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Iran Opens Strait of Hormuz for Duration of Lebanon Ceasefire

RT | April 17, 2026

Passage for all commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz is now completely open, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi declared on Friday. He added that the waterway will remain open for the remainder of the ceasefire in Lebanon.

Araghchi’s announcement came shortly after a 10-day truce came into force between the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon, which has been one of the major obstacles to a peace deal between Iran and the US.

Writing on X, the Iranian minister stated that “in line with the ceasefire in Lebanon, the passage for all commercial vessels through Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open for the remaining period of ceasefire.”

He noted however, that the vessels would be allowed to move along the “coordinated route as already announced by Ports and Maritime Organisation of the Islamic Rep. of Iran,” suggesting that the strait will remain under Tehran’s control.

US President Donald Trump has responded to Araghchi’s announcement on his Truth Social account, appearing to thank Tehran for fully reopening the “strait of Iran.”

The Strait of Hormuz has been shut down ever since the US and Israel launched an unprovoked attack on Iran in late February. The closure has driven up energy prices and rattled the global economy, disrupting one of the world’s most important trade arteries, which handles around 20% of global crude exports.

In the minutes following Araghchi’s announcement, oil prices plummeted by more than 10%, with Crude oil dropping to just over $83 per barrel and Brent coming in at around $88.

April 17, 2026 Posted by | Economics, Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Wars for Israel | , , , , , | Comments Off on Iran Opens Strait of Hormuz for Duration of Lebanon Ceasefire

Seyed M. Marandi: U.S. Naval Blockade & Ground Invasion of Iran?

Glenn Diesen | April 16, 2026

Seyed Mohammad Marandi explains the Iranian perspective on why the negotiations with the US failed, what to expect from the US naval blockade, and the likely war that will continue. Marandi is a professor at Tehran University and a former advisor to Iran’s Nuclear Negotiation Team.

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Daniel Davis / Deep Dive – April 15, 2026

April 16, 2026 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Video, Wars for Israel | , , , , | Comments Off on Seyed M. Marandi: U.S. Naval Blockade & Ground Invasion of Iran?

‘Normalization Talks’: Lebanon No Longer Has A Government

By Robert Inlakesh | Palestine Chronicle | April 15, 2026

The Lebanese state no longer has even the semblance of sovereignty, stooping lower than any previous administration. Immediately after Israel committed one of the most violent civilian massacres in Beirut’s history, the government’s top officials begged to normalize ties with the killers and implement a plan that could drag their country to civil war.

Former Lebanese President, Bachir Gemayel, once sought to achieve a silent agreement with Israel, while many speculated that a full normalization agreement was his end goal. In the end, he only lasted 21 days in office before a fellow Maronite Christian assassinated him with a remotely detonated bomb.

Despite Gemayel clearly maintaining close ties to the Israelis and having been a leader of the fascist Kataeb militia, upon taking office, he adopted a “no vassal” policy to at least make it appear as if he wasn’t working on behalf of Tel Aviv. Conscious of the fact that in 1982 the Israelis were launching a war of aggression against Lebanon and were on their way to slaughtering 20,000 people, he understood the need to try and present the image of independence, not that of a traitor as many were accusing him of being.

Fast forward to 2026, the Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and President Joseph Aoun are openly begging for direct government meetings with Israel. At a time when Israel has murdered over 2,100 people in Lebanon – targeting journalists, hospitals, emergency workers, and countless other civilian targets – the government is entering normalization talks.

While protesters quickly took to the streets, in opposition to the scheduled talks, labeling the government as traitors and stressing the need to reject normalization, the administration attempted to mislead the people into believing that a ceasefire was set to be discussed. Then came a bombshell article from Axios News, followed by a series of statements from Israeli officials, confirming the suspicions of the Lebanese population.

Israel has explicitly stated that it will not even discuss a ceasefire, but is entering into talks to reach a “peace deal”, while Axios reported that, during a phone call last Friday, the Lebanese government requested “that the Israelis go back to the understandings of the Nov. 2024 ceasefire and conduct strikes only against imminent threats from Hezbollah.”

