Netanyahu unilaterally declares Lebanon outside of ceasefire deal
Al Mayadeen | April 8, 2026
Just a couple of hours after a ceasefire deal was reached, “Israel’s” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Wednesday that his government supports the US decision to suspend strikes on Iran for two weeks, but immediately breached the agreement by declaring it does not extend to Lebanon.
In a statement posted on the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office X account, Netanyahu said the Israeli regime backs Washington’s efforts to ensure Iran “no longer poses a nuclear, missile and terror threat,” and acknowledged that the United States had communicated its commitment to achieving these goals in upcoming negotiations.
However, buried at the end of the statement was a unilateral carve-out: “The two-week ceasefire does not include Lebanon.”
The Israeli regime has already violated the ceasefire before the ink had dried, targeting an ambulance in southern Lebanon alongside bombing several towns in the South.
Israel bombs ambulance, kills 4
All of the following attacks took place shortly after the ceasefire came into effect.
Israeli forces opened their post-ceasefire assault by targeting an ambulance in the town of al-Qleileh in the Tyre district, South Lebanon, killing four people, per Al Mayadeen’s correspondent.
In the Ras al-Ain area, our correspondent reported that an Israeli airstrike hit another vehicle, wounding a number of people. An Israeli drone also struck a motorcycle in Qana, causing injuries.
The IOF carried out airstrikes across al-Rayhan and Nabatieh al-Fawqa in the South, while Israeli artillery shelled a string of towns across the Bint Jbeil district, like Touline, Jmeijmeh, Baraachit, Majdal Selm, and Shaqra. Meanwhile, the town of Hadatha was attacked twice in the early hours of the morning.
In the Bekaa, an airstrike targeted the town of Yohmor.
Direct contradiction of Pakistani mediator
The declaration stands in direct contradiction to the announcement made by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who brokered the agreement.
Sharif stated that “the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States of America, along with their allies, have agreed to an immediate ceasefire everywhere, including Lebanon and elsewhere, EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY.”
Israeli media outlets, including Ynet and Maariv, had reported that the ceasefire encompassed Lebanon. Israeli Channel 12 further cited a security source confirming that the Iranians “insisted that the ceasefire also includes Lebanon.”
Iran’s demands throughout negotiations had explicitly included an end to aggression on all fronts, Lebanon among them.
Israeli public reacts with fury
The ceasefire announcement triggered a wave of frustration across Israeli media. Israeli broadcaster Channel 11 reported that settlers remained in shelters even as the truce was declared. Other outlets described the agreement as “the largest failure in Israel’s history since October 7.”
Maariv was particularly critical, writing that the United States and “Israel” had abandoned most of their war objectives, creating a new regional reality. The outlet said Iran had succeeded in dragging both into an agreement that amounted to surrender from both sides, and that after 41 days of fighting and 5,000 buildings destroyed, the outcome was a decisive Iranian victory, with Hezbollah expected to return stronger than before. Iran and its allies, Maariv concluded, appeared to be the only party emerging victorious from the confrontation.
Commentators questioned the logic of the deal, with one platform sarcastically asking, “Forty days and an entire nation staying home for a ceasefire?”
Trump was not spared either, with several outlets calling him “a global joke” and “a weak man unable to withstand pressure.”
Israeli tank fire killed UN peacekeeper in Lebanon, UNIFIL investigation finds
MEMO | April 7, 2026
A projectile that killed a UN peacekeeper in Lebanon last month was fired by an Israeli military tank, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said Tuesday, concluding its investigation into the deadly incident, Anadolu reports.
Based on analysis of the impact site and fragments recovered at the position, UNIFIL said the round was a 120mm tank main armament projectile fired by an Israeli Merkava tank from the east, in the direction of Ett Taibe.
UNIFIL noted that it had provided the Israeli military with the coordinates of all its positions and facilities March 6 and again March 22, weeks before the incident, in an effort to reduce risk to its personnel.
The peacekeeper was killed on the night of March 29 when a projectile struck a UNIFIL position near Adchit Al Qusayr. A second peacekeeper was critically injured in the strike. At the time, UNIFIL said the origin of the projectile was unknown and launched an investigation.
