Antiwar Actions In Farmington Plus Saco & NH

B By Lisa Savage Yesterday 22 people gathered in the western mountain college town of Farmington, Maine to protest wars and colonial exploitation. The flavor of our monthly standouts shifts depending on who shows up plus the mood of leftists in the face of current events. What began as a response to the U.S.-NATO effort to use Ukraine as a proxy to weaken Russia has morphed over the years into an anti-colonial, anti-imperial coalition opposing multiple U.S. wars around the planet. Some people came from pretty far away yesterday: Millinocket, Cumberland, Biddeford, Brunswick. Several newer faces and some old friends as well. (You meet the nicest people doing this work.)  Green Party co-chair Kelly Merrill brought a soapbox and a bullhorn which helped us be audible at a busy intersection where trucks roar loudly by, some of them on purpose. Her theme was the extreme climate harm caused by the Pentagon with its fuel guzzling war planes and nonstop explosions. Pickup trucks revving their V8 engines to show their displeasure just emphasized her point. On the whole we received more positive responses than negative, especially from people on foot, and our one encounter with local police came when an officer asked us to step back out of the street up onto the curb “for your own safety.” I had expected him to object to how our closing circle was filling up the sidewalk on one corner, but I guess that’s not an issue for Farmington. Veteran Trish came from afar and delivered a barn burner of a speech about her time in the previous Gulf wars, focusing on the lies and callous disregard of her commanding officers. She brought a flag of Lebanon on her signature fishing pole which I was glad to see because Beirut and southern Lebanon are being pounded mercilessly right now by bombs from the Zionists supposedly targeting Hezbollah by demolishing apartment buildings full of children. When I left the Orange Cat Cafe where we gathered to warm up after the stand out, she was being interviewed by an activist from the American Communist Party (sorry I did not get his name, could be Brian?). Maybe her testimony will turn up in one of the videos the ACP has been making aimed at young people who might or might not enlist. Black Wolf of the Diaspora Pa’alante Collective spoke of how Puerto Rico has been colonized by the U.S. for a very long time and, ever the organizer, shared two handouts inviting us to join the DPC’s work. Black Wolf also reminded us of an event for Cuba they’re co-sponsoring that will be held in Bangor today. Of course Iran was on everyone’s mind as “negotiations” were over before they started in Pakistan with the U.S. team making maximalist demands like control of the Hormuz Strait which Iran de facto does and de jure will control, likely in tandem with Oman. The U.S. presence in the region is largely degraded and the destroyer they sent as a test case yesterday was warned to back off (and did). Stalwart Cynthia with a cerebral sign aimed at liberals that she made quite legible. She is a brilliant sign maker and I always look forward to seeing what she comes up with! I usually see her outside the General Dynamics bomb factory in Saco, and I’m a bit late in sharing this photo from our last standout there on April 3. There’s generally a crew there from 3:15-4:15pm on Fridays in case you want to join in. Here are Cynthia and Mark recently joining Yasmin’s daily vigil for Gaza in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Though you can’t see it here, the back of Mark’s sign reads: Senator Collis votes $2 billion a week for war in Afghanistan. Those were the days. Current estimate for just the war on Iran is $2.1 billion for each day! If you’re “concerned” why not join us for the next statewide coalition standout in Lewiston on Saturday May 2 at 1:30pm on Main Street next to Veterans Park? As Mark said yesterday in our closing circle, It feels good to stand with other people who care about what’s going on.

Insane man in White House leads war-addicted nation

It started with a question… then the pressure never stopped.

In this cinematic LEGO story, a powerful leader faces growing global attention as “FILES” begin spreading across the world. Phones, newsrooms, and conversations are all focused on one thing.

At the same time, a major conflict begins.

War plans are made. Jets launch. Fleets move.

But something goes wrong.

As the pressure builds, reality starts to blur. Decisions become unstable. The line between control and chaos disappears.

