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Democrats like Markwayne Mullin but that doesn’t mean they’ll vote for him for DHS secretary

Published Mar 17, 2026, 4:00 AM ET | CNN Politics

By [Lauren Fox], [Sarah Ferris], [Priscilla Alvarez]

4 hr ago

Democratic Sen. John Fetterman gestures to Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin as they stand in an elevator during a vote at the US Capitol on March 12, 2026.

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

In his early days in Congress, Markwayne Mullin tried pairing his suit jacket and tie with a pair of jeans on the House floor. Then-House Speaker John Boehner reprimanded the young Republican for breaking the dress code.

He might have come to Washington dressing as an outlier, but the 48-year-old – who still wears his cowboy hat on occasion to preside over the Senate floor – has learned a lot since.

Since coming to Washington in 2013, Mullin has built a brand on Capitol Hill as a straight-talking, former MMA fighter who is the rare partisan warrior who can tout White House talking points on Fox News and then sit down to cut the occasional deals with Democrats. The affable Oklahoman has spent decades building strong connections across both chambers in the US Capitol – which eventually helped catapult him into the president’s inner circle.

Now, Mullin is nominated to serve as President Donald Trump’s secretary of Homeland Security, a post that will require him to execute the president’s signature campaign promise on immigration, which has turned into one of the party’s biggest political liabilities heading into the midterms. He is also about to test just how much he can keep his outsider bona fides while doing Trump’s bidding.

Mullin will sit before the Senate Homeland Security Committee Wednesday, just two weeks after he was suddenly tapped for the post and more than a month into a partisan government shutdown of the very agency that – if confirmed – he would run.

Now on the other side of the dais, Mullin is expected to face a grilling from Senate Democrats – some of whom have years-long friendships with him but are under intense pressure to oppose him amid the fractious immigration politics of this moment.

“There is a long tradition that senators nominated for Cabinet positions get confirmed. This is a highly charged post in an administration that has violated law, tradition, ethics and the Constitution in how they’ve carried out immigration enforcement,” Sen. Chris Coons, a Democrat from Delaware told CNN. “Markwayne, although well-liked, will face a higher bar because of the job and the president, not because of Markwayne.”

House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio performs a mock swearing in for Rep. Markwayne Mullin, on January 3, 2013.

Charles Dharapak/AP/File

Mullin has, in some ways, come to embody Trump’s populist message. He dropped out of college to take over his family’s plumbing business when his dad got sick, later earning his associates degree.

But he’s also proven a shrewd politician. Mullin aligned himself not only with Trump but other key leaders, forging a friendship with then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy and then advocating doggedly for South Dakota Republican Sen. John Thune in his bid for Senate majority leader.

Despite his sometimes-bombastic style, many Democrats argue it’s hard not to get along with Mullin, who now administers the Senate’s famed candy desk where members of both parties can stop by for a sweet treat (Mullin, a fitness enthusiast, is frequently seen hauling giant bags of candy to the chamber floor).

Already, several Democrats have signaled they won’t vote for him. They argue changing leadership at DHS – a department with more than 260,000 employees – will do little to reshape the direction of the agency, especially as many perceive top White House aide Stephen Miller and border czar Tom Homan as driving much of the administration’s enforcement actions across the country.

“Mullin is not the problem,” Sen. Ruben Gallego, a Democrat from Arizona said. “The problem is I am not sure Mullin is going to be in charge.”

Mullin never served on a committee with broad jurisdiction on immigration policy, but the Trump confidant and regular television surrogate has repeatedly echoed the administration’s talking points, saying on Fox News in the aftermath of the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis that the ICU nurse had been a “deranged individual” who “came in to cause max damage with a loaded pistol.”

Other Democrats are looking for Mullin to break with Trump in a way that would give them a reason to vote for him, something that is inherently unlikely for a lawmaker who has built his brand in the US Capitol as being in lockstep with the president.

