The salary cap proposal was coming anyway. The Dodgers did play through wildfire smoke at Yankee Stadium last Friday. No locusts, at least not yet.
But no one foretold that the star to whom the Dodgers agreed last winter to pay an average of $60 million each year would be, well, average.
Over the first half of the season, Tucker’s OPS+ was 100, making him a player defined by that metric as “league average.”
He is batting .240, 30 points below his career average. He is on pace for full-season career lows in home runs (11) and OPS (.702).
His WAR is 0.9, below the 1.3 of Tyler Glasnow. By that metric, Tucker has contributed less to the Dodgers’ success this season than Glasnow, who has pitched in seven of the team’s first 100 games.
Hardly anyone outside Los Angeles has noticed, and hardly anyone in Los Angeles has gotten all worked up about it.
“I appreciate that our fan base, compared to some others, gives a lot more grace to players,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “And I know he sees that as well.”
Here is what Tucker’s trials have cost the Dodgers: Absolutely nothing.
He had two hits, both singles, in 13 at-bats as his team won the weekend series against the New York Yankees. The Dodgers remain the owners of the best record in the major leagues.
Tucker’s four-year contract, lucrative as it is, was not accompanied by a withering spotlight. He does not need to lift his team into the postseason, a burden often borne by marquee free agents signed to put their team over the top.
With the Dodgers?
Shohei Ohtani is the face of baseball. Freddie Freeman’s son walked around the All-Star Game in a T-shirt that read “My Dad Has 2,500 Hits.”
Mookie Betts last played here as a World Series-winning, Gold Glove-winning right fielder; he returned as a World Series-winning, Gold Glove-caliber shortstop.
“I think it certainly helps being around a lot of other guys who have high expectations,” Roberts said.
Neither rain nor smoke nor heat can keep the Dodgers from their appointed October rounds. They need Tucker to prosper then.
Dodgers outfielder Kyle Tucker singles during the second inning against the New York Yankees on Friday.
(Caleb Bowlin / Getty Images)
“Obviously, we all want to play well all year,” Betts said. “It’s not like we’re kicking the can and nobody cares. Even then, we’d love to be ready in October.
“It’s really just about playing. You never know. You could have a great October and get one hit, and it could be the biggest hit.”
Said Tucker: “Everyone here is very talented. Everyone is here to help each other out. Everyone here just wants to get back to another World Series, and win it. So I’m trying to do my part and just play baseball.”
He insists he is not weighted down by the external expectations that accompany his contract.
“I think that’s the beauty of it, the thing that’s refreshing,” Betts said. “I don’t think he cares about any of that. He just wants to play well and do his thing and help the boys.
“I don’t think he really cares about the expectations.”
You may think “$60 million” when he comes to the plate. He does not.
“I try, regardless of what my situation is,” Tucker said. “Sometimes it works out. Sometimes it doesn’t. I’ve just got to try and do better.”
His strikeouts are up significantly this season. His bat speed is down slightly. His hard contact rate is down significantly.
He’s working on fixing his swing. He’s been working on it. He’ll keep working on it.
Roberts said the quality of Tucker’s at-bats have looked better over the past couple weeks, even if the results may not show it.
“The thing that I’ve appreciated since Day 1 is, he hasn’t run from his struggles,” Roberts said. “He’s owned it.”
Tucker made the All-Star Game in each of the four years preceding this one. The Dodgers are betting his level of performance will at least approach that in the second half.
Betts said he does not see anything specific to worry about with Tucker.
“I don’t see anything at all,” Betts said. “He’s a competitor. He’s already come through a bunch during the year. It’s not like he’s not doing anything.
“He’s not hitting .330 with 30 [home runs], like we all would dream we were doing, right? But, as a team, we’re doing OK.”
For now, the Dodgers are. Their true season starts in a little more than two months.
From Tucker, the accountability is appreciated. Production would be better.
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Showers and thunderstorms triggered a flash flood warning for Manhattan and northeastern New Jersey on Saturday, but the rain also helped blow out the smoke from Canadian wildfires that had choked the tristate area for days and threatened to disrupt Sunday’s World Cup final at MetLife Stadium.
