Aletho News

ΑΛΗΘΩΣ

One Of America’s Leading Neo-Cons Has Turned Against The Iran War And Israel

The Dissident | April 3, 2026

There are few American Neo-conservatives more influential than Robert Kagan.

In 1997, Kagan co-founded the Project for a New American Century (PNAC), the Neo-con think tank responsible for staffing the Bush administration with hawks such as Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, and Paul Wolfowitz, and played a large role in the Iraq War in 2003.

In 2010, Kagan founded a new think tank, the Foreign Policy Initiative (FPI) which was instrumental in pushing for a new Cold War with Russia.

Kagan’s wife, Victoria Nuland was instrumental in the proxy war in Ukraine, playing a leading role in the maidan coup of 2014 ,as Assistant Secretary of State for the Obama administration, and again played a leading role in the proxy war in Ukraine as the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs for the Biden administration, including in blocking the peace deal in Istanbul in April of 2022 and in the bombing of the Nord Stream pipeline.

However, Kagan has begun to change his tune since Trump launched a war on Iran for Israel, sounding more like a John Mearsheimer realist than the leading champion of American regime change that he has always been.

Kagan is still an American imperialist, but the Iran war has forced him to admit that the war is actually doing more to destroy the American empire and its ability to wage a new Cold War on Russia and China, and that Israel is a strategic liability- even for the U.S. empire.

In a recent podcast with his fellow neo-con, Bill Kristol, Kagan lamented that because of the war on Iran:

-the skyrocketing oil prices … are even before Trump took the action of lifting sanctions against Russia was going to increase Russian income

-American forces are … burning through major stocks of weaponry and particularly Patriot and other forms of interceptors on which Ukraine depends heavily because those are the interceptors that defend their major cities from constant Russian attacks

-very few countries in the world are more dependent on Middle East oil, including the oil that comes directly through the Strait of Hormuz, than Japan. Japan I think, depends on something like 95% of its oil supplies come from the Middle East and 70% of that runs through the Strait of Hormuz. So once again the Japanese were not consulted

-the Japanese will notice that the United States has sent significant forces that are dedicated both to the defense of Japan and are sort of critical to any response to a Chinese attack on Taiwan. Those forces are now being sent or some of them are already there, and some are being sent to the Middle Eas

-the bottom line for the Gulf States is that the United States undertook this war and then was not able actually to protect them

-I don’t think it’s hard to persuade certain Gulf states like the UAE and others that maybe China is also a pretty good partner or at least as much of a reliable partner as the United States has turned out to be

In other words, Kagan is lamenting that because of the Iran war, the U.S. is losing allies and losing its ability to wage a new Cold War on Russia and China, as well as its ability to use the Gulf States and proxies.

This is why Kagan was forced to admit that Israel is now a strategic liability-even for the U.S. empire- saying, “I find it a little bit it’s kind of a syllogism when people talk about what a great ally Israel is. It it is a great ally in defense of Israel, at the end of the day, Iran is a much greater threat to Israel than it is to the United States.”

Kagan doubled down on this in a recent article for the Atlantic, essentially saying that the war in Iran will be the death of the American empire, writing that it is “driving deeper wedges between the United States and former friends and allies; strengthening the hands of the expansionist great powers, Russia and China; accelerating global political and economic chaos; and leaving the United States weaker and more isolated than at any time since the 1930s.”

Kagan again reiterated that:

-Even before Donald Trump lifted oil sanctions on Russia, oil prices were skyrocketing—and filling Vladimir Putin’s war chest with billions of dollars, just as Russia’s wartime deficits were starting to cause significant pain

-the Persian Gulf states are burning through U.S.-provided stocks of air-defense interceptors, drawing on the same limited supply that Ukraine depends on to defend its largest cities from Russian missile strikes.

-Japan gets 95 percent of its oil from the Middle East, and 70 percent of that passes through the now-blocked Strait of Hormuz. Yet Japanese and other Asian diplomats in the first weeks of the war complained that they were ‘not receiving any communication from the Trump administration.’

-the United States has dispatched an aircraft-carrier battle group and other warships from the Western Pacific to the Persian Gulf, including elements of the Tripoli amphibious ready group, that would be needed for an American response to Chinese aggression, including an attack on Taiwan.

-Gulf state leaders are ‘privately furious’ with the U.S. for ‘triggering a war that put them in the crosshairs.’

Because of this, Kagan is forced to make some shocking admissions, including that supporting Israel is not in America’s interests, that no Middle East state poses a threat to America, and that “terrorism” is often just a backlash to U.S. foreign policy.

Kagan wrote that supporting Israel, “never had anything to do with American national-security interests” adding:

American officials from the beginning regarded support for Israel as contrary to U.S. interests. George C. Marshall opposed recognition in 1948, and Dean Acheson said that by recognizing Israel, the United States had succeeded Britain as ‘the most disliked power in the Middle East.’ During the Cold War, even supporters of Israel acknowledged that as a simple matter of ‘power politics,’ the United States had ‘every reason for wishing that Israel had never come into existence.’ But as Harry Truman put it, the decision to support the state of Israel was made ‘not in the light of oil, but in the light of justice.’

“One would be hard-pressed to find any nation in the world that has been reassured by the Israeli and American war against Iran, other than Israel itself,” Kagan added.

As if this wasn’t shocking enough, Kagan even admitted that Iranian anger at America stems from the U.S. backing the 1953 coup against Mohammad Mosaddegh and supporting the brutal Shah dictatorship until 1979, writing:

Even the threat of terrorism from the region was a consequence of American involvement, not the reason for it. Had the United States not been deeply and consistently involved in the Muslim world since the 1940s, Islamic militants would have little interest in attacking an indifferent nation 5,000 miles and two oceans away. Contrary to much mythology, they have hated us not so much because of ‘who we are’ but because of where we are. In Iran’s case, the United States was deeply involved in its politics from the 1950s until the 1979 revolution, including as the main supporter of the brutal regime of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. The surest way of avoiding Islamist terrorist attacks would have been to get out.