Sunday song

Iran war: Good for war biz - no ceasefire yet

Photo of me holding sign many years ago while in Omaha, Nebraska. Cops keeping an eye on me. I grew up in military family and had a friend while young whose family had been stationed in Iran and they loved the people there. So early on I had a good view of Iran. Then in the 1980-90's in Orlando I had a dear Iranian friend Saviz Shafie who was the sweetest most gentle person on the planet. He loved food and to dance. My heart breaks for Iran, Lebanon, Yemen and Palestine right now. Bruce

• Wall Street Journal: Lockheed Martin has been awarded a $4.7 billion Pentagon contract to supply Patriot missiles.
• Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif reposts: Israel must be restrained for US-Iran ceasefire to hold.
• Professor John Mearsheimer: Israel may ultimately use nuclear weapons against Iran.  It is now clear that Israel cannot prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons using its conventional forces. That option does not work. The only option they have left is nuclear weapons. The United States will not stop it.
• Turkish President Erdogan: On the day the ceasefire was declared, Israel brutally killed 254 Lebanese people. The genocidal network, blinded by blood and hatred, continues to kill innocent children, women, and civilians, disregarding all human values and recognizing no rules or principles. [Edogan hypocritically still trades with Israel.]
• UK PM Keir Starmer confirms he is actively coordinating with Donald Trump to build a massive 30 nation military coalition to force open the Strait of Hormuz. They are using the ceasefire as a cover to prepare for a massive escalation against Iran.
• The mask is completely off. The Israeli Defence Ministry goes on camera and openly boasts about their plan to systematically destroy civilian houses in Lebanon and permanently occupy the Litani area. They are literally confessing to war crimes and illegal land theft.

• Iranian Parliament Speaker Ghalibaf, speaking from Islamabad: In the upcoming negotiations, if the American side is prepared for a genuine agreement and grants the Iranian nation its rights, they will witness our readiness to reach an agreement as well. However, in the current conflict, we have shown them that if they intend to use negotiations as a futile exercise or a deceptive tactic, we are prepared to secure our rights through faith in God and reliance on our nation's capabilities.
• Sayyid al-Qaeda (the leader) on the latest developments and updates: One of the most important outcomes of the Yemen front is preventing the Israeli and American enemy from using the Red Sea militarily in hostile actions against Iran and the Axis countries.
• This is what has become of the American Al-Udeid airbase in Qatar after the Iranian strikes. The entire infrastructure has been demolished. Until now, the scale has been hidden. And so it is with all the bases. Iran was indeed defeated lol. This is what the American presence in the Middle East looks like now. 

• The Iranian delegation, in Islamabad, is in constant contact and coordination with its allies, notably Hezbollah.
• Iran is following Israel’s aggressions and the resistance's responses moment by moment in order to make the necessary decision regarding the course of the negotiations (according to Tasnim).
• Senior US official says US has not agreed to release any Iranian frozen assets (yet) — CBS News. 

• Former Iranian Foreign Minister, Kamal Kharrazi, has succumbed to his wounds one week after he was injured during US-Israeli bombardments. He was a University of Houston alumnus. His whole life he worked towards normalisation of Iran-US relations, at the end he was killed by the same US he seeked to establish friendly relations with. The intelligent ones will draw lessons, the blinded will look the other way. 
• New York Times: Historical analogies are never exact. But with the tenuous cease-fire deal in the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran, some are asking whether this is a “Suez” moment for the United States, marking the waning of American power and credibility in the world.
• The Iranians have begun dismantling the site where US aircraft equipment was destroyed during pilot 'rescue'. More undies found.

• Israeli media: Intense battles are taking place in southern Lebanon. The past 24 hours have witnessed several field developments, resulting in injuries among several soldiers and officers.
• Iran informed the Pakistani mediators that "if the US ship's movement continues, it will be targeted within 30 minutes, and the Iran-US negotiations will also be affected.” — Fars. 
• Pakistan deployed fighter jets and military personnel to Saudi Arabia under their 2025 mutual defence pact. Jets arrived at King Abdulaziz Air Base. This comes as Pakistan hosts Iran war talks. Pakistan is run by a military junta.

• Scenes from the Israeli airstrikes that targeted southern Lebanon today. 
• An attack on a US C-130 aircraft at Shannon Airport in Ireland has grounded the plane.
• Despite the difficult circumstances, young men play volleyball in a school that was burned, bombed and destroyed by the occupation in the Jabalia camp in the northern Gaza Strip. 

the funnies

 

Ceasefire with Iran: Waiting for the shoe to drop

Kashmiris participate in a demonstration to mourn the 40th day after the martyrdom of the Iranian students who were killed in the US-Israeli air raid on the primary school in Minab.

• Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan: The international community must now clearly recognize this reality: as long as Israel’s expansionism continues, it will not be possible to build lasting peace, stability, and security in the Middle East. Israel must be stopped from imposing its geopolitical ambitions on the region through external interventions.
• The Russian Foreign Ministry: Moscow strongly condemns the Israeli attack on Lebanon, and these aggressive actions threaten to derail the ongoing negotiations.
• Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich: There will be a concluding diplomatic leg in Gaza that will expand our borders. There will be a concluding diplomatic leg in Lebanon that will expand our borders, to the Litani [river], to defensible borders. There will be a concluding diplomatic leg in Syria... the crown, the Hermon, and the Hauran at least. 

• After the bombing of his university...An Iranian university professor continues to defy the aggressors and sends to his students: My lectures will not stop, where are you? 
• Over 150,000 Israeli citizens have left the country in the past two years alone — many of them with a one-way ticket and no plans of returning. Additionally, more than 25% of Israelis want to leave the country. Over 100,000 Israelis have reportedly stopped showing up for reserve duty in the IDF. While their reasons differ, the scale demonstrates the war’s waning legitimacy. 

• Tens of thousands in scramble for flights out of Middle East amid Iran war. Wealthy travelers are paying up to $200,000 to charter flights out of the region. One out of eight British residents in Dubai have left. Businesses  that depend heavily on tourists in Dubai have been hit hard, with declines of 70% to 80%.
• At least 104 French soldiers have been killed in the Middle East as a result of Iranian attacks, but the authorities are hiding these losses. 

• CBS News: Trump was initially told that Thursday’s ceasefire would cover the Middle East, including Lebanon—a view shared by mediators, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and Iran’s Araghchi. However, after a call between Netanyahu and Trump, the U.S. position shifted.
• Melania Trump: I never been friends with Epstein. Donald and I were invited to some of the same parties as Epstein from time to time. To be clear, I never had a relationship with Epstein or his accomplice, Maxwell.
• Sirens sound at virtually empty Ben Gurion Airport.

• Pakistan sent six fighter jets and early warning aircraft over Iranian airspace to escort the Iranian delegation arriving in Islamabad, protecting them from any assassination attempt that Israel might carry out in an effort to sabotage the negotiations. 

• Tens of thousands of people in Tokyo called for the prime minister's resignation in front of the parliament building for supporting the US and Israel. The Japanese people aren't fooled; they've realized that the government is covertly supporting the baby-killing Zionists and are reacting by taking the side of the innocent people.
• MASSIVE US BUILDUP: Reuters reports the US has now deployed more than 50,000 troops across the Middle East, with numbers continuing to surge. Thousands of Marines are being rapidly transferred from San Diego straight into the region.
• US State Department: American diplomats were ambushed in Baghdad on Wednesday with no injuries.

• According to reports more Israeli aircraft are arriving at Radom Airport in Poland. The claim circulating in Polish media and social media is clear: Israelis are fleeing the war in the Middle East and using Poland as a safe destination. This comes just days after we learned Radom Airport has quietly become a parking lot for Israeli Boeing 777 planes from El Al. The questions every Pole is asking: Why exactly Poland?
• The Pentagon threatened the Pope’s ambassador. The direct message delivered to the Vatican’s diplomat: “America has the military power to do whatever it wants in the world. The Catholic Church had better take its side.” The Pope declared the Iran War unjust. Called it a war crime. Told Americans to call Congress. So the Pentagon warned the Vatican to get in line.

• A Full-Blown Holocaust. The bodies of 5,000 Palestinians, tortured and with their organs stolen, have been found; 30,000 children are still missing. What the hell is Israel doing?
• Terrifying revelation. The Pentagon is deploying a horrifying soft kill microwave weapon on Black Hawk helicopters. It fires pulsed energy directly into the skull, boiling brain fluid and causing massive internal pressure. Washington is testing barbaric weapons in Iran.

