WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is expanding his economic pressure campaign against Iran, betting that intensified sanctions and financial restrictions can succeed where military strikes and diplomacy have so far failed to force Tehran to accept U.S. demands, as the conflict between the two countries enters its seventh month.

Trump announced what he described as the “most crushing economic operation ever taken against any country” against Iran, according to CNBC, warning that any nation providing financial or commercial assistance to Tehran would face severe consequences. Speaking during a meeting with cryptocurrency executives at the White House on Aug. 19, Trump characterized the planned campaign as an “Economic D-Day” for Iran, extending a pressure effort the administration has waged since April under the internal designation Operation Economic Fury.

The shift toward economic pressure comes as other avenues for ending the conflict have stalled. According to NPR, U.S. stockpiles of key munitions have dwindled and stop-start diplomatic talks between Washington and Tehran have once again broken down, prompting Trump to return to what the outlet described as a familiar playbook of financial sanctions rather than continued military escalation. Trump has previously said he began the war with Iran only after 50 years of economic pressure had failed to halt the country’s nuclear ambitions, but he is now betting that a renewed financial squeeze can bring the conflict to a close.

According to Bloomberg, the administration’s approach centers on a steady increase in economic sanctions combined with a naval blockade aimed at stifling Iran’s oil exports, reflecting a broader recognition within the administration that the military campaign against Iran has so far failed to force the regime to capitulate. Options reportedly under consideration include targeting Chinese banks involved in Iranian oil transactions, expanding secondary sanctions on countries or entities doing business with Tehran, and potentially confiscating Iranian assets held under U.S. jurisdiction, according to reporting from News Talk WBAP.

CNN reported that the U.S. imposed new sanctions on Hezbollah as part of the broader pressure campaign, even as the outlet cautioned that unless the administration develops new methods to quickly cut off Tehran’s revenue streams, it will likely once again confront a regime well-practiced in evading sanctions. According to CNN, Iran has spent decades building a complex network of front companies, largely tied to China, to procure essential goods for its 92 million citizens, while also developing methods to continue exporting oil using fleets of sanctioned “dark” tankers that disable their tracking systems to transfer cargo to other vessels before ultimately delivering it to Beijing, Iran’s principal oil customer.

Iran’s response to the escalating economic threats has been defiant. The Iranian Foreign Ministry condemned Trump’s threat as “unlawful,” according to CNN, warning in a statement that those who order or implement the sanctions “are liable to prosecution and punishment.” Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps separately warned it could deploy more “destructive” weapons should the broader conflict resume in earnest, according to Iranian state media cited by CNN.

Some Iranian officials have responded to the intensified pressure by calling for even more dramatic countermeasures. Iranian member of parliament Ebrahim Rezaei suggested Iran should consider withdrawing from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in response to Trump’s economic escalation. “The best response to Trump’s escalation of the economic war is to withdraw from the NPT,” Rezaei said, according to Time. Iran signed the treaty in 1968 and ratified it in 1970, committing as a non-nuclear-weapon state not to manufacture or acquire nuclear weapons, a commitment that would be directly called into question should the country follow through on withdrawing from the agreement.

The escalating economic pressure has already produced tangible ripple effects across the region. Time reported that the United Arab Emirates, a major regional trading hub for Iran, announced it would suspend trade with Tehran following reported missile strikes, a decision that came just one day before Trump’s latest threat of a “crushing” economic campaign.

Vice President JD Vance has emphasized that economic pressure represents the administration’s most viable current strategy for ending the conflict, according to CNN, even as officials have simultaneously stressed the importance of keeping oil and gas prices affordable for American consumers, a balancing act that has grown more difficult as prices have climbed amid continued disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump has consistently maintained that he is not operating under any specific timeline for resolving the conflict, despite the mounting economic and political costs associated with its continuation. “I have no time schedule. I’m not in a hurry,” Trump said, according to World Israel News, a stance he has repeated even as U.S. borrowing costs have climbed to their highest levels in nearly two decades and oil prices have risen amid the ongoing disruption.

The political costs of the prolonged conflict appear to be mounting domestically as Trump approaches the 2026 midterm elections. According to News Talk WBAP, a Reuters/Ipsos survey found Trump’s approval rating at 33%, the lowest level of his presidency, with roughly 80% of respondents saying they expected U.S. involvement in the conflict with Iran to continue for an extended period.