Kagan added, “No state in the Middle East (including Iraq in 2003 and Iran today) ever posed a direct threat to the security of the American homeland. Iran has no missiles that can reach the United States and, according to American intelligence, would not until 2035. Access to Middle Eastern oil and gas has never been essential to the security of the American homeland. Today, the United States is less dependent on Middle Eastern energy than in the past, which Trump has pointed out numerous times since the Strait of Hormuz was closed.”

Kagan has no doubt done major damage to U.S. foreign policy, and his role in the Iraq war and proxy war in Ukraine should not be discounted, but nonetheless, it is notable that even he acknowledges that the Iran war is crippling the U.S. empire, and being forced to admit that his critics were more or less correct about U.S. policy in the Middle East.

April 4, 2026 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Timeless or most popular, Wars for Israel | , , , , | Comments Off on One Of America’s Leading Neo-Cons Has Turned Against The Iran War And Israel

BREAKING: US JET SHOT DOWN OVER IRAN /Lt Col Daniel Davis & Nima Alkhorshid

Daniel Davis / Deep Dive – April 3, 2026

Prof. Ted Postol: Iran Already Achieved NUCLEAR DETERRENCE Against Israel

Dialogue Works | April 3, 2026

April 4, 2026 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Militarism, Video, Wars for Israel | , , , , | Comments Off on BREAKING: US JET SHOT DOWN OVER IRAN /Lt Col Daniel Davis & Nima Alkhorshid

Now everyone is dumping US government bonds

Inside China Business | April 3, 2026

Foreign central banks and institution are selling off their holdings of US Treasury bonds. The war against Iran is driving bondholders to dump US government debt at a record pace, and foreign Treasury holdings at the NY Fed are at the lowest level in nearly fifteen years. The heavy liquidations are driving bond yields in the United States higher, and borrowing costs for government, and American households and businesses, are spiking higher. 

Resources and links:

Foreign Central Banks Cut New York Fed Treasury Holdings To 2012 Lows https://finimize.com/content/foreign-…

China is dumping US treasuries and buying Gold https://www.fxstreet.com/analysis/chi…

Foreign central banks sell US Treasuries amid war in Iran https://ft.pressreader.com/1389/20260…

China’s Years-Long Retreat From US Treasuries Flags Bigger Risks https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articl…

Chinese Bonds Are Appealing as Reserve Assets, Gavekal Says https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articl…

China surpasses $1 trillion trade surplus despite Trump tariffs https://businessreport.co.za/business…

Lesson 3 (above). Balance of Payments — Why Current and Capital Accounts Net Out. https://www.aei.org/carpe-diem/khan-a…

April 3, 2026 Posted by | Economics, Video, Wars for Israel | , , | Comments Off on Now everyone is dumping US government bonds

Official reveals evidence of Arab states’ involvement in US-Israeli war on Iran

Press TV – April 3, 2026

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei has revealed hard evidence on the involvement of some Persian Gulf Arab states in the unprovoked US-Israeli aggression against the Islamic Republic.

In a post on social media platform X on Friday, Baghaei published photos of a drone, which was shot down in southern Iran on Thursday, noting that only two regional states possess this drone, without naming them.

“This drone was downed by our brave armed forces over the beloved city of Hafiz and Saadi, Shiraz,” he said, referring to the two prominent Persian poets.

“It could be another (hard) evidence of direct participation and active complicity of some states of the region in US-Israel crime of aggression and war crimes against Iran,” Baghaei said.

The spokesman demanded “clarification” by “either of the TWO STATES of the region that are the users of this drone!”

The downed drone initially appeared to be an American MQ-9. However, military experts say it is actually a Wing Loong-2 drone, which is operated by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Last month, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran’s neighboring countries should “promptly” clarify their position regarding their role in the “slaughter” of Iranian civilians by the Israeli regime and the United States.

In a post on his X account in mid-March, Araghchi said hundreds of Iranian civilians, including children, have been killed in Israel-US bombings.

“Reports claim that some neighboring states that host US forces and permit attacks on Iran are also actively encouraging this slaughter,” the top Iranian diplomat stated.

He said positions should be promptly clarified on the mass killing of Iranian civilians.

The US and Israel started the latest round of unlawful military aggression on Iran on February 28, some eight months after they carried out unprovoked attacks on the country.

The attacks led to the martyrdom of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and hundreds of Iranian civilians, including women and children, as well as several senior military commanders.

Iran has carried out extensive retaliatory attacks on US assets in the region and on locations in the Israeli-occupied territories since the very first day of the US–Israeli aggression.

The Islamic Republic says it respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of its neighbors and that its reprisal attacks are directed at US assets and bases on their soil.

It has also warned regional countries not to allow their territory to be used for attacks against Iran.

April 3, 2026 Posted by | Militarism, War Crimes, Wars for Israel | , , , , | Comments Off on Official reveals evidence of Arab states’ involvement in US-Israeli war on Iran

His Majesty’s head-chopper: Syria’s MI6-backed president bows to King Charles

By Kit Klarenberg | The Grayzone | April 3, 2026

When Syria’s “interim” leader Ahmed al-Sharaa touched down in London on March 31, he was given a much warmer welcome than many once thought possible. As the longtime leader of Syria’s Al-Qaeda branch, the US had been offering a $10 million bounty for information on his location just 15 months prior. Yet here was Al-Sharaa, proudly posing for photo ops with King Charles and Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

British intelligence had been working towards this day for almost two decades. The path for al-Sharaa’s rule was cleared by MI6 after years of mentoring under Jonathan Powell, who now serves as National Security Advisor to Starmer. The time had come for Britain to formally anoint its Syrian puppet.