In its initial statement, UNIFIL said deliberate attacks on peacekeepers constituted grave violations of international humanitarian law and UN Security Council Resolution 1701 that ended the 2006 Lebanon War, and could amount to war crimes.
The US-Israeli War on Science is an Assault on our Future
The late Dr. Mortada Sorour (left) and Dr. Hussein Bazzi (right), professors at Lebanese University who were killed by Israel.
International Union of Scientists | April 1, 2026
The International Union of Scientists condemns the American-Israeli killings of scientists and bombing of universities.
On 12 March 2026, the Israeli military killed Dr. Hussein Bazzi, chemistry professor and Dean of the Faculty of Sciences, and Dr. Mortada Srour, Professor of Chemistry and Physics, two scientists at the Lebanese University’s Rafik Hariri Campus in Hadath. This killing of scientists occurred in the context of Israeli bombings and invasion that have displaced around one million Lebanese and killed over 1100, a crisis that has been compared to the Nakba of 1948 and the ongoing Gaza Genocide. Israel has been destroying housing, including the apartments of surgery professor Haytham Kaafarani and chemistry professor Bilal Kaafarani.
On 23 March, US-Israeli forces killed Dr. Saeed Shamghadri, a distinguished professor of engineering at the Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST), along with his two children and others in his building. Since then, the US and Israel have bombed at least 20 of Iran’s universities, including the IUST in Tehran and the Isfahan University of Technology. This destruction is part of a larger pattern of US-Israeli scholasticide in Iran, including the massacre of more than 170 people, mostly schoolchildren, at an elementary school in Minab, and the targeting of more than 600 schools across Iran. The US military also tested a new weapon on a school in Lamerd, killing 21, mostly children.
Dr. Saeed Shamghadri, professor of engineering, killed in a US-Israeli bombing
Israel and the US have likewise attacked healthcare. Israel has bombed more than 60 healthcare facilities in Lebanon, while the US-Israel coalition has attacked at least 50 hospitals in Iran.
We recognize this violence as a continuation of the scholasticide perpetrated in Gaza, where US-backed Israel destroyed all of Gaza’s universities as part of their genocide. Scientists, universities, schools, and hospitals represent the future that humanity aims to build. By killing scientists, the US and Israel aim to destroy the futures of the people of Lebanon and Iran. Since the start of the Gaza Genocide in 2023, Israel and its backers have dismantled international law and the rules of war established in the era since 1945. These latest attacks confirm that the US and Israel have a vision of lawless destruction and slaughter.
The International Union of Scientists therefore condemns in the strongest possible terms the killing of scientists and the destruction of educational infrastructure by US and Israeli forces. We call upon the international scientific community to document these crimes against scientists and students, extend material support to displaced scholars, and demand accountability for the aggressors.
Evidence points to Ukraine being behind TurkStream attempted sabotage, but that should come as no surprise
Remix News | April 7, 2026
Secret service documents allegedly prove that the Ukrainians planned to blow up the Turkish and Blue Stream pipelines years ago, permanently cutting Europe off from cheap Russian gas, reports Magyar Nemzet, citing a report out of Ellenpont.
However, Serbia’s intelligence chief is denying that Ukrainians were the perpetrators, instead claiming that they had reports of a possible attack planned by a certain migrant gang group of radical muslims but had not considered it legitimate intel. However, this same chief also does not rule out that Ukraine was the contractor behind the scheme.
The Serbian section of the Turkish Stream gas pipeline was set on fire in a sabotage operation on Sunday. Since this pipeline supplies Hungary with gas, blowing up the pipeline would have put the country’s gas supply at risk.
The portal also reported that, in response to the explosives found near the TurkStream pipeline in Serbia last weekend, a presenter on one of Zelensky’s propaganda TV stations stated: “If the Ukrainians want to blow up the Turkish Stream, they will blow it up.”
President Zelensky has been accused by Budapest of openly interfering in the Hungarian elections by creating an energy crisis to help opposition leader Péter Magyar. Kyiv wants to cut Hungary off from all Russian oil, and they are counting on Magyar’s Tisza Party to do this.