This means that the Lebanese government has desperately pleaded for direct talks, without even setting a demand that Israel stop bombing their country first or even sit down to discuss that possibility. The maximum request was that Tel Aviv agree to return to the “ceasefire” predicament prior to the current war, where it committed 15,400 violations and concentrated most of its firepower on the south.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam even summoned the commander of the Lebanese Army, Rudolphe Heikal, during the war, because he was not willing to stand against Hezbollah and implement the US-Israeli demand to disarm the one group protecting the country.

President Aoun gave a speech earlier this month, in which he told the people that he was waiting for Israeli approval so that the State would be able to repair a water pipe in the south of the country, almost as if he was willingly participating in a humiliation ritual.

Last Friday, scenes were filmed as protesters in Beirut stood across from disarmed members of the Lebanese Armed Forces, who were deployed with riot shields to the area. A man screamed at the soldiers, urging them to join the resistance in the south and asking them how they could continue to serve an army that doesn’t even pay their salaries. One of the soldiers even broke down in tears, sobbing uncontrollably as the demonstrator spoke.

Israel has killed dozens of Lebanese security force members and army personnel, yet the government in Beirut refuses to allow them to fire a single bullet back. Instead, they flee any area Israel orders them to, as if they are receiving their commands from Tel Aviv and not their own Capital city.

Meanwhile, the Lebanese Hezbollah fighters are waging fierce ground battles to defend the country from invading Israeli soldiers, who are attempting to place south Lebanon under an illegal occupation, returning the situation to the pre-2000 predicament.

Israel Katz, Tel Aviv’s defense minister, openly asserts that the displaced civilians from southern Lebanon will not be allowed to return and that the land will be seized by the Israeli military. Meanwhile, the Israeli government demands that Lebanon order the violent disarmament of Hezbollah, a move that would lead to certain civil war.

Not even a week after Israel launched over 100 attacks in only 10 minutes, killing around 300 people and demolishing entire high-rise buildings in the Lebanese Capital, Nawaf Salam and Joseph Aoun are seeking normalization. A move that breaks from the Lebanese government’s long-held position of requiring a Palestinian State prior to engaging in such negotiations.

Although the Lebanese government has a long history of abandoning the people of south Lebanon, pretending as if a whole segment of their country doesn’t even belong to them, this is perhaps the most shameful chapter yet.

Neither the President nor the Prime Minister was actually directly elected by the Lebanese people. Instead, they seized their positions with US backing, riding on the political predicament that Israel’s war against the country in 2024 had created to obtain power. Now they take a position that not only breaks from the Arab Peace Initiative, but they also seek to talk “peace” with an Israeli government that won’t even consider pausing dropping bombs on their country.

All of this begs the question: What legitimacy does such an administration have with its people? And if little to none, then how is it even considered a Lebanese government? The behavior of its officials appears more in line with that of the Lahad Army than of a Lebanese national administration.

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

April 15, 2026 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism | , , , | Comments Off on ‘Normalization Talks’: Lebanon No Longer Has A Government

There are No Ceasefires with Israel, Only Opportunities for Later Attacks

By Robert Inlakesh | Palestine Chronicle | April 12, 2026

“The war is not over,” stated Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, less than twenty-four hours after a two-week cessation of hostilities with Iran was declared by the US. A clear sign of what is to come, from an emboldened Israeli leadership that has failed to achieve their goals of “total victory” in a “seven-front war” that has been ongoing since October of 2023.

With all the talk about ceasefire agreements to end regional hostilities in the Arab and English media, the Israeli Hebrew media is looking at things quite differently. Instead of an end to a war that the majority of the international community has worked to close, Tel Aviv eyes the next escalation.

In Lebanon, if a ceasefire is reached, the Israeli government will seek to do so in a way that inflicts a major political blow against Hezbollah, after having failed to achieve actual military accomplishments. Almost immediately following US President Donald Trump’s Truth Social post declaring a two-week ceasefire, Israel jumped to use the opportunity it had gained through the ceasefire in order to focus all of its airpower on Lebanon.