Concerns about hazardous air quality led the White House and FIFA to hold informal discussions Friday over the possibility of moving the game, with the most likely venue being Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.
On Friday, before the storms, the Air Quality Index (AQI) in East Rutherford was around 160, which was considered unhealthful. But that was down from a “very unhealthful” reading of 245 on Thursday.
By 6 p.m. EDT on Saturday, that level had dropped further, to 89, posing only a moderate health concern for a very small number of people. That number was expected to continue falling into the early hours of Sunday, and the level at kickoff was projected to be 66, although forecasters warned that shifting winds could bring smoke back into the area, causing temporary spikes in the AQI.
With the World Cup final less than 24 hours away, an unlikely factor is grabbing the attention of organisers, fans and players alike.
The lingering smoke from the Canadian wildfires sparked earlier this week has engulfed the northeastern region of the United States, raising questions about its impact on the Spain vs Argentina final in New Jersey on Sunday.
A visible haze hung over the twin World Cup host states of New York and New Jersey on Saturday, with inclement weather causing disruptions.
At one point on Friday, New York rated as the city with the worst air quality in the world.
The World Cup final between the European champions and current title holders kicks off at 3pm local time (19:00 GMT) on Sunday in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Here’s what we know about the smoke, weather and World Cup final:
Is there a haze in New York and New Jersey before the World Cup final?
Smoke from the Canadian wildfires is hanging over the region, reducing visibility and affecting air quality in most northeastern US states.
Warnings of unhealthy air quality remained in effect across a wide area of the US east coast on Saturday.
However, experts predict conditions will improve for the big showdown in New Jersey tomorrow.
The air quality index forecast shows an improvement from unhealthy air to “moderate” air quality for sensitive groups from Saturday to Sunday in East Rutherford, which means little to no health risk for the general public on the day of the final.
How is the weather and what’s the forecast in New Jersey before the Spain vs Argentina final?
A thunderstorm passed through the area on Saturday afternoon, causing heavy rain and loud thunder at the New York New Jersey Stadium, renamed from MetLife Stadium.
State police urged people to leave the stadium seating bowl and field and take shelter. Volunteers and staff dashed inside for cover as ponchos were handed out. The sky was the same thick, soupy grey it had been for days.
New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill warned residents about the potential for damaging winds, tornadoes, flash flooding and large hailstones.
FIFA said it was in close contact with local authorities as it continues to monitor the impacts from the wildfire smoke and the storms on the stadium conditions for the final.
Have the weather and smoke disrupted preparations for Spain or Argentina?
Spain’s last training session ahead of the final at a nearby Melanie Lane Training Ground was suspended because of storms and lightning in the area.
The Spanish football federation (RFEF) said that was in accordance with US storm safety protocol.
“The players are currently taking part in a warm-up session indoors,” RFEF added.
FIFA said that there would not be another time slot for the team to train.
Argentina had an outdoor training session at their scheduled time of 1:30pm (17:30 GMT), with players showing no concerns about air quality or the weather.
Lionel Messi and the Argentina squad unaffected by the weather on the eve of the World Cup final, July 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Will the wildfire smoke affect the World Cup final?
The haze will mostly clear from New Jersey just in time for the final, thanks to thunderstorms passing through the area, meteorologists say.
“This storm front will largely move the smoke out of the northeast before the final between Spain and Argentina,” said Tyler Roys, a senior meteorologist at online weather service AccuWeather.
“There could be some lingering smoke that would make things hazy, but very faint,” Roys said. “In terms of the thickest smoke, the smoke that has really been eye-popping and leads to poor air quality, that is not expected across New York City or much of the northeast.”
Jeff Berardelli, chief meteorologist and climate specialist at WFLA-TV, echoed the forecast, saying the storm front would “sweep the atmosphere clean”, leaving only a thin smoke that World Cup spectators may still smell in the air.
“It won’t be dangerous anymore,” Berardelli said. “It’s going to be dramatically better.”
Temperatures are forecast to be around 27C (80F) with light breezes and low humidity for kick off.
“You couldn’t have asked for much better weather for the World Cup,” Berardelli added.
Both experts expect the heavier smoke on Sunday to be concentrated closer to the fires, hanging over parts of the Midwest and Great Lakes region.