Mullin, for example, was among a small group of House members on the floor on January 6, 2021, who blocked the chamber door as pro-Trump rioters entered the building. That night – as many derided Trump’s attempts at challenging the election as having gone too far – Mullin voted to overturn the results of the 2020 election that Joe Biden had won the presidency.

Mullin, colleagues say, is in closer touch with the president than almost any other rank-and-file member. Rep. Dusty Johnson, a Republican from South Dakota who was taken under Mullin’s wing when he was first elected to the House, can personally recall a few dinners where Mullin has left the table to take a call from Trump.

It’s the lawmaker’s self-deprecating humor, practicality and natural instincts as a communicator that have served him well in Trump’s Washington, Johnson said.

“If you are looking for the smooth politician who always says the safe thing, Markwayne is not your guy,” Johnson said. “He is entirely and wholly authentic. He doesn’t put on a lot of airs. He is not hiding behind some screen of what he thinks you want him to be. You can take or leave Markwayne Mullin as he is.”

Sen. Markwayne Mullin arrives to the weekly Senate Republican policy luncheon at the US Capitol on January 28, 2026.

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images/File

The fighter

New Jersey Democrat Josh Gottheimer had just gotten to Congress in 2017 when his buddy, then-Massachusetts Rep. Joe Kennedy, invited him to join a workout group in the House gym.

He met the mixed-martial arts fighter and former wrestler who was running the group and, as Gottheimer remembers it, “kicking my a**.”

A few days later, Gottheimer was on the House floor when he noticed Mullin a few feet away, wearing a suit and tie. He turned to Kennedy, and it was only then that he realized the hardcore workout leader was a member of Congress.

That famously intense group – with a warmup alone that includes 120 pushups, 30 pull ups and 50 burpees – has continued for more than a decade.

In the halls of Congress, Mullin, colleagues say, is regularly in motion and can be seen bouncing a rubber ball as he goes from one meeting to another.

But it’s that same propensity for action that has sometimes landed Mullin in trouble.

During the State of the Union address last month, it was Mullin who tried deliberately to rip a protest sign from Democratic Rep. Al Green’s hands.

And in a 2023 Senate hearing, Mullin challenged the president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters to a physical showdown, telling him to “stand your butt up,” before Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders interjected: “You are a United States senator.”

During the waning days of the conflict in Afghanistan in 2021, Mullin twice tried to get into the country in an effort to extract Americans there, a move that both Republican and Democratic leaders were against at the time.

Mullin’s instinct to take things into his own hands, colleagues say, can be abrupt and unusual on Capitol Hill, but may be useful at DHS.

“Markwayne just has a look you in the eye, commit and deliver sort of reputation around here and that is exactly what we need there,” North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis said. “I mean do you really believe if you know Markwayne, you’ve seen him walk around here, he’s really going to get bullied by any staff to move into positions he doesn’t want to? Absolutely not.”

Like the president, Mullin isn’t a big details guy or policy wonk, his colleagues say, but he does understand the politics of the moment and has become an unofficial liaison of sorts between the two chambers on Capitol Hill.

Last summer, he was instrumental in helping bridge a divide between the Senate GOP, the White House and blue-state Republicans in the House who wanted to raise the state and local tax deduction as part of the president’s signature domestic policy package. (It didn’t hurt that Mullin’s DC roommate is the House tax-writing chair, Missouri Rep. Jason Smith.)

More than one member CNN interviewed for this story remarked they had personally been invited to Mullin’s home for a meeting or a dinner.

“He’s a real dealmaker. He’s somebody who likes to get sh*t done,” Gottheimer said of his colleague who he worked closely with during the Biden administration to pass aid for Ukraine.

Even when faced with controversy, Mullin, whose financial disclosures show he is a multimillionaire, has leaned on his outsider credentials.