The Trump administration’s underlying strategic bet is that Iran’s worsening economy and domestic unrest will eventually force Tehran back to the negotiating table on terms more favorable to Washington. Iran, according to News Talk WBAP, appears to be making the opposite calculation, betting instead that the United States will ultimately face greater political and economic costs from a prolonged conflict than Iran itself will, particularly given the toll an unpopular and costly war has taken on both U.S. public opinion and military resources.

This latest pressure campaign builds on a broader pattern established earlier in Trump’s second term. The administration had already reinstated its “maximum pressure” policy on Iran in February 2025, according to Radio Farda, directing the Treasury Department to impose maximum economic pressure through sanctions and enforcement mechanisms targeting individuals and entities violating existing sanctions, with an explicit goal of driving Iran’s oil exports to zero. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reinforced that objective in subsequent remarks, telling the Economic Club of New York that the administration intended to shut down Iran’s oil industry entirely and cut off Tehran’s access to the international financial system.

As the conflict continues without a clear resolution in sight, both sides appear increasingly committed to a war of economic attrition, with Washington wagering that sustained financial pressure will eventually break Tehran’s resistance, and Iran betting that its historical resilience to sanctions, built over decades of prior U.S. and international pressure campaigns, will allow it to outlast the current effort regardless of the mounting toll on its own economy and population.

Luigi Lovaglio
CEO, GM & Director

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The

The “One Bite” pizza reviewer and Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy threw his support behind Yum! Brands’ campaign to temporarily rebrand Pizza Hut, praising the pizza chain’s strategic marketing move as “brilliant” while pitching company executives on directing advertising dollars toward Barstool Sports during football season.

“At first, I didn’t really get it. But I’ll say this, Stuart. We do business with Pizza Hut. And we want them to spend lots of money with Barstool. So I think it’s a brilliant move. Whoever came up with that, I like it,” Portnoy said on “Varney & Co.” Friday.

“They’re thinking smart. It’s football season. There it is, the football with the ‘Hut.’ And you know, they’re gonna spread this message. They gotta find some new media vehicles that cover football,” he continued, “and maybe do a little bit of an ad spend to let people know what’s going on so they don’t get confused.”

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FOX Business host Stuart Varney replied: “And Barstool Sports is ideally situated to pick up a little pizza business, right?”

David Portnoy of Barstool Sports on May 11, 2019, in Atlantic City, New Jersey. (Getty Images)

“You don’t say!” Portnoy responded.

On Wednesday, the chain announced that it will go by “Hut” for the next 25 weeks, coinciding with the 2026 NFL season.

“You can just call us HUT for the next 25 weeks,” Pizza Hut wrote in a social media post announcing the temporary rebrand.

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The company showed off the change at a restaurant in Plano, Texas, where a banner featuring a football covered the word “Pizza” on the restaurant’s exterior sign. Pizza Hut, which is headquartered in Plano, also changed its social media profile images to a logo without the word “Pizza.”

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FOX Business’ Brittany Miller contributed to this report.

Nearly 40,000 bottles of eye drops are being recalled nationwide due to potential contamination, according to the Food and Drug Administration.

Tarrytown, New York-based Prestige Brand Holdings is voluntarily recalling 39,060 bottles of its Clear Eyes Maximum Itchy Eye Relief eye drops due to a “lack of assurance of sterility,” according to an FDA enforcement report.

The affected product comes in 15-milliliter bottles with the lot code 2552A and an expiration date of Sep. 30, 2027. They were distributed by Medtech Products Inc., a Prestige Consumer Healthcare company.

NEARLY 12 MILLION BOTTLES OF ROHTO EYE DROPS RECALLED OVER STERILITY CONCERNS, FDA ANNOUNCES

Nearly 40,000 bottles of eye drops are being recalled nationwide due to potential contamination. (Getty Images)

The FDA classified the recall as a Class II recall, which it describes as a “situation in which use of or exposure to a violative product may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences or where the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote.”

MILLIONS OF PRESCRIPTION EYE DROPS RECALLED NATIONWIDE OVER CONTAMINATION CONCERNS

Other brands in the Prestige portfolio include Dramamine, Luden’s and Anacin.