The results were truly devastating; around 300 Lebanese civilians were murdered in a series of strikes that lasted only ten minutes, which followed mass strikes across the country, including the targeting of an ambulance. After this, a series of other attacks took place, including a targeted strike which killed 19 Lebanese in Nabatieh, including at least 12 Security Force members.

Meanwhile, the US picked Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and President Joseph Aoun, who have publicly begged their way to direct negotiations with Israel, while their civilians suffer through successive massacres. The way this is all being orchestrated was laid out well by a presenter on Israel’s Channel 13 News, who openly said that the Israelis are trying to orchestrate civil war inside Lebanon, using the government to order a crackdown on Hezbollah that will trigger it.

There are also Lebanese Forces militiamen who are suspected of helping drag the nation into such a bloody conflict.

Just as on November 27, 2024, when the Lebanon ceasefire was declared, the Israelis don’t see it as an agreement designed to stop aggression mutually. Over the course of 15 months, the Israelis committed 15,400 violations of the Lebanon ceasefire, setting a world record for the most violated ceasefire in recorded human history. While the US-backed Lebanese government pretended as if a new war had started in March, the Israelis had been waging war on the Lebanese south for 15 months.

In the Gaza Strip, the so-called ceasefire was also an opportunity for the Israelis; they got a break from the fighting while continuing to arm and build up their ISIS-linked militia allies. They violated the ceasefire around 3,000 times, killing over 700 Palestinians, all as a Civi-Military Coordination Center (CMCC), composed of over 20 countries, watched on in silence.

All the way back to 1948, the Israelis used ceasefires and temporary truces in the same exact way. For example, they launched ‘Operation Danny’, in July of 1948, during a temporary pause to secure territory in Lydd and Ramla; then ‘Operation Yoav’ in October 1948, breaking the second truce to launch an attack in the Naqab region; followed by ‘Operation Hiram’, also in October 1948 that was initiated shortly after the second truce ended, flooding their forces into the Galilee.

All of the Gaza ceasefire agreements were violated continuously by the Israelis, each used to Tel Aviv’s advantage. More recently, we can turn to Syria, where the Israelis tore up the 1974 disengagement agreement, using the fall of Bashar al-Assad to occupy even more southern Syrian territory, including seven key water assets. They had a well-oiled plan prepared, sitting there waiting for the day that regime change occurred in Damascus.

There is only one example of where the Israelis were forced to abide by a ceasefire, but were still violating Lebanese sovereignty thousands upon thousands of times throughout, and that was following the 2006 Lebanon war, when a costly equation was imposed by force. Yet, the post-October 7 predicament has destroyed all previous understandings and ushered in an expansionist era for the Israeli government. Both Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition leader Yair Lapid have both publicly stated their interest in expanding Israel’s undeclared borders and achieving the “Greater Israel Project”.

Tel Aviv’s defence minister, Israel Katz, has made it clear Israel’s intention to expand its borders up to the Litani River in Lebanon, while Finance Minister Smotrich has openly asserted that the objective of settling the area is a goal.

Israel is currently fighting what it sees as an existential battle to achieve the rebirth of “Eretz Israel”, a regional war that will not end until the project is secured. This means that even if a ceasefire is reached with Iran and Lebanon, it is not actually a ceasefire; it is simply another opportunity to implement new schemes and head back to the drawing board, only to escalate once again in the future.

Both history and the statements coming from the Israeli leadership clearly demonstrate that there is no such thing as a sustainable ceasefire with Israel.

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

April 13, 2026 Posted by | Deception, Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Militarism, War Crimes | , , , , | Comments Off on There are No Ceasefires with Israel, Only Opportunities for Later Attacks

Most Israelis oppose Iran ceasefire, reject talks: Poll

The Cradle | April 13, 2026

A majority of Israelis are against the ceasefire with Iran and anticipate that it will collapse within the coming year, according to a poll carried out by Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies.

