Apremiado por lograr un final rápido de la guerra y controlar el impacto que el conflicto esta produciendo en el sistema energético mundial y especialmente entre los votantes norteamericanos, el presidente de los Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, amenazó este martes con desatar “muerte, fuego y furia” sobre Irán si continúa interfiriendo en la circulación de petróleo por el estratégico estrecho de Ormuz.

Ese paso junto a la costa iraní, que en su segmento más estrecho tiene apenas tres kilómetros de ancho, es por donde circula un quinto de todo el petróleo que consume el planeta, una cantidad similar de gas licuado y 27 por ciento de todos los fertilizantes, un aspecto que ha disparado preocupación por el impacto en sector agropecuario.

Ormuz no está cerrado, pero la guerra lo ha hecho inconveniente y existen amenazas reiteradas de la Guardia Revolucionaria contra los buques cisterna. El régimen reaccionó con dureza y advirtió que “no permitirán la exportación de un solo litro de petróleo de la región a la parte hostil y sus aliados hasta nuevo aviso”, según el vocero esa fuerza militar iraní.

Trump el lunes llamó al líder ruso Vladimir Putin, un aliado y socio estratégico de Irán pero también cercano a la Casa Blanca, aparentemente por el grave problema del crudo. Este martes el líder ruso llamó al mandatario iraní, Massoud Pezeshkian y su canciller, Serguéi Lavrov, habló con el colega persa, Abbas Araghchi, con el mismo propósito mediador. Sin embargo el ministro iraní se mostró distante. Sostuvo en declaraciones públicas que EE.UU. e Israel no tienen “un final realista en mente” y remarcó que los ataques con misiles “continuaran el tiempo que sea necesario, hablar o negociar con EE.UU. ya no está en la agenda”.

Trump, furioso, afirmó que “si Irán hace algo que detenga el flujo de petróleo en el Estrecho de Ormuz, Estados Unidos lo golpeará veinte veces más fuerte que hasta ahora. Además, eliminaremos objetivos fácilmente destructibles que harán prácticamente imposible que Irán se reconstruya como nación. La muerte, el fuego y la furia reinarán sobre ellos”, escribió en su red Truth Social. Añadió: “¡Espero y rezo para que eso no suceda! Este es un regalo de EE.UU. a China y a todas las naciones que utilizan intensamente el Estrecho de Ormuz. Esperemos que sea un gesto muy apreciado”.

En otro mensaje elevó la amenaza al sostener que “si Irán ha colocado minas en el Estrecho de Ormuz, de lo cual no tenemos reportes, que las retire inmediatamente” de lo contrario “las consecuencias militares serán de niveles nunca antes vistos”.

El lunes, en la apertura de los mercados tras la primera semana de la guerra, el petróleo saltó a casi 120 dólares el barril, nivel sin precedentes desde 2020, y luego cayó a alrededor de 85 dólares después de que Trump dijo que la “guerra esta casi terminada”, un punto que desmintió este martes el premier israelí Benjamín Netanyahu.

Trump, sin embargo luego corrigió su declaración, para sostener que todavía queda mucho por hacer, de modo que el carburante volvió a subir, estacionándose en los 87,8 dólares, por encima de los valores previos al conflicto. Las declaraciones de Trump de este martes sobre Ormuz tranquilizaron al mercado, afirman los analistas, las bolsas subieron y el petróleo no se movió. Contribuyó a la calma un anunció del ministro de energía, Chris Wright, respecto a que los buques cisterna eran escoltados por la marina de EE.UU. Pero la Casa Blanca desmintió al funcionario.

EE.UU. e Israel atacaron Irán el sábado 28 de febrero cuando restaba una ronda crucial en las negociaciones nucleares con la potencia persa que debía realizarse el lunes. Washington argumentó que ese dialogo estaba fracasando, al revés de lo que señalaban los mediadores. En el ataque, el máximo líder iraní, ayatollah Alí Khamenei murió junto con parte del liderazgo del país. Khamenei fue reemplazado de inmediato por un triunvirato y esta semana por su hijo Mojtaba, un halcón del régimen, contrario a cualquier salida moderada.

Irán advirtió en estas horas que utilizará misiles aún más poderosos al tiempo que discutió como inútil por el momento cualquier negociación con Washington. La Guardia Revolucionaria, a su vez, rechazó las insistentes afirmaciones de EE.UU. de que su programa de misiles ha sido destruido y comentó que por le contrario está desplegando proyectiles en mayor cantidad y con ojivas que pesan más de una tonelada.