Berardelli said they are burning longer and faster because of climate change.
Plumes of smoke from wildfires in Canada are pouring into major US cities across the Midwest, Northeast and mid-Atlantic. Polluted air is affecting more than 100 million people and is creating concern ahead of Sunday’s World Cup final.
United States President Donald Trump has threatened to impose additional tariffs against Canada, as a penalty for the wildfire smoke that has clouded cities across North America.
On Friday, Trump complained about the air quality on social media, as officials in Canada continue to battle 896 active blazes across the country.
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Roughly 200 are burning in the province of Ontario, where Premier Doug Ford said 81 are still out of control. Trump, however, blamed the fires on Canadian governance.
“We are holding Canada responsible for the fact that they are not properly maintaining their Forests, and Brush,” Trump wrote.
“The United States is being unnecessarily invaded by filthy, polluted, and unhealthy air, the quality of which is dangerous, and totally unacceptable!”
He pledged to call Prime Minister Mark Carney, accusing the Canadian leader’s government of negligence.
“The cost is incalculable,” Trump added, saying the expense would be added to existing tariffs against Canadian exports to the US.
The post is the latest example of the US president wielding the threat of heightened tariffs to impose a wide range of demands on foreign countries.
Since returning to the White House for a second term in January 2025, Trump has ratcheted up pressure against Canada, using tariffs as a means of pressuring the country to increase border security and change trade practices he considered unfair.
Trump has also pushed Canada to cede its sovereignty and become the “51st” US state.
Scientists have attributed the proliferation of wildfires across North America to a range of factors, including hot and dry conditions worsened by climate change.
But the right-wing Trump has repeatedly blamed left-leaning and centrist politicians for mismanagement when powerful wildfires erupt.
Trump, for example, repeatedly attacked California Governor Gavin Newsom when his state was fighting wildfires around the city of Los Angeles in 2025.
He blamed the fire destruction on the state’s approach to water management and its endangered species protections.
“I will demand that this incompetent governor allow beautiful, clean, fresh water to FLOW INTO CALIFORNIA! He is the blame for this,” Trump wrote at the time, though experts say his accusations had little basis in fact.
During his first term, Trump also attacked California, saying that the state should have raked its forest floors to prevent wildfires.
“I said, you’ve got to clean your floors. You’ve got to clean your forests,” Trump told a rally in 2020.
Scientists say that multiple factors can contribute to large wildfires, including heightened heat, drought and overly repressive fire policies that prevent natural burns, resulting in overgrown landscapes.
The risk of damage is also heightened by the increasing number of people living in areas where the wildlands meet urban development.
In mid-July, Ontario saw its largest conflagration of the year so far, when several smaller fires merged in Wabakimi Provincial Park, destroying First Nations communities.
Ford, Ontario’s premier, said on Friday morning that 10 communities had been evacuated.
He thanked leaders across Canada, as well as in US states like Massachusetts and Minnesota, for providing support.
“Neighbours have each other’s backs, which is why Ontario has always been there for our American partners in their time of need,” he wrote on social media.
But Republicans, including Trump and US Representative Bill Huizenga of Michigan, have used the recent blazes to criticise Canada for its fire policy.
“Canada’s inability to mitigate, contain, and prevent its wildfires must be addressed,” Huizenga wrote on social media on Thursday. “These annual fires significantly harm not only our health and quality of life, but also our economic prosperity.”
On Friday, Trump reiterated his position that Canada’s fires could have been prevented through debris removal.
“Canada has refused to engage in basic Forest Management and Debris Removal, knowing that such refusal will lead to exactly this result,” Trump wrote.
“This is Willful Negligence, and becoming a yearly occurrence, costing the United States Billions of Dollars, which cost of this pollution must of necessity be added to the TARIFFS Canada is currently paying.”
The wildfire smoke has prompted concerns about the viability of hosting the FIFA World Cup final in New Jersey this weekend.
But the Trump administration itself has faced pushback over its wildfire preparedness.
The New York Times reported on Friday that the Trump administration had slashed funding for wildfire research, including laboratories that study the effects of wildfire smoke on human health.