The ongoing US-Israeli war on Iran, and the Strait of Hormuz’s closure, were reportedly at the top of Starmer and al-Sharaa’s agenda. The British premier praised his counterpart’s supposed success in battling ISIS, while al-Sharaa thanked London for its assistance in pushing for sanctions on Syria’s ruined economy to be lifted. The pair have enjoyed warm relations since al-Sharaa’s seizure of power in December 2024, which Starmer publicly celebrated as a golden opportunity for London to “play a more present and consistent role throughout the region.”

Ever since, the British have systematically steered Damascus’ self-appointed government towards recognition and welcome by Western states. In May 2025, as al-Sharaa’s death squads massacred Alawites and other ethnic and religious minorities, US President Donald Trump received his Syrian counterpart in the oval office, where he gifted him a bottle of Trump-branded cologne. The BBC acknowledged this development would have been “unthinkable just months ago.”

Al-Sharaa took the next steps in January 2026, when he signed an unpopular US-brokered accord with Israel, which former Syrian President Bashar Assad had steadfastly refused to endorse for decades.

The impacts of the deal were immediately visible. As Al-Sharaa’s forces swept through Kurdish territory in north east Syria, the Kurds’ erstwhile Israeli backers refused to intervene, and US envoy Tom Barrack publicly declared that the American partnership with the Kurds had “expired.”

Within weeks, al-Sharaa’s forces wrested control of the country’s wheat and oil-producing areas, which had been under US-led occupation for years. Though Syria and Israel have yet to formally normalize relations, al-Sharaa describes relations between the countries as “good.” Today, Syria’s airspace and ground territory is routinely used by Israel and its Western sponsors to wage war on Iran.

Though the rapid transition took many by surprise, the campaign to re-establish Western control over Syria was actually set in motion years ago.

Starmer’s top advisor also groomed al-Sharaa for power

Among the most important vehicles for grooming the former Syrian Al Qaeda warlord known as Mohammed Jolani into the politician, Ahmad Al-Sharaa, was a supposed conflict resolution NGO known as Inter-Mediate. Founded by Jonathan Powell, a former advisor to PM Tony Blair who helped negotiate the Good Friday accords in Northern Ireland, works closely with the British Foreign Office and MI6.

Powell’s Inter Mediate cultivated al-Sharaa’s militant Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) faction for power for years before the December 2025 palace coup, and now boasts a dedicated office within the presidential palace in Damascus.

Coincidentally, Powell took up the post as Starmer’s advisor mere days before HTS declared themselves Syria’s government. As a confidant of Tony Blair, Powell was a key figure in the push for the criminal 2003 Anglo-American Iraq invasion, helping shape bogus intelligence claiming that Baghdad posed a biological and chemical weapons threat to justify the illegal intervention.

Despite his role in the destruction of Iraq, British media has reported that Powell “may have more influence over foreign policy than anyone in government after the Prime Minister himself.” Today, Powell is charged with “coordinating all UK foreign policy, security, defence, Europe, and international economic issues.”

Al-Sharaa was also personally welcomed by Hamish Falconer, an intelligence-aligned Member of Parliament who spent years collaborating with MI6 as the British foreign office’s Terrorism Response Team leader and once served as a hostage negotiator in talks with the Taliban.

Falconer is a close associate of Amil Khan, a British intelligence contractor who worked obsessively to generate sympathetic coverage of HTS while plotting to undermine this outlet due to our critical reporting on Syrian jihadists and their friends in the British government.

Hamish’s father, Charlie Falconer, was a longtime friend and former roommate of former Tony Blair. Following Blair’s May 1997 election victory, Falconer senior was elevated to the unelected House of Lords, then served in a series of high-ranking government posts throughout his pal’s tenure, often coordinating with Jonathan Powell.

While there, the elder Falconer applied “huge pressure” to Attorney General Lord Goldsmith to change his conclusion that invading Iraq was completely illegal. This intervention may have played a decisive role in enabling the illegal war of aggression. Today, it’s been reported that many on Downing Street are “growing increasingly wary about the influence of… smooth Blairites.”

According to one British outlet, top officials in London are purportedly asking, “at what point… does ‘experience’ and ‘guidance’ become ‘control’?” The same question must be asked of MI6’s longstanding links to al-Sharaa.

British intel set up al-Sharaa’s civil apparatus

It is uncertain when British contact with HTS began. But Robert Ford, who served as the US ambassador to Syria from 2011 to 2014, disclosed that in 2023 Inter-Mediate sought his personal assistance in rebranding HTS from “terrorists” into politicians. Ford met repeatedly with al-Sharaa, who reportedly expressed no remorse about the massacres and atrocities he perpetrated in Iraq. Al-Sharaa had served five years in the US military’s notorious Camp Bucca jail for his involvement with Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia. He was released in 2011 – just in time for the Syrian dirty war.

In September 2025, former-MI6 chief Richard Moore admitted Britain’s foreign spying agency had been courting HTS long before its seizure of Damascus. “Having forged a relationship with HTS a year or two before they toppled Bashar, we forged a path for the UK Government to return to the country within weeks” of the fall of Assad, Moore boasted.

British psychological warfare operations and ‘aid’ efforts greatly assisted HTS’ consolidation of power in areas of Syria it occupied. As The Grayzone revealed in the immediate aftermath of Assad’s fall, leaked documents show MI6 was well-aware that reports of the group’s split from Al Qaeda were a fantasy.

