President Donald Trump announced that former Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom during a White House event marking the 100th anniversary of Black History Month, as attendees at one point broke into chants of «four more years.»

«Ben’s getting the Presidential Medal of Freedom,» Trump said. «It’s the highest award you can have outside of the Congressional Medal of Honor.»

Trump said Carson would receive the nation’s top civilian honor at a future ceremony, telling him, «Ben, I’ll be seeing you back here pretty soon. I think you’re going to get the award.»

The announcement came as Trump mixed tributes and cultural references with policy and political claims including criminal justice reform, crime reduction and border enforcement while hosting what he described as «many exceptional African American leaders and patriots» at the White House.

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Trump opened the event by noting, «we celebrate the 100th anniversary of Black History Month.»

He then addressed the death of the Rev. Jesse Jackson, saying, «I wanted to begin by expressing a sadness that the passing of a person who was. I knew very well Jesse was a piece of work. He was a piece of work. But he was a good man.»

«I just want to pay my highest respects to Reverend Jesse Jackson,» Trump added, calling him «a real hero,» and saying «he really was special, with lots of personality, grit and street smarts.»

Trump introduced HUD Secretary Scott Turner and brought Carson to the front of the room, noting Carson had recommended Turner. Carson praised Turner’s role in opportunity zones, saying «he was really the driving force behind the Opportunity zones,» and described Trump’s approach as «public private partnerships, and had everybody with skin in the game.»

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Moments later, Trump returned to Carson and elaborated on the award.

«It’s better because, you know, a lot of people get the Congressional Medal of Honor, and they’re not around,» Trump said. «But it’s the highest award [for] a civilian.»

After remarks from Leo Terrell whom Trump thanked, saying, «Leo, that was very good,» the crowd assembled broke into a chant of «four more years.»

Later, while listing Black artists and athletes, Trump singled out rapper Nicki Minaj.

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US President Donald Trump speaks during a Black History Month event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on February 18, 2026. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

«I love Nicki Minaj. She was here a couple of weeks ago.»

«So beautiful,» he added, before saying, «and she gets it. And more importantly, she gets it.»

Trump connected Wednesday’s celebration to a broader national moment, saying, «Black History Month is really all about American history,» and referencing upcoming America250 programming.

The President outlined a series of policy accomplishments for the black community, saying he «single handedly secured record long term funding for» historically Black colleges and universities and reiterated, «we got criminal justice reform done,» adding, «Nobody thought it can be done.»

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US President Donald Trump greets Alice Marie Johnson, the «White House Pardon Czar,» during a Black History Month event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on February 18, 2026. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

Trump tied those policies to electoral performance, saying, «it’s no wonder that in 2024, we won more African-American votes than any Republican president in history.»

Trump also cited economic indicators, saying, «Earlier this month the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose above 50,000 for the first time ever,» and adding, «The S&P broke 7000.»

«More Americans are working today than at any time in American history,» he said, before stating, «Since I took office, African American employment has increased by 182,000.»

The president also promoted a tax proposal, inviting a small business owner from Arkansas to speak. She told the audience, «no tax on tips has been amazing blessing for me.»

Trump later pivoted to crime and border enforcement, arguing «we need order,» and claiming, «Washington DC is amazing. It was a crime capital. It was a horror show a year ago. It was really dangerous. And now it’s one of the safest cities anywhere in the country.»

«We have the lowest murder numbers in 125 years since 1990,» he said, adding, «just one year ago, we had the absolute worst border that we’ve ever had, and now we have the safest border that we’ve ever had.»

He also said he had «deployed the National Guard to bring back safety to Memphis and to New Orleans and Washington,» calling the Guard «incredible.»

He also gave the floor to Alice Johnson, whom he described as the White House «pardon czar,» recounting her case: «We got her out. We did a commutation… I said, full pardon.»

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Johnson credited Trump with the First Step Act, saying, «President Trump did something historic in his first term. He signed the First Step act into law,» and adding, «Over 40,000 individuals have come home to their families early.»

Trump closed by calling the gathering «a very special group of people,» and said, «So happy Black History Month, happy black history year, and happy black history century.»

El presidente estadounidense, Donald Trump, volvió a amenazar a Irán con una acción militar al advertir este miércoles al Reino Unido que no “regale” una base clave en el océano Índico por considerar que sería vital en caso de un ataque a Teherán.

