World
Pentagon confirms four-star general’s firing amid Trump security purge
The United States Department of Defense has confirmed it fired the head of the National Security Agency, in a move that sparked outrage over an alleged purge of security officials.
On Friday, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell released a short statement, acknowledging the departure of four-star Air Force General Timothy Haugh as director of the National Security Agency (NSA), one of the government’s top intelligence-gathering bodies.
Haugh also led the US Cyber Command, which prepares for and defends against attacks in the digital sphere.
“The Defense Department thanks General Timothy Haugh for his decades of service to our nation, culminating as US Cyber Command commander and National Security Agency director. We wish him and his family well,” Parnell said.
Multiple media reports, however, suggested that Haugh’s ouster came at the suggestion of a far-right internet activist, Laura Loomer, who supported President Donald Trump’s campaign for re-election in 2024.
Democrats also seized upon the fact that Trump did not fire anyone involved in the recent controversy over the use of the messaging app Signal to discuss sensitive plans to bomb Houthi targets in Yemen – something that came to light after a journalist was accidentally added to the chat.
“Gen. Haugh led the NSA and Cyber Command with steady, effective leadership,” Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona wrote on social media Friday.
“By dismissing him and failing to hold anyone accountable for the threat to U.S. pilots over Signal, Trump has shown he values loyalty over competence – making us all less safe.”
Another Democratic senator, Mark Warner of Virginia, echoed that sentiment, calling the situation “so crazy it defies belief”.
“Trump refused to fire the people that embarrassed America and risked servicemembers’ lives in the Signalgate scandal,” Warner wrote, “but fired Gen. Haugh, a nonpartisan national security expert, at the advice of a self-described ‘pro-white nationalist’.”
Haugh was just one in a slate of firings this week that came after Trump met with Loomer at the White House.
Media reports indicate Haugh’s civilian deputy at the NSA, Wendy Noble, was booted from her position as well and reassigned.
In addition, multiple members of the National Security Council also appear to have been removed from their positions, including Brian Walsh, a senior director of intelligence, and Thomas Boodry, the senior director of legislative affairs.
The Reuters news agency estimated that more than a dozen security officials were dismissed as part of the alleged purge.
As he flew to South Florida for a golf tournament on Thursday, Trump addressed the rumours, acknowledging “some” people were fired but refusing to give specifics about the total.
“Always, we’re going to let go of people – people we don’t like or people that we don’t think can do the job or people who may have loyalties to someone else,” Trump said from Air Force One.
He also addressed his meeting with Loomer earlier in the week, offering high praise for the internet personality.
“Laura Loomer is a very good patriot,” he said. “She’s a very strong person, and I saw her yesterday for a little while. She makes recommendations.”
When pressed about what that meant, he conceded that Loomer not only recommends individuals to hire – but also to fire. He did, however, dismiss reports that Loomer was involved in a purge of security officials.
Loomer herself addressed Haugh’s removal on Thursday, accusing the four-star general of insufficient loyalty to the Trump administration. She also attempted to paint Haugh as an acolyte of former President Joe Biden, the Democrat who bested Trump in the 2020 election.
“NSA Director Tim Haugh and his deputy Wendy Noble have been disloyal to President Trump. That is why they have been fired,” she wrote.
“Their firings are a blessing for the American people. Thank you President Trump for being receptive to the vetting materials provided to you and thank you for firing these Biden holdovers.”
Loomer has long been a controversial figure on the US right. She once called herself a “proud Islamophobe” and has spread the debunked conspiracy theory that the attacks on September 11, 2001, were an “inside job”.
Her proximity to the president has caused ripples of concern within Trump’s administration – and has been seized upon as a point of criticism for Democrats.
The ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, Jim Himes, demanded an “immediate explanation” for Haugh’s firing, arguing it makes “all of us less safe”.
“I have known General Haugh to be an honest and forthright leader who followed the law and put national security first,” Himes wrote. “I fear those are precisely the qualities that could lead to his firing in this Administration.”
NEW YORK (AP) — Oil prices rose in early trading Sunday as a standoff between Iran and the U.S. prevented tankers from using the Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf waterway that is crucial to global energy supplies.
The price of U.S. crude oil increased 6.4% to $87.90 per barrel an hour after trading resumed on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. The price of Brent crude, the international standard, climbed 5.8% to $95.64 per barrel.
The market reaction followed more than two days of lifted hopes and dashed expectations involving the strait. Crude prices plunged more than 9% Friday after Iran said it would fully reopen the strait, which it effectively controls, to commercial traffic.
Tehran reversed that decision and fired on several vessels Saturday after President Donald Trump said a U.S. Navy blockade of Iranian ports would remain in effect. On Sunday, Trump said the U.S. attacked and forcibly seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship that allegedly tried to get around the blockade. Iran’s joint military command vowed to respond.
Sunday’s higher prices wiped out much of the declines seen Friday, signaling renewed doubts about how soon ships will again transport the vast amounts oil the world gets from the Middle East.
The US-Israeli war against Iran, now in its eighth week, has created one of the worst global energy crises in decades. Countries in Asia and Europe that import much of their oil from the Gulf have felt the most impact of halted supplies and production cuts, although rapidly rising gasoline, diesel and jet fuel prices are affecting businesses and consumers worldwide.
Asked when he thought U.S. motorists would again see gas cost less than $3 a gallon on average, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said prices at the pump might not go down that much until next year.
“But prices have likely peaked, and they’ll start going down,” Wright told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday.
