English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News
& Editorials
For April 07/2026
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
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Bible Quotations For today
The Third Time
That Jesus Appeared To The Disciples by the Sea of Galilee After His
Resurrection
John/21/01-14/ Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples,
by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way: 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (also known
as Didymus, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other
disciples were together. “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and
they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that
night they caught nothing. Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but
the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. He called out to them,
“Friends, haven’t you any fish?”“No,” they answered. He said, “Throw your net on
the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were
unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. Then the disciple
whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard
him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had
taken it off) and jumped into the water. 8 The other disciples followed in the
boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a
hundred yards. When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with
fish on it, and some bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have
just caught.” So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net
ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not
torn. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared
ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came, took the bread
and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time
Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.
Titles For Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related
News & Editorials published
on April 06-07/2026
Opportunism and baseness are born within the rulers, the Official, the
double-dealing partisan politicians so called political parties, and many of the
Iscariot-like clerics... they all suckle subservience with their mother's
milk./Elias Bejjani/April 06/2026
It truly is a time of cowardice and cowards/Elias Bejjani/April 05/2026
Joseph Aoun’s last refuge is silence and prayer, and fear of the Final Judgment
Day/Elias Bejjani/April 05/2026
Shock in Ain Saadeh: Couple perishes in devastating apartment strike — here is
what we know
Israel says probing Ain Saadeh incident, claims attacked 'terrorist target'
Israeli strike kills Christian party official in Lebanon, sharpening divides
over Hezbollah
Currency calm in crisis: How long can Lebanon keep its exchange rate in check?
Divisions emerge in Israel: Army plan centers on south Lebanon amid readiness
concerns
Israeli army fire on WHO vehicle in southern Gaza kills one, medics report
Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthis join Iran in strike on Israel
Israel launches more deadly strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs
Raid hits Beirut's southern suburbs as Israel says striking Hezbollah targets
15 killed, dozens hurt in Israel's strikes on Lebanon on Sunday
Rmeish, Debel, and Ain Ebel: The Last Guardian of the Idea of Homeland/Marwan
Harb/Al-Modon/April 06/2026
UNIFIL warns Israel, Hezbollah attacks near its positions risk return fire
Lebanon's Christians mark Easter in solidarity with war-hit south
Links to several important news websites
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous
Reports And News published
on April 06-07/2026
Iran mediators make last-ditch push for 45-day ceasefire
Iran makes demands that include 'end to conflicts in region, reconstruction'
Iran rejects ceasefire proposal despite Trump threat to destroy infrastructure
Trump says Iran could be ‘taken out’ on Tuesday, Hegseth says major strikes to
come
Trump says Iran ceasefire proposal 'very significant step'
Trump widens threat to all of Iran's power plants and bridges as his deadline
for a deal approaches
Trump doubles down on Iran threat, says ceasefire proposal 'not good enough'
U.S. Denies Iran’s Claim It Struck USS Tripoli, With 3,500 On Board
Israel says struck Iran's largest petrochemical facility
Israel says it assassinated IRGC intelligence chief Majid Khademi
Intelligence head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards killed in strike, media say
Israeli airstrike kills at least 10 near Gaza school as ceasefire strains
Former NATO commander on Iran rejecting ceasefire proposal: ‘They still have
cards to play’
Iran says US airman rescue may have been cover to ‘steal enriched uranium’
The ayatollahs’ enforcers
Turkey’s Erdogan accuses Israel of undermining peace initiatives
Links to several television channels and newspapers
Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis &
editorials from miscellaneous sources published
on April 06-07/2026
The Strait of Hormuz crisis, why Iran must reopen the Strait of
Hormuz/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Al Arabiya English/06 April/2026
The madness before the explosion: Iran, Trump, and the cost of victory/Raghida
Dergham/Al Arabiya English/06 April/2026
Reading the First Six Weeks of the War/Sam Menassa/Asharq Al-Awsat/April 06/2026
The Iranian Carpet of Embers/Ghassan Charbel/Asharq Al-Awsat/April 06/2026
On Some of the Origins of Iran’s War Policy/Hazem Saghiehl/Asharq Al-Awsat/April
06/2026
The 'New Syria': Same Old Jihad ...Why the US Should Not Trust Syria's Ahmed al-Sharaa
(or Iran's Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf)/Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/April
06/2026
Guerre Iran-USA: quels intérêts?/Par Dr. Mona Fayad/Publié Apr 06/2026
The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese
Related News & Editorials published on April 06-07/2026
Opportunism and baseness are born within the rulers, the Official, the
double-dealing partisan politicians so called political parties, and many of the
Iscariot-like clerics... they all suckle subservience with their mother's milk.
Elias Bejjani/April 06/2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/04/8899/
A dog’s tail stays crooked even if you put it in a mold for a hundred years; a
pig, no matter how much it washes, returns to wallow in the mud; and a dog licks
up its own vomit. Such is the state of the politicians, the merchant-owners of
"so called political parties, and many of the "men of the cloth" and the lowly
ones—those degraded in their morals, their infidelity, and their Trojan-horse
nature. They cannot change because filth, decadence, the death of conscience,
the killing of the grace of shame within them, and opportunism are nested in
their blood—even though they have no "blood" (honor) in them.
In Lebanon, there is an evil political school for filth and meanness. It
graduates a miserable breed of politicians with no feeling and no shame; when
people spit on them, they say, "It’s raining." This breed of politicians and
political paties owners, merchants are the ones who delivered Lebanon into the
arms of Palestinian, Syrian, and Iranian occupations. They ruined the country,
stole the people’s money, displaced them, and filled the world with trash. These
ruffians preach virtue while they are drowning in obscenity, debauchery,
collaboration, humiliation, and dirt.
Shame on every citizen, politician, political party owner, official, ruler, and
cleric who has no dignity or honor—whose only concern is power, money, and
influence at the expense of their people and homeland. Money, power, and sex
expose the inner truth of every human, and these people are all cowering,
kneeling slaves to these three maladies.
Even worse than these "great" leaders are the herds, the cheerleaders, and the
henchmen among our own people who follow them... these idol-worshippers whose
necks are tied with the ropes of dependency and humiliation.
We cannot forget today, with the Resurrection of Christ, those who falsely and
deceitfully claim to be "sovereignists" against Hezbollah—its weapons,
occupation, and crimes. These very people, before the defeats of the terrorist
Hezbollah and the assassination of its leaders, used to boast that their
"martyrs" were like Hezbollah’s, that Hezbollah was a "Resistance" that
liberated the South, and that it is a "Lebanese demographic" whose problems
should be solved "locally/domestically." They never dared to mention UN
resolutions 1995. 1701, 1680. Today they play the hero, but their wretched
essence hasn't changed and never will.
In short, all these politicians, these "trashy political party" owners, all the
rulers, and many of the clerics are the children of the Devil. They suckled
filth and opportunism with their milk; they live and die this way, and no matter
how high they rise, they remain lowly.
In summary, Lebanon cannot rise with these people. For Lebanon to rise, The
Lebanese people must cast out these "Trojan" crews, confiscate their wealth and
property, and put them on trial.
It truly is a time of cowardice and
cowards
Elias Bejjani/April 05/2026
Today was marked by the crocodile tears of our shepherd, and by the slaughter of
the grace of shame through the blatant dhimmitude of our president. Yet, the
Lebanon of holiness remains innocent of their Iscariotism.
Joseph Aoun’s last refuge is silence and prayer, and fear of
the Final Judgment Day
Elias Bejjani/April 05/2026
It is almost certain, in the view of a wide segment of the Lebanese—both at home
and in the diaspora—that everything Joseph Aoun will say today on the
anniversary of Christ’s Resurrection will lack national, sovereign,
constitutional, and Maronite value. This is because words that are not followed
by actions are scattered dust. As the Holy Bible teaches us in the Epistle of
Saint James: “Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead”
(James 2:17).
Since the man’s path, beginning with the “oath speech,” has lacked the actions
that embody those promises, his words today will be nothing more than an echo of
emptiness in truth and credibility, and a manipulation of the “Word,” which is
God who became incarnate and became man, as stated in the Gospel of Saint John:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:1–14).
Personally, sincerely I wish that Aoun would spend his day today in Bkerki,
praying, silent, and seeking forgiveness, because his tongue has never reflected
the aspirations of the free, but rather has spoken—and continues to speak—the
agendas of Hezbollah, the terrorist enemy of Lebanon and the Lebanese, and Nabih
Berri, who is corrupt and a fomenter of strife, and among those who have
deliberately and knowingly worked toward the destruction and downfall of the
country.