“¡NO REGALEN DIEGO GARCIA! Si Irán decide no llegar a un acuerdo, podría ser necesario que Estados Unidos utilice Diego García y el aeródromo situado en Fairford (base militar en Inglaterra), para erradicar un posible ataque de un régimen sumamente inestable y peligroso”, dijo Trump.

Además, afirmó que el primer ministro Keir Starmer “no debería perder el control, por ningún motivo, de Diego García, al suscribir un contrato de arrendamiento de 100 años que, en el mejor de los casos, sería precario”.

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“Esta tierra no debería ser arrebatada al Reino Unido y, si se permite que lo sea, será una mancha sobre nuestro gran aliado”, dijo en un mensaje publicado en Truth Social.

El Reino Unido mantuvo el control de las islas Chagos después de que Mauricio se independizara en la década de 1960 e instaló allí una base militar. El martes, el Departamento de Estado estadounidense anunció tres días de conversaciones durante la próxima semana con Mauricio sobre el mantenimiento de la base en Diego García.

La advertencia se conoció después que la portavoz de la Casa Blanca, Karoline Leavitt, alertó al gobierno iraní que sería “muy sensato” de su parte cerrar un acuerdo con Estados Unidos.

La nueva amenaza estadounidense se produjo un día después que Irán dijo que estaba redactando “un marco” para avanzar en sus negociaciones con Washington tras la segunda ronda de negociaciones que llevó adelante en Ginebra.

Qué dijo Donald Trump

Trump pidió a Londres que no renunciara a su soberanía sobre las islas Chagos, en el océano Índico. El Reino Unido anunció en mayo pasado la firma de un acuerdo para la restitución de ese archipiélago a la República de Mauricio.

El mandatario republicano alegó que la base aérea de Diego García, enclavada en ese archipiélago, podría ser necesaria si Irán no aceptaba un acuerdo, “a fin de erradicar un posible ataque de un régimen sumamente inestable y peligroso”.

Washington y Teherán, enemigos desde hace más de 40 años, concluyeron el martes, cerca de Ginebra, una segunda ronda de conversaciones indirectas, con mediación de Omán, en un contexto de intensificación del despliegue militar estadounidense en el Golfo.

Al término de esta sesión, ambas partes indicaron que iban a continuar las discusiones -congeladas en junio por la guerra de 12 días desencadenada por un ataque israelí en Irán-, pero subrayaron que estaban lejos de haber acercado sus posiciones.“Existen numerosas razones y argumentos a favor de un ataque contra Irán”, declaró el miércoles Leavitt.

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“Irán sería muy sensato si concluyera un acuerdo con el presidente Trump”, alertó.

Estados Unidos impedirá que Irán se dote del arma nuclear “de un modo u otro”, había advertido más temprano el secretario estadounidense de Energía, Chris Wright.

“Marco preliminar”

Washington ha enviado dos portaaviones al Golfo y dispone también de decenas de miles de soldados en bases repartidas por la región, algunas potencialmente vulnerables en caso de un contraataqueiraní.

El jefe de la diplomaciairaní, Abbas Araqhchi, dijo que su país trabajaba en “la elaboración de un marco preliminar” para la continuación de las conversaciones, durante una llamada con el director general del Organismo Internacional de Energía Atómica (OIEA), Rafael Grossi.

Según el gobierno iraní, Grossi subrayó que el OIEA, encargado de verificar el carácter pacífico del programa nuclear, “estaba dispuesto a prestar su apoyo” en ese sentido.

Irán había suspendido su cooperación con el organismo y restringido el acceso de sus inspectores a las instalaciones afectadas tras la guerra de 12 días, durante la cual Estados Unidos bombardeó instalaciones nucleares iraníes.

Alerta por lanzamientos de cohetes

En paralelo al aumento de la tensión diplomática y militar, Irán emitió una alerta para pilotos (NOTAM) ante lanzamientos de cohetes planificados en el sur del país este jueves, entre las 03:30 y las 13:30 GMT, según informó la Administración Federal de Aviación de Estados Unidos.

La medida se enmarca en los ejercicios militares denominados “Control inteligente del estrecho de Ormuz”, iniciados a comienzos de esta semana, cuyo objetivo es poner a prueba la capacidad operativa de la Armada de los Guardianes de la Revolución Islámica para responder ante posibles amenazas bélicas y de seguridad.

Desde Teherán advirtieron reiteradamente que están preparados para responder a cualquier “error estratégico” de Washington con golpes “pesados”, y remarcaron que un cese total del enriquecimiento de uranio es “absolutamente inaceptable”.