The FDA classified the recall as a Class II recall. (Getty Images)

The company completed the acquisition of the Breathe Right brand – known for its nasal strips – and other assets from Foundation Consumer ​Healthcare in June in a deal valued at about $1.05 billion.

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FOX Business reached out to Prestige Brands for comment.

The US national debt has more than doubled in a decade to reach a milestone $40tn (£29.4tn), Treasury figures show. The rise reflects years of heavy spending under both the Donald Trump and Joe Biden administrations, along with higher interest payments that have steadily added to the total. In 2016, the national debt stood at just under $20tn.

The BBC’s Nathalie Jimenez explains how the debt can affect American consumers and the entire world.

BALTIMORE — O.J. Brigance, the Baltimore Ravens Super Bowl champion who became one of the most inspirational figures in franchise history during a 19-year battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, has died at age 56, the team announced Monday.

Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti confirmed Brigance’s death in a statement that reflected the depth of grief across the organization. “We are devastated by the awful news that we have lost O.J. Brigance,” Bisciotti said. “O.J. was a beloved legend, mentor and man to everyone who was fortunate enough to know him. His infectious smile and the inspirational way he lived and played endeared him to everyone he touched, both inside our building and across this city. This is a tremendously sad day for Baltimore.”

Brigance was diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, in 2007 at age 37, when doctors told him he likely had two to five years left to live. He defied that prognosis for nearly two decades, becoming a defining symbol of resilience within the Ravens organization even as the progressive neurodegenerative disease gradually took away his physical abilities.

Ravens executive vice president Ozzie Newsome, who worked closely with Brigance for years, described him as one of the most genuine people he had ever known. “He was a hero to this city long before his courageous battle with ALS and became an even greater inspiration in the way he faced it with the same fight, faith and grace he brought to the football field,” Newsome said in a statement. “O.J.’s service to our community, to the Ravens and the fight for a cure for ALS will never be forgotten. He was and always will be a beloved mentor and man. With heartfelt sorrow, we extend our deepest sympathies to Chanda and the Brigance family.”

Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta, reflecting on 22 years of friendship with Brigance, said he never once witnessed Brigance express anger or frustration over his diagnosis throughout their long relationship. “O.J. inspired us with humility, faithfulness, determination, competitiveness and love for humankind,” DeCosta said. “We never once saw O.J. angry or frustrated by his disease. Instead, we all witnessed a hero who influenced so many people through his unwavering optimism and grit.”

Brigance, a Houston native, began his professional football career with the Canadian Football League’s Baltimore Stallions, helping the team win the 1995 Grey Cup championship. He later transitioned to the NFL, joining the Ravens as a free agent linebacker in 2000, where he became a standout special teams player during Baltimore’s Super Bowl XXXV championship season, recording the game’s first tackle on the opening kickoff. Following a seven-year NFL playing career that concluded with the New England Patriots in 2002, Brigance returned to Baltimore in 2004 to join the Ravens’ front office, eventually leading the team’s player engagement and development department.

His work in that role earned him significant recognition from the league itself. Brigance received the NFL’s Best Overall Player Development Program award for two consecutive years, in 2005 and 2006, along with the Most Outstanding Internship Program Award in 2005 and the Outstanding Continuing Education Program Award in 2007.

Following his ALS diagnosis, Brigance and his wife, Chanda, established the Brigance Brigade Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising money and awareness in the fight against ALS. The foundation has worked to improve quality of life for people living with the disease and their families, providing access to support services, necessary equipment and resource guidance for those navigating a similarly difficult diagnosis.

Former Ravens head coach John Harbaugh, who worked alongside Brigance for years, often referred to him as “the strongest man in the organization,” and remembered him as a man of deep faith who found purpose through extraordinarily difficult circumstances “through the great glory of God,” according to tributes shared following his death.

Brigance’s impact extended well beyond the Ravens’ coaching staff and front office, reaching players who credited him directly with shaping their careers and character. When former middle linebacker Ray Lewis received the Lamar Hunt Trophy after Baltimore’s AFC championship win in January 2013, he turned to Brigance and told him, “You’re my greatest motivation.” Former Ravens safety Ed Reed similarly acknowledged Brigance’s influence during his 2019 Pro Football Hall of Fame induction speech, saying, “You’re the reason why I’m here, man. You’re the reason I became a great professional.”