When the House Ethics Committee instructed Mullin in 2018 to pay back $40,000 to a family business, he argued it “only proves that you can no longer be a citizen legislator, you have to be a career politician to serve in Washington D.C.”

Ready for a reset at DHS

As the White House prepares Mullin for his hearing, multiple Homeland Security officials have described a shared feeling of cautious optimism with the selection after a tumultuous year under the direction of Secretary Kristi Noem.

While many officials are still getting acquainted with the senator, his positions and his management style, he’s perceived – in part due to his reputation in Congress – as a steadying hand, sources told CNN.

And Trump administration officials expect Noem’s departure will also usher in a new, more synchronized era between DHS and Homan, who rarely spoke with the current secretary.

“It’s an interesting choice, but DHS was in a bit of a rut, so it was probably a necessary change. It seems that he’s approaching it with an open mind, so we’re hopeful that he’ll be open to some new ideas and approaches,” said Chris Chmielenski, president of the Immigration Accountability Project, which advocates for limited immigration.

But despite change at the top, the policies at the core of Trump’s immigration agenda shepherded by Miller are expected to remain the same.

Mullin, after all, has long been a staunch supporter of Trump’s immigration crackdown, an issue expected to become central to Democrats’ calculation on whether to back his nomination.

Sen. Alex Padilla, a Democrat from California whose office is near Mullin’s, told CNN he already planned a meeting with Mullin to discuss what policy changes he might be open to making. But Padilla, who was forcefully removed from a Noem event in Los Angeles last year, had a sober take on how much Mullin would change the fabric of DHS.

“It’s not lost on me how close he is to Trump,” he said.

伊朗红新月会：战争爆发以来逾4万民用设施遭到袭击

2026年3月17日 19:53 / 联合早报

3月16日，伊朗首都德黑兰一栋住宅楼遇袭倒塌，救援人员到场展开救援工作。 （路透社）

伊朗红新月会国际事务副主席阿利什万迪说，自2月28日美国和以色列对伊朗发动军事打击以来，已有4万6370处民用设施遭到袭击。

阿利什万迪日前接受新华社采访时说，其中2万9146处是位于伊朗各省的住宅，近1万处位于首都德黑兰。

阿利什万迪说，袭击也涉及医疗和教育机构，而伊朗红新月会的17个中心遭到破坏，该协会的一架救援直升机也遇袭摧毁，另有10名伊朗红新月会工作人员受伤，一人死亡。

另外，美以对教育机构的袭击已造成206人死亡，154人受伤。

阿利什万迪说，伊朗红新月会每天都会记录美国和以色列违反国际人道主义法的证据，“在武装冲突中，不应袭击平民，例如儿童、学生和老人，以及包括住宅和学校在内的目标”。

他说，该协会随时准备接受国际人道主义援助，包括供应不足的药品、医疗用品和设备等。

GOP senator condemns Susan Rice for what appears to be threat of payback against Trump allies | Fox News

By Leo Briceno | Fox News
Published March 17, 2026 7:50am EDT

A former top official in the Biden and Obama administrations recently caused a stir after she appeared to vow political retribution against companies once Democrats regain control in Congress and the White House.

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., last week condemned plans for political retribution he believes Democrats, such as Susan Rice, hope to enact when they regain power and argued that both parties should refrain from using government power to pressure their political opposition.

“What Ms. Rice is talking about is payback,” Kennedy said, referring to comments Rice, who served as Biden’s domestic policy council director, had made on a podcast last month.

In a media appearance Rice gave with Vox in February, she warned that companies that had aligned themselves with President Donald Trump’s priorities could face Democratic scorn down the road.

[THUNE WARNS DOJ’S PROBE OF FED CHAIR POWELL ‘BETTER BE REAL’ AND ‘SERIOUS’ AMID POLITICAL BACKLASH]

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., listens during a Senate hearing in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022.(Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“I’m going to quote [her],” Kennedy said. “‘When it comes to the elites, you know, the corporate interests, the law firms, the universities, the media, it’s not going to end well for them.’”