What is required of Aoun—Maronite, Lebanese, and constitutionally—is that he
respect, even if only once, his position, his oath, and the aspirations of the
free and sovereign Lebanese people. Yet he surrounds himself with an army of
“jihadist,” fundamentalist, and opportunistic advisors—most of whom come from
the school of Michel Aoun, who has fallen joyfully into the temptations of
“Lucifer,” the king of demons—and with individuals hostile to Lebanon and
everything Lebanese, belonging to Hezbollah, the Amal Movement, the Syrian
Social Nationalist Party, and groups resembling the scribes and Pharisees, as
well as merchants and people of financial interests.
What is required of Aoun is not to make matters worse through empty rhetoric
that debases the word, especially since he assumed the presidency through a
Parliament whose legitimacy and legality are contested. We remind those who are
celebrating what he will say today that he “will not perform miracles,”
particularly in light of many files surrounded by questions… and God knows best.
In conclusion, if Aoun speaks—and we hope he does not, so as not to further
disappoint people—he will not dare to align himself with the constitution or
international resolutions, nor will he call things by their proper names.
Meanwhile, all his previous positions have lacked any real action confronting
Hezbollah’s terrorism, its weapons, and its Persian domination over the state.
Likewise, all his approaches, proposals, and initiatives have been submissive,
appeasing Berri’s corruption and avoiding confrontation with the brazenness,
indecency, and moral corruption of Hezbollah’s leaders.
Before concluding, I, ask: will the Holy Spirit descend upon Joseph Aoun today
and command the security forces and the army to enter the Iranian embassy, expel
the insolent ambassador, and sever diplomatic relations between Lebanon and
Iran?
Will we be surprised today by a different Joseph Aoun than the one we have known
for years? Perhaps only if the Holy Spirit comes upon him and he decides, in
repentance, to cast off the garment of appeasing Berri and flattering the “Party
of Satan, Hezbollah,” and arm himself with patriotism, courage, and the faith of
“al-Bashir.” However, these hopes will most likely not be fulfilled, because his
path so far has been in a different direction. Accordingly, the man’s last
refuge remains silence, prayer, and fear of the Final Judgment Day.
Shock in Ain Saadeh: Couple
perishes in devastating apartment strike — here is what we know
LBCI/April 06/2026
Amid the rubble of an apartment in the hills of Ain Saadeh, a family’s dream
came to an end.
Pierre Moawad was killed along with his wife, Flavia, and their neighbor, Roula
Jerji. Moawad, an employee at the Bourj Hammoud municipality, also worked in
wedding processions and had been looking forward to celebrating his son’s
wedding this summer. He died before that moment, leaving behind three children.
Sources described his case as unusual and raised questions about what happened
that night, who was targeted, and whether there was an intended target at all.
According to security information, the building was struck by two air-dropped
bombs launched from a naval warship. The same sources said the bombs were likely
GBU-39 precision-guided munitions capable of penetrating multiple layers with
high accuracy and identifying targets. The two bombs fell through the roof,
penetrated the fourth floor, and exploded on the third floor, leaving visible
holes at the site. The explosions occurred in Moawad’s apartment, where he was
with his wife and their neighbor. The apartment is one of four units on the
third floor. All three were killed. Three other people from the Sabbagha family,
who were on the second floor directly below his apartment, were wounded. The
nature of the strike indicates it originated from Israel. An Israeli military
spokesperson said a “terrorist target” had been attacked in the eastern Beirut
area and that reports of injuries among uninvolved Lebanese civilians were being
reviewed. The incident raises questions about whether it was a miscalculation by
Israel or whether the intended target was inside the building, but the operation
failed to eliminate them. Moawad’s daughter said the targeted apartment was the
one opposite theirs on the western side, which, according to her account, had
been visited over two days by a person they did not know. Security cameras
recorded a person leaving the building after the incident. Residents said they
did not recognize him, while the mayor said he was not aware of any stranger in
the building and that residents had not reported anything unusual, as is
typically the case, especially during wartime. While some information indicated
that a car found in the parking area did not belong to residents, security
sources said they had investigated the matter and found no link between the
vehicle and the presence of a stranger in the building. Investigations by army
intelligence are ongoing, with surviving residents being questioned to establish
a full picture of what happened.
Israel says probing Ain Saadeh incident, claims attacked
'terrorist target'
Agence France Presse/April 06/2026
The Israeli army confirmed Monday that it attacked a day earlier a "terrorist
target" in the Northern Metn town of Ain Saadeh east of Beirut, adding that
reports of civilian casualties and "all details of the incident" are being
reviewed. The strike killed three people including two women, Lebanese
authorities said. Among the dead were Pierre Mouawad, a local official in the
Lebanese Forces, a party strongly opposed to Hezbollah, and his wife. Residents
of the building told local media that the strike hit the apartment above
Mouawad's. Israel's military said Monday that it had struck a "terrorist target"
east of Beirut. "Reports of casualties among Lebanese civilians not involved in
the fighting are being examined. All details of the incident are under review,"
it said.
Israeli strike kills
Christian party official in Lebanon, sharpening divides over Hezbollah
Raghed Waked and Maya Gebeily/April 06/2026
AIN SAADEH, Lebanon April 6 (Reuters) - An Israeli strike on an apartment east
of Beirut late on Sunday killed a local official from a Christian political
party, sharpening internal divides over Hezbollah as Israel's strikes expand to
new parts of the country.
Israel's air and ground campaign in Lebanon over the past month has deepened
fractures between supporters of Hezbollah and those who blame the Iran-backed
group for igniting a new conflict with Israel just 15 months after the last one.
On Sunday, an Israeli strike hit an apartment in Ain Saadeh, a predominantly
Christian town in the hills east of Beirut, killing a man and two women,
Lebanon's health ministry said. The Lebanese Forces Party, a fiercely
anti-Hezbollah Christian party, identified two of the dead as Pierre Moawad, a
local party official, and his wife Flavia.
"We are paying a heavy price for a war into which we have been dragged by the
lawless organisation Hezbollah," Lebanese Forces parliamentarian Razi El Hage
told Lebanese broadcaster MTV. The full-scale Israeli campaign, launched in
retaliation for Hezbollah firing into Israel on March 2 in solidarity with
Iran, has killed nearly 1,500 people, according to Lebanese authorities. They
include 130 children, 101 women and 57 medics. On Monday, the Lebanese health
ministry said three medics had been killed in two separate Israeli attacks
within 12 hours of each other.
MOAWAD WAS 'NOT A TARGET,' ISRAEL SAYS
The Israeli military told Reuters on Monday it had struck a "terror target east
of Beirut" without providing further details, and said it was reviewing reports
that "several uninvolved individuals were harmed as a result of the strike".
When asked about the killing of civilians including Moawad at a briefing later
on Monday, Israeli military spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani
said, "the person you are referring to was definitely not a target."The
Lebanese army said on Monday that its investigation into the strike found it
involved two GBU-39 bombs that pierced the building's roof and detonated on the
third floor of the building. GBU-39s are U.S.-made, and Israel requested
approximately 2,000 of them in February 2025, according to a press release from
the U.S. Department of Defense. Israel's air campaign and orders for people to
leave swathes of Lebanon's south, east, and Beirut's southern suburbs have
displaced more than a million people, most of them from the Shi'ite Muslim
community from which Hezbollah draws its support. On Monday, the Israeli
military ordered residents of 40 additional villages to leave their homes
immediately and head north. Israel's evacuation orders cover 15% of Lebanese
territory.
CIVIL PEACE IS 'RED LINE'
Some residents and officials in predominantly Christian areas have expressed
concern that displaced communities are harboring militants that Israel may
target, with local authorities vetting those seeking rented accommodation.
There was no Israeli order for people to flee before Sunday's strike on Ain
Saadeh. Residents said no displaced people were living in the targeted
apartment or surrounding buildings. "I've been in my house for 20 years, I've
never even seen this apartment lit. There's no one in it," Antoine Aalam, a
70-year-old man who lives across from the targeted apartment, told Reuters on
Monday. Israel's military declined to comment on concerns that strikes on
Christian communities were aimed at inflaming sectarian tensions. Sunday's
strike came hours after Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun, in his first televised
address since the conflict began, said the country's "primary concern is
preserving civil peace, which is a red line."