Irán ha lanzado ataques con drones y misiles contra países de toda la región, especialmente a infraestructuras energéticas, incluyendo yacimientos petrolíferos en Bahrein y Arabia Saudita. También golpeo hoteles y centros residenciales. Dos de sus misiles llegaron a Turquía pero los derribó la OTAN.

El ejército iraní afirma haber lanzado también un ataque con aviones sin piloto contra una refinería de petróleo y gas israelí y tanques de combustible en Haifa. Entre tanto, la noche del lunes al martes fue de las más feroces sobre Teherán. “Atacaron con fuerza. En nuestra casa solo se ven grietas en las paredes. Dormir se ha vuelto lo más difícil”, dijeron residentes a la BBC.

Fuente: AFP, AP, EFE y ANSA

Hezbollah and Iran launched a coordinated strike strategy Tuesday, a national security expert claimed, as reports emerged that deadly cluster munitions were hitting Israel in synchronized attacks.

The developments unfolded on day 11 of Operations Epic Fury and Roaring Lion, the joint U.S.-Israeli campaign targeting Iran, marking a potential escalation in the widening regional conflict.

«Hezbollah has fully joined the war, and it looks like they are now very well coordinated with Iran,» Kobi Michael, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies and the Misgav Institute, told Fox News Digital while speaking from his bomb shelter near Tel Aviv.

«Most of Hezbollah’s rockets and drones are launched simultaneously with the Iranian missiles,» he said.

IRAN’S SENIOR CLERICS ‘EXPOSED’ AFTER BUILDING STRIKE IN QOM, SUCCESSION CHOICE LOOMS

Israel confirmed Tuesday that Iran had been firing cluster munitions — adding a complicated and deadly challenge to Israel’s stretched air defenses, The Associated Press reported.

The warheads burst open at high altitudes, scattering dozens of smaller bomblets across a wide area. The smaller bombs, which at night can resemble orange fireballs, are difficult to intercept and have proven lethal.

Fox News correspondent Nate Foy also said despite Israel’s strong air defense, half of the missiles are hard to defend against because half of the missiles are cluster munitions.

«The Iranian use of cluster missiles and the idea that they deliberately target civilians and civil facilities must be considered as a use of non-conventional weapons, and the American-Israeli response must be appropriate,» Michael urged.

Banned by more than 120 nations under the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions, the weapons are widely condemned for their broad-area, indiscriminate effects that often result in catastrophic civilian harm.

IRAN PROXIES WAGE WAR ON ISRAEL, THREATEN US INTERESTS AS IRAQ SLAMMED FOR NOT DISARMING THEM

Smoke and dust rise after an Israeli strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, Lebanon. ( REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir)

Michael spoke as Reuters reported Hezbollah was applying lessons from its last war with Israel as it prepares for a possible full-scale Israeli invasion and protracted conflict. 

It said sources claimed the group was returning to its roots in guerrilla warfare in south Lebanon.

«Operating in small units, fighters from the Iran-backed group are avoiding the use of communication devices that could be at risk of Israeli tapping and are rationing the use of key anti-tank rockets as they engage Israeli troops,» said the sources, familiar with Hezbollah military activities.

Michael also said that the «north of the country, toward the Haifa area, is under heavy bombing.»

IRAN’S ‘STUNNING STRATEGIC MISCALCULATION’ COULD ACCELERATE GULF TIES TO ISRAEL, EX-CENTCOM DIRECTOR PREDICTS

Hezbollah terrorists are taking part in cross-border raids, part of a large-scale military exercise, in Aaramta, bordering Israel, on May 21, 2023 ahead of the anniversary of Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000. (Fadel Itani/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

«Israeli citizens have to spend most of the time in the shelter rooms as Hezbollah and Iran deliberately target civilians and civilian facilities,» he said.

«Tel Aviv is still under an emergency routine, with sirens continuing and many people spending a lot of time in the bomb shelter rooms,» he added before highlighting that «Israel is a small country and will not be able to continue containing such asymmetry and this type of attrition war.»

As of Tuesday night local time, the IDF said it had launched a wave of airstrikes against Hezbollah infrastructure in Beirut’s southern suburbs. 

This came after the military reiterated its warning to evacuate the area, a Hezbollah stronghold known as the Dahiyeh.

HEGSETH BLASTS BRITS, SAYS IRAN’S CHAOTIC RETALIATION HAS DRIVEN ITS OWN ALLIES ‘INTO THE AMERICAN ORBIT’

In a post shared on X, the IDF said: «This is what we’re operating against.»

Reuters sources also claimed much of Hezbollah’s fighting on the ground had been focused so far near the town of Khiyam, near the intersection of Lebanon’s border with Israel and Syria.

