Developing: Israel, Lebanon on Brink of Major Breakthrough

So just hours from now, the Pentagon is going to give us an update on Operation Epic Fury since enforcing a blockade on Iran's port. And it's going well. The blockade's holding strong since the operation began. It happened earlier this week, actually took place officially 10 a.m. on Monday. CENTCOM says 10 vessels have been turned around, zero ships have broken through. That includes China and Iran. And this comes as a new report says that Iran might have just two weeks of onshore oil storage capacity left. This might force Iran to completely halt oil exports. We're just draining them right now. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is preparing to pivot to economic warfare on Iran with Treasury Secretary Scott Besson says will bring Tehran to its knees financially. We have had maximum pressure on the Iranians, both on blocking payments into the Iranian state and going after the accounts of the IRGC. We have told countries that if you are buying Iranian oil, that if Iranian money is sitting in your banks, we are now willing to apply secondary sanctions, which is a very stern measure. And the Iranians should know that this is going to be the financial equivalent of what we saw in the kinetic activities. So for the latest on the ground in the Middle East, we turn to chief foreign correspondent Trey Yanks. Trey, what's going on? Yeah. Hey, guys. Good morning. A historic opportunity unfolding right now in the Middle East. Israeli sources telling Fox News they believe that talks between Israel and Lebanon could lead to Lebanon joining the Abraham Accords. It's still early, but following direct conversations in Washington earlier this week, President Trump overnight on trying to get a little breathing room between Israel and Lebanon. It has been a long time since the two leaders have spoken, like 34 years. It will happen tomorrow. Nice. As Israeli ground forces continue to operate in southern Lebanon, Hezbollah is still firing rockets and drones over the border. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying this about the situation. We are about to overcome the southern Lebanon town of Ben Shaville. We are, in effect, about to eliminate this great stronghold of Hezbollah. At the same time, I gave instructions to the IDF yesterday to continue widening the security zone and also spread it eastward toward the slopes of Mount Hermon so that we can better assist our Druze brothers in their time of distress. New video released by a Lebanese paramedic group shows an evacuation of wounded men, clearly marked medic vests they're wearing, taking place in Nabatea, southern Lebanon. While the wounded are being loaded into ambulances, another Israeli strike hits just outside of the vehicle. The Lebanese health ministry said four rescue workers were killed in Israeli strikes on Wednesday. The Israelis responded to a request for comment from Fox News, saying, quote, overnight, the IDF targeted Hezbollah combatants who were wearing paramedic vests and using ambulances to move Hezbollah fighters and weapons. We can confirm that four Hezbollah combatants were successfully killed in the strikes. And so a difference there in the statements from the Lebanese government and the Israeli government. But moving forward, there is optimism in the region about the possibility of these direct talks leading to a normalization agreement between the two countries. Guys. So, Trey, yesterday, this Mohsen Rezai, an ex-commander, they say he's an advisor to the new supreme leader, was mocking the president's blockade, talking about how they're winning this war, daring us to go back to war. Are we to believe this guy or would you believe what the others are saying that we're in Pakistan? It's a great question. While the Iranians are talking, the Americans are preparing. There are still thousands of additional U.S. forces headed to the region. Each and every day, there are transport planes and refuelers landing in the Middle East. This is an indication that President Trump has a variety of options on the table. And so if the Iranians are not serious about making a good faith deal, the region may go back to war. And what is a good faith deal? This is the important thing to look at. A good faith deal is understanding that they will never have a nuclear weapon, understanding that they cannot maintain the ability to enrich uranium, understanding that they have to remove the already enriched uranium that is buried deep underground in the aftermath of Operation Midnight Hammer from their country. If they can clearly make those agreements at the negotiating table, they may get a deal. But there are other things that are being discussed as their ballistic missile program, their support of regional proxies like Hamas, the Houthis, and Hezbollah. And so the bottom line here is that the Iranians often say one thing publicly, and then at the negotiating table, they're begging the Americans for a deal because they understand that the United States and Israel could continue fighting for months. The Iranian regime each and every day during Operation Epic Fury was degraded, and it gives them a very limited ability to respond to any future U.S. or Israeli strikes. And so we often hear this propaganda from the Iranian regime. The reality is the Iranians are in the worst position they have been in in decades. And even if Operation Epic Fury ended today, they'd be set back for a number of years. And this really speaks to the success of those U.S. strikes against the Iranian military infrastructure. Yeah, they're losing $435 million a day. The Navy's at the bottom of the ocean. Military targets have been bombed. Their senior leadership is dead. They care a lot about, obviously, the economy. They were protesting when inflation was 40 percent in January. Now it's at 180 percent. Now, the president, I know for sure, is negotiating with the Iranians. They are hearing directly from President Trump. And he is telling them that there will be severe consequences if you do not open up the strait and you do not hand over the enriched uranium. So, Trey, it can be done the easy way or the hard way. And I imagine the hard way would be no more Kargailan. Absolutely. President Trump has been very clear. The Iranians are either going to give up their highly enriched uranium at the negotiating table or it's going to be taken from them. And the same goes for the Strait of Hormuz. Right now, the United States has successfully blockaded all Iranian ports near the Strait of Hormuz. When you speak about just how large this is, while the strait itself at its narrowest point is around 22 miles wide, we're talking about a lot of sea here and a lot of area to cover. And we heard yesterday that message that was sent out by the U.S. Navy to all vessels in the area, telling them very clearly you do not have permission to enter or exit Iranian ports and there could be consequences if vessels continue to do so. And those consequences would likely include U.S. Marines boarding these vessels and seizing them. And it just gives you a sense of how in control the United States is of this area, not just at sea, but also on land and over the skies of Iran. The Iranians, in just a matter of about 40 days, lost their ability to control the skies of their own country. The majority of their Navy is currently sitting at the bottom of the sea. And you have a situation where even if the president in the future decided to order a limited ground operation to seize something like Karg Island or even possibly get the enriched uranium in the hands of U.S. forces and remove it from the country, the Iranians would have very little in terms of options to respond or defend. And that, again, is a result of the successful U.S. strikes against the IRGC infrastructure and the power of the U.S. military. We saw that when that pilot was rescued. Hundreds of U.S. forces on the ground inside of Iran. And when we got the details from President Trump, this was fascinating to hear. They sent in cargo planes with these U.S. forces and they even had air defense systems that they were able to get on the ground inside of a remote part of Iran and set up the infrastructure needed for ground operations. And so, again, this just speaks to the ability of the U.S. military and the situation that Iran is currently in. Along with the Israelis. Yeah. Thanks so much, Trey. You know, and you know, this president has ability to move the markets, I think, better than any other president before, because you see them panic at moments. And then he tells them, just chill out. You saw the S&P hit record high yesterday. You saw the price of crude oil go down. And we saw this when the tariffs first came out. There was panic. And then we saw record highs. And I think people are starting to realize that we have control, not just from a military standpoint, but a financial standpoint. China is now coming to the table to put some pressure on Iran. And they're freaking out. They were freaking out because of our military. But now they're freaking out because, as you noted, Ainsley, the people are upset because they see this financial aspect of this getting ready to crumble down on their hands. On Fox one.