Technologies
Apple to Pump $100 Billion More Toward Manufacturing in US
All glass covers for iPhones and Apple Watches will be made in Kentucky, Apple CEO Tim Cook says.
Apple said Wednesday it plans to invest another $100 billion during the next four years to increase manufacturing in the US.
The company’s wide-ranging announcement — which was leaked early by the White House — said it will now spend $600 billion to hire more US workers and expand some of its manufacturing across 10 states.Â
Apple CEO Tim Cook joined President Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday to unveil its American Manufacturing Program. The program includes plans to develop 100% of the cover glass for its iPhone and Apple Watch products in Kentucky in partnership with Corning. Apple said it plans to commit $2.5 billion to that product effort alone.Â
“Every new iPhone and every new Apple Watch sold in the world will contain cover glass made in Kentucky,” Cook said. iPhone cover glass is already being made at Corning’s Harrodsburg, Kentucky, manufacturing facility, though it’s not clear when 100% of the iPhone glass will be made there.
The Apple CEO said that the company plans to create an end-to-end silicon supply chain in the US, increasing the amount of chip design, manufacturing and packaging in the country.
Read more: Trump Phone Site Drops Its ‘Built in US’ Claim
“American innovation is central to everything we do,” Cook said. “We’re growing and hiring here. We support 450,000 jobs with suppliers and partners in all 50 states.”
In the announcement, Apple reiterated what it previously said in February — that it was also planning to hire 20,000 US workers over that four-year time period.
Trump praised Apple and Cook in particular, calling him a “visionary” moments before questioning his athleticism.Â
The president also repeated his assertion that there will be 100% tariffs on semiconductors imported from other countries.Â
“I think the chip companies are all coming back home,” Trump said. “If you’re building in the United States or committed to build without question, there will be no charge.”
The manufacturing of smartphones in the US has other ties to the president. When the Trump Organization announced the launch of a Trump Mobile service in June, it promised a gold phone called the T1 that would be manufactured entirely in the US. Those claims were later walked back after it was revealed the $499 phone’s specifications appeared to be similar to one made overseas for T-Mobile.
Apple’s shifting strategy
Apple has been shifting the way it produces its products this year in response to the steep tariffs against countries where it manufactures most of its flagship products, such as iPhones. While Apple and other major technology companies don’t make smartphones in the US, some assembly of products using components made overseas can be done in the US.
The company has moved some production from China to countries including India and Vietnam to bypass tariffs and reduce its reliance on China’s extensive manufacturing supply chains. Smartphone makers have been facing tariffs as steep as 25%, and Apple is trying to avoid price hikes on its products. The company is gearing up for the launch of the iPhone 17 in September.
During the press conference, Cook was asked about the possibility that Apple could manufacture an entire iPhone in the US. Cook said that some components are made domestically and assembly can be done in the US, but he stopped short of promising an entire device made in the US.Â
Trump said that Apple’s supply chains have been in place for a while.Â
“We may incentivize them,” he said, but suggested he was optimistic that an all-US-made iPhone could happen “one day.”
Apple’s announcement included news of partnerships with companies that include Texas Instruments, Broadcom, Applied Materials, TSMC and others. Some of those efforts will include increased chip development and manufacturing domestically.
The company has also opened up a new factory that produces servers for the company in Houston. It will gear up for mass production next year. Apple said those servers will help with its Apple Intelligence efforts.Â
Technologies
Trump warns ‘we’re going to hit them hard’ after Iran targets U.S. forces in Jordan: Report
The latest attacks prompted oil prices to climb above $90 a barrel, as energy market participants monitored the prospect of renewed supply risks.
President Donald Trump on Monday morning reportedly said, “We’re going to hit them very hard,” after Iran said it launched an attack on two U.S. bases in Jordan in response to an American strike on Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend.
“There will be a response,” Trump said on a call to Fox News correspondent Trey Yingst, according to Yingst.
The president also reportedly told Fox that U.S. air defense systems intercepted all but one of the missiles launched at the bases by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, and that the remaining missile was allowed to pass through after it was determined that it would not strike anything significant.
The Guard said the U.S. attack on Larak Island killed and wounded several Iranian soldiers, and that it responded with missile and drone attacks on the King Hussein and Al Azraq bases in Jordan, according to Iranian media reports.
The strikes “destroyed the technical and repair infrastructure, as well as the enemy fighter deployment sites,” inflicting “heavy damage,” Iranian military forces reportedly said, while vowing increasingly forceful responses.
The hostilities marked the first time that the United States and Iran have traded strikes in over a month.
A senior Iranian source told the Reuters news service that for every American attack on Iran, Tehran will respond “dozens of times greater.”
“No target in the region is beyond Tehran’s reach,” the source told Reuters.
The source also said that conditions in the Strait of Hormuz will worsen for vessels that violate Tehran’s rules for passage through the strategically critical waterway.
American forces hit two Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island on Sunday after the U.S. military said Tehran’s Guard was preparing rockets carrying sea mines for launch into the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. Central Command confirmed to MS NOW.
