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Stranded American in Bahrain recounts surviving reported Iranian strike on high-rise building, pleads for help
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As the conflict between the United States and Iran enters its second week, flight cancellations and airport closures have rippled across Middle Eastern airspace, leaving many Americans abroad scrambling to find a way home.
Stranded American citizen Yahir, who was in Bahrain when the conflict erupted, told Fox News Digital he had a close call over the weekend when an alleged Iranian drone slammed into the lower floors of a high-rise building where he was staying. The building was a luxury residential tower that reportedly housed many American tourists and U.S. Navy personnel likely stationed with the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet headquartered near the capital, Manama.
Yahir, from Los Angeles, said that despite witnessing terrifying scenes of the conflict and experiencing one firsthand, he is still waiting for help getting home, claiming local U.S. embassies and State Department officials have put him through a maze of logistical hurdles with no clear next steps.
«Two days ago, my building was hit,» Yahir said, referring to Fontana Infinity, located in Manama. «I was in the building at the time and, of course, the whole building shook. It felt like an earthquake.»
STATE DEPARTMENT GIVES UPDATES ON AMERICANS FLEEING MIDDLE EAST
Fire erupts from a high-rise tower in Manama, Bahrain, following a reported strike. (Obtained by Fox News Digital)
«It was a shock, but it makes sense because everyone living there was American besides a few Russians here and there, but Fontana was full of American Navy,» he added.
Yahir added that he has witnessed horrific scenes of Iranian drones and missiles reportedly striking not only military targets but also civilian areas, triggering powerful explosions and sending massive plumes of smoke billowing into the air.
«We saw right in front of our faces, the drone hitting it,» Yahir said, describing the moment he witnessed a building being struck. «I remember everyone around there was crying. They were evacuating all the buildings. People were crying. It felt really devastating.»
A reported Iranian jet flies over Bahrain at night amid escalating regional tensions. (Obtained by Fox News Digital)
Impacts have reportedly become a daily occurrence, with some blasts feeling like earthquakes that would violently shake nearby areas.
«The interceptors were hitting the missile and the ground shaking. You’ll feel that every day at this point,» he said. «It’s been literally everyday.»
The chaos in the region has reportedly led to residents receiving numerous daily alerts of incoming missiles on their phones. Each warning forces civilians to take immediate shelter, Yahir said, recalling one instance when he had to shelter in the basement of a well-known mall, The Avenues, for more than an hour.
«At this point, I’m thinking I even get them when I’m sleeping and it wakes me up,» he said. «I feel like over ten times a day we get those alerts.»
TRUMP SAYS DEFENSE GIANTS WILL QUADRUPLE PRODUCTION OF WEAPONS
A massive hole is visible in the Bahrain high-rise where Yahir was staying following a strike in Manama. (Obtained by Fox News Digital)
The ongoing missile strikes have profoundly affected daily life in Bahrain, turning once-bustling areas into virtual «ghost towns.»
Yahir said his friends have stopped going to work, and that shops are either fully closed or closing far earlier than usual.
He added that the heightened security presence is palpable across the country, with police stationed on nearly every corner and large military vehicles patrolling the streets daily.
PRIVATE SECURITY FIRM HELPING AMERICANS EVACUATE THE MIDDLE EAST AMID WAR WITH IRAN
A Bahrain high-rise is seen ablaze in Manama after being struck amid regional conflict. (Obtained by Fox News Digital)
Yahir further expressed deep frustration with the local U.S. Embassy, saying there has been little government assistance and describing the overall experience as «terrible.»
When inquiring about evacuation flights, calls to the embassy often triggered an automated message stating that citizens should not expect help from the U.S. government and that the embassies cannot assist with anything, according to Yahir.
«I feel like they need to focus on the embassies around the world because I feel they’re useless to Americans. They don’t help us at all,» Yahir said. «I just want to go home.»
Despite submitting a crisis intake form shared by the State Department, he has received few updates on evacuation plans. The delays and lack of clear communication, he said, have left him feeling stranded and anxious, with no concrete plan for returning home.
Flames and smoke billow from a high-rise building in Manama after an apparent drone strike. (Obtained by Fox News Digital)
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Over 40,000 American citizens have safely returned to the United States from the Middle East since Feb. 28, the State Department told Fox News Digital on Tuesday. A spokesperson noted that U.S. authorities directly assisted over 27,000 of those Americans abroad by offering travel assistance and other security guidance.
«Under President Trump and Secretary Rubio’s leadership, the Department of State has completed over two dozen charter flights and has safely evacuated thousands of Americans from the Middle East,» the department said. «The State Department will continue to actively assist any American citizen, who wishes to depart the Middle East, to do so.»
American citizens stranded in Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Israel are urged to complete the Crisis Intake Form on the State Department website or call +1-202-501-4444.
middle east,iran,conflicts,us
INTERNACIONAL
En un discurso por TV, Trump afirmó que aplastó a Irán y que está «muy cerca» de terminar la guerra
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Republican leaders are rallying around President Donald Trump’s new approach to end the 47-day Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding lapse — a plan that could make the agency shutdown-proof for the rest of Trump’s term.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said Wednesday that DHS will be funded along «two parallel tracks,» meaning that the president’s immigration and border security agenda will receive an influx of money through a party-line reconciliation bill. The rest of DHS is funded through the normal appropriations process.