Tributes to Brigance extended well beyond the Ravens organization following news of his death. Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner, a former teammate, shared an emotional message reflecting on Brigance’s character. “One of my favorite teammates ever!! They don’t build them like this man very often & when I say that, I don’t mean his physical stature but his character, heart & integrity! I will miss you, brother!” Warner wrote.

Throughout his years living with ALS, Brigance remained a visible and engaged presence around the Ravens organization, frequently attending games and practices while navigating the team facility in a motorized wheelchair, consistently greeting those around him with what colleagues repeatedly described as an infectious smile despite the physical toll of his disease.

The Ravens organization, in a statement announcing his death, emphasized that Brigance’s legacy would continue to shape both the franchise and the broader Baltimore community for years to come. “O.J. will be remembered for his service to our community, to the Ravens and to the fight to find a cure for ALS. With heavy hearts, the Ravens organization extends our deepest condolences to Chanda and the entire Brigance family,” the team said.

Brigance is survived by his wife, Chanda, and their family, who have continued the work of the Brigance Brigade Foundation alongside him throughout his nearly two-decade fight with ALS. As tributes continue to arrive from across the NFL and the Baltimore community, Brigance’s legacy is likely to endure not only through his contributions on the football field, including his role on the franchise’s first Super Bowl championship team, but through the ongoing work of the foundation he and his wife built to support others facing the same disease that ultimately claimed his life after nearly 20 years of what colleagues and teammates alike consistently described as unmatched courage and grace.

A California helicopter manufacturer whose R66 helicopter was selected for use in a major new U.S. Army flight training program said the effort could support hundreds of American jobs.

Robinson Helicopter Company, based in Torrance, California, will provide its R66 turbine helicopter for the Army’s Flight School Next program as part of a team led by M1 Support Services.

The program will train the next generation of Army helicopter pilots at Fort Rucker, Alabama. The R66 was selected as the team’s aircraft for the Army’s Initial Entry Rotary-Wing training program.

“Robinson didn’t just check the boxes; it blew past them, beating out competitors on price, performance and resiliency,” company spokesperson Erica Dumas told FOX Business.

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Robinson Helicopter Company will provide its R66 turbine helicopter for the Army’s Flight School Next program as part of a team led by M1 Support Services. (Robinson Helicopter Company)

Robinson Helicopter CEO David Smith said the selection shows that an American-made aircraft can compete with foreign-built products in a critical military training role.

“This is a really powerful demonstration of American-made displacing what are currently foreign products that occupy this very important role of training Army aviators,” Smith told FOX Business. 

Smith said the program will create demand for maintenance workers, instructors and overhaul specialists in Alabama while also driving additional work at Robinson’s California factory.

“There’s an opportunity for us to both sell these aircraft and the parts that feed them for 26 years,” he said, adding that future exports to allied nations could help create “likely hundreds of jobs over time” in Torrance, California.

Robinson says the R66 is 100% U.S.-designed and manufactured, with more than 85% of its parts produced at the company’s vertically integrated Torrance facility.

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Robinson President and CEO David Smith said the selection shows that an American-made aircraft can compete with foreign-built products. (FOX Business)

“We absolutely have the skills, the resources to design, the resources to innovate, and ultimately to make the hard manufactured products that build these products,” Smith said.

The company says the R66 has the lowest acquisition price and direct operating cost of any turbine helicopter in its class over the past decade while giving Army pilots experience with modern avionics, autopilot systems and night-vision capabilities.

Smith said those savings could allow the Army to redirect funding toward other priorities.

“One of the great benefits of this project is it will help the Army allocate more funding to some of the more significant projects they have [in] the future,” he said.

The contract also advances Robinson’s expansion into defense.

“This is a way for us to contribute directly to an area of great need,” he said.

DEPARTMENT OF WAR TAPS ORACLE FOR SOFTWARE DEAL WORTH NEARLY $7B

The contract also advances Robinson’s expansion into defense. (Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Smith also argued that rebuilding America’s defense industrial base will require renewed emphasis on skilled trades.

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“We need to rebuild that first, the appetite and the interest of the workforce to go into these very important skilled areas and make it a fun and cool business to be in again,” Smith said.

Robinson also plans to reinvest proceeds from the program into research and development, including unmanned aircraft and other defense technologies.

“I’m an engineer first,” he said. “And so my mindset is, how can we continue to use wins like this to reinvest in the business and grow in the years to come?”