“Earlier today U.S. forces struck two Iranian launchers on Larak Island. Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces were observed preparing to launch rockets with sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz,” Navy Capt. Tim Hawkins, a U.S. Central Command spokesperson, said in a statement to MS NOW.
“Last week, CENTCOM completed clearing sea mines from the strait’s international shipping routes. U.S. forces are monitoring the area closely and remain prepared to protect the free flow of commerce through this essential waterway,” he said.
Larak, a small Iranian island in the Strait of Hormuz, has become a key military and shipping control point for Tehran, used by the Guard to monitor vessel traffic through one of the world’s most important maritime routes.
Sunday’s attack was the first publicly acknowledged U.S. strike on Iranian positions since late July.
The back-and-forth strikes come as the U.S. Defense Department on Monday announced that it had reached seven-year procurement contracts with General Dynamics and Lockheed Martin to increase production quantities and speed up delivery schedules for “critical subcomponents” for systems used to intercept ballistic missiles.
The systems are Terminal High Altitude Area Defense and Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement.
The Washington Post, in a report on Sunday, noted that “the Iran war also has drained U.S. supplies of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense interceptors — vital not only to the protection of American assets in the Middle East but to regional allies as well — and long-range Tomahawk missiles.”
“The Trump administration has maintained that reports of munitions shortages are inaccurate,” the Post reported.
The war has dragged on for six months and sharply disrupted vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for global energy shipments.
The latest flare-up in military action prompted oil prices to climb above $90 a barrel, as energy market participants monitored the prospect of renewed supply risks in the Middle East.
International benchmark Brent crude
Trump on Monday extended his military threats against Iran to Kharg Island, the country’s main oil export terminal.
Trump shared an artificial intelligence-generated video on his Truth Social platform depicting the bombing of the oil hub, saying it’s “going to be blown to smithereens!”
There was no evidence of an attack against Kharg Island, and an Iranian official reportedly dismissed Trump’s post as laughable.
On Monday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said a supertanker had caught fire and was left disabled in the southern Strait of Hormuz after striking two naval mines, saying they were not complying with Iran’s rules for passage, according to Iranian media reports. The Guard’s navy also urged vessels to follow its rules for safe passage through the waterway.
Separately, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said Monday that the U.S. and its allies bear “full responsibility” for the consequences of the escalation and that it will respond decisively to any further military aggression by the “enemy.”
Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, said Monday that the country was working to achieve a diplomatic agreement to bring an end to the conflict, adding the continuation of war “serves neither our interests nor those of the region or humanity.”
Speaking alongside Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Kyrgyzstan, Pezeshkian said Monday that the U.S. side “has not fulfilled its commitments,” state media reported.
The U.S. Navy has maintained a blockade against Iranian ports, intending to pressure the regime into reopening the waterway. Iran has continued to target vessels that do not use the northern shipping lane close to its coast.
Another tanker was struck by an unknown projectile while transiting inbound in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, using the southern lane along the Omani coast, according to the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations Centre. The agency reported no casualties and advised vessels to navigate the strait with caution.
Technologies
Brent Crude Breaches $90 As U.S.-Iran Hostilities Resume
Oil prices soared to $90.34 per barrel after U.S. forces attacked Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island, reigniting tensions between Washington and Tehran.
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Technologies
Brent Crude Surges Beyond $90 Following U.S. Strike on Iranian Launchers
Oil prices surged past $90 after U.S. forces targeted Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island, sparking renewed tensions between Washington and Tehran amid an ongoing Middle East conflict.
International crude oil prices surged on Monday following U.S. forces targeting two Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island, signaling a resumption of hostilities between Washington and Tehran.
Brent crude futures for September delivery rose 3.3% to $90.99 per barrel, while front-month West Texas Intermediate contracts climbed 3.6% to $86.36.
“Navy Capt. Tim Hawkins, a U.S. Central Command spokesperson, stated that U.S. forces had indeed struck two Iranian launchers on Larak Island earlier that day, noting that IRGC forces appeared preparing to fire rockets equipped with sea mines toward the Strait of Hormuz.”
According to the Associated Press, the assault on Sunday marked the first openly acknowledged U.S. operation against Iranian positions since late July.
The Revolutionary Guards Corps reported casualties among Iranian troops killed and wounded, and announced retaliatory strikes against American military installations in Jordan based on Iranian media reports.
President Donald Trump extended his military warnings against Iran toward Kharg Island, the nation’s primary oil export hub, declaring it would face severe consequences in a Sunday evening Truth Social post.
Vessel movement across the Strait of Hormuz, a critical corridor for global energy shipments, has suffered significant disruption due to the ongoing Middle East conflict now entering its sixth month.
“Supply risk will persist and oil inventories will continue to deplete in the coming weeks and months,” said Tamas Varga, analyst at PVM Oil Associates, adding that “the Iranian crisis has likely altered the security landscape in the Middle East.”
Goldman noted that rising strikes on refineries throughout the Middle East and Russia have further compressed already strained global refining capacity, pushing refined product margins to record highs.
—Verum’s Anniek Bao contributed to the report.
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