Currency calm in crisis:
How long can Lebanon keep its exchange rate in check?
LBCI/April 6, 2026
Lebanon's exchange rate has remained surprisingly stable despite the ongoing
war, holding at around LBP 89,500 to the dollar, the same level recorded before
the escalation. The currency's unchanged rate comes even as the conflict has
deepened the country's economic and social crises, raising questions about
whether this stability is sustainable and to what extent the Banque du Liban (BDL)
is intervening in the market. Financial dynamics in Lebanon suggest that BDL
remains a key player. Access to dollars requires local currency, and BDL
effectively controls the supply of Lebanese lira in circulation. Its implicit
message to the market has been clear: liquidity in lira requires liquidity in
dollars and vice versa. According to available figures, the total money supply
in Lebanese lira circulating in the market is relatively limited, estimated at
around LBP 68 trillion, or $700 million, making it easier for the BDL to manage
compared to the size of its foreign currency reserves. For now, this controlled
liquidity has helped maintain exchange rate stability. However, concerns are
growing about the outlook if the war continues. A prolonged conflict could
weaken key sources of dollar inflows. Tax revenues in local currency have
already declined, while remittances from Lebanese expatriates—particularly from
Gulf countries—could drop. Tourism-related inflows, another important source of
foreign currency, may also decrease. Such trends would likely reduce the supply
of dollars in the market while increasing demand, putting upward pressure on the
exchange rate. The key question moving forward is whether the central bank will
maintain its current stance or be forced to intervene more directly if pressures
on the currency intensify.
Divisions emerge in Israel: Army plan centers on south
Lebanon amid readiness concerns
LBCI/April 6, 2026
The Israeli cabinet did not state it explicitly, but details relayed by a
military official regarding the continuation of operations in Lebanon and the
war’s objectives align with the army’s plan presented at the meeting. The plan
is based on limiting the war’s goal to disarming Hezbollah south of the Litani
River, rather than across all of Lebanon. The cabinet, in the presence of senior
army and security officials, discussed ways to continue the war in Lebanon, as
Israel was coming under fire, which led to the collapse of a building in Haifa
with people inside. According to available information, operations will continue
without expanding the ground offensive. They include expanding strikes across
Lebanon, not only in the south, to create significant pressure aimed at altering
what the army considers a war of attrition that has developed in northern
Israel. The plan also calls for refocusing on targeted assassinations and
cutting what Tel Aviv views as the weapons supply line, including arms smuggled
from Syria. It includes positioning troops up to southern villages within 10
kilometers and focusing, as much as possible, on fully clearing the area south
of the Litani River and destroying rocket launchers and storage sites. In light
of the difficulties in achieving the full disarmament of Hezbollah, a scenario
not previously discussed was raised during the session. If Lebanese state
efforts to disarm Hezbollah fail, the Israeli army would concentrate its
operations in southern Lebanon while coordinating with the Syrians, according to
an Israeli official, to operate in another confrontation zone with the group
centered in the Bekaa region. Meanwhile, 20 Knesset members signed a letter sent
to cabinet and government members urging them not to adopt the army’s plan and
instead seize what they described as a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to
completely eliminate Hezbollah. These positions were met with warnings
indicating that Israel is facing a dilemma. The army entered the battle
unprepared, both in terms of intelligence and due to shortages of aircraft and
interceptor missiles, while also dealing with disorganization in the Northern
Command, on the home front, and in its media operations. More concerning, the
home front remains unprotected, while Hezbollah’s capabilities in launching
precision and cluster rockets allow it to continue its attacks for at least five
months, amid significant shortcomings and shortages in Israel’s defense systems.
Israeli army fire on WHO vehicle in southern Gaza kills
one, medics report
Urooba Jamal/Al Jazeera/April 6, 2026
A member of staff from the World Health Organization (WHO) has been killed in
Gaza and several others injured when the Israeli army fired on their vehicle,
according to sources, including an Al Jazeera correspondent. WHO driver Majdi
Aslan, 54, was killed on Monday. A doctor from the international organisation
and several other Palestinians were also injured in the incident in eastern Khan
Younis, according to sources at the enclave’s Nasser and Al-Aqsa hospitals.As
the world’s attention remains fixed on the United States-Israel war on Iran,
Israel is continuing its attacks on the Gaza Strip, which has seen near-daily
Israeli fire and strikes since a fragile ceasefire was reached in October, with
more than 700 Palestinians killed since, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
Monday’s incident took place in an area close to the so-called yellow line in
eastern Khan Younis, reported Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud.
Israeli forces shot “indiscriminately” at people and vehicles moving along the
Salah al-Din Street in the southern Gaza Strip, he said. A commercial vehicle
was transporting civilians between southern and central Gaza. It was followed by
a car carrying WHO employees, said Mahmoud.
“The driver was shot in the head, and by the time he was transported to the Al-Aqsa
Hospital, he was announced dead,” the correspondent reported from Gaza City.
Seven or so others suffered injuries, he added. Translation: Qamar Majdi Mustafa
Aslan (54 years old), a resident of Bureij camp, who ascended after being
wounded in a shooting targeting a World Health Organization vehicle on Salah
al-Din Street east of Khan Younis city. WHO did not immediately confirm that the
man killed was an employee, but said in a statement emailed to Al Jazeera that
“this morning, a critical security incident occurred in Gaza that is under
review by relevant authorities”.“As [a] result of this critical security
incident, today’s medical evacuation from Gaza via Rafah to Egypt has been put
on hold with immediate effect, until further notice,” the statement added. WHO
has been overseeing coordination between Egypt and Israel since the opening of
the Rafah crossing, which has allowed small numbers of injured Palestinians
desperate for medical aid to leave to seek treatment abroad. Israel has,
however, continued to limit the entry of humanitarian aid into the besieged
territory, also shutting the vital crossing in the early days of the US-Israeli
war on Iran.
Elsewhere on Monday in the southern part of Khan Younis, a Palestinian man with
special needs was killed after being shot by Israeli soldiers.To the north, a
drone attack in Gaza City killed one person, Mahmoud said. “The target was an
electric bike … moving in the area that was struck by drone missiles. It killed
… a 36-year-old individual who was moving … around the displacement camps,” he
reported. A child was also injured in the attack and is now in critical
condition in hospital, the correspondent added. Two Palestinians were also
killed in Israeli drone strikes on the Yarmouk and Shujayea neighbourhoods,
according to a medical source at al-Shifa Hospital. Sources at Gaza hospitals
have reported the deaths of eight Palestinians in Israeli air strikes outside
areas under Israeli control since Sunday.
Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthis join Iran in strike
on Israel
AFP and Reuters/Mon, April 6, 2026
Yemen’s Houthi rebels say they have launched an attack targeting Israel,
coordinated alongside Houthi backer Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon. The three
allies “launched a barrage of cruise missiles and drones targeting several vital
and military sites belonging to the Israeli enemy” on Monday, military spokesman
Yahya Saree said in a statement. The Houthis, who control most of northern
Yemen, joined the war in support of Iran on March 28. They had previously
launched attacks on Israel and targeted shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden
during the Israeli war on Gaza, in what they said was a show of solidarity with
the Palestinians. Meanwhile, Israeli officials said the bodies of four people
killed in an Iranian strike the previous day on a residential building in the
northern city of Haifa had been recovered. Hezbollah’s reported role in the
strikes comes as Israel continues to pound Lebanon, saying it is targeting the
Iranian-backed armed group. The latest strike hit Beirut’s southern suburbs on
Monday. The Israeli army declared it was “striking Hezbollah terror targets in
Beirut”. Attacks were also reported in Lebanon’s south. On Sunday, the Israeli
military said that it had struck two Amana petrol stations “which were
controlled by Hezbollah and served as significant financial infrastructure”
supporting the group’s activities. In south Lebanon, the Health Ministry said
four people were killed in a raid on a car in Kfar Rumman, near the city of
Nabatieh.The state-run National News Agency (NNA) also reported deadly strikes
elsewhere in the country’s south and east, including in the Tyre district
village of Burj Rahal. Lebanon’s Health Ministry said an Israeli attack killed a
paramedic from the Hezbollah-allied Risala Scout Association on Monday. It also
said two paramedics from the Islamic Health Committee were killed in an Israeli
strike a day earlier. World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
said on X that the WHO “has verified 92 attacks on health facilities, medical
vehicles, personnel, and warehouses”.“These acts cannot become the new norm,” he
added. On Sunday, a strike in Beirut’s Jnah neighbourhood hit near the country’s
largest public medical facility, killing five people, including a 15-year-old
girl and two Sudanese nationals, the ministry said. Also on Sunday, a strike on
the town of Ain Saadeh, east of Beirut, killed three people, including two
women, authorities said. Among the dead were Pierre Mouawad, a local official in
the Lebanese Forces, a Christian party strongly opposed to Hezbollah, and his
wife, an incident that further threatens internal divides over Hezbollah as
Israel’s strikes expand to new parts of the country. Lebanon says 1,497 people
have been killed since the war erupted, including 57 health workers.