The survey was carried out between 9 and 10 April.

According to the results, 61 percent of Israelis oppose the cessation of hostilities with the Islamic Republic.

Seventy-three percent said Tel Aviv will have to resume the war, while 76 percent said that talks will not achieve Israeli objectives.

Additionally, 69 percent say Israel must continue the indiscriminate strikes on Lebanon and military operations against Hezbollah. Only 23 percent believe Lebanon should be included in the ceasefire.

The new poll also reveals that 62 percent are not convinced that the war against Lebanon will bring security and stability to Israelis.

Just 20 percent of supporters of the ruling coalition said they backed the truce, while only 31 percent of opposition voters expressed the same view.

The poll shows Israelis are unhappier with the results of this war than they were following last year’s 12-day June war against Iran.

Thirty-seven percent were “very satisfied” with the results of the new US-Israeli war on Iran, as opposed to 62 percent who said the same about last year’s war.

Forty-four percent of coalition voters are happy with the “diplomatic achievements” made, compared to 24 percent who are extremely unsatisfied.

Only seven percent of opposition voters said they were very satisfied with the achievements, compared with 69 percent who said they were unsatisfied.

The poll was released following the Islamabad talks between Tehran and Washington, which ended on 12 April with no agreement.

Since the US-Israeli war on Iran was launched in late February, Washington’s bases across the region have been ravaged.

A new Pew Research Center survey, released on 7 April, shows rising negative sentiment among US citizens toward Israel and its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after the start of the war.

Six in 10 respondents report an unfavorable view of Israel, up from 53 percent last year, while the number of those holding a “very unfavorable” view has also surged, nearly tripling since 2022.

Another recent poll carried out by Reuters and Ipsos showed that more than two-thirds of US citizens are calling for a quick end to Washington’s war against Iran, even if it means ditching its stated goals.

Just two weeks after the war began, a Drop Site News and Zeteo poll revealed that a majority of US citizens believe US President Donald Trump launched the war on Iran to “cover up” the scandalous Jeffrey Epstein files.

The new poll on Israelis’ sentiment toward ending the Iran war echoes some of those conducted during the genocide in Gaza.

In May 2025, a poll conducted by Penn State University found that 82 percent of Israelis supported the ethnic cleansing of Gaza.

April 13, 2026 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Wars for Israel | , , , , , | Comments Off on Most Israelis oppose Iran ceasefire, reject talks: Poll

‘Israel’ attacks civilians to hide its embarrassing military failures & out of pure sadism

By Robert Inlakesh | Al Mayadeen | April 12, 2026

Proving itself incapable of winning on any front, despite such vast power imbalances, the Zionist regime has developed various collective punishment doctrines over the years. This time, after getting battered by Iranian missiles and failing to achieve any strategic goal, it takes out its frustration on Lebanon and Gaza.

When the US-Israeli alliance launched its war of aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran on February 28, the Zionist regime’s Premier Benjamin Netanyahu openly gloated about getting what he had wanted for over 40 years. However, the moment he had been pushing for decades to reach failed to render the results the Israeli leader had hoped for.

US President Donald Trump, having initially agreed to Iran’s 10-point plan, before later backtracking, decided to announce a two-week cessation of hostilities with Iran. Within hours, having freed up its Air Force that had been bogged down in Iran attack operations, the Israelis were already targeting civilians across Lebanon, including bombing an ambulance in Tyre, south Lebanon.

Hours after that came the horrifying Beirut massacre, during which the Israelis carried out over 100 airstrikes in 10 minutes, demolishing dozens of civilian buildings without any notice. The result was the mass slaughter of more than 300 people, with an additional 1,200 left injured across the country in less than a day.

This was evidently no accident; the Israeli leadership had been claiming throughout the 15-month Lebanon ceasefire – which they violated over 15,400 times according to UNIFIL – that Hezbollah had been defeated, that it posed no threat to the northern settlements and would easily be dealt with. In early March, the Israeli victory narrative collapsed completely.