July 16 (UPI) — Thick smoke from Canadian wildfires poured into northeastern quarter of the United States on Thursday after similarly darkening skies across and prompting health warnings across much of the Great Lakes region.
Dangerous levels of smoke were noted across Canada and the northeastern and midwestern United States, sparking memories of the historically severe wildfire smoke outbreak in 2023.
Entire states including New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Wisconsin were under air quality alerts.
By early Thursday, Minneapolis, Duluth, Minn., and Detroit were among the most heavily impacted areas of the country.
Very heavy smoke from large wildfires in northern Minnesota and northwestern Ontario spread over Minnesota from late Wednesday into Thursday morning, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency reported.
Hourly observations of smoke concentrations broke records for the Twin Cities on both days, the agency said.
In Detroit, businesses and attractions closed due to poor air quality.
A planned concert by rocker John Mellencamp at Pine Knob Music Theatre in Clarkston, Mich., was canceled while some workers inside Ford Motor‘s Michigan Assembly plant in Wayne, Mich., were hospitalized amid the smoky haze and intense heat, the Detroit Free Press reported.
Michigan’s statewide air quality alert was extended through Friday before cooler weather was expected to move the smoky pall out of the Great Lakes region.
In Chicago, the city closed all of its public beaches and outdoor pools, while Milwaukee recorded the worst air quality in its history — a record-breaking Air Quality Index measured at over 600, according to the Milwaukee Journal.
Further east, smoke from the Canadian wildfires enveloped New York City, prompting Mayor Zohran Mamdani to urge residents to “take precautions to stay cool and out of harm’s way” while dealing with both the smoke and high temperatures.
“In our city, we pride ourselves on being resilient,” the mayor told reporters early Thursday. “Today is not a day to say, ‘In spite of the air quality, I’m going to do everything I was going to do yesterday.’ This is very serious. We are reaching into a level of air quality that is dangerous for every single New Yorker.”
Smoke from fires in Northern California lowers visability of the Bay Bridge and San Francico as viewed from Yerba Buena Island on October 2. Photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI | License Photo
Monitor ranks Toronto as having the worst air quality on earth, surpassing Kinshasa, DR Congo, and New Delhi, India.
Published On 16 Jul 202616 Jul 2026
Toronto’s air quality has ranked the worst among all major cities in the world as smoke from wildfires in northwestern Ontario blankets the skies and spreads into the northeastern United States, triggering multiple health warnings and evacuations.
Wildfires continued burning through sparsely populated areas hundreds of miles from Toronto, Canada’s largest city, on Wednesday, sending smoke over a wide area, although cities in the area are not being threatened.
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Environment Canada reported an Air Quality Health Index reading of 10+, classified as “very high risk”, for Toronto. Forecasts suggested that hazardous conditions could persist through Thursday night.
IQAir, a Swiss air quality technology company, ranked Toronto as having the worst air quality across the globe, surpassing the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Kinshasa and India’s New Delhi.
“The biggest contributor to Toronto’s spike in air pollution right now is wildfires, though the higher-than-average temperatures are also playing a role,” Armen Araradian of IQAir told the AFP news agency.
While this year’s wildfire season in Canada has been fairly muted compared with recent years, there are more than 800 active fires nationwide.
A video that went viral on social media showed a Canadian National train surrounded by fire near Armstrong, Ontario. Canadian National employees in the area and residents of Armstrong were evacuated on Monday night, the railroad operator said in a statement. It suspended rail operations near Armstrong as a precaution.
Smoke from the wildfires also worsened air quality across the border in the US, with the states of Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine and New Hampshire particularly affected.
Authorities in New York City have issued an alert over unhealthy air quality, urging residents to reduce strenuous outdoor activity and take extra breaks if they are outside on Wednesday and Thursday.
The National Weather Service said smoke could linger until the end of the week.
“We probably haven’t seen the worst of it yet for New York City. We probably haven’t seen the worst of it yet for the Great Lakes and upstate, and New England yet either,” Dan Westervelt, Lamont associate research professor at Columbia University, told the Reuters news agency.
More than 80,000 people are expected to attend the FIFA World Cup final at an open-air stadium in New Jersey on Sunday, with another 50,000 planning to watch the game from New York City’s Central Park, where skies appeared hazy.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul urged people, especially those with health conditions, to exercise caution.