This is one area where Hezbollah believes any Israeli land invasion could begin. Hezbollah’s elite Radwan fighters, who withdrew from the south following the 2024 ceasefire, had also returned to the area, it said.

TRUMP SAYS IRAN IS ‘RUNNING OUT OF LAUNCHERS’ AS REGIME IS ‘BEING DECIMATED’

A man carries shoes from his destroyed house that was hit by Israeli airstrikes hit several houses in Sir al-Gharbiyeh village south Lebanon, Sunday, March, 8, 2026. (Mohammed Zaatari/AP Photo)

«Israel will no doubt take control over a wide territory in south Lebanon, from the international border to the Litani River, in order to establish a security buffer zone,» Michael said.

«This will prevent Hezbollah from attacking the Israeli villages and towns in the north of the country and will intensify the attacks against Hezbollah all over Lebanon,» Michael added.

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«We hope that President Trump will not stop or use the formula he used with the Houthis, declaring victory and leaving the wounded lion incapable of revenge and/or reconstituting itself.»

Meanwhile, an Israeli military official, speaking anonymously under army briefing rules, said Tuesday that roughly half of the projectiles Iran was launching toward Israel were now cluster bombs, The Associated Press said.

President Donald Trump is urging Congress to pass the SAVE America Act (SAA) as well as restore funding to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), as more than 100,000 federal employees go without pay during a prolonged funding lapse, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday. 

Leavitt outlined the president’s dual push for sweeping election legislation and immediate action to reopen DHS, where employees have missed paychecks and travelers are facing long airport lines.

The SAA would move through Congress as election legislation, while DHS funding requires a separate vote to reopen the department and resume full operations.

Leavitt described the SAA as «one of the most critical pieces of legislation in our nation’s history.»

«The Save America Act is overwhelmingly popular with all Americans because each provision is rooted in common sense,» she said.

DHS FUNDING STALEMATE THAWS AS WHITE HOUSE SENDS DEMOCRATS ‘SERIOUS’ COUNTEROFFER

According to Leavitt, the legislation includes five core provisions: requiring voters to show identification to cast a ballot, requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote, ending universal mail-in ballots while maintaining exceptions for illness, disability, military service and travel, permanently banning biological males from competing in women’s sports, and banning transgender surgery for minors.

On voter ID requirements, Leavitt said the proposal reflects broad public support.

«Voters have to show ID to cast a ballot in an American election. Very simple,» she said. «Ninety percent of Americans, including more than 80% of Democrat voters, agree with this.»

SCHUMER, DEMS HOLD FIRM ON DHS FUNDING DESPITE NOEM’S BOMBSHELL OUSTING

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt takes questions during Tuesday’s press briefing. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)

The legislation would also require proof of citizenship when registering to vote.

«The Save America Act will require all voters to show proof of citizenship in order to register to vote in American elections,» Leavitt said. «Again, this is popular and rooted in common sense. Only American citizens have the right to vote in American elections.»

Leavitt said Trump is urging Congress to «get the job done and send this historic piece of legislation to his desk immediately for signature.»

TRUMP VOWS BLOCK ON SIGNING NEW LAWS UNTIL SAVE AMERICA ACT PASSES SENATE

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks during a news briefing in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

She also pushed back on claims that the legislation could prevent married women who changed their last names from voting.

«There is zero validity to these claims,» Leavitt said. «The Save America Act does not prohibit anyone from voting, with the exception of illegal aliens.

«As far as married women who have changed their name, if they’re already registered to vote, they’re entirely unaffected by the Save Act,» she added.

Leavitt also turned to the ongoing funding lapse at the DHS, saying the president wants Congress to move quickly to restore pay for affected workers and fully reopen the department.

«President Trump wants the Department of Homeland Security — he wants TSA, he wants FEMA. He wants the brave men and women of our United States Coast Guard to receive their paychecks,» she said.

Leavitt says President Trump wants Congress to move quickly to restore pay for affected workers during the partial shutdown of DHS. (Heather Diehl/Getty Images)

More than 100,000 employees across the country have been impacted, she noted, acknowledging the strain on families.

«To any American out there who is struggling without a paycheck, we know there’s more than 100,000 of you across the country,» Leavitt said.

She added that the lapse is also affecting travelers nationwide.

«To any American out there who is showing up to an airport and facing incredibly long wait times in lines,» she said, Trump is calling on Congress to restore funding and reopen the department.

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The president wants DHS «fully funded and fully reopened,» Leavitt said.

DHS oversees agencies including the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S. Coast Guard, all of which have personnel affected by the funding lapse.

Trump is pressing lawmakers to act on both fronts, with Leavitt saying the president is calling on Congress to move swiftly to deliver both measures.