Trump reveals ‘present’ from Iran as oil tankers move through Strait of Hormuz

President Donald Trump revealed Thursday what he previously described as a "present" from Iran as the passage of multiple oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, framing it as a sign of progress in ongoing negotiations.

Trump had hinted a day earlier that Iran had offered a significant gesture but declined to provide details at the time.

"They said to show you the fact that we’re real and solid and we’re there — we’re going to let you have eight boats of oil," Trump said during a Cabinet meeting Thursday, adding that the number of tankers ultimately reached ten. "I said, well, I guess we’re dealing with the right people."

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Trump pointed to the tanker movement as evidence that U.S. negotiators are in contact with Iranian counterparts capable of delivering tangible results.

Mounting uncertainty has surrounded Iran's leadership as joint U.S.-Israeli strikes have killed dozens of senior officials and the country’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has not been seen publicly.

Khamenei, son of Ali Khamenei who was killed on the first day of strikes, has only issued written or indirect messages. U.S. and allied intelligence assessments suggest he is likely alive, but his condition, location and level of control remain unclear. 

Analysts and officials say Iran’s decision-making may now be fragmented across competing power centers, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Trump framed recent tanker movements through the Strait of Hormuz as a sign that U.S. negotiators are in contact with Iranian counterparts capable of delivering results.

"They said to show you the fact that we’re real and solid and we’re there — we’re going to let you have eight boats of oil," Trump said, adding that the number of tankers ultimately reached ten.

"I said, well, I guess we’re dealing with the right people," he said.

Amid that uncertainty, reporting has pointed to Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf as a possible interlocutor in backchannel talks. Ghalibaf, a hardline figure with ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, is viewed by some U.S. officials as a potential partner capable of negotiating on behalf of the regime.

However, both Iranian officials and Ghalibaf himself have publicly denied that any talks with Washington are underway, and the White House has not confirmed who, if anyone, is serving as Tehran’s primary point of contact.

Iranian messaging has also been inconsistent. While U.S. officials and Trump have pointed to ongoing discussions, Iranian leaders have publicly denied that negotiations are taking place. At the same time, Iranian officials have acknowledged receiving U.S. messages through intermediaries, underscoring the gap between public statements and behind-the-scenes diplomacy.

The conflicting signals highlight the challenge facing U.S. negotiators as they attempt to identify interlocutors who can both represent Tehran and implement any potential agreement.

Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, the choke point for 20% of the world's oil, has slowed drastically since the start of the U.S. offensive on Feb. 28.

The U.S. is pursuing backchannel talks with Iran even as tensions remain high following recent military strikes and threats of further escalation tied to control of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global oil choke point.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Wednesday Iran was reviewing a 15-point proposal sent over by the U.S. through Pakistan mediators, but was not negotiating with the U.S.

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On Monday, Trump gave Iran a five-day deadline before the U.S. would pursue strikes on energy infrastructure if Iran did not show signs of "success" toward mediation. On Thursday, Trump declined to say whether he'd decided on moving forward with strikes.

White House envoy Steve Witkoff said Thursday he had seen "positive signs" after he provided the Pakistani government with the 15-point plan.

"We will see where things lead, and if we can convince Iran that this is the inflection point, with no good alternatives for them, other than more death and destruction," Witkoff said during the Cabinet meeting.

"We have strong signs that this is a possibility, and if a deal happens, it will be great for the country of Iran."

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American worker shot, killed in Bahamas as police launch criminal investigation: report

A criminal investigation is underway in the death of an American worker who was allegedly shot and killed in the Bahamas.

The Tallahassee Democrat reported that the victim, identified as 31-year-old Cody Castillo, of Crawfordville, Florida, was killed March 21 in Nassau following a dispute outside Da Plantation Bar & Grill in Nassau. The outlet said the shooting involved an off-duty senior officer of the Royal Bahamas Police Force.

National Security Minister Wayne Munroe said a criminal investigation has been opened.

"My understanding is that the police responded to the scene, acquired CCTV footage, as they always do, and commenced an investigation," Munroe said. "If there's evidence that criminal charges should be levied, they will do it. If, at the conclusion, they determine that they are uncomfortable in levying criminal charges, it goes to a coroner's inquest."

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A U.S. State Department spokesperson confirmed the death of an American, saying that they are "closely tracing local authorities' investigation into the cause of death."

"The Trump Administration has no higher priority than the safety and security of American citizens," the spokesperson told Fox News Digital. "Out of respect for the privacy of the family and loved ones during this difficult time, we have no further comment." 

In a statement to Fox News Digital, a spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy in Nassau said that they "are closely following the case of the shooting death of a U.S. citizen by an off-duty police officer last weekend."