Nevertheless, British propaganda efforts portrayed dangerous, chaotic HTS-occupied territory as a “moderate” success story, in order to demonstrate “a credible alternative to the [Assad] regime,” per the leaks. Central to these psy-ops were British-created assets including the Free Syrian Police (FSP) and White Helmets.

Framed by Western media as providing vital humanitarian services to local populations, these ostensibly independent agencies enjoyed fawning coverage in mainstream media. In reality, the pair collaborated closely with extremist groups, including HTS, and were complicit in hideous atrocities.

Whether intentional or not, HTS was “significantly less likely to attack opposition entities… receiving support” from the British government, a UK intelligence contractor stated. The work of the White Helmets and FSP greatly enhanced the terrorist group’s credibility as a governance actor and service provider among Syrians. When HTS took power outright in northwest Syria, the FSP became the territory’s formal police force. Since Assad’s ouster, the White Helmets have been tapped by British intelligence assets to run the country’s emergency services.

Despite al-Sharaa’s refusal to repudiate his extremist past, British diplomats initiated a series of meeting with him and other HTS warlords from December 2024 onwards. The public encounters continued even as legacy media outlets acknowledged these summits were completely illegal, as HTS was a proscribed terror group under British law. Starmer did not formally lift this designation initially, but nonetheless led calls for the removal of sanctions on Syria by all Western countries.

In March 2025, the UK terminated the majority of its Syria sanctions, and the rest of the EU followed shortly. With the revocation of US sanctions in July, Syria had effectively been welcomed back into the fold of the so-called international community.

While London’s man in Damascus appears eager to please Starmer and his counterparts in Western capitals, his sectarian politics remain a source of domestic credibility. In January, al-Sharaa’s forces overran northeastern Syria, and freed many ISIS fighters from Kurdish-run prisons, where MI6 had long-managed covert propaganda operations to influence inhabitants. Many freed ISIS brides reportedly refused repatriation to their home countries, “because their husbands are with” al-Sharaa.

April 3, 2026 Posted by | Deception, Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Wars for Israel | , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on His Majesty’s head-chopper: Syria’s MI6-backed president bows to King Charles

Hegseth’s Pentagon Purge Designed to Prevent a Mutiny: Karen Kwiatkowski

Sputnik – 03.04.2026

The secretary of war’s dismissal of Army Chief of Staff General Randy George and two other top generals signals intensifying rot in the Department amid the Iran war, former senior DoD insider-turned whistleblower Karen Kwiatkowski says.

General George represented “experience in Army battlefield operations,” while general David Hodne and major general William Greene Jr had “their pulse on the readiness, and more importantly the attitudes and thinking,” of younger soldiers, Kwiatkowski told Sputnik.

They see the Iran conflict as an “illegal and unneeded war,” driven by politics, ego and a foreign power (Israel), and understand “the real damage inflicted on US forces and installations” in the Middle East over the past month, the retired Air Force Lt. Col. added.

Hegseth’s “poor leadership skills,” disrespect for service members, and “religious invocations for slaughter,” have earned him “several degrees of contempt,” and Kwiatkowski suspects that sentiments of “no confidence and dislike” are “roiling throughout the ranks.”

“The reasons for the purges are Hegseth’s fear of organizational and political dissent of the leadership of the military,” stemming from “endless needless wars compounded by command mistakes” by recent administrations, from Covid vax mandates to the Iran crisis.

If this affects even 10-20% of the military, that’s a serious problem and the Pentagon will no longer have a fighting force it can rely on, no matter how many “yes men generals” are tapped to replace those who have been ousted, Kwiatkowski fears.

“Hegseth and the generals recognize there is no trust up or down the chain of command. Hegseth believes he can command that trust through sycophants; the generals very likely prefer a more structural approach of more and better training, and better civilian leadership… which is impossible at this time,” she summed up.

April 3, 2026 Posted by | Wars for Israel | , | Comments Off on Hegseth’s Pentagon Purge Designed to Prevent a Mutiny: Karen Kwiatkowski

UN vote on Hormuz force delayed as Iran issues warning

Al Mayadeen | April 3, 2026

The United Nations Security Council on Friday postponed a vote on a draft resolution authorizing force in the Strait of Hormuz, as divisions deepen among major powers amid the ongoing war on Iran.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned ahead of the session that any move within the Council could escalate tensions further. “Any provocative action by the aggressors and their supporters, including in the UN Security Council regarding the situation in the Strait of Hormuz, will only complicate the situation,” he said.

The vote, initially scheduled for today, concerned a Bahrain-led proposal that would allow the use of “defensive” force to protect commercial shipping in the strategic waterway. The measure is backed by the United States and several Gulf states, which have been heavily impacted by the disruption of maritime traffic.

However, the session was delayed with no new date announced. Russia, China, and France have raised objections to earlier drafts, particularly over language that could authorize military action, warning that such steps risk widening the war.

Diplomatic wrangling has already forced Bahrain to revise the proposal multiple times. Earlier versions reportedly included language permitting “all necessary means,” a formulation commonly interpreted as allowing military force, before being scaled back under pressure from opposing members.

The evolving text has been repeatedly watered down in an effort to avoid a veto, shifting from explicit authorization of force toward more limited “defensive” measures, with additional conditions on how any action would be carried out.

Despite backing the broader push led by Bahrain and the United States, France has played a more complex role in negotiations. Paris has participated in drafting efforts while also resisting stronger provisions, joining Russia and China in blocking earlier versions of the resolution during the so-called “silence procedure”, effectively preventing its automatic adoption.

At the same time, France has pushed for de-escalation and a delayed or limited mandate instead of immediate authorization of force, amid concerns that military action would further destabilize the situation.