• Prominent UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese confirms the entire Israeli nation is aware of the systematic torture of Palestinians. She exposes how doctors actively supervise and cover up the severe abuse and rape of detainees. Sickening complicity. 
• Iran's amazing metro system is built according to Iranian and Islamic architecture and is very beautiful. I'm sure that the metro is cleaner, safer, and more pleasant than all Western metros. Is this another reason why Iran is a danger to the west? Because Iran attempts to make life for the people a rich and lovely experience. It costs money to make such incredible art. In the west money is 'best put in the pockets of the 1%'.

• An expert analyst drops a massive bombshell on the Pentagon. He confirms the Trump administration blew up over $200 million worth of special ops C-130s and helicopters to cover up a failed rescue. A total catastrophe more expensive than a Hollywood movie. 
• Ukraine's Zelensky officially confirms Ukrainian Special Operations forces are actively deployed in the Middle East and the Gulf. They are setting up protection systems for Gulf Kingdom 'partners'. Like Syria, controlled by ISIS terrorists, Ukraine has become a failed state for hire. Another way to haul in more money that can be stolen. 
• Channel 13 presenter Raviv Drucker: Israel is pushing Lebanon towards a civil war to force the Lebanese government to fight Hezbollah.
• Do you now understand why America, Israel, and the arrogant powers do not want Iran to possess nuclear energy? Because Iran shares its nuclear energy with the Islamic world, and America wants the Islamic world to remain subservient to it and receive nuclear technology only from them. 

Huntsville: 'The Pentagon of the South'

 

One point one billion dollars. That's what Lockheed Martin just committed to a single campus expansion—not in Northern Virginia, not in suburban Maryland, but in Huntsville, Alabama, a metro of barely 550,000 people now pulling in more high-income defense jobs per capita than anywhere in America. 

While coastal cities hemorrhage office tenants and debate remote work policies, this Tennessee River town is building classified labs, hypersonic weapons facilities, and test ranges that anchor six-figure salaries to a place where $330,000 still buys a four-bedroom house with a yard. 

The fastest-growing high-income city in the country isn't where you think it is.

America is a killing nation. We can kill 'em fast or we can kill 'em slow....

Farmington, Maine protest on Saturday

Normalizing zionist (mobster) terrorism against Palestine, Lebanon, Sudan, Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Iran

 

• Pakistan confirmed US and Iranian delegations will meet Friday in Islamabad, with V-P Vance supposedly leading the American team and Ghalibaf heading Iran's. However, Iran informed mediators its participation is conditional on a Lebanon ceasefire—a condition Washington explicitly rejected. Trump named Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff as special envoys for behind-closed-doors negotiations.
• New footage documents the effects of the occupation's bombing of a building in the Tellat al-Khayat area of ​​Beirut, Lebanon. 

• The Pentagon: Operation Epic Fury is currently paused, objectives have been achieved, and US forces remain on high alert.
• Sheikh Ali Reza Panahian (Iranian Twelver Shia Scholar & official): "If we leave Lebanon to its fate, God will leave us to ours. If we withdraw from the temporary Zionist regime, it will not withdraw from us. We must secure a possible agreement with the U.S. by destroying Israel".

• Tehran Metro displays slogans and banners including the phrase 'We will not abandon Lebanon'.  A lot of anger among Iranians tonight for ceasefire violations in Lebanon. One man on the street says, 'We don’t want this cursed ceasefire if our brothers & sisters in Lebanon are being slaughtered. They stood by us, now we should stand by them'.

• Terrorist Netanyahu: The Zionist entity announces its withdrawal from the ceasefire agreement with Iran. The ceasefire will not include Hezbollah, and we will continue striking them. Yesterday we dealt Hezbollah its biggest blow since Operation Siren (the Pager). 

• The United States officially announces that the agreement does not include Lebanon and threatens Iran with escalation if it reneges on the agreement. Trump on Lebanon: ‘That’s part of a separate skirmish, okay?’  And the Trump admin says they will be discussing their 15 points, not Iran’s 10 points. (Recall the Native Americans told us that the 'White man speaks with a forked tongue'.)