In that podcast appearance, Rice promised that Democrats would not quickly forget their posture.

“They’re going to be held accountable by those who come in opposition to Trump and win at the ballot box,” Rice said.

“I think whether you’re a law firm, whether you’re a university, whether you’re a media entity, whether you’re a big corporation, whether you’re big tech, you need to play a long game, not this short game that has been so detrimental,” Rice added.

Kennedy said he found Rice’s comments troubling.

“What Ms. Rice seems to be saying is that it’s okay in America today to [use the law to prosecute] and harass your political enemies. I find that astounding coming from a person of her statue,” Kennedy said.

Rice, who in addition to her Biden administration role was former President Barack Obama’s ambassador to the United Nations, could not be reached for comment.

[WILL CHAMBERLAIN: HOW THE FBI TRAMPLED ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGE TO HUNT TRUMP ALLIES]

U.S. Domestic Policy Advisor Susan Rice speaks during the daily press briefing at the White House in Washington, DC, on August 24, 2022.(Olivier Douliery/AFP/Getty Images)

Kennedy framed political retaliation as a practice that in recent years started under the Biden administration and, in particular, with then-Attorney General Merrick Garland, who launched probes of Trump while he was campaigning to recapture the presidency.

In 2021, Garland appointed Special Counsel Jack Smith to [investigate whether Trump had interfered] with a transfer of power after the 2020 election and whether Trump had mishandled classified information following his presidency.

Kennedy recalled thinking that Garland and Biden had set a new precedent they would regret.

“And I remember thinking at the time: They have unleashed spirits they cannot control,” Kennedy said.

Although he primarily focused on remarks from Democrats like Rice, Kennedy said he opposes continued political retaliation from across both parties, noting that [Trump has received his fair share] of accusations of weaponizing the government against political opponents.

[TRUMP INSISTS GOPERS ‘LOVE’ DOJ TARGETING JEROME POWELL, SAYS HE ‘CAN’T HELP’ IT IF IT LOOKS LIKE RETRIBUTION]

U.S. President Donald J. Trump sits at a table monitoring military operations during Operation Epic Fury against Iran, with U.S. flags visible behind him, in Washington, United States, on March 02, 2026.(The White House via X Account/Anadolu via Getty Images))

Trump has received criticism for investigations opened by his Department of Justice (DOJ) into figures like former national security advisor and Trump critic John Bolton, New York Attorney General Letitia James, who helped spearhead [prosecutions against Trump in New York,] and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, who has resisted policy changes Trump has pushed.

[CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP]

“And I know some are going to say, well, ‘President Trump is doing the same thing.’ If that’s true, I don’t like that either,” Kennedy said.

“Two wrongs don’t make a right. It was wrong then when President Biden did it; it’s wrong now.”

Leo Briceno is a politics reporter for the congressional team at Fox News Digital. He was previously a reporter with World Magazine.

Blizzards, severe storms, heat wave hit U.S. with array of extreme weather

March 17, 2026 / 7:29 AM EDT / CBS/AP

From a surprising heatwave in California to blizzards burying parts of the Midwest and storms rolling over the East Coast, chaotic weather put more than half the nation’s population in the path of extreme conditions Monday.

Airport delays and cancellations piled up in some of the nation’s largest airports, with almost 13,000 flights canceled or delayed across the U.S., and many schools closed early in the mid-Atlantic states, where high winds were in the forecast.

On Tuesday, tracking service FlightAware said that as of 6 a.m., more than 2,100 flights had been canceled or delayed. In addition, travelers were facing jams at airport security checkpoints as a partial government shutdown continued to strain screener staffing.

Poweroutage.com said more than a half-million homes and businesses were in the dark early Tuesday, mainly in Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York and Massachusetts.