There is a reason why 77% of Israelis polled, according to Hebrew media outlet Maariv, say they want a continuation of the war against Lebanon. That reason is that they understand well that Hezbollah is still a massive threat to them, and the occupation army they support has failed at deterring the Lebanese Party.

Over two years of genocide in the Gaza Strip, Hamas is still there, and none of the dozen Palestinian Resistance groups have been defeated, despite them taking blows. In Lebanon, the Zionist regime killed most of Hezbollah’s senior leadership, yet failed to deal any decisive blow to the organization. The largest blow that was dealt to Hezbollah was the way the 2024 assault on Lebanon reshaped the Lebanese government.

In Iran, twice, the Israeli-US alliance has assassinated a large number of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s leadership figures, but has failed to deliver any defeat to it. All of the statistics about the percentages of missiles and launchers that the Israelis claim to have destroyed are simply plucked out of thin air.

While the leadership in Tel Aviv may allege that they have come out of every confrontation with some kind of total victory, they also admit that the “war is not over”. This is an admission of failure, because if each war were a victory for them, they wouldn’t require another. The only thing that saves them each time is that they are granted ceasefires, which the Zionists use as a period in which they create new plots to attack once again. If the wars were all-out and total, they would eventually be drained and forced to submit.

So, as each lull in the fighting occurs – what some call “ceasefires” – the Israelis end the round with more treachery. This time around, as soon as the US announced that a two-week temporary ceasefire had been reached, Tel Aviv used the opportunity to concentrate its entire air force on striking civilian targets as a calibrated tactic.

The Gaza genocide was not done simply out of a desire to shed blood as a revenge blow, although this clearly played into it; the genocide was a message to the Palestinian people and the rest of the region. It was a desperate attempt to salvage the so-called “deterrence capacity” image that the Zionist regime had spent so long building up.

The Israelis did not want to directly go after the Palestinian resistance in Gaza because they knew that it would be costly, so they hid in their tanks and armored vehicles, entering areas with the intent of flattening infrastructure and knocking out major hospitals as the end goal of each operation.

In Lebanon, their tactics are very similar, but are complicated by the fact that Hezbollah is a far stronger military force to deal with. We immediately saw that Tel Aviv displaced a million Lebanese, bombed all the bridges allowing for civilian passage to the south of Lebanon, and then flattened entire towns and neighborhoods.

The mass slaughter of civilians in Beirut was also part of that strategy. The civilian populations of Gaza and Lebanon become a punching bag, with the end goal being the demoralization of the people, attempting to turn them against the resistance groups they overwhelmingly support.

April 12, 2026 Posted by | Aletho News | , , , , | Comments Off on ‘Israel’ attacks civilians to hide its embarrassing military failures & out of pure sadism

Dr. Abu-Sitta: Beirut ‘felt like a day in Shifa Hospital’

By Janna Kadri | Al Mayadeen | April 11, 2026

A wave of Israeli bombardments that killed hundreds of civilians across Lebanon within minutes was deliberately designed to overwhelm the country’s healthcare system and maximize deaths, Dr. Ghassan Abu-Sitta told Al Mayadeen.

“Basically, in a period of 10 minutes, over 1,400 people were wounded and 340 were killed,” he said. “The aim is to flood the system… to overwhelm it… and to ensure that as many of the wounded die.”

According to Abu-Sitta, the scale and speed of the strikes collapsed emergency response capacity from the outset, leaving ambulance services and hospitals unable to cope with the volume of casualties.

“At AUB, we received around 70 critical cases within 10 minutes,” he said. “The aim is for you not to be able to treat them… to force you into triage, deciding who you can save and who you cannot.”

Hospitals rapidly exhausted intensive care capacity, including pediatric units, while smaller facilities were forced to transfer patients under life-threatening delays.

“We ran out of intensive care beds. We ran out of pediatric intensive care capacity,” he said. “The smaller hospitals were overwhelmed… and the delays in transferring patients cost lives.”

Abu-Sitta described the scenes inside emergency departments as a “tsunami” of casualties.