• White House spokesperson, Karoline Leavitt: ‘Iran submitted a 10-point proposal, which was ignored by the President’. JD Vance will not be able to take part in negotiations with Iran in Pakistan due to security concerns —Trump told the New York Post. That leaves perennial liars Witcoff and Kushner. Both real estate crooks and not statesmen which are needed but the US doesn't have any.
• The ceasefire already going down the hill - fast. The death cult bombed a Chinese New Silk Roads railway INSIDE Iran. US-Israel don't want peace. They are out to take down all BRICS+ nations. The collective west is in a war to stop the fall of the colonial genocide project. This is a war of massive desperation. 
• Iranian National Security Expert Mostafa Najafi: 'Pakistan's mediation should be approached with skepticism and caution. It is a country heavily reliant on Saudi Arabia financially, and since Trump came to power, it has sought various ways to curry favor with Washington! It is not unlikely that what is happening in Lebanon is the result of Pakistan's cunning, acting as a covert agent for the Saudis! The Saudis harbor animosity toward Hezbollah in Lebanon no less than that of Israel! To what extent can Pakistan be relied upon to convey messages'? 
• Don't forget Pakistan's very popular Imran Khan, the former Prime Minister, is rotting in prison on trumped up charges because he dared support true peace in regional hotspots around the globe. 

• Iran has emerged as victorious in the public mind throughout the entire world.
• New York Times: 'Trump faces political pressure preventing him from resuming the war'. Who could be exerting pressure? The American people? Yes. Global public opinion? Yes. The Iranians, Lebanese, Palestinians, people in Yemen and Iraq? Yes. Then who wants Trump to keep the war going? Israel, Wall Street and the military industrial complex....along of course with the Epstein class. 

Former CIA analyst Larry Johnson on what really happened at the whole 'pilot rescue' operation. 

• Israel has launched hundreds of  airstrikes on Lebanon. Striking South Lebanon, Beirut and the Bekaa Valley simultaneously. This isn’t a ceasefire.  It’s mass bombardment of civilian areas.  Israel also bombed a funeral in Bekaa. Over 10 already confirmed dead, mostly children and elderly. The entire cemetery was destroyed. This is evil - no other way to view it. It's the work of the devil.
• The pro-China Taiwanese leader states that U.S. bases must withdraw from East Asia and that Taiwan will advance alongside China and the region, rather than with the warmongering Westerners.
• Reuters, quoting an Israeli official: 'Washington will insist that Iran remove the threat posed by its ballistic missile program'.
• Significant US military movements have been observed in the region. C-17 heavy transport aircraft continue their operations, carrying additional troops and equipment to the Middle East.
• Lebanese Ministry of Health: 182 martyrs and 890 wounded in a preliminary toll from Israeli airstrikes on the country on Wednesday.

• Channel 12 (Hebrew): Hours separate us from hell: either a comprehensive agreement or a total collapse.
• Macron tells Trump and Pezeshkian that a ceasefire must include Lebanon in order to be 'sustainable'.
• Hezbollah foils the incursion that the Zionist enemy attempted to carry out in the Khiam plain in southern Lebanon, after clashes lasting more than two hours.
• Wall Street Journal: America plans to close a base in a European country, possibly Spain or Germany. Spain has reopened its embassy in Tehran. Spain maintains its position of not allowing the US to use two bases in southern Spain to participate in a war against Iran.
• US Central Command Commander: 'We have carried out more than 13,000 successful strikes against Iranian military targets'.

Belgium’s Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot 

• A U.S. Navy MQ-4C Triton reconnaissance drone suddenly turned toward Iran, activated the emergency code 7700, descended rapidly, and disappeared from public tracking over the Strait of Hormuz. The MQ-4C Triton costs more than $200 million each.
• Idiot alert: Keir Starmer: 'I am determined to protect the British people from paying the price for Putin's aggression on their household bills. That is why we will not hesitate to take the necessary action and expose Russia's destabilizing activities that seek to test our resolve'.

American Journalist Abby Martin  

• Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese: 'The Australian government also firmly believes that the ceasefire has to apply to Lebanon as well'.