Dangerous weather threats from Hawaii to NYC

The private weather service AccuWeather calculated that more than 200 million people were under threat Monday of some kind of dangerous weather. Threats ranged from extreme heat and wildfire advisories in the West to flood and freeze watches from the National Weather Service.

Blizzard conditions continued in the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes on Monday after the storm walloped parts of Wisconsin and Michigan with several feet of snow. Since Saturday, nearly 3 feet had fallen in the northern Wisconsin town of Mountain.

The storm system that dropped snow by the foot in the Midwest, causing whiteout conditions in some areas, barreled toward the East Coast, dropping heavy rain, threatening high winds and prompting multiple tornado warnings.

Snow falls during a blizzard on March 16, 2026 in Madison, Wisconsin. Joe Timmerman/Wisconsin Watch via Getty Images

In Washington, the House and Senate postponed votes and federal agencies told workers to go home early. But by late afternoon, the expected rough weather had failed to develop and a tornado watch expired.

The biggest threat for severe weather stretched from New Jersey to Virginia.

In New York City, officials warned of the potential for swift wind gusts that could knock down tree limbs. Four people, including a child, died Monday afternoon in New York City after a fire in a three-story apartment building spread during heavy winds.

The National Weather Service confirmed four tornadoes in Missouri on Sunday that caused roof and tree damage. No injuries were reported.

Severe storms, including an FF0 tornado, uprooted trees and caused damage to several homes in Charlotte, North Carolina, on March 16, 2026. Peter Zay/Anadolu via Getty Images

Meanwhile, unrelenting rains triggered landslides, washed away roads and flooded homes and farmland in Hawaii over the weekend. All of Hawaii’s islands had spots with more than 15 inches of rain while parts of Maui were overwhelmed with double that amount, the weather service said.

Maui Mayor Richard Bissen said there were no reports of injuries or deaths and crews were assessing damage, as more heavy rain was expected later this week.

Heat dome to raise temperatures

A heat dome over the Southwest will push temperatures well into the triple digits in Arizona most of the week, much earlier than normal.

California is starting to feel like summer, too. The San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento will see temperatures pushing toward 90 degrees by midweek.

“This is technically still winter,” L.A. Mayor Karen Bass said Monday. “This is not normal for March, obviously, but it is a sign of how climate change is impacting our city.”

While temperatures are expected to reach 100 degrees, the threat of wildfires around Los Angeles is relatively low because winds will be light.

Phoenix is expected to have five straight days of triple-digit temperatures this week — only once before, in 1988, has the city recorded a 100 degree day in March, DePodwin said.

“This is a heat wave that we have not seen before in recorded history in the Southwest,” said AccuWeather meteorologist Dan DePodwin.

Dry and windy conditions were charging the largest wildfire in Nebraska’s history. Three fires in the state have consumed more than 1,140 square miles of mostly grassland.

“Mother Nature is throwing a doozy at us,” Gov. Jim Pillen said Monday.

Cold weather in storms’ wake

Meanwhile, forecasters said the East Coast storms were expected to leave sharply colder weather in their wake.

A storm stuck around parts of the Northeast until Tuesday morning. Wind chills below freezing were expected to reach the Gulf Coast and the Florida Panhandle with warnings in effect across the Southeast and in parts of Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Texas, forecasters warned.

To the north, rain was expected to change over to snow behind the cold front with heavy snow possible in the central Appalachians of West Virginia.