Israel launches more deadly
strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs
Al Arabiya English/06 April/2026
An Israeli strike hit Beirut’s southern suburbs on Monday as Israel’s army said
it was targeting Hezbollah, with the raid sending a large plume of smoke
billowing across the skyline. The state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported
the strike on the Hezbollah stronghold, which has been largely emptied of
residents following repeated Israeli attacks and evacuation warnings. Israel has
launched strikes across Lebanon and a ground invasion in the south since March
2, when militant group Hezbollah entered the Middle East war on the side of its
backer Iran.Israel’s army claimed it was “striking Hezbollah terror targets in
Beirut” on Monday. Shortly before the warning, an AFP journalist in the southern
suburbs saw just a few shops open, including a bakery, a pharmacy and a
barbershop, as well as a gas station belonging to the Al-Amana fuel company
destroyed in a previous raid. The Israeli army said on Sunday that in recent
days, it had struck two Al-Amana petrol stations “which were controlled by
Hezbollah and served as significant financial infrastructure” supporting the
group’s activities. Fresh portraits mourning Iran’s former supreme leader Ali
Khamenei, who was killed in the US-Israeli attack on February 28 that triggered
the Middle East conflict, were visible along main roads in the southern
suburbs.The NNA also reported deadly strikes in the country’s south and east on
Monday. A day earlier, Israel repeatedly struck the southern suburbs and also
hit a site in Beirut’s Jnah neighborhood near the country’s largest public
medical facility. The health ministry said that strike killed five people,
including a 15-year-old girl and two Sudanese nationals.Another strike on the
town of Ain Saadeh, east of Beirut, killed three people including two women,
authorities said.Among the dead were Pierre Mouawad, a local official in the
Lebanese Forces, a Christian party strongly opposed to Hezbollah, and his
wife.Residents of the building told local media that the strike hit the
apartment above Mouawad’s. Israel’s military claimed Monday that it had struck a
“terrorist target” east of Beirut. “Reports of casualties among Lebanese
civilians not involved in the fighting are being examined. All details of the
incident are under review,” it said. With AFP.
Raid hits Beirut's southern
suburbs as Israel says striking Hezbollah targets
Agence France Presse/April
06/2026
An Israeli strike hit Beirut's
southern suburbs on Monday as Israel's army said it was targeting Hezbollah,
with the raid sending a large plume of smoke billowing across the skyline. The
state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported the strike on the area, considered
a Hezbollah stronghold, which has been largely emptied of residents following
repeated Israeli attacks and evacuation warnings. Israel has launched strikes
across Lebanon and a ground invasion in the south since March 2, when Hezbollah
entered the Middle East war on the side of its backer Iran. Israel's army said
it was "striking Hezbollah terror targets in Beirut" on Monday. Shortly before
the warning, an AFP journalist in the southern suburbs saw just a few shops
open, including a bakery, a pharmacy and a barbershop, as well as a gas station
belonging to the Al-Amana fuel company destroyed in a previous raid. The Israeli
army said on Sunday that in recent days, it had struck two Al-Amana petrol
stations "which were controlled by Hezbollah and served as significant financial
infrastructure" supporting the group's activities. Fresh portraits mourning
Iran's former supreme leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the U.S.-Israeli
attack on February 28 that triggered the Middle East conflict, were visible
along main roads in the southern suburbs. The NNA also reported deadly strikes
in the country's south and east on Monday. A day earlier, Israel repeatedly
struck the southern suburbs and also hit a site in Beirut's Jnah neighborhood
near the country's largest public medical facility. The health ministry said
that strike killed five people, including a 15-year-old girl and two Sudanese
nationals. Another strike on the town of Ain Saadeh, east of Beirut, killed
three people including two women, authorities said.
15 killed, dozens hurt in Israel's strikes on Lebanon on
Sunday
Agence France Presse
/April 06/2026
Israeli strikes in Lebanon on Sunday killed at least 15 people, a day after
Israel threatened to hit Lebanon's main border crossing with Syria, forcing it
to close. Israel has launched airstrikes across Lebanon as well as a ground
invasion in the south since March 2, when Hezbollah entered the Middle East war
on the side of its backer Iran. Israeli military chief Eyal Zamir visited troops
in southern Lebanon on Sunday and pledged to intensify strikes against
Hezbollah. One of Israel's strikes in south Beirut Sunday killed at least five
people and wounded 52 in the Jnah neighborhood, the Lebanese health ministry
said. A strike targeting an apartment building in Ain Saadeh town east of Beirut
killed three people and injured three others, while a strike in the southern
town of Kfar Hatta, far from the border with Israel, killed seven people
including a four-year-old girl, the ministry said. Hezbollah on Sunday claimed
to have fired a cruise missile at an Israeli warship off the coast, but the
Israeli military told AFP it was "not aware" of such an incident. Israeli
attacks on Lebanon since the start of the war have killed more than 1,400
people, including 126 children, and displaced over a million, according to
Lebanese authorities.
Panic attacks
The strike in Beirut's Jnah neighborhood landed about 100 meters away from the
Rafik Hariri University Hospital, the largest public medical facility in
Lebanon, a medical source told AFP. Zakaria Tawbeh, deputy head of the hospital,
said they received "four killed, three Sudanese and a 15-year old girl, and 31
wounded.""Lots of glass was broken, and some of our patients had panic attacks."
After the first attack, 53-year-old Jnah resident Nancy Hassan thought she was
safe at home. "Shortly after, the planes were flying overhead, and we heard a
huge bang, then stones rained down on us," she told AFP. Hassan lost her
daughter in an Israeli strike on the same area during the 2024 war between
Hezbollah and Israel. "My daughter was killed, she was 23 years old. Today, her
friends were killed. Every time, they bomb us in the neighborhood without
warning," she added. Israel also launched several strikes on the southern
suburbs of Beirut, an area now largely evacuated but where Hezbollah holds sway.
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon warned that attacks by Israel and
Hezbollah near its positions "could potentially draw return fire".
Vital crossing -
On Saturday, Israel had said it would target the Masnaa border crossing between
Lebanon and Syria, the main gateway between the two countries. "Due to
Hezbollah's use of the Masnaa crossing for military purposes and smuggling of
combat equipment, the (Israeli army) intends to carry out strikes on the
crossing in the near future," said the military's Arabic-language spokesman
Avichay Adraee, urging people to leave the area. The border post was quickly
evacuated on the Lebanese side. In Syria, borders and customs public relations
director Mazen Aloush insisted the crossing was exclusively used by civilians
but said it would close temporarily due to the threats. Masnaa is a vital trade
route for both countries and a key gateway to the rest of the region for
Lebanese people. Military expert Hassan Jouni told AFP that Israel's threat to
strike the crossing "is not based on sound security considerations but rather
aims to pressure the Lebanese government... to disarm Hezbollah".At another
border crossing further north known as Qaa, an AFP correspondent on Sunday saw a
long line of cars and vans waiting to enter Syria as people sought an
alternative route. As Israeli troops push into border areas in southern Lebanon,
destroying villages, President Joseph Aoun reiterated his call for talks with
Israel, saying he wanted to spare his country's south from destruction on the
scale seen in the Palestinian territory of Gaza. "Why don't we negotiate...
until we can at least save the homes that have not yet been destroyed?" he said
in a televised address.