Irán fortifica instalaciones militares

En tanto, nuevas imágenes satelitales difundidas este miércoles muestran que Irán fortificó sus instalaciones militares más sensibles tras los ataques aéreos sufridos en los últimos años, según informó Reuters.

Fotografías analizadas por expertos en seguridad internacional y tecnología espacial revelaron la construcción de estructuras de hormigón y la instalación de cubiertas defensivas sobre instalaciones subterráneas.

Según el reporte, uno de los focos principales es el complejo de Parchin, a 30 kilómetros al sudeste de Teherán. Es conocido por ser uno de los sitios militares más vigilados del país.

Las imágenes evidencian que hubo severos daños en un edificio rectangular tras un bombardeo atribuido a Israel en octubre de 2024, seguido de una reconstrucción acelerada.

Otras fotos tomadas en noviembre de ese año revelan una estructura metálica y la construcción de dos edificios adyacentes. Además, en diciembre la zona aparece parcialmente cubierta, mientras que ahora, en febrero, la instalación queda completamente oculta bajo una estructura de concreto, recubierta de tierra para camuflarla y protegerla de futuros ataques aéreos, según Reuters.

(Con información de AFP y Reuters)

United Nations, New York – Iran has been elected vice-chair of the United Nations Charter Committee, a body tasked with examining and strengthening the principles of the U.N. Charter, drawing criticism from Israel and renewed scrutiny of the organization’s selection processes.

The appointment was approved during the committee’s opening meeting as part of its executive composition, through an agreed procedure and without a formal vote.

At a U.N. press briefing, Fox News Digital asked whether Iran’s record aligns with the values of the Charter and whether the Secretary-General would condemn the move.

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«The election of any member state to a body is the result of voting by member states themselves,» Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the Secretary-General said. «So questions about who gets elected to which bodies is a question for member states. We expect every member state of this organization to uphold the Charter, to uphold the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, given that they themselves signed on to this club that the UN is and those are founding, some of our founding documents.»

Pressed on whether the Secretary-General would condemn Iran’s election, the spokesperson added: «It is not for him to condemn the election of any member state to a body. He will condemn and has when member states, through their actions, he feels, violate the charter or human rights.»

The Charter Committee operates under the UN Legal Committee and meets annually. Its mandate includes examining issues related to the Charter and proposing ways to reinforce its implementation, though its work typically requires consensus among member states and rarely results in binding action.

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U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Michael Waltz speaks with Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon before a meeting of the United Nations Security Council to consider a U.S. proposal for a U.N. mandate to establish an international stabilization force in Gaza, at U.N. headquarters in New York City, New York, on Nov. 17, 2025. (Eduardo Munoz/Reuters)

Anne Bayefsky, president of Human Rights Voices and director of the Touro Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust, sharply criticized the move, linking it to longstanding concerns about the U.N.’s performance.

«The U.N. created a committee back in 1974 supposedly to ‘enhance the ability of the UN to achieve its purposes.’ The trouble is that ever since, the UN has been a downward trajectory on actually achieving its primary purposes, namely, maintaining international peace and security, and promoting respect for fundamental human rights,» Bayefsky said.

«Given that Iran is the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism and a country committed to the annihilation of the Jewish state and the bloody repression of its own people, the UN appointment helps clarify that in our time, UN purposes are in fact antithetical to peace, rights and human dignity.»

Iranian security forces reportedly killed detainees and burned bodies during protests, with clashes continuing in Kermanshah, Rasht and Mashhad, Iran, despite government claims. (NCRI)

Israel’s Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon sharply criticized Iran’s appointment. «This is a moral absurdity,» Danon said. «A regime that violates the basic principles of the UN cannot represent them.»

Danon added: «A country that systematically violates the basic principles of the UN cannot sit in a leadership position that deals with strengthening them. The UN cannot continue to grant legitimacy to regimes that violate the very principles of its own charter.»

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Protesters rally outside the United Nations during Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s speech at the 2025 United Nations General Assembly in New York City, New York, on Sept. 24, 2025. (Alireza Jafarzadeh)

The committee has in recent years served as a forum for political disputes among member states, including criticism directed at Israel, diplomats say. Iran’s selection to a leadership role comes amid ongoing debate over how the UN balances representation among member states with concerns about human rights records and adherence to the organization’s founding principles.

The U.N. maintains that leadership positions across its committees are determined by member states, not the Secretariat, and reflect internal diplomatic processes rather than endorsement of any government’s policies or record.