War restarts in Strait of Hormuz - Trump makes big threats

Blue Hill, Maine Silent Vigil group keeps focus on Gaza, and US aggression against Cuba, Lebanon, Venezuela and Iran.

• Ceasefire between Iran and US officially over. The US is running its KC-135 refueling planes over the Persian Gulf and UAE simultaneously. Air defenses in the UAE were activated again amid an incoming missile/drone attack from Iran.
• Netanyahu's trial session tomorrow has been canceled due to the escalation with Iran. This trial charade that has been going on for two years.
• "Congratulations to you; what have you left me alone with?" With these words, Lebanese woman Amal Issa bid farewell to her family in the town of Zrarieh. Having already lost her son as a martyr in 2024, the occupation forces targeted her home in southern Lebanon on Friday, claiming her husband, daughter, and second son as martyrs. 

• Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Tehran strongly condemns the terrorist attack in Damascus and the assassination of the Friday prayer leader of the Sayyida Zeinab Shrine, Farhan Hassan Al-Mansour. The terrorist attacks against religious sites and scholars in Syria and the region are part of the American-Israeli conspiracy to incite sedition and division in the countries of the region. It is essential that all parties be vigilant against these conspiracies and assume their responsibilities in resolutely confronting terrorism and extremism.
• Trump must choose between “an impossible military operation or a bad deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran.” The room for U.S. decision-making has narrowed.
• Donald Trump’s team added Nick Stewart, an Iran hawk from pro-Israel lobbying think tank FDD Action, to Iran nuclear negotiations. Stewart supports strong pressure tactics (sanctions + possible military force). The negotiation team includes JD Vance, Jared Kushner, and envoy Steve Witkoff. 

 

• China says it won’t comply with US sanctions against five firms targeted for purchasing Iranian oil. Beijing's ministry of commerce says it won’t recognize nor listen to US measures. 

• New maritime data shows that 81 Iranian or Iran-linked vessels have successfully passed through the Strait of Hormuz despite Washington’s claim of a naval blockade on Iran.
• The Russian Africa Corps said its troops safely escorted a convoy of more than 800 fuel tanker trucks in Bamako, Mali, dismissing the JNIM claims of a blockade on the capital. 

• Kuwait oil exports hit zero amid Hormuz blockade. For the first time since the Gulf War, Kuwait exported zero barrels of crude oil in April due to the ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, Tehran is scaling back domestic oil production to prevent storage facilities from reaching maximum capacity.
• According to Zelensky and Ukrainians, Russia is committing genocide. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you war-torn Kiev. Now please compare Gaza to Ukraine just below. 

• ExxonMobil and Chevron are resisting pressure from President Trump to increase oil output despite the global energy crisis triggered by the Iran war, according to Financial Times. Executives from both companies said they are sticking to existing strategies in key regions like the Permian Basin, emphasizing long-term profitability and cash flow over rapid production increases. They argue the disruption may be temporary and that output cannot be scaled up quickly. 

• Hackers leak 150,000 secret emails from US Iran envoy. The "Handala" cyber group breached the accounts of former US Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley. The leak includes thousands of private communications allegedly detailing coordination between Malley's sanctions team and several Gulf Arab states.
• Martyrs of Minab school honored on Iran's teachers' day. 

• US troop withdrawal from Germany framed as punishment. Trump's decision to pull 5,000 troops from Germany is explicitly intended to penalize Berlin for refusing to assist in military operations against Iran. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned the move signals a "disastrous trend" toward NATO's collapse.
• Lebanese resistance forces (Hezbollah) shot down an Israeli Hermes 450 drone over Nabatieh and outlined five non-negotiable conditions for a ceasefire, including unconditional Israeli withdrawal. The Israeli security cabinet is scheduled to meet to discuss the faltering northern truce. The Hebrew newspaper Israel Hayom reported: A senior source in the security establishment said that the Israeli army feels embarrassed by its inability to deal with the drone issue in southern Lebanon. Washington Post reports Hezbollah is a formidable opponent of Israel.

• The Hebrew newspaper Israel Hayom reports: Over the past two days, the Israeli army decided to withdraw most of the bulldozers that had been responsible for destroying infrastructure in villages in southern Lebanon after they became targets of Hezbollah explosive drones.

• Cuba can now refine its own oil thanks to a breakthrough of the Hermanos Diaz oil refinery in the city of Santiago using thermoconversion technology developed by the Oil Research Center. Havana has 20 billion barrels of oil reserves, which is enough to power the whole country for many decades. Despite this, they were unable to refine it. But now they have developed their own sovereign technology that would allow them to refine their own domestic crude oil reserves and not have to rely on buying it from countries like Venezuela, Mexico, and Russia. The island has essentially become energy independent. And the greatest of all, with the introduction of this new method along with the supply of Russian energy, the power that the US has exerted over Cuba with the oil blockade has been significantly diminished.
• Russia replaces Iran as Syria's primary oil supplier.  Moscow has increased its oil deliveries to Damascus by 75%, reaching 60,000 barrels per day. The surge in Russian shipments is filling the energy deficit left by the withdrawal of Iranian supplies amid the ongoing regional conflict.
• Members of a Ukrainian 'recruitment gang' have been filmed apprehending a man at a kindergarten, unphased by the children witnessing the violent scene, as forced mobilization across the country continues to intensify amid its conflict with Russia. 

• Bloomberg: The US Air Force agreed to buy an undisclosed number of interceptor drones from a company backed by Trump’s sons deepening the military’s ties to defense contractors linked to the first family as the US war with Iran enters its third month. This is only one example of many where the Trump family is using the presidency to enrich themselves at the expense of the American suckers.
• Times of Israel: National Security Minister Ben Gvir was presented with a birthday cake by his wife featuring a large picture of a noose at his 50th birthday party. The noose is a reference to the controversial law mandating the death penalty for Palestinians prisoners, which has long been championed by Ben Gvir and his Otzma Yehudit party. 

• UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese, has warned against “Israelization” of Europe and criticized the continuation of ties by some European countries with Tel Aviv. Addressing an event in Athens in solidarity with Palestinians, Albanese said that Israel is accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide before the two biggest international courts in the world, namely the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ). “Until the Israeli occupation of Palestine, which is in violation of international law, international court orders and UN Security Council resolutions, ends totally and unconditionally, UN member states must not aid or assist Israel in any possible way. Instead of cutting ties European states have continued to trade, to protect, to arm, to sell weapons, to buy spying tools from Israel, increasing the security grip in their societies, arresting activists, and crushing fundamental freedoms. This is the Israelization of our societies.” 

• And as far as foreign policy goes, few rival the UAE in nastiness. They were deeply involved in the military coup in Egypt; supported a coup attempt in Turkiye; intervened in the civil war in Libya and subsequent divide and rule; acted side by side with the death cult in West Asia to divide Somalia; supported separatists in the civil war in Sudan; were extremely aggressive against Ansarallah and the Houthis in Yemen.
• Spirit Airlines shuts down after White House rescue deal falls through. All flights have been canceled the airline said. The collapse is now well underway.