Rmeish, Debel, and Ain Ebel: The Last Guardian of the Idea of Homeland
Marwan Harb/Al-Modon/April 06/2026
(Free translation from Arabic by Elias Bejjani)
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/04/153474/
Is there a more eloquent image of what Lebanon has become than that silent
moment for the residents of Rmeish, Debel, and Ain Ebel, as they watched from
the edge of the road the Lebanese army soldiers withdraw? In their eyes, there
was intense fear, a painful question, and suppressed anger: Who will protect us
now? On the other side, soldiers glanced at the people with fleeting looks,
heavy with unspoken words. They saw tearful eyes, faces etched with a harsh
sense of abandonment, disappointment… and something akin to orphanhood. Between
these two looks—the people’s and the soldiers’—a harsh truth was revealed: This
is not just a withdrawal. This is separation. A separation between the state and
its citizens. A separation that is not declared, but is lived with all its
weight. A country that abandons its children, leaving them standing on the edge,
watching the withdrawal of those who were supposed to stay. In that moment,
Lebanon was no longer one. There were two Lebanons, on opposite sides of the
road: one Lebanon withdrawing, the other being left behind. One Lebanon packing
up and moving on, the other carrying its fear and staying.
Those who remained were not incapable of leaving. They could have left, could
have sought a less harsh place, a less precarious life. But they didn’t. They
stayed because home isn’t a hotel to be checked out of. Because leaving the
South isn’t a relocation, it’s uprooting. They stayed because dignity,
sometimes, takes the form of remaining where one is supposed to leave. In Rmeish,
Debel, and Ain Ebel, it wasn’t just the residents who remained. An idea
remained. The idea that homeland isn’t what’s said in statements, but what’s
defended by staying. That belonging isn’t measured by songs, but by a person’s
ability to say, “I’m here,” when staying becomes too costly. These aren’t just
civilians trapped between the lines of fire. They are, in a deeper sense, the
last guardians of the idea of homeland. They are the ones who prove, every
day, that belonging is not a slogan, but a quiet, daily act of resilience,
without fanfare.
But when people stand alone, their resilience transforms from heroism into
tragedy. In a situation where people are asked to be stronger than
circumstances, stronger than fear, and even stronger than the state itself, this
is not glorification. This is injustice. Because, to be just, heroism must be a
choice, not an imposed fate. And these people were not given a real choice. They
were simply left to be brave.
Even more painful is that this scene is no longer shocking. It’s as if Lebanon
has become accustomed to this kind of cold withdrawal. A withdrawal that doesn’t
declare itself a defeat, but is presented as crisis management. A withdrawal
without acknowledgment, without accountability, and without even a sense of
guilt. Thus, those who remained have become a moral burden on everyone. Their
presence embarrasses the discourse, exposes the gap, and reveals the implicit
lie in the idea of ”a homeland for all.” They stay… because the weakness of
the state has fallen upon their shoulders, because its absence has become a
burden they must bear. They stay… because leaving is a betrayal of something
deeper than life itself, and because departure means abandoning the land to
those who don’t know it, surrendering memory to oblivion. They alone… plant
their feet firmly in the soil so that the homeland doesn’t slip further. In the
end, what will remain is this stark, harsh image, needing no explanation: people
who stayed… and a state that didn’t stay with them. And this, perhaps, is not
merely a description of a moment, but the most accurate definition of Lebanon as
it is now.
UNIFIL
warns Israel, Hezbollah attacks near its positions risk return fire
Agence France Presse
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon said attacks by Israel and Hezbollah
near its positions "could potentially draw return fire".In a statement, UNIFIL
said it was "extremely concerned" about attacks from both sides "carried out
from near our positions, which could potentially draw return fire". It urged
them to "put down their weapons and work seriously toward a ceasefire."
Lebanon's Christians mark
Easter in solidarity with war-hit south
Agence France Presse/April
06/2026
Lebanese Christians marked Easter Sunday by turning their prayers to the south,
where villages remain trapped by fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. This
year's celebrations were dedicated to "people in the south," said Jenny Yazbek
al‑Jamal, as she left mass at a church in Beirut's northern suburb of Jdeideh.
With family living in the region, the 55-year-old said she feels like "one of
them". It is not only Christian villages suffering in this war added al-Jamal,
who leads the parish choir. "Muslim villages too... we stand with all the people
of the south who were forced to flee their homes." The church was packed on
Sunday, with some worshippers left standing outside. Around the altar, placards
bearing the names of Christian villages in south Lebanon -- cut off from the
rest of the country or under fire -- had been placed. Hymn singers struggled to
raise their voices above the roar of Israeli fighter jets flying low over Beirut
and bombing the capital's southern suburbs. "Even during our religious holidays,
even on Good Friday, jets fly over us and break the sound barrier just to scare
us," al-Jamal said.
'For peace' -
"This has to stop," said Marina Awad, another 55-year-old worshipper attending
mass with her husband. "It's truly very sad to know people had to abandon homes
built over a lifetime, unsure if they will ever return." Border villages are
going through a severe crisis, added 65-year-old Dori Ghrayeb. "No food, no
water, no bread, no medicine, and no medical care."The Maronite Patriarchate
expressed "deep disappointment" on Sunday over the cancellation for "security
reasons" of a humanitarian convoy jointly set up by the Vatican's envoy to
Lebanon. The convoy had been due to visit the border village of Debl. Several
Christian villages near the frontier -- including Ain Ebel, Rmeich and Debl --
are caught between Israeli forces and Hezbollah. Residents have refused Israeli
calls to evacuate as troops advance in southern border areas. They insist this
is not their war and say they feel abandoned after Lebanese troops withdrew from
several border points. The convoy, organized with the United Nations Interim
Force in Lebanon and two Christian charities, was meant to deliver 40 tons of
medicine and basic supplies to residents "cut off from the rest of the country",
the Patriarchate said. The two charities, Caritas‑Lebanon and L'Oeuvre d'Orient
condemned the cancellation as a violation of international humanitarian law,
particularly as it affected vulnerable civilians trapped in their villages. "I
am for peace; the war must stop so that we can sit at the same table," Ghrayeb
said.
Links to several
important news websites
National News Agency (Lebanon)
https://www.nna-leb.gov.lb/ar
Nidaa Al Watan
https://www.nidaalwatan.com/
MTV Lebanon
https://www.mtv.com.lb/
Voice of Lebanon
https://www.vdl.me/
Asas Media
https://asasmedia.com/
Naharnet
https://www.naharnet.com/
Al Markazia News Agency
https://almarkazia.com/ar
LBCI (English)
https://www.lbcgroup.tv/news/en
LBCI (Arabic)
https://www.lbcgroup.tv/news/ar
Janoubia Website
https://www.lbcgroup.tv/news/ar
Kataeb Party Official Website
https://www.kataeb.org
The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports
And News published
on April 06-07/2026
Iran mediators make last-ditch push for 45-day ceasefire
Naharnet/April 06/2026
The U.S., Iran and a group of regional mediators are discussing the terms for a
potential 45-day ceasefire that could lead to a permanent end to the war, four
U.S., Israeli and regional sources with knowledge of the talks told U.S. news
portal Axios. The sources said the chances for reaching a partial deal over the
next 48 hours are slim. But this last-ditch effort is the only chance to prevent
a dramatic escalation in the war that will include massive strikes on Iranian
civilian infrastructure and a retaliation against energy and water facilities in
the Gulf states. U.S. President Donald Trump's 10-day deadline to Iran was
expected to expire Monday evening. But on Sunday, Trump extended his deadline by
20 hours and posted on Truth Social a new deadline of Tuesday at 8pm ET. Trump
told Axios on Sunday that the U.S. is "in deep negotiations" with Iran and that
a deal can be reached before his deadline expires on Tuesday. "There is a good
chance, but if they don't make a deal, I am blowing up everything over there,"
he said. Trump has threatened to destroy infrastructure that is vital to Iranian
civilians if he is unable to reach a deal with the regime. Such attacks could
constitute war crimes, and Iran has threatened to retaliate with attacks against
infrastructure in Israel and the Gulf states. Two sources said the operational
plan for a massive U.S.-Israeli bombing campaign against Iran's energy
facilities is ready to go, but stressed the extension of Trump's deadline was
aimed at giving a last chance to reach a deal. Four sources with knowledge of
the diplomatic efforts said the negotiations are taking place through Pakistani,
Egyptian and Turkish mediators and also through text messages sent between
Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff and Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. A U.S.
official said the Trump administration gave Iran several proposals in recent
days, but so far Iranian officials hadn't accepted them. The sources said the
mediators are discussing with the parties the terms for two-phased deal; the
first phase would include a potential 45-day ceasefire during which a permanent
end to the war would be negotiated.
