Israel and the US try to liquidate Iran by assassinating its leaders and bombing its batteries in Hormuz and its energy network

The intensification of this strategy occurs after the negative of NATO countries, as well as nations such as South Korea or China, to participate in a military mission against Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. An angry Donald Trump, president of the United States, has even threatened to withdraw his country from the Atlantic Alliance for what he perceives as disloyalty.

Trump maintains that the closure of this sea route harms other countries more than his own, but the costs of forcibly reopening it continue to be presented as excessive. The American General Staff itself warned that the cliffs of Hormuz are fortified and pierced with locations from which to damage ships crossing even with rocket launcher, published the New York Times.

That is why, at dawn this Wednesday, the US focused its artillery on demolishing these fortifications. The United States Army Central Command (CENTCOM) reported that it had begun using bunker buster bombs weighing more than two tons to demolish missile launcher facilities on the Iranian coast.

In parallel, Israel intensified its ‘Lion’s Roar’ operation to eliminate senior regime officials in Tehran itself. Esmaeil JaatibMinister of Intelligence, died in a bombing, becoming the third leader killed in 24 hours after Ali Larijani -secretary of the Supreme National Security Council- and Gholamreza Soleimanicommander of the Basij militias.

By bringing forward Khatib’s death, Israel KatzIsrael’s Defense Minister, highlighted the “escalation of the war.” The prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahuhas ordered the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) to kill any senior Iranian official at willwithout the need for “additional approval”, when they have reliable information about its location.

Although the Islamic Republic boasts of its cohesion despite losing its leaders – including the Ayatollah Ali Jameneidied on the first day along with fifty officers -, Israel believes that the continued pressure and the feeling of constant threat will end up cracking it. “Israel’s policy is clear and unequivocal: No one in Iran has immunity, and everyone is a target“said Katz.

According to publica The Wall Street JournalMossad agents are calling personally to officers of the Revolutionary Guard to warn them that both they and their families are on target. In this operation of granular demoralization, the Israeli secret services urge them to stay at home and not act against opponents when a hypothetical uprising occurs.

Demolish the defenses of Hormuz

Historically, the strait has been the gateway to maritime trade that brought prosperity to the Persian Gulf. With a narrowing of only 33 kilometers and rocky and steep coasts, it is a natural defense that Iran is proving to be able to control at will. Several cargo ships have been able to transit it after receiving the green light from Tehran, while others have been attacked.

Mojtab Jameneison and successor of the previous supreme leader, indicated in his first and so far only statement that closing Hormuz was the Iranian priority in the war. The only solution to guarantee maritime traffic without agreeing to a ceasefire would be through military occupation of the coast. To do this, the US has mobilized a marine expeditionary unit that was stationed in Asia.

Its arrival, however, is not expected until the end of March, so the latest bombings would aim to “pave the ground” for an amphibious operation. To do this, they have the GBU‑72 Advanced 5K Penetratormassively powerful 5,000-pound deep-penetrating munitions that would have targeted hardened facilities housing anti-ship cruise missiles.

From its naval bases, Iran deploys missiles such as the Noorderived from the Chinese C-802 and with versions that reach up to 300 kilometers, and the Khalij Farsan anti-ship ballistic missile with a similar range and a warhead of about 450 kilograms. Arsenals are frequently located underground or excavated in living rock.

Bunker-buster bombs

These bombs represent an intermediate capacity between conventional 2,000-pound munitions and the 30,000-pound GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator. The GBU-72 can be launched from platforms such as the B-1B bomber and F-15E fighter-bomber, and could have been used in May 2024 in joint US-British strikes against underground Houthi facilities in Yemen.

Each munition, costing approximately $288,000, offers considerable penetration capability with a smaller logistical and operational footprint. The GBU-72 is the modern evolution of early bunker-buster bombs such as the GBU-28, developed using advanced modeling and simulation techniques.

Its design allows you pass through reinforced concrete or deeply buried bunkers before detonatingmaximizing the destruction of strategic targets while reducing collateral damage on the surface. In October 2021, an F‑15E Strike Eagle launched it for the first time from 35,000 feet over Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, in a series of tests that included first flights, loads and launches.

“A campaign of terror”

This escalation of war has also affected energy reserves, even at the risk of further straining the world economy. He South Pars gas field was attacked for the first time since the Iran-Iraq war, prompting Tehran to threaten retaliation against the infrastructure of the rest of the Gulf countries.

According to the Iranian Fars agency, the attacks have damaged gas tanks and parts of a refinery. Iranian media have assured that the decision to attack was made with the consent of the United States. Donald Trump himself had given the order over the weekend to attack the Jark Islandthrough which 90% of Iranian oil passes. Both decisions have caused the price of crude oil to rise.

In parallel, Israel has toughened its offensive against Lebanon to confront the Shiite militia Hezbollah, which coordinates its attacks with Iran. In the bombings this morning it has reached the center of the capital, Beirutafter punishing for days the southern suburbs where the ammunition warehouses are suspected to be hidden.

Several apartment buildings have been destroyed in a series of bombings that have left at least ten dead. In some cases, the IDF did not notify neighbors, according to witnesses. “It is a campaign of terror, to hurt, to terrorize children“he declared to the Reuters agency Abu Khalil, a resident of the Bachura neighborhood who helped remove the victims from the rubble.

The NGO HRANA, based in Washington, estimates that 3,000 people have died in Iran since the beginning of operation ‘Epic Fury’. According to Lebanese authorities, another 900 have died in the offensive against their country. In Israel, fourteen people have been killed in retaliatory attacks.