Since January, Kyiv has refused to reopen the Druzhba after a Russian attack, with Hungary and Slovakia claiming Zelensky is keeping the pipeline closed on purpose. Back in August last year, after a Ukrainian attack on part of the pipeline in Russia, the section was repaired quickly, and Hungary’s foreign minister made it clear that they expected no further attacks on such vital energy infrastructure.
In September 2022, when the Ukrainians destroyed Nord Stream, they were allegedly planning a double attack, writes Magyar Nemzet, with the other target being the TurkStream.
“This pipeline is essential for Hungary’s natural gas supply, as 56 percent, or more than half, of the natural gas in our system comes through the Turkish Stream pipeline,” wrote Hungarian Foreign Minister Szijjártó after the incident.
Calling the situation “extremely serious,” Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said, “We are currently under a Ukrainian gas blockade, but we can make up for the loss from the south. If this umbilical cord is cut, the Hungarian economy will come to a standstill.”
IRGC commander declares ‘new phase’ of reprisal attacks against aggressors
Press TV – April 7, 2026
Commander of the IRGC Aerospace Force has declared the start of a “new phase” in Iran’s retaliatory operations against the US aggression, as the elite force warned earlier that any violation of red lines by the enemies will trigger a crushing response.
Posting a video on social platform UpScrolled, Brigadier General Seyyed Majid Mousavi said, “And now, the new phase of the war [has begun] with fresh, twin launchers for Fateh and Kheibar Shekan missiles, all previous strikes doubled.”
In a statement announcing the launch of the wave 99 of Operation True Promise 4, the IRGC reiterated that Iran “has not been and will never be the one to initiate attacks on civilian targets.”
However, it added that the IRGC “will not hesitate to retaliate against despicable aggressions on civilian facilities.”
In response to any further attack on Iran’s civilian infrastructure, the IRGC forces “will inflict such damage on the infrastructure of the US and its partners that they will be deprived of the region’s oil and gas for years to come.”
The IRGC said that Washington’s regional allies need to be aware of the fact that the IRGC has so far “shown great restraint and exercised caution in selecting its targets for retaliation, out of respect for good neighborly relations.”
But the Iranian Armed Forces, the statement added, will cast aside all such considerations and self-restraint from now on.
Since the US launched its illegal war against Iran on February 28, the country’s civilian infrastructure has repeatedly been targeted in flagrant violation of international law.
In response to the aggression, Iran’s Armed Forces have carried out daily missile and drone attacks on American assets and bases in the region.
Under growing pressure at home to end the war, US President Donald Trump has once again threatened that he would bomb Iran’s bridges and power plants if the Islamic Republic does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran has imposed restrictions on passage through the strait, days after the start of the military aggression, saying ships related to the aggressors could not use the waterway.
Striking Iran’s Infrastructure Would Have Little Military Impact – Report
Sputnik – 07.04.2026
US threats to target Iran’s electricity grid, refineries, and desalination plants would have devastating consequences for civilians while offering little military advantage, even the US-based Atlantic Council acknowledged.
“Striking Iran’s water-related infrastructure will immediately spark a crisis of disease, hunger, and thirst among Iran’s civilian population,” the report said.
The report also warns that targeting Iran’s infrastructure risks destabilizing the entire region. Gulf states, heavily dependent on energy-intensive desalination, could face severe water shortages within days if tensions escalate.
Rather than weakening Iran militarily, such actions could deepen mistrust of the United States and further aggravate the regional conflict.
“Destroying Iran’s civilian energy and water infrastructure would likely only serve to prolong and escalate the conflict,” the authors warn.
Earlier, US President Donald Trump threatened Iran with strikes on its civilian infrastructure in multiple posts on Truth Social.
Iran submits demands for end to war as mediators scramble ahead of Trump deadline
The Cradle | April 6, 2026
Iran announced on 6 April that it has conveyed its demands on a potential ceasefire with the US and Israel through intermediaries, as US President Donald Trump’s threat to bomb Iranian energy and water infrastructure looms.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told a news briefing that Tehran has communicated its demands “based on national interests” through regional mediators.