"We note with [the] deepest concern media reports that the officer followed the unarmed victim to his vehicle before fatally shooting him," they said. "We urge the Government of The Bahamas to ensure the victim receives justice in this case without delay."

Authorities have not released further official details about the identities of those involved or the circumstances of the shooting. Fox News Digital has reached out to the Royal Bahamas Police Force for additional information.

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A GoFundMe identified Castillo as a lineman for Pike Electric who had been in the Bahamas for work. Fox News Digital has reached out to Pike Corporation for comment.

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The fundraiser states that Castillo and his wife, Mikayla, were married about a year ago and were expecting their first child, a boy due in August.

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"Cody was working to support his family with PIKE Electric in the Bahamas. Then, in a moment that changed everything, Cody's life was taken by senseless violence while he was working abroad," they said.

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Scottie Scheffler withdraws from PGA event just 2 weeks before Masters to welcome second child: reports

Scottie Scheffler has proven he's human over the last couple of weeks, which led to initial concern when he withdrew from this week's Houston Open.

The PGA Tour announced Wednesday that Matt Kuchar would replace Scheffler, whose withdraw came rather abruptly, considering this weekend is one of the final tuneups ahead of the Masters.

However, there is good reason for the move, as Scheffler and his wife, Meredith, are reportedly set to welcome their second child.

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Perhaps the stress of welcoming another child had been weighing on Scheffler. He finished T-22 at The Players earlier this month after finishing T-24 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He began the 2026 season with a victory at The American Express and followed up with typical results of T-3 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and T-4 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. He then finished T-12 at the Genesis Invitational.

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For context, before this recent slump, Scheffler finished inside the top 10 in each of his previous 19 tournaments, and the last time he finished outside the top 20 in back-to-back events was in July and August 2023.

Scheffler has had success in Houston, finishing T2 in three of the last four Children's Opens.

Scheffler won the Masters for the first time in 2022, officially putting himself on the map. Two years later, he took the green jacket back from Jon Rahm, proving himself as the game's best after being named the PGA Tour Player of the Year in each of the two years prior.

Scheffler's last chance for a Masters warm-up will be next week at the Valero Texas Open, but it remains to be seen what happens next weekend, and afterward. The couple became parents in May 2024, just weeks after Scheffler's second win at Augusta.

Reigning Masters champion Rory McIlroy had to withdraw from the Arnold Palmer Invitational due to back spasms but returned for The Players the following week.

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Obama intel chief angered president at meeting by asking if he'd tolerate Iran having nuclear weapon

Former Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair once angered then-President Barack Obama during a White House meeting on Iran, after he pressed Obama on whether he could tolerate the nation obtaining a nuclear weapon, according to newly released oral history interviews.

"When it came my turn to speak at this meeting," Blair said, "I said, ‘Mr. President, you really just have one decision to make… Are you going to tolerate Iran having a nuclear weapon or not?’" He added that rejecting a nuclear Iran would require espionage and military options, while acceptance would mean a strategy to contain and deter Iran.

The exchange, documented in interviews conducted by the University of Virginia's Miller Center and reported by The New York Times, offers a window into internal divisions within the Obama administration as officials debated how to respond to Iran's nuclear program.

Blair said the moment prompted a sharp warning from Obama.

"The president took me aside after that meeting and said, ‘Denny, don’t ever put me on the spot like that again,’" he recalled. "I said… ‘Yes, sir, Mr. President. I certainly won’t.’" He added, "I was kept out of meetings from that time forward."

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Blair described the meeting as one that had been presented as an opportunity to provide input on Iran policy, and he made the "mistake" of thinking Obama was honestly looking for "fresh insights."

Blair served as Obama's DNI from the start of his presidency in 2009 until he resigned at Obama's request in May 2010.

Obama would go on to negotiate the Iran nuclear deal during his second term, which his administration hailed as a landmark diplomatic achievement that limited the country's nuclear ambitions while avoiding bloodshed. Its critics savaged the deal as mere appeasement that granted unearned sanctions relief to the world's largest state sponsor of terror. 

President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the agreement in 2018.

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The released oral histories also include accounts of internal political discussions within the Obama White House, including deliberations over Vice President Joe Biden’s potential 2016 presidential bid.

David Plouffe, a top political strategist, urged Biden not to enter the race, telling him, "There's no room. There's just no room for you."

Plouffe added, "I’m concerned about you as a human being. I’m not sure you’re in a state to run."

Biden, who mourned the death of his son Beau in 2015, announced later that year that he would not enter the Democratic race, which came down to a heated battle between Hillary Clinton, Obama's preferred candidate, and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.