Investors want out as economy falters

Private credit is cracking. Blue Owl Capital just capped withdrawals after massive exit requests—22% in its largest fund and over 40% in a tech-focused fund. Billions are now stuck as liquidity dries up in the $1.8T market. Is this the start of a financial domino effect?

In this video, we break down what’s really happening, why investors are rushing out, and how this could ripple across the economy. 

But don't worry as Mr. Big assures us that the US economy is the best in history. 

Ceasefire with Iran: Don't hold your breath - Israel and US lie all the time

• Iran says the United States has agreed to the following:

   1. A non-aggression commitment
   2. Continued Iranian control over the Strait of Hormuz
   3. Acceptance of uranium enrichment
   4. Lifting of all primary sanctions
   5. Lifting of all secondary sanctions
   6. Termination of all UN Security Council resolutions
   7. Termination of all Board of Governors resolutions
   8. Payment of reparations to Iran
   9. Withdrawal of US combat forces from the region
  10. Cessation of hostilities on all fronts, including against Hezbollah in Lebanon

• Axios, citing a White House official: The ceasefire will take effect as soon as Iran opens the Strait of Hormuz.
• Iran's National Security Council: The agreement stipulates the lifting of all sanctions and the release of frozen Iranian assets abroad.  It is emphasized that this does not mean the end of the war, and Iran will only accept the end of the war when, considering the acceptance of Iran's principles in the 10-article plan, its details are also finalized in negotiations.
• These negotiations will begin with complete distrust on Friday, April 10, in Islamabad, and Iran will allocate two weeks for these negotiations. 
• Greater Iran and the Origin of Civilizations: We did not abandon our allies in Yemen, Lebanon, and Iraq; this was a condition for a ceasefire in all these countries.

• Kan Hebrew Channel: If the agreement includes Hezbollah, we must burn the [Israeli] state down.
• During this two-week period, Israel will bolster its defenses, the United States will reinforce its forces, and the global economy will be revitalized. However, the negotiations could very well be a charade, as has happened before, with America launching a new offensive accompanied by assassinations. 
• There’s a saying in Farsi which says: “My eyes aren’t watering.” ‎من چشمم آب نمی‌خوره Which means: “I don’t think anything will come out of this.” But….if this truly does get implemented, this might be the biggest victory (for Iran) of all modern time.
• Donald Trump deceived millions of American voters with false promises of ending the wars, stopping globalization and industrial revival, and now he has proven himself to be one of the biggest puppets of Israel, the World Economic Forum and the Bilderberg Group. 

• Over 55 US lawmakers called for invoking the 25th Amendment after Trump threatened to destroy Iranian civilization. Former Trump ally Marjorie Taylor Greene called it "evil and madness." Tucker Carlson urged military personnel to refuse orders; the Pope and UN Human Rights chief condemned threats against civilians as violations of international law. 
• Moscow and Beijing blocked a Bahrain-drafted Security Council resolution on Hormuz, with Russia's envoy calling it a "greenlit aggression" that ignored the conflict's root causes. The two powers submitted an alternative text calling for negotiated settlement. China's representative said the vetoed draft would have "added fuel to the fire."
• Around 10 AM today, Iran’s Lavan oil refinery facilities on Lavan Island were attack by the enemies. In response, Iran struck targets inside UAE & Kuwait. 
• Iran's UN representative: Israel must adhere to the ceasefire in Lebanon; continued attacks will further complicate the situation and have dire consequences. 

• Lebanese Health Minister: Hospitals are overflowing with the injured and victims, and we have hundreds of martyrs and wounded throughout Lebanon as a result of the Israeli strikes. The raid that targeted Shamshtar occurred during a funeral procession, when the enemy bombed the place, resulting in the martyrdom of all those present. "Eternal Darkness" is the name given by Israel to the new aggression against Lebanon.

• Lebanese hospitals are appealing for blood donations due to the large number of injuries and deaths in the major zionist offensive.
• US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: Let's be clear, a ceasefire is a temporary pause. The US Secretary of Defense told US forces involved in the war against Iran: Stay prepared.