A person puts on a mask as reflected in a souvenir shop mirror, as wildfire smoke from northwestern Ontario fills the sky, in Toronto on Wednesday [Carlos Osorio/Reuters]
The Canadian government has said that wildfire season began more slowly this year than in 2023 or 2025 – the two worst seasons for wildfires – but warned that fires were likely, due to warmer-than-usual temperatures across the country.
It said some 835 active fires were burning across the country on Wednesday, with 112 considered out of control, and most in the central provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Ontario.
They have burned 1.9 million hectares (4.7 million acres) so far.
Greg Evans, a professor of chemical engineering and applied chemistry at the University of Toronto, said the city had been simultaneously hit with severe heat and wildfire smoke.
“I expect that this will occur more frequently over the coming decades, so cities and residents need to prepare for this in the future,” he said.
Dramatic video shows the moment an explosion rocked a building in Tacoma, sending flames and debris toward firefighters as they were investigating reports of smoke rising from an electrical room within the residential complex. No injuries were reported.
This is widely seen as a throw-me-in-the-briar-patch gift from President Trump, coming as California’s governor edges ever closer toward a 2028 run for the White House. The presumed effort to cut down a political foe could instead boost Newsom’s chances of winning the Democratic nomination, or so it’s being suggested.
After all, look at how Trump’s verbal bludgeoning elevated former Rep. Adam Schiff. The House has typically been a dead end for lawmakers seeking statewide office in California. Today, the former Burbank congressman and Trump tormentor is a United States senator.
In truth, however, it’s far too early to say how the investigation of Newsom and his wife plays out politically, not least because it’s unclear whether there’s merit to the probe or if it’s merely a fruitless search-and-destroy mission by Trump’s Department of Retribution, Vengeance and Settling Old Scores
Beyond that, the first ballots of the 2028 campaign won’t be cast for roughly a year and a half. The Democratic National Convention, where the party will install its nominee, doesn’t begin for another 778 days.
Your friendly political columnist won’t resort to that hoariest of cliches about such-and-such duration being a lifetime in politics. But for some perspective, let’s go back 778 days.
President Joe Biden was running for reelection and about to challenge Trump to a pair of early debates. Trump was sequestered in a New York City courtroom being prosecuted on 34 felony counts.
A lot happened in the weeks and months that followed, including Biden’s self-immolation on the debate stage and Trump’s criminal conviction. A lot more will happen in the weeks and months to come. There’s no telling what. But it’s safe to say the fight for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination will not be decided by anything that’s taken place in June 2026.
With his exquisitely tuned political antennae, the governor jumped out front of the president by announcing last week the feds were targeting him and his wife. (Naturally, Newsom’s revelation was accompanied by a rage-bait email — subject line: “Because I am thinking of running for president” — that denounced the “political witch hunt” and asked for money.)
“After calling for my arrest last year, Donald Trump directed his Department of Justice to investigate me,” Newsom said in a 4 ½-minute, direct-to-camera video that framed the investigation before prosecutors had the chance. “And just in the last week, I’ve learned his campaign has reached my own home: To get me, he’s coming after my wife, Jen.”
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Newsom and his wife both adamantly denied any wrongdoing and, of course, they must be presumed innocent until and unless proven otherwise.
But there was something a bit disingenuous about the governor’s chivalrous defense. Siebel Newsom, a documentary filmmaker who calls herself California’s “First Partner,” is no mere housewife baking cookies and holding teas, in the famous words of Hillary Rodham Clinton. (Hold the outrage, folks, this is not some retrograde criticism of career-seeking women.)
Among her many public-facing activities, Siebel Newsom heads The Representation Project, a nonprofit focused on challenging gender stereotypes. The organization has faced criticism for accepting donations from companies that lobby the governor, so it’s not unreasonable to ask whether those interests have improperly sought to influence Newsom by giving money to Siebel Newsom’s causes.
My Times colleagues reported that an investigation related to Siebel Newsom has been underway for about a year and was launched by federal prosecutors in Sacramento based on whistle-blower information provided in California. It was not, their source said, the result of a directive out of Washington.