跨越地区所有红线 波斯湾国家转促美彻底削弱伊朗 | 联合早报

发布/2026年3月17日 19:57

受美伊战事影响，伊朗近期频繁打击波斯湾盟友的基建及军事设施。3月16日，迪拜国际机场附近因遭无人机袭击导致燃料罐起火，现场浓烟滚滚。 （法新社）

（迪拜／华盛顿综合电）波斯湾阿拉伯国家正私下敦促华盛顿不要中途收兵，应借机削弱伊朗威胁中东地区石油生命线的能力。

波斯湾消息人士和多名外交官透露，华盛顿正向波斯湾国家施压，要求它们加入美伊战争。特朗普希望借此展示这场战争获得区域支持，从而增强战事的国际合法性，并巩固国内支持。

波斯湾国家虽然并未主动要求美国对伊朗开战，但由于伊朗近期的袭击已波及波斯湾六国的机场、港口、石油设施及商业中心，这促使多国立场转趋强硬。

沙特阿拉伯智库海湾研究中心主席萨格尔（Abdulaziz Sager）指出，整个波斯湾地区普遍认为，伊朗已对每一个邻国越过了“所有红线”。

萨格尔坦言：“起初，我们替他们（伊朗）说话，我们反对战争。但一旦他们开始对我们发动袭击，他们就成了敌人……如果美国在任务完成前就抽身离场，那我们就只能独自面对伊朗。”

波斯湾领导人担忧，若不彻底解除伊朗的进攻性武装，今后若局势升级，伊朗可能再次挟持区域能源命脉。

伊朗星期二（3月17日）对阿联酋发动新一轮攻击，美国驻巴格达大使馆也遭火箭弹和至少五架无人机袭击，是自战争开始以来最猛烈的一次攻击。

特朗普称伊朗报复行动纯属“意外”

眼看伊朗对卡塔尔、沙特、阿联酋、巴林和科威特等邻国发动打击，特朗普星期一（3月16日）受询时却称：“（伊朗）本不应该去攻击中东的这些国家。没人料到会这样，我们都震惊了。”

然而，美国官员及情报人士披露，特朗普在2月28日发动空袭前已接获简报。情报界当时便警告，袭击伊朗可能引发更广泛的地区报复，特别是针对设有美军基地的波斯湾盟友；简报也预判了伊朗会尝试关闭具战略意义的霍尔木兹海峡。

5 things to know for March 17: Travel disruptions in Middle East, Iran war, Gas prices, Cuba blackouts, Meatpacking workers

Published: Mar 17, 2026, 7:07 AM ET / Source: CNN

By [Alexandra Banner]

50 min ago

☘️ Happy St. Patrick’s Day, readers. Many parts of the world will look a bit greener today as people don the color to celebrate the holiday — including the Chicago River, famously dyed a vivid emerald each year. Beyond its religious roots, the holiday has evolved into a global celebration of Irish culture, marked by everything from shamrocks and leprechauns to corned beef and a spirited round (or two) of green beer.

Here’s what else you need to know to get up to speed and on with your day.

1️⃣ Travel disruptions

The war in Iran is continuing to disrupt travel across the Gulf after Iranian drone strikes triggered two major air incidents in recent days. Flights at Dubai International Airport were briefly suspended on Monday after a drone struck a nearby fuel tank, igniting a large fire. The shutdown forced cancellations and diversions as aviation authorities closed the airport. Part of the UAE’s airspace was also closed for a few hours overnight after the country said it was responding to incoming missiles and drone strikes from Iran. Meanwhile, the prices of many global airfares that bypass the Middle East are rising, as the conflict drives up oil prices and airlines warn of higher fuel costs ahead.

2️⃣ Iran war

US allies in the Persian Gulf are once again under attack, with Iran launching drones and ballistic missiles at Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the UAE in recent hours. Tehran is also warning it could target US assets in the Red Sea, raising fears of a broader escalation. Earlier today, the US Embassy in Baghdad was targeted by drones, according to video geolocated by CNN and Iraqi officials. Meanwhile, Israel’s military said it has killed Iran’s top security official, Ali Larijani, though Iran has not confirmed the claim. Larijani was the one directing attacks against Israel and the Gulf Arab states, an Israeli military official said.