“You are overwhelmed by a wave of wounded beyond your capacity to deal with.”

‘A day in Gaza’

Drawing on his experience treating victims under Israeli bombardment in Gaza, Abu-Sitta said the Beirut attacks replicated the same patterns of destruction.

“That day was the first day that felt like a day in Shifa Hospital,” he said. “Children came in with no names, no surviving families… nobody knew who anybody was.”

The scenes, he added, triggered immediate psychological recall. “You find yourself thinking, ‘Not this again.’”

‘The aim is to kill’

Abu-Sitta rejected claims that the strikes targeted military infrastructure, pointing instead to the systematic destruction of civilian areas.

“The aim is to kill,” he said. “The aim on Tuesday was to kill. The aim on Wednesday was to kill.”

He cited the bombing of residential buildings, including one in a middle-class neighborhood inhabited by elderly residents.

“The missile hit the base of the building to ensure total collapse… maximum damage,” he said. “They said they were targeting Hezbollah assets, but the residents were elderly couples.”

Humanitarian language ‘collusive’

Abu-Sitta also condemned the response of international health organizations, describing their language as detached from the reality of mass civilian killing.

“That language has proven how sterile humanitarian discourse is, and, in fact, how collusive it is,” he said.

“These children were not wounded in a ‘conflict.’ They were killed by Israel. Their families were killed by Israel.”

He argued that the strikes were intended not only to kill but to cripple the healthcare system itself.

“The aim… is to destroy the health system by flooding it, by drowning it in its own blood,” he said.

The failure to hold “Israel” accountable, he added, “violates the very principles these institutions stand for.”

Message of ‘exceptionality and impunity’

According to Abu-Sitta, the scale and timing of the attacks, particularly following a ceasefire, send a clear political message.

“Exceptionality and impunity,” he said. “Israel places itself above international law… above any ceasefire.”

He described the attacks as “performative, ritualistic slaughter” meant to demonstrate that such actions can be repeated without consequence.

“They effectively recreated a day in Gaza,” he said. “The message is: we can do this again.”

April 11, 2026 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes | , , | Comments Off on Dr. Abu-Sitta: Beirut ‘felt like a day in Shifa Hospital’

Pressure builds on Iran to ‘drop’ Lebanon ceasefire demand as Islamabad talks hang in balance

The Cradle | April 11, 2026

Pakistani officials are pressuring the Iranian delegation in Islamabad to enter talks with their US counterparts by “dropping” demands for a ceasefire in Lebanon, according to information obtained by Lebanese journalist and The Cradle columnist Dr. Mohamad Hassan Sweidan.

“The authorities in Lebanon have agreed to postpone the ceasefire and to discuss it directly with Tel Aviv; therefore, you cannot exert pressure in a direction that contradicts what the Lebanese themselves have accepted,” the Iranian delegation was informed on 11 April, according to Sweidan’s sources.

Nevertheless, Iranian officials have expressed that their position on a region-wide ceasefire remains firm, revealing that a final resolution to halt the attacks is a “condition for the success of the negotiations — not merely a request.”

“If the Iranian delegation reaches the conviction that the US side is not serious and that the negotiations will not lead to the desired results, it will withdraw and return to Tehran,” Sweidan stressed.

According to his sources, coordination exists between the Iranian delegation and the leadership of Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Officials from Iran and the US arrived in the Pakistani capital on Saturday for the first round of indirect negotiations toward a possible ceasefire.

The Iranian delegation is led by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.

US Vice President JD Vance is leading the delegation for his country. He is accompanied by Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and special envoy Steve Witkoff.

According to reports on Iranian TV, Tehran has set clear red lines for Saturday’s talks: control of the Strait of Hormuz, war reparations, the release of frozen assets, and a permanent ceasefire on all fronts in the region.

Soon after Iran and the US agreed to a brittle ceasefire earlier this week, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam demanded his country not be included in the process.

Since then, the Lebanese government has agreed to hold direct talks with Israeli officials in Washington, which many in the country view as an attempt to normalize relations with Israel and “weaken” the Lebanese resistance by prolonging the war.