“This is a huge problem,” Randall Eliason, former chief of the Public Corruption Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, told Politico. “In any political corruption prosecution, the defense almost always claims it is a ‘political witch hunt,’ that prosecutors are targeting him or her for some political reason.
“The best defense to that has always been [the Justice Department’s] tradition of independence from politics and long track record of pursuing corruption cases based only on the facts and law, without regard to political considerations,” Eliason said. “The Trump administration has abandoned that independence without even trying to hide it.”
The probe of Newsom and his wife presents more questions than answers.
It’s grody, but not criminal on its face, for lobbyists to curry favor with the governor by throwing cash at his wife’s endeavors — if, in fact, that’s been the case. Special interests spending money to gain access and influence is about as common in Sacramento and other capitals as statues, domed buildings and manicured lawns.
So why then are the feds investigating Newsom? Why now? Is there any fire, or is it all a lot of smoke?
Perhaps most important, where can you turn to get an impartial answer?
U.S. forces “disabled M/T Sea Star III and M/T Sevda, May 8, prior to both vessels entering an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman in violation of the ongoing U.S. blockade, CENTCOM stated. “A U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet from USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) disabled both tankers after firing precision munitions into their smokestacks, preventing the non-compliant ships from entering Iran.”
This was the third time that the U.S. has fired on Iranian ships running the blockade. The Navy has used a destroyer’s five-inch gun firing inert rounds to blast the engineering section of one ship to disable it and a Super Hornet’s 20mm Vulcan cannon to disable the rudder on another. So, the use of bombs dropped down a ship’s smokestack to disable but not destroy a ship is new. You can read about these prior instances here.
The weapons used in this latest wave of attacks on blockade runners wasn’t disclosed. 500lb laser-guided bombs are likely what was employed here based on the Super Hornet’s stores options, precision required, and the effects seen. These can utilize high-explosive bomb bodies or inert ones for desired effects, with the latter being most probable in this case.
Fox News reporter Jennifer Griffin was the first to report this news.
NEW: US military carried out more airstrikes today hitting several empty tankers trying to break the blockade.
According to a senior US official: “these were Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCC) …. massive, empty ships trying to make it back to Iran … attempted to run the…
The blockade on Iranian ports was enforced April 13 to strangle Iran’s economy as part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. On Friday, CENTCOM reported that U.S. forces have prevented more than 70 tankers from entering or leaving Iranian ports.
“These commercial ships have the capacity to transport over 166 million barrels of Iranian oil worth an estimated $13 billion-plus,” the command stated on X.
There are currently more than 70 tankers that U.S. forces are preventing from entering or leaving Iranian ports. These commercial ships have the capacity to transport over 166 million barrels of Iranian oil worth an estimated $13 billion-plus. pic.twitter.com/VBKfDwMwqJ
However, “a confidentialCIA analysis delivered to administration policymakers this week concludes that Iran can survive the U.S. naval blockade for at least three to four months before facing more severe economic hardship,” The Washington Post reported on Thursday, citing four people familiar with the document.
Washington Post (This got a lot of attention overnight)
A confidential CIA analysis delivered to administration policymakers this week concludes that Iran can survive the U.S. naval blockade for at least three to four months before facing more severe economic hardship.
PLUS:…
— Joumanna Nasr Bercetche (@JoumannaTV) May 8, 2026
“The Ministry of Defense announced that on May 8, 2026, the UAE air defense systems engaged 2 ballistic missiles and 3 UAV’s launched from Iran, resulting in 3 moderate injuries,” the UAE Defense Ministry (MoD) announced on X Friday morning EDT. “Since the beginning of the blatant Iranian attacks on the United Arab Emirates, the air defenses have engaged a total of 551 ballistic missiles, 29 cruise missiles, and 2,263 UAV’s.”
The UAE, located about 60 miles south of Iran across the Strait, claims these attacks have killed 13 and injured 230.
The MoD “affirmed that it remains fully prepared and ready to deal with any threats and will firmly confront anything that aims to undermine the security of the country, in a manner that ensures the protection of its sovereignty, security and stability and safeguards its interests and national capabilities.”
Tehran did not immediately respond to the claim, which TWZ cannot independently verify.