The dispute unfolds against the backdrop of a severe crisis in the Strait of Hormuz, driven by Iranian restrictions imposed in retaliation for US-Israeli aggression. The resulting disruption to tanker traffic has triggered a major shock to global energy markets.

Despite the military buildup, Iran has maintained a controlled approach to maritime transit, allowing selective passage for non-hostile states while restricting vessels linked to the United States, “Israel,” and their allies.

April 3, 2026 Posted by | Militarism, Wars for Israel | , , , , , | Comments Off on UN vote on Hormuz force delayed as Iran issues warning

Trump and the debris of Iran war

US President Donald Trump shared a video of Iran’s B1 bridge, billed as the country’s tallest bridge, collapsing after US air strike, April 3, 2026
By M. K. BHADRAKUMAR | Indian Punchline | April 3, 2026

The only clue the US President Donald Trump has given in his prime time televised speech on Wednesday at the White House regarding the ending of his war in Iran is that the core “objectives are nearing completion” and that he is “very close” to finishing the war.

The big question is whether Trump is any longer in command of the situation. For all practical purposes, the war seems set to cascade as the US is preparing for a potential ground operation in Iran and threatens to destroy “bridges next, then electric power plants”. 

Revealing himself primarily as YHWH (Yahweh) in the Old Testament — the personal, holy, and covenant-making Creator who demands exclusive worship from Israel — Trump thundered, “Over the next two to three weeks, we are going to bring them [Iranians] back to the Stone Ages, where they belong” . 

Yet, Iran is in no mood to surrender. Tehran has lost respect for Trump and instead sees him as a master craftsman of the art of deception. The Iranian statements underscore that the US intelligence lacks even the foggiest idea of its capabilities to retaliate. 

Perhaps, the most vicious no-holds-barred phase of the war is about to begin, with a dynamics of its own — in particular, taking into account the Israel factor, which is a revisionist power seeking to alter the established international order, rules, territorial boundaries or distribution of power in the West Asian region to better serve the establishment of a Zionist state of Greater Israel. 

Israel is keeping its options open to further territorial expansion, the latest evidence being the assault on Lebanon and its back-tracking from US-backed negotiations with Syria. Unsurprisingly, Iran insists that any peace deal must encompass all issues of regional stability and security. 

Wars have consequences. They leave behind a lot of debris. But this is not about Iran’s reconstruction alone for which of course, it is legitimately seeking war reparations and a security guarantee.

The bottom line is, after creating new facts on the ground, Trump may simply walk away to the golf course. The most consequential new reality is that the Strait of Hormuz is transforming as a waterway. 

By coincidence, the first reaction to Trump’s address on Wednesday came from the global oil market, as prices of rose to $105 per barrel. The Oil Price magazine which provides forward-looking intelligence  for energy traders and investment professionals was spot on in its prognosis that “Long-suffering energy investors finally have a reason to smile, with the sector on track to outperform the broader market by its widest margin on record, driven by Middle East conflict … The energy sector’s 14-week winning streak far exceeds previous bull runs. 

“Oil & Gas stocks have easily outpaced the erstwhile high-flying tech sector… Leading the charge are U.S. oil majors” — Exxon Mobil returned 33.1% YTD; Chevron Corp (28.5%); Occidental Petroleum (49.6%); ConocoPhillips (38.5%); Marathon Petroleum (43.8%). Wall Street must be feeling elated. 

According to Financial Times:

“[US War Secretary] Pete Hegseth’s broker at Morgan Stanley contacted BlackRock in February to make a multimillion-dollar investment in a defence-focused Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) called IDEF.

“This $3.2 billion fund is built around companies that benefit from increased military spending, including RTX, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Palantir — all major Pentagon contractors.

“The request came just weeks before the U.S.-Israeli strike on Iran, a campaign Hegseth helped shape and strongly supported within the Trump administration.”

Larry Johnson, who worked in the CIA and is by far one of the best American commentators on Trump’s war (and geopolitics in general), wrote a blog this week titled Who Else, Besides Pete Hegseth, is Trying to Use the War in Iran to Get Rich? To quote him, “If you do the analysis on the weapons expended so far in the month-long war with Iran, the opportunity for war profiteering is quite clear… The high expenditure rates, combined with historically low peacetime production [of weaponry] have created a serious “race of attrition” that cannot be quickly reversed.” 

Johnson flagged as example that both Patriot and THAAD interceptors are primarily manufactured by Lockheed Martin. He adds, “Which means that Lockheed Martin can expect a major influx of cash to boost production and try to replenish exhausted missile air defence inventories. I wonder who else in the Trump administration and the US Congress are making money off this bloody war?” 

Setting aside the sleaze and corruption endemic to America’s wars, like night follows the day, the single new fact on the ground today that has explosive potential and can bring the roof down on the international financial system is the terrible beauty about the Strait of Hormuz as Iran decided to control the use of the waterway by outsiders in war conditions, which is nothing unusual (eg., Straits of Bosphorus which Turkey and Russia control.)  

Since the waterway passes through the territorial waters of Iran and Oman, these two countries are entitled to have a say in the regime of maritime traffic in war conditions. It’s a legitimate demand. Nonetheless, Iran is showing flexibility by allowing traffic by “benign” vessels not linked to the two enemy countries, US and Israel. It stands to reason that this flexibility will eventually transform in a post-war scenario into a rational, efficient, secure regime. 

Meanwhile, the cascading price of oil has the potential to impact the world economy. Since petrodollar recycling is also involved, this will hit international finance as well — the western banking system in particular —  unless it is resolved quickly, smoothly and peacefully with the consent of Iran and Oman. Trump has tactfully made it the concern of Europeans and the Gulf Arab states, the US’ partners in crime in petrodollar recycling who help prop up the dollar as “world currency.” 