The price of crude oil — the main ingredient in gasoline — has fluctated dramatically since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, and as Iran retaliated with airstrikes on other Gulf states. Crude traded at roughly $70 a barrel before the conflict, spiked to more than $119 at times, and previously closed Friday at $82.59 for U.S. oil and $90.38 for Brent.
Industry analysts have repeatedly warned that the longer the strait is closed, the worse prices could get.
A fragile, two-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran is set to expire Wednesday, while escalating tensions in the Strait of Hormuz puts the fate of new talks to end the war into question.
Even if a lasting deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz emerges, analysts say it could take months for oil shipments to return to normal levels and for fuel prices to go down. Backed-up tanker traffic, shipowners concerned about another sudden escalation, and energy infrastructure damaged during the war are factors that could impede production and shipment volumes from returning to pre-war levels.
A gallon of regular gas cost an average of nearly $4.05 a gallon in the U.S. on Sunday, according to motor club federation AAA. That’s about 8 cents lower than a week ago, but far higher than $2.98 before the war.
Trump warns Iran it ‘can’t blackmail’ US with Hormuz closure
Fox News reports on heightened tensions in the Middle East as Iran’s Revolutionary Guard reaffirms strict control over the Strait of Hormuz and fires on passing ships. President Donald Trump, speaking from the Oval Office, states the US naval blockade will remain in full force. White House correspondent Alex Hogan provides updates on the escalating diplomatic and military standoff.
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Hundreds of commercial tankers are stranded on both sides of the Strait of Hormuz after Iran shut the critical chokepoint on April 18, halting traffic and leaving crews trapped amid reports of gunfire and “traumatic experiences” on board.
The Strait of Hormuz is considered an international waterway under international law, through which ships have the right of transit passage, according to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply passes through the Strait of Hormuz, making it a critical chokepoint for global energy markets, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
The U.K. Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said Iranian gunboats opened fire on a tanker the same day, while a projectile struck a container vessel, damaging cargo.
STARMER AND MACRON ACCUSED OF ‘PLAYING AT BEING RELEVANT’ WITH STRAIT OF HORMUZ PLAN
U.S. Central Command said Tuesday that “U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyers are among the assets executing a blockade mission impacting Iranian ports.” (CENTCOM)
Audio released by maritime monitoring group TankerTrackers appears to capture the moment a vessel and its crew came under fire while approaching the strait, including a distress call from a crew member.
“Sepah Navy! Motor tanker Sanmar Herald! You gave me clearance to go… you are firing now. Let me turn back!” the crew member can be heard saying in the recording, according to TankerTrackers.
Iranian state media confirmed that shots were fired near vessels to force them to turn back, while the Ministry of External Affairs of the Government of India said the foreign secretary was deeply concerned.
Hapag-Lloyd, the world’s fifth-largest container shipping line, told Fox News Digital that it had activated a crisis team as its crews remain stuck on board vessels in the region.
“We have been working from Friday afternoon until today with the entire crisis team to bring the vessels out — in vain, unfortunately,” said Nils Haupt, senior director of group communications at Hapag-Lloyd AG.
“These events can easily lead to traumatic experiences. There is also a significant risk from sea mines, which has made insuring vessels for passage through the Strait nearly impossible.”
LISA DAFTARI: HORMUZ WHIPLASH PROVES TEHRAN CAN’T HONOR ANY DEAL IT SIGNS
“The crews are well, but they are becoming increasingly impatient and frustrated. It is very unfortunate that we could not leave today,” he added. “Many ships are still stuck in the Persian Gulf.”
“Our six ships are anchored near the port of Dubai, and all crews hope for an improvement in the situation,” Haupt said.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on April 18 that the strait would remain closed until the U.S. lifts its blockade on Iranian ports, warning ships not to move from anchorage or risk being treated as “enemy” collaborators.
Iran has previously argued that restrictions on its oil exports and shipping amount to “economic warfare,” framing actions in the Strait of Hormuz as a response to foreign pressure on its economy, according to statements from Iranian officials and state media in past incidents.
“Approaching the Strait of Hormuz will be considered cooperation with the enemy, and any violating vessel will be targeted,” the IRGC said in a statement carried by the semi-official Tasnim News Agency.
TRUMP ORDERS A BLOCKADE IN THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ AS TENSIONS WITH IRAN SOAR
Fishing boats dot the sea as cargo ships, in the background, sail through the Arabian Gulf toward the Strait of Hormuz off the United Arab Emirates, Friday, March 27, 2026. (AP Photo)
The United States imposed the blockade on Iranian ports to pressure Tehran to reopen the strait, with U.S. Central Command saying the measures are being enforced “impartially against all vessels.”
Hapag-Lloyd said its vessels have been stuck for weeks following the initial closure after the outbreak of war with Iran on Feb. 28.
“For us, it is critical that our vessels can pass through the strait soon,” Haupt said.
“We offer all crew members unlimited data so they can video call loved ones and access entertainment. Crews are strong, but after weeks on board there is growing monotony and frustration.”
“One crew experienced a fire on board from bomb fragments. Others have seen missiles or drones near their vessels,” he added.
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“They are resilient, but each additional day makes the situation more difficult, more monotonous, and more stressful.”
President Donald Trump said Iran had agreed not to close the strait again but after the closure, Trump called the situation “blackmail” and said the U.S. would not back down.
Shops and schools shut in northern Israel as residents protested a 10-day ceasefire with Lebanon that took effect on April 16, saying “nothing was achieved”. Israeli officials say operations may continue, with forces still deployed inside southern Lebanon.
Published On 19 Apr 2026
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