These incidents follow an exchange of fire last night between the U.S. and Iran. As we reported yesterday, U.S. Central Command said it attacked several locations in Iran after “Iranian forces launched multiple missiles, drones and small boats as USS Truxtun (DDG 103), USS Rafael Peralta (DDG 115), and USS Mason (DDG 87) transited the international sea passage. No U.S. assets were struck.”
Iran said it launched the attacks in retaliation for “violation of the ceasefire and the aggression by the terrorist US military against an Iranian oil tanker near the port of Jask.”
IRGC Navy:
Following the violation of the ceasefire and the aggression by the terrorist US military against an Iranian oil tanker near the port of Jask, and the approach of warships belonging to the terrorist US military toward the Strait of Hormuz, a very large-scale and… pic.twitter.com/pmg4IiD15M
The extent of the damage to Bandar Abbas, Qeshm Island and the Bandar Kargan naval checkpoint in Minab, targets struck by the U.S. on Thursday in response to the attacks on U.S. Navy ships, remains unclear. No images have emerged and neither Iran nor the U.S. have commented.
Last night, Trump called the exchange a “love tap” and said the ceasefire still held.
President Trump tells me in a phone call the retaliatory strikes against Iranian targets are just a “love tap.”
Amid the kinetic activity, diplomacy continues as Trump insists that Iran never develop a nuclear weapon. The status of its ballistic missile arsenal, control of the Strait of Hormuz and support for proxies like Hezbollah and the Houthis are also major sticking points.
The U.S. is awaiting to hear back from Iran about its peace proposal, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.
“We’re expecting a response from them today at some point. We have not received that yet,” he said.
The secretary added that he remained concerned that Iran is still trying to maintain control over the Strait.
“We’ve seen the reporting overnight that Iran is trying to establish some agency that’s going to control traffic in the Strait,” Rubio explained. “That would actually be unacceptable.”
“We’ve seen the reporting overnight that Iran is trying to establish some agency that’s going to control traffic in the Straits… That would actually be unacceptable,” says @SecRubio.
“We’re expecting a response from them today at some point. We have not received that yet.” pic.twitter.com/Wo8IEEWDnI
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 8, 2026
Iran, meanwhile, is accusing the U.S. of moving the goal posts in the negotiating process by using force.
“Every time a diplomatic solution is on the table, the U.S. opts for a reckless military adventure,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated on X. “Is it a crude pressure tactic? Or the result of a spoiler once again duping POTUS into another quagmire? Whatever the causes, [the] outcome is the same: Iranians never bow to pressure.”
Every time a diplomatic solution is on the table, the U.S. opts for a reckless military adventure. Is it a crude pressure tactic? Or the result of a spoiler once again duping POTUS into another quagmire?
Iran claims that its “naval commandos carried out a special operation to detain” an oil tanker, “which was attempting to disrupt Iran’s oil exports and national interests.”
“Implementing the decision of the Supreme National Security Council and with a judicial ruling, the Army Navy seized the oil tanker Ocean Koi, which was carrying Iranian oil and tried to take advantage of the situation in the region to harm and disrupt the oil exports and the interests of the Iranian nation,” said Iran’s Army Public Relations Office in a statement on Friday.
“The commandos of the Army Navy “directed the violating oil tanker to the southern coast of Iran and handed it over to the judicial authorities,” according to the statement. “The Navy of the Islamic Republic of Iran will “vigorously defend the interests and assets of the Iranian nation in the territorial waters of the country and will not tolerate any violator or aggressor.”
Though Iranian officials identified this ship as the Ocean Koi, it is also known as the Jin Li. It is part of Iran’s so-called dark fleet and was sanctioned by the U.S. in February for transporting millions of barrels of Iranian oil. It is unclear why Iran made a show of this event, though it could have been for domestic consumption in the wake of yesterday’s attacks on several targets.
You can see video of the claimed boarding below.
According to IRIB (Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting) News, the Iranian Navy had conducted a special operation to seize an “offending tanker” named “OCEAN KOI” for attempting to export Iranian oil.