The ceasefire could be extended if more time were needed for talks, one of the
sources said. The second phase would be an agreement on ending the war.The
sources said mediators think that fully reopening the Strait of Hormuz and a
solution for Iran's highly enriched Uranium — either through its removal from
the country or dilution — could only be a result of a final deal. The mediators
are working on confidence building measures Iran could do regarding the
reopening of the strait of Hormuz and its highly enriched Uranium stockpile, the
sources said. These two issue are Iran's main bargaining chips in the
negotiations and the Iranians will not agree to fully give up on them for only
45 days of ceasefire, two of the sources said. The mediators want to see whether
Iran could take partial stepe on both issues in the first phase of the deal.
They are also working on steps the Trump administration could take to give Iran
guarantees that the ceasefire will not be temporary and that the war will not
resume. The Iranian officials made clear to the mediators they don't want to be
caught in a Gaza or Lebanon situation where there is a ceasefire on paper, but
that the U.S. and Israel can attack again whenever they want to.
The mediators are also working on other U.S. confidence-building measures the
U.S. could take that would address some of Iran's demands. A White House
official meanwhile told CNN that the ceasefire plan sent to the U.S. and Iran
late Sunday “is one of many ideas,” and that Trump has not signed off on the
proposal. A source with direct knowledge told Axios the the mediators are highly
concerned that the Iranian retaliation for a U.S.-Israeli strike on the
country's energy infrastructure would be destructive for Gulf countries' oil and
water facilities. The mediators told the Iranian officials there is no time for
further negotiation tactics and stressed the next 48 hours are the last
opportunity for them to reach a deal and prevent massive destruction for the
country. The Iranian officials, at least in public, are still taking an
extremely hard line and rejecting any concessions. The Iranian revolutionary
guards corps navy said Sunday the situation in the Strait of Hormuz will "never
return" to what it was before the war, especially for the U.S. and Israel.
Iran makes demands that include 'end to conflicts in
region, reconstruction'
Agence France Presse/April
06/2026
Iran has rejected a proposed truce in its war with the United States and Israel,
state media reported Monday, despite a stark threat by U.S. President Donald
Trump to destroy its vital infrastructure. "Iran has conveyed to Pakistan its
response to the American proposal to end the war," the news agency IRNA said,
without revealing its source or what the U.S. offer contained. "In this response
-– set out in ten points –- Iran... has rejected a ceasefire and insists on the
need for a definitive end to the conflict." Several countries are trying to find
a diplomatic solution to end 38 days of war sparked by Israeli and U.S. attacks
against Iran, which has responded by firing missiles at targets across the
Middle East. Trump warned on Sunday that unless Tehran agreed by Tuesday evening
to allow free passage to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, he would order
strikes on its power plants and bridges. But IRNA said Tehran had countered with
demands of its own, including "an end to conflicts in the region, a protocol for
safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, reconstruction, and the lifting of
sanctions."
Iran rejects ceasefire
proposal despite Trump threat to destroy infrastructure
AFP/06 April/2026
Iran has rejected a proposed truce in its war with the United States and Israel,
state media reported Monday, despite a stark threat by US President Donald Trump
to destroy its vital infrastructure. “Iran has conveyed to Pakistan its response
to the American proposal to end the war,” state news agency IRNA said, without
revealing its source or what the US offer contained. “In this response – set out
in ten points – Iran... has rejected a ceasefire and insists on the need for a
definitive end to the conflict.”Several countries are trying to find a
diplomatic solution to end 38 days of war sparked by Israeli and US attacks
against Iran, which has responded by firing missiles at targets across the
Middle East.Trump warned on Sunday that unless Tehran agreed by Tuesday evening
to allow free passage to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, he would order
strikes on its power plants and bridges. But IRNA said Tehran had countered with
demands of its own, including “an end to conflicts in the region, a protocol for
safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, reconstruction, and the lifting of
sanctions.”
Trump says Iran could be ‘taken out’ on Tuesday, Hegseth says major strikes to
come
Reuters/06 April/2026
US President Donald Trump on Monday told reporters that Iran could be taken out
in one night, “and that night might be tomorrow night,” warning Tehran it had to
make a deal by Tuesday night or face wider bombing raids. Trump had earlier
vowed to enforce a Tuesday night deadline for Iran to agree to a ceasefire deal
or face broad attacks on power plants and other critical infrastructure. Trump
is demanding Iran forswear nuclear weapons and reopen the Strait of Hormuz oil
transit waterway.“The entire country can be taken out in one night, and that
night might be tomorrow night,” Trump told a White House press conference.“I
hope I don’t have to do it,” Trump said.Critics have said Trump would be
committing war crimes if the US attacked civilian power plants, a point that
Trump dismissed on Monday. “I’m not worried about it. You know what’s a war
crime? Having a nuclear weapon,” Trump said earlier on Monday during an Easter
egg event for children on the White House South Lawn. Pentagon chief Pete
Hegseth told the briefing that the largest volume of strikes since day one of
the operation against Iran would take place on Monday and warned Tuesday would
have even more.
Rescue operation
Trump, joined by Hegseth and other top national security advisors, described in
detail the weekend US operation to recover a downed American airman who hid in
mountainous Iranian terrain and eluded capture by Iranian forces. He said the
airman, identified only by “Dude 44 Bravo,” kept climbing higher in order to
improve the chances for recovery. He said the airman was seen moving via an
unidentified US camera link. “It was like finding a needle in a haystack,” Trump
said.Hundreds of American forces were involved in the search and recovery
mission and to prevent the Iranians from finding him first, he said.CIA Director
John Ratcliffe, who joined Trump at the event, said the agency had engaged in a
“deception campaign” to convince the Iranians the airman was somewhere else.
Ratcliffe said that on Saturday morning the CIA got confirmation that “one of
America’s best and bravest was alive and concealed in a mountain crevice, still
invisible to the enemy, but not to the CIA.”The pilot, shot down on Friday, was
recovered on Sunday morning. “In a breathtaking show of skill and precision,
lethality and force, America’s military descended on the area, the real area,
engaged the enemy, rescued the stranded officer, destroyed all threats and
exited Iranian territory while taking no casualties of any kind,” Trump said.
Hegseth said the lost airman used an emergency transponder to show where he was
and his first message was: “God is good.”General Dan Caine, chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the recovered airman had been the “back seater” on
the downed aircraft. “In this case, the back seater’s absolute commitment to
surviving made much of our efforts possible,” Caine said.
‘Willing to suffer’
Trump said, without providing evidence, that the United States has “numerous
intercepts” from Iranian civilians urging the US not to let up in trying to
dislodge the Iranian government from power. “They would be willing to suffer
that in order to have freedom,” Trump said.
Speaking to reporters earlier at a White House Easter event, Trump said a
proposal offered by Iran was inadequate. “They made a proposal, and it’s a
significant proposal. It’s a significant step. It’s not good enough,” Trump told
reporters during the Easter event at the White House.
Trump said the five-week conflict could end quickly if Iran does “what they have
to do.”
“They have to do certain things. They know that, they’ve been negotiating I
think in good faith,” he said.
Trump says Iran ceasefire proposal 'very significant step'
Agence France Presse/April
06/2026
U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday the United States has studied a proposal
for a 45-day ceasefire in the Iran war, a move he called a "very significant
step" in the conflict. "It's a significant proposal, it's a significant step.
It's not good enough, but it's a very significant step," Trump told reporters at
the White House, adding that intermediaries "are negotiating now."Iran has
rejected a proposed truce in its war with the United States and Israel,
insisting "on the need for a definitive end to the conflict," state news agency
IRNA reported Monday.
Trump widens threat to all
of Iran's power plants and bridges as his deadline for a deal approaches
JON GAMBRELL, SAMY MAGDY, BASSEM MROUE and WILL WEISSERT/AP/
April 6, 2026
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — President Donald Trump on Monday expanded his threat against
Iran to include all power plants and bridges as his ultimatum to make a deal
ticked closer, after Tehran rejected a 45-day ceasefire proposal and said it
wants a permanent end to the war.
“The entire country can be taken out in one night, and that night might be
tomorrow night,” Trump said. He suggested that his Tuesday 8 p.m. ET deadline
was final, saying he'd already given Iran enough extensions. The U.S. has told
Iran to open the crucial Strait of Hormuz to all shipping traffic or see power
plants and bridges wiped out, sparking warnings about possible war crimes.