“We have formulated our own set of demands based on our interests and considerations. We are not ashamed to voice our legitimate and logical demands,” he said when asked about the prospect of an end to the war.
Iranian officials have previously stated that Tehran has four main conditions for an agreement: an end to the war and guarantees against future military attacks, compensation for losses during the conflict, recognition of formal control of the Strait of Hormuz, and no limits on its ballistic missile program.
Baghaei stressed that Iranian leaders are committed to continuing the war to defend the country from US-Israeli attacks if necessary.
“Expressing our positions quickly and courageously should not be interpreted as backing down,” he said.
The ministry at the same time expressed doubts about US intentions, stating that “America destroyed the path of diplomacy in months in the worst way, and the world sees that its claims do not match its actions.”
“America gives no value to the security of the region’s countries, and its only obsession is maintaining the existence of the Zionist entity,” the statement added.
The US and Israel launched an unprovoked war on Iran starting on 28 February, including assassinating the Islamic Republic’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, despite negotiations taking place at the time described by Omani mediators as “positive.”
US and Israeli attacks have so far killed over 1,340 people in Iran, according to Iranian authorities.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry announcement comes amid a report from Axios claiming that the US, Iran, and a group of regional mediators are discussing a potential 45-day ceasefire meant to lead to a permanent end to the war.
The negotiations are crucial, as US President Donald Trump gave a 48-hour deadline for Iranian leaders to reach a deal with him, including opening the Strait of Hormuz, while threatening to bomb Iran’s electricity and water infrastructure if they refuse.
However, Axios described the chances for reaching a deal before Trump’s deadline of Tuesday at 8:00 pm Eastern Time (ET) as “slim.”
“But this last-ditch effort is the only chance to prevent a dramatic escalation in the war that will include massive strikes on Iranian civilian infrastructure and a retaliation against energy and water facilities in the Gulf states,” the news outlet wrote.
On Sunday, Trump extended the deadline to Tuesday, telling Axios that he was “deep in negotiations” with Iranian officials.
“There is a good chance, but if they don’t make a deal, I am blowing up everything over there,” he claimed.
Last week, during a televised address to the nation, Trump threatened to bomb Iran “back to the Stone Age.”
If Trump orders deliberate attacks on Iran’s civilian infrastructure, such attacks would constitute war crimes.
They would be reminiscent of the US bombing campaign against Iraq during the 1991 Gulf War, which heavily damaged the country’s electricity and water purification facilities. Coupled with economic sanctions over the next decade, the US bombing campaign led to hundreds of thousands of Iraqi deaths.
If Trump makes good on the threat, Iran has, in turn, threatened to retaliate with attacks against power and water infrastructure in Israel and the Gulf states.
Iran’s shuttering of the Strait of Hormuz to the US and its allies has already struck a blow to Gulf oil production, while the targeting of Gulf desalination facilities could eliminate drinking water supplies for a combined 62 million people.
Two sources speaking with Axios said the plan for a major US-Israeli bombing campaign targeting Iran’s energy facilities is “ready to go,” if no deal is reached by the deadline.
The last-minute diplomatic effort reportedly involves Pakistani, Egyptian, and Turkish mediators, according to the four sources. Messages are reportedly being passed between Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
The sources said the mediators are discussing the terms of a two-phase deal: the first phase would involve a potential 45-day ceasefire, during which a permanent end to the war would be negotiated in the second phase.
According to the sources, a deal to open the Strait of Hormuz and a “solution” for Iran’s highly enriched Uranium, such as removing it from the country or diluting it, would only be reached in the second phase.
The Iranian officials have reportedly insisted to the mediators that they will not agree to a ceasefire similar to that reached in Gaza or Lebanon, where Israel had the ability to carry out additional attacks at any time despite the agreement.
US sent ‘a lot’ of arms to Iranian protesters – Trump
RT | April 6, 2026
The US sent “a lot” of weapons to Iranian protesters during unrest in January, President Donald Trump has told Fox News.