Hopefully, India’s stance, as articulated by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri at a meeting hosted in London yesterday, provides a ramp that can be the basis of a permanent solution — namely, “the way out of the crisis consisted of de-escalation and a return to the path of diplomacy and dialogue among all concerned parties.” 

Notably, India did not sign up to the meeting’s final statement which expressed readiness by participants to contribute to “appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait.” Meanwhile, India’s direct talks with Tehran have been productive and yielded positive results.    

April 3, 2026 Posted by | Economics, Militarism, War Crimes, Wars for Israel | , , , , | Comments Off on Trump and the debris of Iran war

IRGC hits US tech giant Oracle’s data center, computing site in UAE over new assassinations

Press TV – April 2, 2026

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) announced on Thursday that it struck a data center and computing infrastructure belonging to the US tech giant Oracle, based in the United Arab Emirates, in response to the latest assassinations in Iran.

In a statement released by the IRGC public relations wing, it said the attack was a direct retaliation for what the enemy’s “terrorist operations” targeting Iranian individuals.

“Just as we had warned, in response to the assassination of Iranian individuals, we will target intelligence, information technology, and artificial intelligence spy companies that are pillars of the enemy’s terrorist operations,” the statement read.

The IRGC said the strike on Oracle followed a similar pattern of retaliation.

“Following the destruction of the cloud computing infrastructure of the American company Amazon in retaliation for the assassination of Commander Fathalizadeh, today, the data center and computing infrastructure of the American company Oracle, based in the Emirates, was struck in response to the assassination of Dr. Kamal Kharrazi and his wife.”

Dr. Kharazi, who serves as the head of Iran’s Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, previously served as the foreign minister of Iran from August 1997 to August 2005.

While he has been gravely injured in the attack, his wife was martyred.

The IRGC issued a clear warning to other companies it may view as complicit in future acts of aggression against Iranian nationals.

“If the crimes are repeated and another assassination occurs, the next company should be ready to receive a decisive response,” the statement noted.

What makes Oracle complicit in war against Iran?

Oracle is also one of the most deeply embedded technology companies in the US military and intelligence ecosystem.

Through its Oracle National Security Group (ONSG) and Oracle Cloud for Government and Defense programs, the company provides mission-critical database management, cloud infrastructure, enterprise software, and cybersecurity solutions to the Department of War, Pentagon, intelligence agencies, and federal civilian entities.

Oracle’s database technologies form the backbone of countless US military and intelligence systems, including personnel management, logistics, weapons inventory, signals intelligence (SIGINT) data processing, and geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) platforms.

The company’s software is used by the National Security Agency (NSA), Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), and all branches of the US military to manage vast datasets essential for intelligence analysis, targeting, and operational planning.

Oracle’s cloud infrastructure, including its dedicated Oracle Cloud for US Defense and Intelligence, has been accredited for classified workloads, enabling the company to provide secure cloud computing environments for the Department of War and the intelligence community.

The company is a key participant in the Pentagon’s Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability (JWCC) program, competing alongside other major cloud providers to deliver infrastructure for military operations globally.

Beyond software and cloud, Oracle has long-standing partnerships with US intelligence agencies on data analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML) applications for intelligence gathering, threat detection, and predictive analysis.

Oracle also maintains a significant and strategically important presence in the occupied Palestinian territories with deep ties to the Israeli regime, military, and military-industrial base.

The company operates major research and development centers in the occupied territories, including facilities in Herzliya, Petah Tikva, and Haifa.

The company’s technologies are used in military command-and-control systems, intelligence analysis platforms, logistics management, and secure communications infrastructure.

Oracle’s cloud services have been increasingly adopted by Israeli military entities seeking to modernize their IT infrastructure. It participates in joint projects with Israeli military and intelligence entities, contributing to the development of advanced data analytics, AI-driven intelligence tools, and secure enterprise platforms.

April 2, 2026 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Wars for Israel | , , , , , , | Comments Off on IRGC hits US tech giant Oracle’s data center, computing site in UAE over new assassinations

UAE rejects report claiming it is ready to join war on Iran to reopen Hormuz

MEMO | April 2, 2026

The United Arab Emirates has rejected reports suggesting that it is willing to join the war against Iran in order to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, saying such claims are misleading and do not reflect its actual position.

In a statement issued by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Abu Dhabi said: “Recent reporting suggesting a shift in the UAE’s posture is misleading.” The ministry stressed that the UAE maintains a defensive posture focused on protecting its sovereignty, population and infrastructure, while reserving the right to self-defence against what it described as “ongoing unlawful and unprovoked attacks.”

The statement came in response to a report by The Wall Street Journal, which claimed that the UAE “is willing to join the fight” to reopen the strategic waterway by force.

Abu Dhabi said that the Strait of Hormuz remains a vital artery for the global economy and reiterated that freedom of navigation there must be preserved. However, it stopped far short of endorsing direct participation in the war, instead saying it is prepared to support collective international efforts to safeguard maritime security, in coordination with partners and in line with international law.

The UAE’s denial also undercuts claims that Gulf Arab states have been pushing US President Donald Trump and Israel to escalate the conflict. Those narratives appear increasingly detached from reality. The Financial Times reported that Saudi Arabia has become deeply frustrated with Trump’s erratic handling of the war, including threats to strike Iranian infrastructure, suggestions that Gulf states should pay for the conflict and repeated uncertainty over Washington’s endgame.

The same FT report said Riyadh blames Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government for igniting the conflict and fears being left to deal with the consequences of a wounded but more militarised Iran. It also reported growing Saudi unease over the lack of clear US strategy, as well as anger at Trump’s public remarks about Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.

