the Trump administration announced a new tranche of $12 billion in aid to farmers.
At a White House event for farmers in March, Trump said that he would push for more aid and urged Congress to pass a new farm bill.
Trump also pledged to ask Congress to permit year-round sales of E15, an unleaded fuel blended with 15% ethanol that the American Farm Bureau Federation says could save consumers money at the gas pump and create markets for American-grown crops.
Farmers listen as President Donald Trump speaks at the White House on Friday. During the event, Trump urged Congress to pass a new farm bill. Alex Wong / Getty Images
Mueller was among the farmers last month at the White House, where he listened to Trump.
“I guess I would liken it to empty calories,” he said of the president’s remarks. “It was like a pep rally with very little being said.”
Mueller fears that the mounting pressures on farmers, exacerbated by the war, could lead some to hang up their hats for good.
“I really do see fewer farmers when it’s all done,” he said. “In the end, the consumer will still have fewer choices, probably have a little higher prices, and farmers will have less margin than they did before.”
Two relatives of slain Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani living in Los Angeles were taken into custody by federal agents after Secretary of State Marco Rubio revoked their green cards, officials said.
Hamideh Soleimani Afshar, identified as Soleimani’s niece, and her daughter were arrested and are now being held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to an announcement Saturday from the State Department.
The Trump administration says Afshar has been a supporter of Iran’s “totalitarian, terrorist” regime.
“Afshar is the niece of deceased Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani,” Rubio wrote on X. “She is also an outspoken supporter of the Iranian regime who celebrated attacks on Americans and referred to our country as the ‘Great Satan.’
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“This week, I terminated both Afshar and her daughter’s legal status and they are now in ICE custody, pending removal from the United States.”
In January 2020, a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad killed Soleimani during President Donald Trump’s first term in office.
While living in the U.S., Afshar “promoted Iranian regime propaganda, celebrated attacks against American soldiers and military facilities in the Middle East, praised the new Iranian Supreme Leader, denounced America as the ‘Great Satan,’ and voiced her unflinching support for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a designated terrorist organization,” the State Department said.
“[Afshar] pushed this propaganda for Iran’s terrorist regime while enjoying a lavish lifestyle in Los Angeles, as attested to by her frequent posting on her recently deleted Instagram account,” the department said.
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According to the Department of Homeland Security, ICE officers arrested Afshar and her daughter Friday in Los Angeles.
DHS said Afshar entered the U.S. on a tourist visa in June 2015, was granted asylum in 2019 and became a green card holder in 2021 under the Biden administration.
“In July 2025, she filed a naturalization application, where she disclosed she traveled to Iran at least four times since being issued a green card. Her trips to Iran illustrate her asylum claims were fraudulent,” a DHS spokesperson told Fox News.
Her daughter entered the U.S. on a student visa in July 2015, was granted asylum in 2019 and became a green card holder in 2023, according to DHS.
“It is a privilege to be granted a green card to live in the United States of America,” the spokesperson added. “If we have reason to believe a green card holder poses a threat to the U.S., the green card will be revoked.”
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In addition to revoking Afshar and her daughter’s lawful permanent resident status, officials said Afshar’s husband has been barred from entering the U.S.
Earlier this month, the State Department also terminated the legal status of Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani, the daughter of a former senior Iranian official, and her husband.
Both are no longer in the U.S. and are barred from reentry.
“The Trump Administration will not allow our country to become a home for foreign nationals who support anti-American terrorist regimes,” the announcement said.
The State Department and ICE did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