The demonstrations, initially driven by economic grievances and marred by violence, were openly incited at the time by Trump, who threatened the Iranian authorities with retaliation for suppressing the unrest. Tehran described the demonstrations as foreign-instigated and accused the US and Israel of fueling the movement, blaming armed provocateurs for deadly clashes.
In a phone interview on Sunday, Trump told reporter Trey Yingst that Washington had carried out a covert effort to arm demonstrators. He claimed the plan had little effect because Kurdish intermediaries allegedly kept the weapons instead of delivering them.
During the early stages of the Iranian protests, former CIA chief Mike Pompeo – who led the ‘maximum pressure’ campaign against Iran in Trump’s first administration – praised the rioting, sending his regards to protesters and “every Mossad agent walking beside them.”
In mid-March, the New York Times reported that Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency sought to “galvanize the Iranian opposition” during the early phase of the US-Israeli bombing campaign launched on February 28.
Mossad chief David Barnea reportedly presented a destabilization plan to the Trump administration in January. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cited the agency’s optimism in making the case to Trump for military action.
However, instead of being overthrown by a mass uprising alongside targeted assassination of Iranian leaders, Tehran consolidated its control. A Kurdish offensive in Iran, which Trump had also encouraged, did not materialize either.
The US has a long history of supplying arms to groups aligned with its strategic goals. In the 1980s, the CIA supported jihadist insurgents in Afghanistan fighting Soviet forces. More recently, the Obama administration authorized the Timber Sycamore program in Syria, intended to help ‘moderate rebels’ topple the government in Damascus, which ended up strengthening radical Islamist factions.
Iran slams US strikes on B1 bridge, Mahshahr petrochemical plants as ‘blatant acts of state terrorism’
Press TV – April 5, 2026
Iran’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani, has called on the UN to denounce the US-Israeli strikes on the B1 bridge and the Mahshahr petrochemical plants as blatant acts of “state terrorism” and”war crimes.”
“I wish to bring to the attention the grave breaches of international humanitarian law, acts of terrorism and war crimes perpetrated by the United States and the Israeli regime through the deliberate and indiscriminate targeting of civilian and critical infrastructure in Iran,” Iravani wrote in a letter addressed to Secretary-General of United Nations, António Guterres, and the President of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), Jamal Fares Alrowaiei.
On Wednesday, the US airstrikes deliberately targeted the Karaj-Tehran Bl Bridge, a major civilian transportation artery connecting Tehran to its western suburbs.
This critical infrastructure was struck in multiple waves, resulting in its partial destruction and causing significant civilian casualties.
This heinous crime, openly acknowledged by US President Donald Trump in a public social media statement, was followed, on Saturday, by deliberate strikes on the Mahshahr Petrochemical Special Economic Zone in Khuzestan, a hub of Iran’s industrial and energy infrastructure employing a large civilian workforce, he continued.
These unlawful attacks were neither incidental nor spontaneous, according to Iravani.
They were preceded and accompanied by repeated, explicit and public threats made by Trump to deliberately target Iran’s civilian and critical infrastructure, he added.
On Wednesday, Trump brazenly threatened to “bring Iran back to the Slone Age” and to strike “each and every one of their electric generating plants very hard and probably simultaneously.”
These statements followed earlier threats on Monday to “blow up and completely obliterate” Iran’s critical infrastructure, including power plants, oil facilities, Kharg Island and desalination installations, as well as statements on March 21 threatening to “hit and obliterate” Iran’s power plants, he noted.
“The explicit, deliberate and systematic targeting of civilians and civilian objects, as well as the destruction of infrastructure essential to the survival of the civilian population, including electricity, water and energy systems, and other critical civilian facilities, constitutes a war crime and a blatant act of State terrorism, intended to terrorize and severely harm civilians,” Iravani emphasized.
Iran calls upon the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Security Council, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the International Committee of the Red Cross and all Member States of the United Nations to fulfil their legal and moral obligations by “Unreservedly and unequivocally condemn these deliberate and atrocious acts constituting war crimes and State terrorism, and take immediate, decisive and concrete measures to halt the ongoing criminal and unlawful acts of the US and the Israeli regime,” he stated.