Rather than cheering escalation, Gulf states appear increasingly disillusioned with Washington and alarmed by the fallout from a war they did not want. The UAE statement and Saudi frustration together suggest that the region’s Arab powers are far more concerned with containing the conflict than joining it.

READ: Qatar’s emir warns Trump of ‘serious consequences’ from war with Iran

April 2, 2026 Posted by | Wars for Israel | , , , , | Comments Off on UAE rejects report claiming it is ready to join war on Iran to reopen Hormuz

A New Resistance Front: How Does Syria Factor into the Regional War?

By Robert Inlakesh | The Palestine Chronicle | April 2, 2026

A new Syrian resistance group has emerged and is the only organization in the country currently carrying out offensive actions against both Israeli and US targets. This development comes as Israel uses the newly occupied territories in its ground assault on Lebanon, a move that could easily rope Tel Aviv into a new quagmire.

While a US allied leader now technically controls Damascus, the reality on the ground in Syria is that there is no functional State. This being the case, the outbreak of chaos is simply one miscalculation away.

In stark contrast to the regimented and tightly controlled Syria that existed under the rule of Bashar Al-Assad and his father Hafez al-Assad, the country today is divided between countless powers throughout the country, with the President functioning as less of a strongman and more of a symbolic figure that covers the explosive charges ready to detonate. Nowhere was this on clearer display than in the July 2025 clashes in southern Syria’s Sweida Province.

President Ahmed al-Shara’a, also known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, has allied himself with his Western backers and even gone as far as signing onto a normalization mechanism with Israel. Short of full normalization of ties with Tel Aviv, the “joint fusion mechanism” that was agreed upon by Syrian and Israeli officials seeks to “facilitate immediate and ongoing coordination on their intelligence sharing, military de-escalation, diplomatic engagement, and commercial opportunities under the supervision of the United States.”

Knowing this, it would therefore appear strange that the Israelis still persist with not only bombing Syrian civilian infrastructure across the country, but also Syria’s new military forces. Understanding why will help in unlocking what appears on the surface to be a difficult puzzle to solve.

The Syrian leadership is Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), infamous for being a rebrand of al-Nusra Front (Al-Qaeda in Syria). Although it is presented as if it were a real government, the group never had any experience in governance. Instead, they knew only how to rule over smaller militia factions and worked as the de facto leadership in Idlib, despite there having been a “Syrian Salvation Government” (SSG) who were technically in control of the territory.

Prior to the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s leadership in December of 2024, HTS had consented to the SSG’s existence in order to give the veneer of a professionally organized opposition. In reality, HTS held all the power cards, even running its own secret prisons, while leaving the administrative details to be hashed out by the professionals.

All of this is of great importance because Bashar al-Assad’s entire system was not overthrown in some kind of war of liberation; instead, it collapsed without any real fight. Therefore, when Ahmed al-Shara’a entered Damascus and declared himself leader, he was in a very difficult position.

Under the supervision of his foreign backers, chiefly the United States, the new Syrian leadership focused on symbolism rather than fundamentally changing the way the country functioned. Therefore, Damascus opened itself up to Washington and became a playground for Western and Israeli intelligence agents, as the new President attempted to impress Washington.

Meanwhile, many of the most corrupt elements belonging to the former regime, were permitted to continue on as if it was business as usual, all as the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and former intelligence and police services were disbanded. What replaced the former security apparatus were simply militants belonging to the alphabet soup of Al-Qaeda affiliates that had been operating previously out of Idlib.

This being the case, the words of Ahmed al-Shara’a often have little to no bearing on what actually transpires on the ground. Meaning that corruption is rampant, every corner of the nation is filled with different armed forces who have their own territory when push comes to shove. In essence, all of Syria became a big Idlib.

Syria is no longer subjected to sanctions, has gained access to its most fertile agricultural lands, is no longer internationally isolated, while ruling over its own oil and gas fields. Despite all of this, the country’s economy is still in the toilet, and the long-promised prosperity has been reduced to vague future visions. This isn’t to say it’s impossible for things to change, but as it stands, this is Syria today.

Because of the state of Syria’s affairs, cross-border smuggling has exploded and this has evidently benefited Lebanese Hezbollah next door. Two sources familiar with the matter informed Palestine Chronicle that the quantity of weapons flowing through the Syrian-Lebanese border had even increased since the fall of Bashar al-Assad.

According to reports, the US has been applying pressure on Damascus to attack Lebanon in order to help Israel weaken Hezbollah in the Bekaa Valley region. In response, President al-Shara’a broke his silence this Tuesday and declared that Syria will not attack Lebanon, an announcement that came following a threat earlier that day from an Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) spokesperson, threatening to attack if Damascus orders such a move.

This affirmed previous suspicions that such an equation could arise, whereby a Syrian invasion of Lebanon would trigger an Iraqi invasion. The PMU, when fully mobilized, can muster a force of around 250,000 fighters, a much more formidable force than what currently constitutes the Syrian Army.

Another possible equation that could be set is a Syria-Israel clash. Not only could armed resistance groups, aligned with the Iranian-led Axis of Resistance, end up creating such a reality, but others could also be roped in.

Israel’s recent bombing of Syrian military positions, coupled with Israeli Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s calls to assassinate the Syrian President, both occurred following an alleged military buildup near the Sweida Province.

It is likely that Damascus was eyeing the opportunity presenting itself to finally deal with the Druze Separatist movement in the southern province. Led by one of the Druze minority group’s spiritual leaders, Hikmat al-Hijri, a unified command calling itself the “National Guard” formed in order to operate a semi-autonomous zone in Sweida.

