Trump Warns Economic Warfare For Aiding Iran, Federal Debt Grows, Venezuela Oil Deals
August 20, 2026
AI Summary
5 min readPresident Trump is threatening “the most crushing economic operation ever taken against any country” against Iran, pivoting from military bombing to economic warfare as the war in the Strait of Hormuz enters its sixth month. Meanwhile, the U.S. national debt has crossed $40 trillion, with interest payments now exceeding defense spending, and U.S. oil companies are signing their first major deals with Venezuela in nearly two decades, eight months after the capture of President Nicolás Maduro. Here are the key developments from Thursday’s episode of Up First.
Trump’s Economic D-Day on Iran
President Trump announced in an all-caps social media post that he is calling on allies to join him in isolating Iran through what he described as an “economic D-Day.” This marks a shift from his earlier bombing campaign, which failed to break Iran’s chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz. The strait remains blocked, and Triple A reports U.S. gas prices are up 30% from a year ago, with diesel and jet fuel even higher. Windward Maritime Intelligence tracking shows that five million barrels of oil a day had been exiting the strait before the war — oil that Gulf Arab allies depended on for their own economies.
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What you'll learn
- 1 (02:00) **Trump Pivots to Economic Warfare on Iran** - President Trump threatens the "most crushing economic operation ever" against Iran, shifting from bombing to a naval blockade and pressure on allies.
- 2 (06:18) **Federal Debt Tops $40 Trillion** - The U.S. national debt reaches a new record of $40 trillion, with the government adding over $2 trillion in red ink this year alone.
- 3 (10:10) **U.S. Oil Companies Sign First Major Venezuela Deals in Decades** - Eight months after the U.S. captured President Nicolás Maduro, American oil firms sign agreements to expand production in Venezuela.
- 4 Standout Quotes
- 5 (05:07) "Attacking the world economy is not justifiable. Attacking other countries because you've been attacked by one country is not justifiable." — Mohammed Bahirun, Dubai Public Policy Research Center, on the UAE's decision to halt trade with Iran.
- 6 (09:32) "One of the problems with running deficits at times like this is what do you do when you hit a really serious crisis? ... We don't have a lot of headroom to issue more debt." — Carolyn Bordeaux, Concord Coalition, on the risk of high debt levels during peacetime prosperity.
- 7 Mentioned Resources
+ Full timestamped outline available in the app
Guests on this episode
Show Notes
The U.S. national debt has topped 40 trillion dollars, with the government now spending more on interest than on defense and driving up the cost of everything from mortgages to small business loans.
U.S. oil companies are signing deals in Venezuela for the first time in nearly two decades, eight months after American forces captured Nicolás Maduro, even as the country’s politics remain unsettled.
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Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Tina Kraja, Rafael Nam, Alfredo Carbajal, Mohamad ElBardicy and Taylor Haney.
It was produced by Ziad Buchh and Nia Dumas.
Our director is Kaity Kline.
We get engineering support from Carleigh Strange and our technical director is Eowyn Fain.
And our deputy Executive Producer is Kelley Dickens.
(0:00) Introduction
(01:55) Trump Warns Economic Warfare For Aiding Iran
(06:13) Federal Debt Grows
(10:06) Venezuela Oil Deals
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