Iravani demanded that the international community ensure that all those responsible are held fully accountable under international law, including Trump and the Prime Minister of the Israeli regime, Benjamin Netanyahu, for deliberately pursuing policies that result in war crimes and acts of state terrorism.
In letter to UN chief, Araghchi warns of dire consequences of US-Israeli attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities
Press TV – April 5, 2026
Iran’s foreign minister has raised serious concerns over the adverse consequences of US-Israeli airstrikes on the Iranian civilian nuclear facilities, notably the Bushehr nuclear power plant, emphasizing that such attacks expose the region to the risk of radioactive contamination.
In identical letters addressed to the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and the members of the Security Council on Saturday, Abbas Araghchi said that the US-Israeli assaults on Iranian nuclear installations happen regardless of the fact that these facilities are devoted exclusively to peaceful purposes and are operating under the IAEA’s comprehensive safeguards regime.
“These unlawful attacks expose the entire region to the risk of radioactive contamination with grave humanitarian and environmental consequences, and as such shall not be left unattended,” the letters read.
Araghchi pointed out that Iran has experienced two wars of aggression within the span of nine months, imposed by the US, a depository of the Treaty of the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), and Israel, an outlaw regime that remains outside the framework of the NPT.
He noted that Iran’s peaceful nuclear facilities were attacked and bombed in both instances, and with grave disappointment, the United Nations Security Council, the IAEA Board of Governors and its director general have flatly failed even to condemn the illegal attacks, let alone undertake effective measures within their mandate to prevent their recurrence.
“Now the US Senior officials, who label international humanitarian law as ‘stupid,’ have gained the audacity to state that nuclear facilities are among their targets,” the Iranian foreign minister wrote.
He stated that the US permanent representative to the United Nations has openly expressed that attacks against the Bushehr nuclear power plant are “not off the table.”
“Such recklessness is the direct consequence of the inaction of the United Nations and the agency regarding the manifest acts of aggression by the United States and the Israeli regimes, which have only emboldened the aggressors. This course of unlawful attacks inflicted an irreparable blow upon the credibility of the United Nations, the Security Council, the IAEA, and its safeguards system,” Araghchi stated.
The top Iranian diplomat said it is disturbing that since the beginning of the ongoing war on February 28, attacks on Iranian civilian nuclear facilities have been carried out without any outright condemnation being heard from relevant international bodies.
“The aggressors’ repeated strikes in the vicinity of the active nuclear power plant in Bushehr is extremely alarming; their proximity to an active nuclear facility constitutes an intolerable escalation entailing a grave risk of radiological release,” Araghchi said.
The Iranian foreign minister finally highlighted that should the Security Council and the Board of Governors of the IAEA remain indifferent in the face of a manifest illegal attack against Iran’s safeguarded nuclear facilities, the member states may lose confidence in the United Nations, the agency, and the broader non-proliferation regime will be further eroded. “The consequences of such inaction would not be confined to Iran,” he added.
The United States and Israel initiated a large-scale and unprovoked military campaign against Iran on February 28, assassinating Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and several high-ranking military commanders and civilians.
The aggression has comprised a series of intensive strikes on both military installations and civilian facilities throughout Iran, leading to considerable loss of life and widespread damage to infrastructure.
In response, the Iranian Armed Forces have carried out waves of massive missile and drone operations against US interests across West Asia and Israeli positions in the occupied territories.
Russia Warns of Retaliation as UK Authorizes Seizure of Vessels
teleSUR – April 5, 2026
Russia has warned that British government attempts to seize vessels linked to Moscow will trigger retaliatory measures currently being prepared, with the Russian ambassador stating that London authorities will face a surprise response.
The warning came from Russian Ambassador to the United Kingdom Andrei Kelin, who urged the British government to consider the consequences of its actions and the fate of illegally seized cargo. He added that shipowners will inevitably turn to international courts to demand payment of damages and related costs stemming from any seizures.
Last March, London authorized its military forces to board sanctioned vessels transiting British territorial waters. The UK plan also includes closing the English Channel passage to the so‑called shadow fleet, which transports Russian energy products to international markets.