The National Guard began receiving direct military, financial and logistical support from Israel, who have long sought to establish a Druze rump State in southern Syria, a goal that enables an even greater land grab, as well as opening up “David’s Corridor” [shown in blue below] spanning over to the Iraqi-Syrian border.

In the eyes of Syria’s leadership, the Druze issue is of great importance to solve for a range of reasons. One of which is that there is an enormous amount of sectarian tension, which various groups who form the new Syrian security apparatus, along with the Bedouin tribal forces, seek to punish following the bloodshed that began last July. It will also mean that technically, Syria will be one step closer to having one central government rule the entire country, which is a symbolic victory for Ahmed al-Shara’a.

However, the Israelis appear to have pre-empted such an offensive and committed a number of airstrikes as a warning to the Syrian leadership. There is clear anxiety over such a battle unfolding, because if it occurs, the Israeli military will be forced to intervene in order to save its Druze separatist allies.

As mentioned above, if things spiral out of control, the President himself cannot necessarily do much about it. That means that Syrian forces will likely begin to directly come into contact with the Israelis on the ground, something that could easily spiral.

Most of the fighters who have, for now, aligned themselves with the Syrian government are no fans of Israel, to say the least. This was on full display last December during the military parades conducted by Syria’s new armed forces, who openly chanted for Gaza, threatened Tel Aviv, and some even burned Israeli flags.

The alternative scenario for the Israelis in Syria may end up being worse, meaning that if they were to assassinate al-Shara’a, a power struggle would likely end up playing out on the streets of the Capital and throughout the country. So many different actors will seek to claim power.

Syria’s predicament has turned out to be less favourable to Tel Aviv, not because it poses an immediate strategic threat, but because almost anything is possible there. During the regional war between the Israeli-US alliance and the Iranian-led Axis of Resistance, one wrong misstep could prove fatal and open up yet another front, which will not only drain their resources but also weaken their ability to fight Hezbollah.

– Robert Inlakesh is a journalist, writer, and documentary filmmaker. He focuses on the Middle East, specializing in Palestine.

April 2, 2026 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Wars for Israel | , , , , , , | Comments Off on A New Resistance Front: How Does Syria Factor into the Regional War?

Gulf states weigh pipeline expansion plans, hoping to bypass Hormuz

Al Mayadeen | April 2, 2026

Gulf Arab states are increasingly reconsidering long-discussed pipeline projects aimed at bypassing the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, as the war on Iran raises concerns among them over how Iran showed its capability to gain control over the waterway.

Officials and energy industry executives say the prospect of prolonged Iranian control over the strait has revived interest in alternative overland export routes, despite the high financial, political, and logistical barriers such projects entail.

The war on Iran and the subsequent defensive operations have revived the viability of Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline, a 1,200-kilometer network constructed in the 1980s following the Iran-Iraq “tanker war”. The pipeline, which carries up to 7 million barrels of crude oil per day to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, allows Saudi exports to bypass Hormuz entirely.

Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser recently described the pipeline as the “main route” currently being utilized, highlighting its strategic value amid regional instability. The kingdom is now assessing options to expand the pipeline’s capacity or develop additional routes to transport a larger share of its daily oil production, estimated at over 10 million barrels, away from the Gulf.

Analysts note that Gulf policymakers are increasingly shifting from theoretical discussions to concrete planning. Maisoon Kafafy, a senior advisor at the Atlantic Council, a US-based think tank that received extensive funding from the United Arab Emirates, said regional actors are now converging on similar conclusions regarding the need for diversified export infrastructure.

Network approach under consideration

Rather than relying on a single alternative, experts suggest a network of interconnected pipelines. However, such an approach would require unprecedented coordination among Gulf states, potentially challenging longstanding energy strategies that often conflict.

In the longer term, these pipelines could form part of broader trade corridors linking Asia to Europe. Behind them is the Israeli-led, India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) proposal, a US-backed initiative that aims to funnel Asia-Europe trade through Israeli-controlled ports.

Despite renewed interest in the plan, major obstacles remain. Industry estimates suggest that replicating infrastructure similar to the East-West pipeline could cost at least $5 billion, while more complex multi-country routes, such as those extending from Iraq through Jordan, Syria, or Turkiye, could reach $15–20 billion.

Security concerns further complicate planning, particularly in countries of the region that are subject to US-Israeli aggression, where attacks on critical infrastructure remain highly possible. Geographical challenges also present difficulties, with proposed routes requiring construction across deserts and mountainous terrain.

Saudi Arabia is also reportedly evaluating the development of additional export terminals along its Red Sea coastline, including facilities linked to the NEOM megaproject.

What is actually feasible

Gulf states have moved beyond simple infrastructure expansion. By hosting and assisting US forces and directly supporting military attacks, countries like Saudi Arabia and the UAE have transitioned from neutral bystanders to active participants in the regional aggression. However, this alignment has come at a high cost; the strategy of relying on bypass routes like the East-West pipeline and the Habshan–Fujairah pipeline is failing to provide economic stability as Tehran proves capable of striking US interests in these zones with ease.

Questions surrounding ownership, control, and operational management of transnational pipelines could also hinder progress on these projects, particularly given the need for regional cooperation.

Efforts to seize control of the maritime route are ongoing, with the United Kingdom reportedly leading talks involving more than 30 countries on the Strait of Hormuz. Yet, a glaring question remains: why target the reaction, Iranian control over Hormuz, while the root cause, US-Israeli aggression, continues to be ignored?

April 2, 2026 Posted by | Economics, Wars for Israel | , , , | Comments Off on Gulf states weigh pipeline expansion plans, hoping to bypass Hormuz

« Previous Entries     Next Entries »