Her new name is actually JIN LI (9255933), and has been so since 2025-11-30.… pic.twitter.com/3Wv8jJNEAr
— TankerTrackers.com, Inc. (@TankerTrackers) May 8, 2026
UPDATE: 12:16 PM EDT –
The CIA recruited sources inside Iran, but flawed covert communications reportedly helped Iranian counterintelligence identify and arrest informants, a new report from Reuters stated.
“In interviews with six Iranian former CIA informants, Reuters found that the agency was careless…amid its intense drive to gather intelligence in Iran, putting in peril those risking their lives to help the United States,” the outlet explained.
“Such aggressive steps by the CIA sometimes put average Iranians in danger with little prospect of gaining critical intelligence,” Reuters added. “When these men were caught, the agency provided no assistance to the informants or their families, even years later, the six Iranians said.”
UPDATE: 12:25 PM EDT –
Iranian officials continue to dismiss the notion that the country will cede control of the Strait.
Mohammad Mokhber, an adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader, said on Friday Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz is an asset “on the scale of an atomic bomb”, adding that Tehran would not give up the capability it gained through war.”
Mohammad Mokhber, an adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader, said on Friday Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz is an asset “on the scale of an atomic bomb”, adding that Tehran would not give up the capability it gained through war. pic.twitter.com/07vbiRwVPR
— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) May 8, 2026
12:43 PM EDT –
Hours after launching another attack on the UAE, an Iranian official says that country will remain a target for supporting the U.S. and Israel.
Iran will not leave the Emirates alone, and they are well aware of that, which is why they are trying to maintain tension between Iran, America, and the Zionist entity,” Ali Khodarian, a member of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security Commission, stated on X. “The Americans have realized that their naval blockade parade will henceforth face a military response from the Islamic Republic. No one can now carry out a military operation against our ships without a response.”
عضو لجنة الأمن القومي في البرلمان الإيراني علي خضريان:
⭕إيران لن تترك الإمارات وشأنها وهم يدركون ذلك لذا فهم يحاولون الحفاظ على التوتر بين إيران وأميركا والكيان الصهيوني
⭕ الأميركيون أدركوا أن استعراض حصارهم البحري سيواجه من الآن فصاعدا ردا عسكريا من قبل الجمهورية الإسلامية… pic.twitter.com/qHPE4ZeRsv
The United States will facilitate two days of intensive talks between the governments of Israel and Lebanon on May 14 and 15, State Department spokesman Tommy Piggott announced on Friday.
State Department
UPDATE: 1:48 PM EDT-
CENTCOM released imagery of the Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyers USS Truxtun (DDG 103), USS Rafael Peralta (DDG 115), and USS Mason (DDG 87) operating in the Middle East. “The three destroyers are currently sailing in the Arabian Sea supporting the blockade against Iran,” the command stated on X. “As of today, CENTCOM forces have redirected 57 commercial vessels and disabled 4 to prevent the ships from entering or leaving Iranian ports.”
Photos of USS Truxtun (DDG 103), USS Rafael Peralta (DDG 115), and USS Mason (DDG 87) operating in the Middle East. The three destroyers are currently sailing in the Arabian Sea supporting the blockade against Iran. As of today, CENTCOM forces have redirected 57 commercial… pic.twitter.com/iFHp1HHMac
The U.S. is denying the latest Iranian claim that it successfully carried out an attack on U.S. military assets.
On Friday, the Iranian Army claimed “while the US Navy was attempting to remove three of its destroyers from the Strait of Hormuz towards the Sea of Oman with air support, we carried out a combined missile and drone operation, during which we targeted this naval group with 8 cruise missiles and 24 suicide drones. As a result of this operation, and despite the extensive attempts by the US Navy to repel the attack, one cruise missile and three suicide drones successfully hit the American destroyers, causing fires to break out on them.”
Asked if any U.S. ships were struck today, a U.S. official offered a one-word response.
“No,” the official stated.
BREAKING: IRAN SAYS IT DIRECTLY HIT US DESTROYERS IN THE HORMUZ
The Iranian Army Statement:
On Friday morning, while the US Navy was attempting to remove three of its destroyers from the Strait of Hormuz towards the Sea of Oman with air support, we carried out a combined… pic.twitter.com/FusP0ihHxt