The seizure policy follows an expansion of the UK sanctions list on February 26, which added 297 new entries. That round affected 240 legal entities, seven individuals, and 50 merchant marine vessels linked to Moscow.
According to the Castellum.AI database updated as of August 15, approximately 23,960 individual and sectoral sanctions have been imposed against Russia. That volume of punitive measures has accumulated since the start of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has denounced the Western containment policy as not a situational reaction but a long‑term strategy. He maintains that the imposition of unilateral sanctions deals a structural blow to global economic stability and supply chains.
Serbia thwarts plot to bomb Russia-Hungary gas pipeline – Vucic
RT | April 5, 2026
The Serbian authorities have discovered explosives of “devastating power” planted near a key gas pipeline transporting Russian energy to Hungary, President Aleksandar Vucic has announced, adding that he has briefed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on the matter. This comes after Ukraine essentially shut down Russian oil supplies to Hungary through its territory.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Vucic said “two large packages of explosives with sticks” were found in the municipality of Kanjiza, around 10 km from the Hungarian border.
The city of Kanjiza is located near the Balkan Stream gas pipeline – the regional extension of the TurkStream pipeline. The Balkan Stream runs through Türkiye, Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary, and currently ends at Slovakia’s border. Hungary imports 7.4-7.6 billion cubic meters of gas annually via Serbia.
Vucic said the Serbian intelligence agencies “fortunately, did a good job” and vowed to ramp up energy security in the area. “We will deal mercilessly with anyone who thinks they are endangering the vital infrastructure of the Republic of Serbia,” he said.
The president did not assign blame but said he spoke with Orban about the situation, noting that an explosion would have caused gas outages in Hungary and northern Serbia.
Orban has confirmed the phone call, saying “the investigation is ongoing” and that he “has called an emergency defense council for this afternoon.”
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has suggested that the masterminds of the plot are seeking “to strip Hungary of its sovereignty.”
“They are doing this in various ways: Politically, by trying to interfere in internal affairs and elections; economically, by forcing it to make decisions under pressure that harm the economy and the well-being of Hungarians, and through energy, by trying to prevent Hungary from obtaining quality resources at reasonable prices.”
Hungary and Ukraine have for months butted heads over supplies of Russian oil via the Druzhba pipeline. In January, Kiev shut down the pipeline, citing a Russian drone strike on the infrastructure. Moscow has dismissed the claim; Hungary and Slovakia accused Kiev of lying and using the purported strike as grounds for political blackmail.
Ukraine has on numerous occasions also attempted to attack TurkStream infrastructure. Russia has accused Ukrainian saboteurs of blowing up the Nord Stream pipelines in 2022, suggesting that the attack was supported by Western intelligence services.
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Who Runs Our World?
Netanyahu addresses US Congress
By Richard Hugus | January 4, 2019
Our world is run by oligarchs, the holders of vast wealth from monopolies in banking, resource extraction, manufacturing, and technology. Oligarchs have such power that most of the world doesn’t even know of their influence over our lives. Their overall agenda is global power — a world government, run by them — to be achieved through planned steps of social engineering. The oligarchs remain in the background and have heads of state and entire governments acting in their service. Presidents and prime ministers are their puppets. Bureaucrats and politicians are their factotums.
Who are politicians? Politicians are people who work for the powerful while pretending to represent the people who voted for them. This double-dealing involves a lot of lying, so successful politicians must be good at it. It’s not an easy job to make the insane agenda of the powerful seem reasonable. Politicians can’t reveal this agenda because it almost always goes against the interests of their constituents, so they become adept at sophistry, mystification, and the appearance of authority. For example, wars for Israel have been part of the agenda of the powerful for years. Since 2001, wars for Israel have been sold as “the war on terror” and lots of lies had to be made up as to why the war on terror was a real thing. The visible faces promoting the war on terror were neoconservatives in the US, almost all of whom were advocates for Israel, or Zionists. Zionists are not the only members of the oligarchy, but they seem to be its lead actors. ... continue
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