3️⃣ Gas prices

Gas prices have skyrocketed due to the US-Israel war on Iran, adding even more financial strain on many Americans’ wallets. The average price of regular gas has jumped nearly 80 cents, or 27%, over the past month, according to AAA, with diesel rising even more. However, drivers hoping for relief at the pump are unlikely to get any help from their states amid the current spike. Unlike in 2022, when several states suspended gas taxes after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, few state officials are considering similar moves now. Tighter state budgets are one key reason, leaving less room for costly tax breaks, analysts say.

MORE: What could get more expensive because of the war in Iran?

4️⃣ Cuba power failure

Cuba’s electrical grid suffered a total collapse on Monday, plunging 10 million people into the dark. It’s the latest in a string of blackouts and the first nationwide collapse since the US effectively cut off oil flows to the island. Crews are working to restore power, but the outage underscores a deepening energy crisis in a country heavily reliant on fuel imports. On the unofficial market, gas prices in Cuba have surged to about $9 a liter — meaning it costs more than $300 to fill up a car’s gas tank, which is more than most Cubans earn in a year. The blackout came as President Donald Trump suggested from the Oval Office that he might “take” or “free” Cuba, saying he could “do anything” with the island.

5️⃣ Meatpacking workers

Thousands of meatpacking workers walked off the job at a JBS-owned plant in Colorado on Monday in the industry’s first strike in 40 years. JBS USA is one of four major beef processors that account for 85% of US production and employs about 25,000 workers nationwide. The union representing 3,800 striking workers said that JBS failed to meet its demands for higher wages, improved safety measures and better healthcare. JBS said that its current offer already includes wage increases, a secure pension and long-term stability. The strike comes as beef prices have climbed 15% over the past year due to the smallest cattle herd in 75 years, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation.

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Today’s edition of 5 Things AM was edited and produced by CNN’s Meghan Pryce.

跨越地区所有红线 波斯湾国家转促美彻底削弱伊朗 | 联合早报

发布/2026年3月17日 19:57

受美伊战事影响，伊朗近期频繁打击波斯湾盟友的基建及军事设施。3月16日，迪拜国际机场附近因遭无人机袭击导致燃料罐起火，现场浓烟滚滚。 （法新社）

（迪拜／华盛顿综合电）波斯湾阿拉伯国家正私下敦促华盛顿不要中途收兵，应借机削弱伊朗威胁中东地区石油生命线的能力。

波斯湾消息人士和多名外交官透露，华盛顿正向波斯湾国家施压，要求它们加入美伊战争。特朗普希望借此展示这场战争获得区域支持，从而增强战事的国际合法性，并巩固国内支持。

波斯湾国家虽然并未主动要求美国对伊朗开战，但由于伊朗近期的袭击已波及波斯湾六国的机场、港口、石油设施及商业中心，这促使多国立场转趋强硬。

沙特阿拉伯智库海湾研究中心主席萨格尔（Abdulaziz Sager）指出，整个波斯湾地区普遍认为，伊朗已对每一个邻国越过了“所有红线”。

萨格尔坦言：“起初，我们替他们（伊朗）说话，我们反对战争。但一旦他们开始对我们发动袭击，他们就成了敌人……如果美国在任务完成前就抽身离场，那我们就只能独自面对伊朗。”

波斯湾领导人担忧，若不彻底解除伊朗的进攻性武装，今后若局势升级，伊朗可能再次挟持区域能源命脉。

伊朗星期二（3月17日）对阿联酋发动新一轮攻击，美国驻巴格达大使馆也遭火箭弹和至少五架无人机袭击，是自战争开始以来最猛烈的一次攻击。

特朗普称伊朗报复行动纯属“意外”

眼看伊朗对卡塔尔、沙特、阿联酋、巴林和科威特等邻国发动打击，特朗普星期一（3月16日）受询时却称：“（伊朗）本不应该去攻击中东的这些国家。没人料到会这样，我们都震惊了。”