The push to be excluded from the regional ceasefire came despite a wave of Israeli terror attacks across Lebanon this week that killed over 300 Lebanese and injured over 1,000, including several members of the state security forces.

According to Lebanese journalist Hassan Illaik, in recent days, Arab and European diplomats were told by a close adviser to Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, “The war must continue until Hezbollah is eliminated.”

Senior Hezbollah official and member of Lebanese parliament, Hassan Fadlallah, on Saturday condemned the push by Beirut as a “blatant violation of the national pact, constitution, and laws.”

“The move by those controlling the government deepens internal divisions at a time Lebanon needs unity to face ongoing Israeli attacks, preserve civil peace, and protect coexistence,” Fadlallah said, adding that authorities “should have prioritized national interests” by benefiting from the international opportunity created by Iran’s support for Lebanon.

April 11, 2026 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Militarism, Wars for Israel | , , , , , | Comments Off on Pressure builds on Iran to ‘drop’ Lebanon ceasefire demand as Islamabad talks hang in balance

In another clash report, US denies agreement to release Iran’s assets

Al Mayadeen | April 11, 2026

The United States has denied reports stating it agreed to release Iran’s frozen assets in Qatar and other foreign banks, one of Tehran’s prerequisite for negotiations in Islamabad, Pakistan.

A senior Iranian source had stated that the United States in fact agreed, describing the move as a sign of “seriousness” ahead of potential negotiations in Islamabad, according to a report by Reuters.

According to the source, the unfreezing of assets is “directly linked” to ensuring safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.

This is not a first for Washington. Reports previously indicated that the US agreed to a ceasefire that would include Lebanon and other regional fronts. While Trump and Netanyahu denied, US media asserted that the inclusion of Iran’s regional allies in the ceasefire was always in agreement.

Moreover, among the Iranian demands was its right to enrich uranium, another provision the US agreed to. However, only hours after the agreement was declared, Donald Trump claimed Iran would not be allowed to enrich uranium, further exposing Washington’s unreliable positions.

Iran ties ceasefire to Lebanon, ‘Israel’ sabotages agreement

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf previously conditioned talks with the US with a ceasefire in Lebanon and the release of Iran’s blocked assets. He emphasized that both conditions are essential before any diplomatic process can move forward. “These two matters must be fulfilled before negotiations begin,” he added.

Tehran’s 10‑point proposal, accepted by Washington as the framework for talks during the two-week ceasefire, includes ending all US and Israeli military operations against Iran and its allies, as well as halting Israeli attacks on Lebanon and other countries in the region. Iran’s negotiators stress that without a permanent stop to aggression on all fronts, any ceasefire would be meaningless and allow enemy forces to regroup.

Netanyahu, however, made it clear that “Israel” has no intention of halting its campaign, explicitly excluding Lebanon from any ceasefire arrangement. “I insisted that the temporary ceasefire with Iran not include Hezbollah, and we continue to strike them forcefully,” he said, reaffirming the occupation’s commitment to continued aggression.

European officials have warned that excluding Lebanon risks collapsing any broader agreement, as the war increasingly takes on a regional character linking Gaza, Iran, and Lebanon into a single confrontation.

April 11, 2026 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Wars for Israel | , , , , | Comments Off on In another clash report, US denies agreement to release Iran’s assets

Spain orders reopening of Tehran embassy, condemns Israel’s carpet bombing of Lebanon

The Cradle | April 9, 2026

Spain is reopening its embassy in Tehran in hopes of achieving “peace” in the US-Israeli war against Iran, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares declared on 9 April.

“I’ve instructed our ambassador in Tehran to return, to take up his post again and reopen our embassy, and for us to join in this effort for peace from every possible quarter, including from the Iranian capital itself,” Albares told reporters.

The move comes as Spain sharply escalates its criticism of Israel and the US, condemning Israeli assault on Lebanon and the broader war on Iran, and pushes for regional de-escalation, according to Reuters.