«We operated under a belief that while our country is in the midst of an international armed conflict, Democrats might finally come to their senses and understand that defunding our homeland security agencies is beyond reckless and very dangerous,» Johnson and Thune wrote in a joint statement. «We cannot allow Democrats to any longer put the safety of the American public at risk through their open border policies, so we are taking that off the table.»
The GOP leaders added that a forthcoming budget reconciliation package will include three years of immigration enforcement and border security funding. That move could prevent Democrats from using the appropriations process as leverage over the president’s immigration agenda for the remainder of his term.
Congressional Republicans are eying their own fixes to Obamacare subsidies, but the Senate and House are diverging in their approaches. Ultimately, President Donald Trump will be the deciding factor. (Getty Images)
HOUSE CONSERVATIVES ERUPT OVER SENATE GOP, WHITE HOUSE DEAL AMID SAVE ACT FIGHT
The GOP leaders’ budget reconciliation push comes as Republican efforts to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) through regular order have stalled in the Senate due to widespread opposition from Democrats.
With the Senate’s 60-vote legislative threshold in place, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., effectively has veto power over DHS appropriations if he keeps his caucus in line.
To end the stalemate, Trump asked Republicans Wednesday to draft a budget reconciliation package funding immigration enforcement and border security that could pass both chambers without any Democratic support.
«We are going to work as fast, and as focused, as possible to replenish funding for our Border and ICE Agents, and the Radical Left Democrats won’t be able to stop us,» Trump wrote on Truth Social. «We will not allow them to hurt the families of these Great Patriots by defunding them.»
The president added that he wants the legislation on his desk by June 1.
The budget reconciliation process would allow Republicans to steer around Democratic opposition and pass a DHS funding bill at a simple majority threshold. Republicans narrowly passed Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act using reconciliation in June 2025 after months of intraparty squabbling.
Though ICE and the Border Patrol received an unprecedented infusion of money through Trump’s «big, beautiful» bill, certain support staff employed by both agencies have not been paid during the seven-week shutdown.
The U.S. Coast Guard, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S. Secret Service have seen a more significant lapse in appropriations, though Trump took executive action to provide back pay to TSA agents reporting to work during the funding lapse.
HOUSE REPUBLICANS PASS RIVAL DHS PLAN, SETTING UP SENATE FIGHT AS SHUTDOWN SET TO BECOME LONGEST IN HISTORY
Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., indicated to reporters Monday that Trump would ultimately get behind the Senate’s preferred approach.
«The Democrats can’t create another shutdown like they did this time,» Hoeven said, if the DHS budget reconciliation bill were to be signed into law.
The North Dakota lawmaker also disputed that a reconciliation package would take several months to put together.
«We’ll get it done as quick as you can,» Hoeven said. «I hope it’s certainly not months.»
Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said Republicans are considering a budget reconciliation package making Immigration and Customs Enforcement shutdown-proof. (Mariam Zuhaib/AP Photo)
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A second reconciliation package could prove more difficult in an election year when lawmakers will have to identify spending cuts to pay for the border security and immigration funding. The strategy could also extend the funding lapse for ICE and the Border Patrol for several more months.
Amid both chambers’ planned two-week recesses, Trump told the New York Post on Tuesday he is considering calling Congress back to Washington to find a solution to the DHS shutdown.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., told CNBC’s «Squawk Box» on Wednesday that a «skinny reconciliation bill» funding the department would pass both chambers once Congress resumes session in mid-April if a deal has not been reached.
House GOP leadership has previously voiced skepticism about funding immigration enforcement through a budget reconciliation package. Some conservatives have also complained about the precedent of letting Democrats decide which agencies receive funding through the normal appropriations process.
«The problem is that what they’re doing is they’re placing the burden on the Republican Party entirely to make sure that we have border security funding and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, because they’re going to try to force it into a reconciliation bill,» House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade on Friday. «That’s a very difficult task. It is a high risk gamble for us to assume that we could do that.»
homeland security, donald trump, government shutdown, mike johnson, chuck schumer, politics
INTERNACIONAL
Una universidad en pánico, un tiroteo letal y 32 muertos: el caso de la masacre de Virginia Tech
El 16 de abril de 2007 comenzó como cualquier otro día en el campus del Virginia Tech, una universidad ubicada en la ciudad estadounidense de Blacksburg. Por la mañana, los estudiantes se preparaban para irse a clase, repasaban apuntes o salían de sus residencias en camino a las aulas.
Nada hacía parecer que, en cuestión de minutos, ese espacio cotidiano se transformaría en el escenario del peor ataque armado en la historia de una universidad en Estados Unidos.
Las primeras señales de alarma llegaron temprano. A las 7:15 de la mañana, un llamado al 911 alertó sobre disparos dentro de una residencia estudiantil. Dos personas habían sido atacadas en el edificio West Ambler Johnston Hall.