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Clinton would go on to win the nomination and lose the general election to Trump.

Obama's office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. 

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Trump mocks 'discombobulated' Schumer over Democrats' near gaffe on funding ICE

President Donald Trump mocked Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., for a near gaffe Saturday on the Senate floor.

"Schumer got 'discombobulated' in the Senate yesterday, and said, 'WE MUST FUND ICE,' prior to correcting himself," Trump wrote Sunday morning on Truth Social. "Thank you Chuck, I agree!"

Schumer and Senate Democrats are filibustering the SAVE America Act — an election integrity bill — but the minority leader was arguing the Republicans are responsible for the government shutdown that has left American airline passengers frustrated with long TSA wait times at airports across the country.

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Schumer did quickly correct himself by saying, "We must fund TSA now," but the irony was not lost on Trump, who has long reminded Americans that the government shutdown of Department of Homeland Security funding does not impact Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in real time, because ICE was fully funded in last summer's One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Schumer's call to "fund TSA now" was related to the Senate Democrats' failed effort to isolate a funding package solely for TSA, but Republicans blocked that effort, noting the rest of DHS funding that is on hold due to the shutdown is vital to American national security amid strikes on Iran, too.

Republicans negotiating on DHS, including Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Homeland Security Subcommittee Chair Katie Britt, R-Ala., are meeting Sunday.

"There are lots of ideas swirling right now, some of which you know my colleagues are talking about, but obviously what my sense is at least the good news, and all that is people realizing this has to get fixed," Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters on his walk off the Senate floor Sunday morning. 

"It has to get solved, but the best way again, to solve it is to get Democrats to support funding the entire Department of Homeland Security, you know, not picking and choosing certain aspects of it," he said. "So we'll see where the discussions go today."

THUNE REVEALS REASON DEMOCRATS ARE 'SCARED' TO REOPEN DHS

Democrats in Congress in February agreed to fund most of the government in exchange for withholding funds from DHS following the fatal shootings of ​two anti-ICE agitators in Minnesota by immigration ​authorities.

The Senate failed to get the 60-vote supermajority needed to advance a Republican proposal to fund the entire DHS earlier in March, after Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, objected to an earlier Democratic proposal to separately fund the TSA earlier.

Moreno separately proposed a two-week DHS funding extension, but Democrats blocked that.

Absences by TSA airport officers have already disrupted travel at some major airports over the last week, raising alarm among airlines as the busy spring break travel season peaks. DHS funding lapsed Feb. 13.

Airlines are expecting a record-breaking spring travel period, with 171 million passengers expected ‌to ⁠fly, up 4% over the same two-month period last year.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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IOC addresses execution of 19-year-old Iranian wrestler Saleh Mohammadi

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has addressed the recent execution of 19-year-old wrestling star Saleh Mohammadi by the Iranian regime. 

After multiple Olympians, including three gold medalists, condemned the execution to Fox News Digital, the IOC has now made a statement on the matter. 

"Sadly, today’s world is divided and full of conflicts and tragedies. The IOC cares deeply about the situation of athletes all around the globe and is concerned every time it learns of individual cases of mistreatment. However, it is very difficult to comment on situations of individuals during a conflict or unrest in a country, without the IOC being able to verify the often contradicting information," the IOC said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

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"At this moment in time, we are particularly concerned about the situation of Iranian athletes impacted by the events unfolding in their country – as we are with all athletes who face conflict and tragedies elsewhere in the world. Unfortunately, these situations are more regularly brought to our attention due to the increasingly divided world in which we live."

The IOC reiterated that it does not have the power to dictate the decisions of a sovereign nation. 

"The IOC, as a civil, non-governmental organization, has neither the remit nor the ability to change the laws or political system of a sovereign country. This is the legitimate role of governments and the respective intergovernmental organizations. The IOC is a sports organization whose remit and success is based on bringing the world together in peaceful competition. We have to be realistic about the IOC's ability to directly influence global and national affairs," the statement continued.

"At the same time, we will continue to work with our Olympic stakeholders to help where we can, often through quiet sports diplomacy. The IOC remains in touch with the Olympic community from Iran."

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Mohammadi was reportedly killed in a public hanging on Thursday, according to Iranian American human rights activists and dissidents. 

Iran International reported that Iran’s regime hanged Mohammadi and two additional Iranian men, Mehdi Ghasemiand and Saeed Davoudi, "after being accused of killing two police officers during nationwide protests earlier this year," the judiciary-linked Mizan news agency reported.

Mohammadi previously told Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting that his dream was to be an Olympic champion. 