• Iran's IRGC Navy warned ships near the Strait of Hormuz that they must obtain permission from the IRGC naval forces to pass, stating over radio that any vessel attempting to transit without authorization “will be destroyed,” according to a recording shared with The Wall Street Journal. 
• Trump: The United States will work closely with Iran, which we have determined has undergone what will be a very productive regime change! There will be no uranium enrichment, and the United States, in cooperation with Iran, will extract and remove all the deeply buried nuclear “dust”. (It is more than obvious that this 'ceasefire' is just a public relations gimmick and a plan to reset US and Israeli offensive operations.)

• Iranian media, quoting a high-ranking Iranian military source: We have begun a wave of attacks on US-allied countries in the region as a warning message to implement a ceasefire throughout the region, including Lebanon.
• Spain has called Israel’s continued attacks in Lebanon “unacceptable,” despite the recent U.S.–Iran two-week ceasefire. Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said all fronts, including Lebanon, must stop.
• Israeli main opposition leader Yair Lapid: There has never been such a political disaster in all of our history. Israel wasn’t even at the table when decisions were made about the core of our national security. Netanyahu failed politically, failed strategically, and did not meet a single goal he set himself. It will take years to repair the political and strategic damage caused by arrogance, negligence, and a lack of planning. Israeli Channel 12 reports from a source: Washington will ask Tehran to cancel the ballistic missile program.

• U.S. Vice President JD Vance: Trump "lacks patience" to make progress on everything related to Iran. If the Iranians do not act in good faith, they will discover that President Trump is not to be trifled with. 
• (Update): Iran has halted the passage of vessels through the Strait of Hormuz after Israel’s ceasefire violations against Lebanon — Fars.

Statement by Progressive Political Parties & Civil Society Organizations in South Korea & Japan

We Oppose Participation by Japan and South Korea (ROK) in the Hormuz Strait Military Operation

Progressive political parties and civil society organizations in the Republic of Korea (ROK) and Japan held a joint meeting to discuss the ongoing war in the Middle East and the issue of military participation by East Asian countries.

Since February 28, 2026, when the United States and Israel launched a large-scale military attack on Iran, tensions in the Middle East have been escalating rapidly. This war has already claimed numerous civilian lives and carries the risk of spreading throughout the entire Middle East. This invasion is also creating serious threats to the survival of humanity, including nuclear war and the climate crisis. Nevertheless, U.S. President Donald Trump demanded that its allies dispatch warships, stating that a “military operation in the Strait of Hormuz” was necessary.

We hereby state our position as follows:

First, we oppose the attack on Iran by the U.S. and Israel, affirming that it constitutes a clear act of aggression that threatens the lives of ordinary people and seriously undermines the international legal order, including the UN Charter. We demand an immediate end of the war, recognizing that the escalation of armed conflict is heightening tensions in the Middle East and threatening international peace, stability, and the very existence of humanity.

We urge the parties concerned to immediately cease all military actions and resolve the conflict through peaceful means in accordance with international law and international agreements.

Second, we strongly urge the governments of the ROK and Japan not to participate in any military operations in the Strait of Hormuz, regardless of their scale. Direct or indirect military intervention will only serve to escalate the situation and will not contribute to resolving the problem. 

Furthermore, we demand that they refuse to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz, deny permission for the dispatch and deployment of naval vessels and aircraft from U.S. military bases in their respective countries, and clearly uphold the principles of peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with the U.N. Charter, international law, and their national constitutions. 

Third, we believe that civil society in East Asia must make every effort to prevent the escalation of this situation and achieve a swift and peaceful resolution, and that we must cooperate closely to defend peace. 

Overcoming the past and historical complexities, we, the civil society organizations of the ROK and Japan, will continue to expand our cooperation for peacebuilding. We will continue to oppose war and militarism and pursue joint efforts to maintain and promote international peace. Furthermore, we express our solidarity with the international peace movements that oppose the use of force and advocate for peaceful resolutions. 

Participating Organizations of the Korea-Japan Progressive Parties and Civil Society Online Joint Meeting

(ROK) Justice Party, Green Party Korea, Labor Party, Platform C, Workers Paving the Way to Equality, People’s Solidarity for Social Progress 

(Japan) Greens Japan, Social Democratic Party, Japanese Communist Party, Japan Council against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs (Gensuikyo), No More Okinawa Battle, Japan Peace Committee