Israel piled on pressure by attacking a major petrochemical plant and killing
the intelligence chief for the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. Tehran with its
rejection conveyed its own, 10-point plant to end the fighting through Pakistan,
a key mediator, Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency said. “We only accept an end
of the war with guarantees that we won’t be attacked again,” Mojtaba Ferdousi
Pour, head of Iran’s diplomatic mission in Cairo, told The Associated Press. He
said Iran no longer trusts the Trump administration after the U.S. bombed the
Islamic Republic twice during previous rounds of talks. A regional official
involved in talks said efforts had not collapsed. “We are still talking to both
sides,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss closed-door
diplomacy. Asked if he was concerned about accusations of war crimes, Trump
responded, “No, not at all." He suggested that Iranians want the U.S. to carry
out its threats because it could lead to the end of their current leadership.
Iranian citizens are “willing to suffer," he said, "in order to have freedom.”
But there has been no sign of an uprising in Iran as residents shelter from
bombardment. International warnings piled up against expanded strikes. “Any
attack on civilian infrastructure is a violation of international law and a very
clear one,” United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric later told
journalists. Egyptian, Pakistani and Turkish mediators had sent Iranian Foreign
Minister Abbas Araghchi and U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff a proposal calling
for the ceasefire and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, two Mideast
officials told the AP. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss
the private negotiations. Iranian and Omani officials also were working on a
mechanism for administrating the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s
oil is shipped in peacetime. Iran’world economy.Tehran has refused to let U.S.
and Israeli vessels through after they started the war on Feb. 28.
ran's new supreme leader makes rare statement
Israel struck a key petrochemical plant in the South Pars natural gas field,
saying it was aimed at eliminating a major source of revenue for Iran. The
field, the world’s largest, is shared with Qatar and is Iran’s biggest source of
domestic energy for its 93 million people.
The strike appeared to be separate from Trump’s threats. An earlier Israeli
attack there in March prompted Iran to target energy infrastructure in other
Middle East countries, a major escalation. Israel also killed the head of
intelligence for Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, Maj. Gen. Majid
Khademi, according to Iranian state media. And Israel said it killed the leader
of the Revolutionary Guard’s undercover unit in its expeditionary Quds Force,
Asghar Bakeri. “We will continue to hunt them down one by one,” Israeli Defense
Minister Israel Katz said of top Iranian officials. New Supreme Leader Mojtaba
Khamenei, who still has not been seen or heard in public, issued a rare
statement expressing condolences over Khademi. Israeli strikes have killed
dozens of top Iranian leaders, including Khamenei’s father. Israel’s military
also said it struck three Tehran airports overnight — Bahram, Mehrabad and
Azmayesh — hitting dozens of helicopters and aircraft it said belonged to the
Iranian Air Force. A Tehran resident said “constantly there is the sound of
bombs, air defenses, drones,” speaking on condition of anonymity for her safety.
Another detailed taking sleeping pills to get through nightly bombardments, and
said people worry about power, gas and water cuts.
Airstrikes kill more than 25 across Iran
Smoke rose near Tehran’s Azadi Square after an airstrike hit the grounds of the
Sharif University of Technology. Multiple countries have sanctioned the
university for its work with the military, particularly on Iran’s ballistic
missile program. Authorities and Iranian state media reported at least 29 people
killed across the country by strikes. In Lebanon, where Israel has launched air
attacks and a ground invasion that it says target the Iran-linked Hezbollah
militia, an airstrike hit an apartment in Ain Saadeh, a predominately Christian
town east of Beirut. It killed an official in the Lebanese Forces, a Christian
political party strongly opposed to Hezbollah, his wife and another woman. More
than 1,900 people have been killed in Iran since the war began, but the
government has not updated the toll for days. More than 1,400 people have been
killed in Lebanon and more than 1 million people have been displaced. Eleven
Israeli soldiers have died there. In Gulf Arab states and the occupied West
Bank, more than two dozen people have died, while 23 have been reported dead in
Israel and 13 U.S. service members have been killed.
Trump doubles down on Iran threat, says ceasefire proposal 'not good enough'
Agence France Presse/April
06/2026
U S. President Donald Trump doubled down Monday on his threat to wreck Iran's
civilian infrastructure, warning U.S. forces could destroy every bridge and
power plant in the country within four hours and that a truce proposal from
international mediators was not yet enough. Five weeks into the Middle East war
triggered by a joint U.S.-Israeli air assault on Tehran, the U.S. leader has
demanded that Iran reopen the Strait of Hormuz to international shipping by
midnight GMT on Tuesday, or face a newly devastating round of bombing. Both
Trump and Iran have said that a proposal touted by international mediators for a
45-day ceasefire is not yet ready, and in a Washington press conference, the
U.S. president dialled up his warlike rhetoric once again. "We have a plan --
because of the power of our military -- where every bridge in Iran will be
decimated by 12 o'clock tomorrow night, where every power plant in Iran will be
out of business, burning, exploding and never to be used again," Trump said. "I
mean complete demolition by 12 o'clock, and it'll happen over a period of four
hours -- if we wanted to."Trump had earlier accepted the ceasefire plan was a
"significant proposal", but went on to say it was not good enough. Iranian state
media quoted officials stating that Tehran too "has rejected a ceasefire and
insists on the need for a definitive end to the conflict".Trump said
intermediaries "are negotiating now" on improving the ceasefire proposal, which
U.S. media reported was being mediated by Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey. Iran's
military said it would "continue the war as long as the political authorities
see fit". Trump's latest threats, including a profanity-laced social media post
on Sunday, have sent shockwaves through the international community.
International Committee of the Red Cross chief Mirjana Spoljaric warned that
"deliberate threats... against essential civilian infrastructure" are illegal.
But talk of a ceasefire came as the U.S. and Israel were striking targets across
Iran, including major petrochemical facilities, and as Iran continued missile
and drone attacks around the region. Iran's virtual blockade of Hormuz has sent
oil and gas prices soaring and pushed countries around the world to enact
measures to contain the fallout.
'We will reach anyone' -
Earlier Monday, Israeli strikes had hit major Iranian petrochemical facilities
including in Asaluyeh on the Gulf coast, the country's biggest, and another
outside Shiraz in central Iran. Israel's military said it had also struck
Iranian air force targets including planes and helicopters at airports in Tehran
and elsewhere. Iran's Guards posted on Telegram on Monday that their
intelligence chief Majid Khademi had been killed at dawn in U.S.-Israeli
strikes. Israel's military also said it had killed Asghar Bagheri, commander of
the Guards' Quds Force special operations unit, on Sunday. "We will reach anyone
who seeks to harm us," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. The
Guards' Intelligence Organization vowed a "major retaliatory strike" against
those responsible for killing their commanders, their official Sepah News
website reported. Yemen's Houthi rebels said they launched an attack targeting
Israel, supporting their backer Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah.
Oil squeeze -
The war, which erupted on February 28 with U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran that
killed supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has engulfed the Middle East and
roiled the global economy. The worldwide oil squeeze has hit aviation, with
Indonesia on Monday saying it would increase a jet fuel surcharge and low-cost
carrier Air Asia X announcing ticket price hikes of up to 40 percent. South
Korea will send ships to fetch oil from Saudi Arabia's Red Sea port of Yanbu,
avoiding Hormuz altogether, a ruling party MP said, while Taiwan's government
said it too would take the Red Sea route. Gulf nations allied with the U.S. have
also been sucked into the war, with Kuwait and the UAE reporting strikes and
injuries from Sunday to Monday. Iran has continued to launch attacks at Israel,
where the military and medics said four bodies were recovered from a residential
building in the northern city of Haifa that was struck by a missile.
Iranian media reported several attacks on residential areas of Tehran, while the
state broadcaster said gas outages hit parts of the capital after a strike on a
university.
U.S. Denies Iran’s Claim It
Struck USS Tripoli, With 3,500 On Board
Zachary Folk, Forbes Staff/April 6, 2026
The U.S. military said Iranian forces did not strike the U.S.S. Tripoli, an
amphibious assault ship carrying thousands of troops, denying rumors that the
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps struck the ship circulating earlier in the
day. In a statement posted on X, U.S. Central Command said the Tripoli has not
been attacked and “continues to sail in the Arabian Sea in support of Operation
Epic Fury.”The ship carries about 3,500 sailors and marines and serves as the
flagship for the Tripoli Amphibious Ready Group, which arrived in the Middle
East on March 27 as the Trump administration deployed more troops to the region.
The denial comes after Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported the ship
was targeted by strikes from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corp, forcing it to
retreat. U.S. Central Command had no further comment on the matter when reached
by Forbes.