然而，美国官员及情报人士披露，特朗普在2月28日发动空袭前已接获简报。情报界当时便警告，袭击伊朗可能引发更广泛的地区报复，特别是针对设有美军基地的波斯湾盟友；简报也预判了伊朗会尝试关闭具战略意义的霍尔木兹海峡。

伊朗足总正和国际足联讨论 从美国改到墨西哥踢世界杯 | 联合早报

发布/2026年3月17日 15:35

伊朗去年在世界杯亚洲区第三圈附加赛排名A组第一，拿到今年的世界杯资格，但如今参赛计划生变。 （路透社）

（德黑兰综合电）伊朗足球总会会长迈赫迪·塔吉（Mehdi Taj）星期二（3月17日）指出，鉴于对球员安全的担忧，伊朗正与国际足联商讨将本届世界杯的小组赛，从美国改到墨西哥进行。

美国总统特朗普上星期曾说，欢迎伊朗参加世界杯，但暗示他们“为了自己的生命和安全”，在美国参赛可能并不合适。

塔吉通过伊朗驻墨西哥大使馆X帐号的发文说：“当特朗普公开说明，他无法保障伊朗国家队的安全时，我们肯定不会前往美国。我们正在与国际足联谈判，将伊朗的世界杯比赛安排在墨西哥举行。”

国际足联目前尚未就此置评。

按原定赛程，这届世界杯将于6月11日在美国、加拿大和墨西哥开踢，伊朗G组小组赛三场比赛都在美国，两场安排在洛杉矶，一场在西雅图。他们的同组对手是新西兰、比利时和埃及。

在美国和以色列对德黑兰发动空袭，并导致伊朗最高领袖哈梅内伊身亡后，伊朗体育部长艾哈迈德·多尼亚马利（Ahmad Donyamali）上周曾说，伊朗球员“在这种情况下不可能参加”本届世界杯。

如果伊朗正式退赛，将是现代世界杯史上的首次，将迫使国际足联紧急寻找替补参赛球队。亚洲足球联合会星期一（16日）则说，目前尚未接获伊朗将退出本届赛事的任何官方通知。

逼警夫入系统帮友偷查他人资料 警长夫妻先后坐牢

罗妙婷/新明日报 发布/2026年3月17日 15:40

被告潘池慧（40岁）共面对五项抵触滥用电脑法令和两项抵触[官方机密法令]的控状，星期一（3月16日）被判坐牢32周。 （海峡时报）

为了帮朋友，妇女“逼”警长丈夫违法使用警方系统查资料，连累丈夫丢工作还坐牢三周，她自己星期一（3月16日）认罪后，被判坐牢32周。

被告潘池慧（40岁）共面对五项抵触滥用电脑法令和两项抵触官方机密法令的控状，她星期一承认其中三项，余项交由法官下判时纳入考量。

根据案情，案发时，被告丈夫林凯浩（45岁）是一名警长。被告通过女友人阮向江，结识了对方的男友杨宇恒（39岁）。

调查揭露，杨宇恒称有顾客向他买了一次性的食物包装，但拖欠货款，因此想找出顾客的资料。被告得知后，于2023年12月让丈夫帮忙。

2023年12月18日，杨宇恒给被告的丈夫发短信，让他帮忙查顾客的住址，并给了顾客的手机号码。

被告的丈夫一开始不太愿意帮忙，被告却骂他，叫他要帮忙，丈夫才违法地查看警方系统，并于2023年12月21日，给了杨宇恒顾客的姓名、身份证号码，以及住家地址。

杨宇恒根据地址找不到人，但最终还是通过短信联系对方，并成功索回欠款。

被告的丈夫早前被控四项抵触滥用电脑法令和两项抵触官方机密法令的控状，他承认其中两项，被判坐牢三周。

根据媒体早前报道，事件发生后，警方立即对林凯浩展开调查，并暂停了他的前线职务。他于2024年6月20日离职。（人名译音）

完整报道，请翻阅2026年3月17日的《新明日报》。