President Donald Trump condemned the regime for the executions while speaking to reporters this week. 

"These are thugs and animals and horrible people," Trump said of the regime. "I'm not surprised they executed three young people for protesting."

Mohammadi won a bronze medal in September 2024, for Iran’s national freestyle wrestling at the Saytiyev International Cup in Krasnoyarsk, Russia.

Olympians to speak out against the execution included U.S. Gold medalists, wrestler Brandon Slay, swimmer Tyler Clary and bobsledder Kaillie Humphries.

"My prayers are with Saleh Mohammadi’s family and all who are suffering. In the face of such oppression, I hold to the hope of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the only light that overcomes darkness and only truth that proclaims justice and mercy will one day prevail," Slay said. 

Clary added, "President Trump has been clear-eyed about the nature of this regime and the need to stand up to it, and moments like this prove why that approach is necessary." 

Fox News Digital's Benjamin Weinthal contributed to this report. 

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Iran conflict won’t trigger Biden-style refugee replay, expert predicts

Iran’s instability is unlikely to trigger a Syrian- or Afghanistan-style refugee crisis, a top immigration expert told Fox News Digital, even as questions mount over what comes next for the Iranian people once the fighting subsides.

With Ayatollah Ali Khamenei killed in an airstrike, several top officials dead and competing factions vying for control, questions are mounting over whether Iran’s turmoil could trigger a refugee crisis.

However, given the geography and environment in Iran, a mass refugee exodus appears unlikely, according to Andrew "Art" Arthur – a nationally-recognized national security and immigration expert at the Center for Immigration Studies.

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"It's actually an interesting question, and there are a couple of things to keep in mind," Arthur said in a recent interview.

"One is Iran is about twice the size of Texas. It's, I think, roughly the size as Alaska. It is a huge country, and I think there are 93 million people there, but it's still a big country and most of it is untouched by the conflict, so it's not like individuals couldn't relocate in-country and be perfectly safe."

Unlike Afghanistan, he added, the U.S. and the West don’t have a previous footprint on the ground and don’t have people inside the country offering assistance.

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"[W]e don't have the ability to do something like President Biden did where we load up C-130s with everybody we can get our hands on and fly them to the United States. So, that's a huge distinction."

During the 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal, chaos reigned at Hamid Karzai International Airport as U.S. military planes with refugees hanging off of them flew in and out of Kabul while Taliban forces created deadly roadblocks and uncertainty for those trying to flee.

The operation led to a huge influx of largely unvetted Afghan nationals into the U.S., which many immigration hawks blame for some of the migrant violence seen domestically.

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Arthur said that exemplar is rare, in that most refugees don’t or aren’t able to fly "halfway around the world" to escape unrest.

"The Afghanistan evacuation operation, Allies Refuge and Allies Welcome, was completely without precedent in U.S. history, because, generally, refugees resettle in an adjacent country assuming that they can resettle in-country," he said.

Such was true during the other major refugee flow this century, the Syrian crisis during the 2011 "Arab Spring."

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Then-Syrian President Bashar al-Assad responded to peaceful civilian protests with military force, spurring years of outflows of about 11 million Syrian nationals around Europe with a smaller proportion ultimately making their way to the U.S.

The Obama administration set a goal of 10,000 admissions of Syrians through refugee resettlement, while nearly 5 million were registered globally as refugees as of 2017, according to the Migration Policy Institute.

A good proportion of the U.S.’ Syrian population also predates the refugee crisis, some by more than 100 years, like the estimated 5,000 in Allentown, Pennsylvania. 

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Addressing the potential for any Iranian refugee crisis, Arthur said that, in practice, the U.S. could offer resources to neighboring countries but would not be obligated to take in refugees.

"That’s not the way that this works," he said, pointing out that during the 1980s Afghan-Soviet conflict, Afghans relocated to Pakistan and the U.S. helped them from afar.

"We didn’t bring them to the United States," he said, adding that the U.S. helped enforce a no-fly zone to assist aligned factions, such as the Kurds, maintain safer territory.

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Fox News Digital also asked the White House for its thoughts on the prospect of another refugee crisis amid another bout of instability in a Mideast country.

The White House directed Fox News Digital to recent comments by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on the matter, when he was questioned about the proclivity for such conflicts as Iran to force thousands to flee from the conflict zone and into the U.S. – and whether there are any "safeguards" in place to prevent such.

"I think it's safe to say there's no plan for a wave of new Middle Eastern refugees to the United States of America," Hegseth said.

"I think, as the president has pointed out for a long time, there are a lot of countries in the region who would be capable of providing that kind of support if need be."

"But that's certainly not something we're planning on," he said.

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