Spain’s position, voiced by Albares, called the war “the greatest assault on the civilization built upon the humanist ideals of reason, peace, understanding, and universal law.”

He criticized Israel for violating international law and breaching the newly brokered two-week ceasefire after strikes killed more than 254 people and injured over 1,100 in Lebanon on Wednesday.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has reinforced that stance, previously closing Spanish airspace to aircraft involved in attacks on Iran, and renewing calls for the EU to suspend its association agreement with Israel, citing “impunity for (Israel’s) criminal actions.”

He also described Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “contempt for life and international law” as “intolerable.”

At the same time, Spain summoned Israeli envoys alongside Italy over incidents involving UN peacekeepers in Lebanon, including the reported detention of a Spanish UNIFIL member.

US officials and allies of US President Donald Trump have pushed for punitive measures after Madrid rejected military cooperation and restricted the use of joint bases, widening the diplomatic rift between the two countries.

One US senator suggested relocating forces to “a country that will allow us to use them.”

Domestically, public opinion mirrors the government’s stance, with a POLITICO European Pulse survey showing that 51 percent of respondents in Spain view Washington as a “threat” to Europe, and 56 percent strongly oppose the US-Israeli offensive on Iran.

Support for European independence is also overwhelming, with 94 percent backing greater autonomy even at economic cost.

Despite welcoming a Pakistani-brokered ceasefire, Sanchez warned Spain would “not applaud those who set the world on fire just because they turn up with a bucket.”

April 9, 2026 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes | , , , , , | Comments Off on Spain orders reopening of Tehran embassy, condemns Israel’s carpet bombing of Lebanon

Moscow backs Tehran on status of Lebanon in US-Iran deal

RT | April 9, 2026

Moscow believes the US-Iran ceasefire has a regional dimension and extends to Lebanon, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told his Iranian counterpart Abbas Aragchi in a phone call on Thursday, according to a readout.

Lavrov stated that Russia fully supports the cessation of hostilities between the US and Iran and Israel’s accession to those agreements. He expressed hope for the success of the upcoming negotiations and reaffirmed Moscow’s readiness to help “overcome the consequences of the unprovoked US‑Israeli aggression against Iran and ensure long-term peace and sustainable security in the region.”

The Russian minister also emphasized that Moscow “firmly believes that these agreements, as announced by the Pakistani mediators, have a regional dimension and, in particular, extend to Lebanon.”

Israel has insisted that Lebanon is not part of the ceasefire deal and said it intends to continue operations in the country, where it has conducted extensive airstrikes and launched a ground invasion.

Shortly after the US-Iranian ceasefire was announced, the Israeli military said it carried out its largest wave of strikes on Lebanon since the war began, hitting approximately 100 targets across the country in just ten minutes.

More than 1,700 people have been killed in Israeli strikes since March 2, and over 5,800 have been wounded, including hundreds of women and children, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.

Iran has made clear that Lebanon must be included in any cessation of hostilities. It has also warned that the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed to shipping until Israel commits to a ceasefire on all fronts.

Araghchi thanked Lavrov for Russia’s “principled position” during UN Security Council meetings on the situation in the Persian Gulf, according to the ministry. The two diplomats also discussed broader regional security issues.

Moscow has consistently condemned the US‑Israeli campaign against Iran, which began on February 28. Russia has called for de‑escalation and a diplomatic solution, while accusing Washington of violating international law.

The Kremlin has also criticized Israel’s strikes on Lebanon, including a March attack on a Russian cultural center in the southern city of Nabatieh.

April 9, 2026 Posted by | Economics, Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Wars for Israel | , , , , , | Comments Off on Moscow backs Tehran on status of Lebanon in US-Iran deal

Laith Marouf: Hezbollah’s position on US-Iran ceasefire: What you’re not being told

Dialogue Works | April 8, 2026

April 8, 2026 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Video, Wars for Israel | , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Laith Marouf: Hezbollah’s position on US-Iran ceasefire: What you’re not being told

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