En ese momento, las autoridades creyeron que se trataba de un hecho aislado, posiblemente vinculado a una situación personal, por lo que el campus no fue evacuado y las clases siguieron con normalidad.
Esa decisión, que luego sería duramente cuestionada, marcó el inicio de una tragedia que terminaría dejando 32 víctimas fatales, además del propio atacante.
La masacre
El autor de los disparos fue identificado como Seung-Hui Cho, un estudiante de 23 años que seguía la carrera de literatura inglesa. Había nacido en Corea del Sur, pero vivía desde hacía años en Estados Unidos y vivía dentro del campus universitario.
El primer ataque ocurrió en la residencia estudiantil. Allí fueron asesinados Emily Hilscher, una joven de 19 años, y Ryan Clark, de 22, quien intentó intervenir al escuchar los disparos. Tras ese episodio, el agresor se retiró del lugar sin ser detenido. Así trasladaron a una de las víctimas de la masacre de Virginia Tech. (Foto: AP)
Durante las siguientes dos horas, Cho permaneció en un punto aún no completamente esclarecido por los investigadores. En ese lapso, regresó a su habitación, se cambió de ropa, cargó armas y dejó una nota. Además hizo algo que luego resultaría clave para la investigación: envió un paquete a la cadena NBC News en Nueva York, que contenía un manifesto, fotos y videos en los que expresaba su odio hacia la sociedad.
Cerca de las 9:30 de la mañana, el atacante ingresó al edificio Norris Hall, donde se cursaban carreras de ingeniería. Allí ejecutó la fase más letal del ataque. Antes de comenzar a disparar, encadenó las puertas desde el interior para impedir la huida de estudiantes y profesores.
Armado con una pistola Glock 19 y una Walther P22, recorrió aulas y pasillos disparando de manera sistemática. En apenas nueve minutos, mató a 32 personas y dejó decenas de heridos. En total, 61 personas fueron alcanzadas por disparos durante toda la jornada.
La policía redujo a varios estudiantes en busca del tirador. (Foto: AP)
Algunos estudiantes lograron sobrevivir escondiéndose o improvisando “barricadas” para protegerse. Otros, en un intento desesperado por escapar, se tiraron por las ventanas. También hubo actos de heroísmo: el profesor Liviu Librescu, sobreviviente del Holocausto, bloqueó la puerta de su aula con su propio cuerpo para impedir que las balas impactaran contra sus alumnos.
Cuando la policía logró ingresar al edificio, tras romper las cadenas de las puertas, el silencio ya se había instalado. A las 9:51, los disparos cesaron: Cho se había suicidado de un tiro en la cabeza.
La investigación
La magnitud del ataque obligó a desplegar un operativo sin precedentes. En un primer momento, incluso se consideró la posibilidad de que hubiera más de un tirador, debido a la distancia y el tiempo entre los dos ataques. Sin embargo, rápidamente se confirmó que todo había sido obra de una sola persona.
Los investigadores determinaron que Cho había planificado el ataque con antelación. Había comprado las armas semanas antes y acumulado municiones. Según el FBI, no se trató de un acto impulsivo, sino de un plan cuidadosamente pensado.
El contenido enviado a la NBC resultó clave para comprender su estado mental. En los videos, Cho se mostraba frente a cámara, armado y pronunciaba mensajes cargados de resentimiento. Se presentaba como una víctima de la sociedad y justificaba su accionar como una forma de respuesta a supuestas injusticias. Una de las imágenes que envió el tirador, Seung-Hui Cho, a la cadena NBC News. (Foto: NBC News)
También salieron a la luz antecedentes preocupantes. Compañeros y docentes habían advertido sobre su comportamiento aislado, su dificultad para relacionarse y su escritura, considerada violenta y perturbadora. Incluso había sido derivado a instancias de evaluación psicológica tiempo antes del ataque.
Leé también: Se obsesionó con una serie sobre un asesino, armó un plan para imitarlo y terminó preso por un cuaderno
Un antes y un después
Tras la masacre, los estudiantes del Virginia Tech quedaron paralizados. Las clases fueron suspendidas durante el resto de la semana y el edificio Norris Hall permaneció cerrado por el resto del semestre. Se organizaron vigilias, homenajes y espacios de contención para estudiantes y docentes.
El entonces presidente de Estados Unidos, George W. Bush, participó de actos conmemorativos y expresó el duelo nacional. La Cruz Roja y equipos de salud mental se instalaron en la zona para asistir a los sobrevivientes.
El expresidente George W. Bush en el santuario de las víctimas que murieron en la masacre de Virginia Tech. (Foto: Archivo de la Casa Blanca)
Sin embargo, junto con el dolor, muchos estudiantes cuestionaron por qué no se evacuó el campus tras el primer tiroteo. Las autoridades universitarias admitieron que inicialmente interpretaron ese episodio como un hecho aislado, lo que retrasó la respuesta ante la segunda fase del ataque.
En 2008, el estado de Virginia alcanzó un acuerdo con los familiares de las víctimas, que incluyó indemnizaciones millonarias.
Estados Unidos, Tiroteo, universidad, masacre
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