Key Background
Days earlier, the U.S. successfully rescued a pilot and weapons specialist
onboard an F-15E fighter jet that was struck by Iranian air defenses. At a press
conference on Monday, President Donald Trump said “hundreds” of soldiers took
part in the rescue effort. Trump threatened the country with further air strikes
targeting its power plants and bridges should it fail to reopen the Strait of
Hormuz by 8 p.m. EDT Tuesday. However, Iran said it rejected a ceasefire
proposal on Monday.
Israel says struck Iran's
largest petrochemical facility
Agence France Presse/April
06/2026
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced on Monday that Israel had
conducted a "powerful strike" on Iran's largest petrochemical complex, with the
operator saying it was assessing the damage from the attacks. The complex in the
Pars region services Iran's South Pars natural gas field -- the largest known
gas reserve in the world -- which it shares with Qatar, and which Israel had
previously hit last month. The military "just carried out a powerful strike on
Iran's largest petrochemical facility, located in Asaluyeh -- a central target
responsible for about 50 percent of the country's petrochemical production",
Katz said in a video statement. Israel carried out a similar strike on the
Mahshahr Petrochemical Special Zone in the southwestern Khuzestan province on
Saturday, a local Iranian official said, adding that five people were killed.
"At this point, the two facilities, which together account for roughly 85
percent of Iran's petrochemical exports, have been taken out of operation and
are no longer functioning," Katz said, calling it "a severe economic blow".
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Iran's largest petrochemical
facility had been "destroyed", and that Israel was "systematically eliminating
the Revolutionary Guards' money machine". "We are eliminating factories, we are
eliminating operatives, and yes, we are continuing to eliminate senior figures,"
Netanyahu said in a statement from his office. Iran's National Petrochemical
Company said Monday that a fire at the Pars site was contained and that no
injuries had been reported, according to a statement carried by state media."The
situation is currently under control, and technical aspects, as well as the
extent of the damage, are under investigation," the statement said.
'Complete destruction' -
Later on Monday, local authorities said strikes hit another petrochemical
complex further north in Marvdasht, the Fars news agency reported, adding that a
fire there had also been contained. Israel had carried out strikes last month on
gas facilities in Asaluyeh related to the South Pars field. Iran responded at
the time with attacks on gas plants and oil refineries in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait
and Qatar, with its military command vowing the "complete destruction" of Gulf
energy infrastructure if the Israeli attack was repeated. Asked how the latest
attack would affect diplomatic efforts to bring the Middle East war to an end,
Israeli military spokesman Nadav Shoshani said: "Iran is attacking us. We're
attacking them." "If there is a ceasefire and our political echelon decides to
direct us, we'll be quick to act." In recent days, Israel has targeted key
industrial sectors as part of the ongoing military campaign against Iran. On
Friday, Netanyahu said Israeli strikes had destroyed around 70 percent of Iran's
steel production capacity, significantly undermining Tehran's ability to
manufacture weapons. Defense Minister Katz said he and Netanyahu had ordered the
military "to continue striking with full force Iran's national infrastructure".
Iran has also targeted industrial sites in Israel, including a refinery in the
northern city of Haifa.
Israel says it assassinated
IRGC intelligence chief Majid Khademi
Darryl Coote/UPI/April 6, 2026
April 6 (UPI) -- Israel said Monday that it assassinated Maj. Gen. Majid Khademi,
head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Intelligence Organization, as it
eliminates senior leaders of the powerful force that helps sustain Iran's ruling
regime. The announcement from the Israel Defense Forces came hours after it
announced the completion of another wave of airstrikes targeting infrastructure
in Iran. Few specifics of the assault that killed Khademi were made public, but
the IDF said in a statement that the Israeli Air Force was acting on "precise
intelligence guidance from the Military Intelligence Directorate." "His killing
joins that of dozens of commanders from the Iranian terror regime who have been
eliminated during the operation, and constitutes another severe blow to the
IRGC's command-and-control systems and its ability to direct terrorist activity
against the State of Israel and countries around the world," the IDF said.צה"ל
חיסל בטהרן את יושב ראש ארגון המודיעין של משמרות המהפכה חיל האוויר בהכוונה
מודיעינית מדויקת של אמ"ן, תקף במהלך הלילה בטהרן וחיסל את מג'יד כאט'ם-חסיני
ח'אדמי - יושב ראש ארגון המודיעין של משמרות המהפכה.
ח'אדמי היה אחד המפקדים המרכזיים ביותר של משמרות המהפכה וצבר ניסיון צבאי...
pic.twitter.com/hhLKgWIatd— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) April 6, 2026
Israel has claimed to have killed several senior IRGC leaders since the
U.S.-Israel war with Iran began on Feb. 28, when American warplanes killed
Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state-run media have reported
Khademi's death, according to Iran International. The report states funeral and
burial arrangements would be announced later. Among the senior IRGC leaders
assassinated by Israel in the war are IRGC Navy commander Alireza Tangsiri,
Basij paramilitary force head Gholamreza Soleimani and IRGC Commander-in-Chief
Mohammad Pakpour. The IRGC is an elite and powerful military force founded after
Iran's 1979 revolution to defend its clerical system and the Islamic Republic.
Intelligence head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards killed in strike, media say
Reuters/April 6, 2026
April 6 (Reuters) - The head of the intelligence organisation of Iran's elite
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was killed on Monday in a "terrorist attack
by the American-Zionist (Israeli) enemy", Iranian media said, citing a statement
by the Guards. Majid Khademi, who becomes the latest key figure killed in
U.S.-Israeli air strikes, took over in 2025 after Israeli air strikes killed
his predecessor. He spent decades in intelligence and counter-espionage roles
while rising through Iran’s security apparatus. Before his appointment, Khademi
headed the Guards' Intelligence Protection Organisation, charged with internal
surveillance and counter-intelligence, and held senior roles in Iran’s defence
ministry. The IRGC intelligence arm is one of Iran’s most powerful security
bodies, with a central role in domestic surveillance to counter foreign
influence, and often operating in parallel with the civilian intelligence
ministry.
Israeli airstrike kills at
least 10 near Gaza school as ceasefire strains
Nidal al-Mughrabi and Mahmoud Issa/Reuters/April 6, 2026
CAIRO/GAZA, April 6 (Reuters) - An Israeli airstrike killed at least 10 people
and wounded several others outside a school housing displaced Palestinians on
Monday, health officials said, the latest violence to overshadow the fragile
U.S.-backed Gaza ceasefire deal. Before the strikes, some Palestinians had
clashed with members of an Israeli-backed militia, who they said attacked the
school in an attempt to abduct some people, medics and residents said. In the
midst of the clashes, east of the Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza
Strip, Israeli drones fired two missiles into the area, killing at least 10
people and wounding several others, they added. It was not immediately clear how
many civilians had been killed in the strikes, which hit in a closely packed
neighborhood of mostly displaced Palestinians. Ahmed al-Maghazi, an eyewitness,
said their area was attacked by members of the Israeli-backed militia who
operate in the territory adjacent to where the Israeli forces are in control,
before the militia opened fire. "The residents tried to defend their homes, but
the occupation forces targeted them directly," he told Reuters. Later on Monday,
a leader of one of the Israeli-backed militias said in a video which Reuters
couldn't immediately authenticate that they killed some five Hamas members.
There was no immediate comment from Hamas, which brands those groups that
operate in areas under Israeli control as "Israeli collaborators." Earlier on
Monday, an Israeli airstrike killed one Palestinian and wounded a child as they
traveled on a motorbike in Gaza City, medics said. Medics said that Israeli
forces killed another Palestinian when they opened fire on a vehicle in
central Gaza, taking Monday's death toll to at least 12. The World Health
Organization's chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said a contractor in Gaza was
killed during a security incident, prompting the organization to suspend medical
evacuations from Gaza via Rafah to Egypt until further notice. The Israeli
military said two local employees of WHO were injured and that the incident was
under review. WHO said that two of its staff members were present but were not
injured in the incident. The Palestinian group Hamas, which has run Gaza since
2007, and Israel have traded blame over violations of the ceasefire that kicked
off in October. The Gaza health ministry says Israeli fire has killed at least
700 people since the ceasefire began. Israel says four soldiers have been
killed by militants in Gaza over the same period. Hamas has continued to resist
relinquishing its weapons, a major obstacle in talks to implement the next
steps in U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposed peace plan for Gaza. On
Sunday, Hamas' armed wing said that discussing the group's disarmament before
Israel fully implements the first phase of Trump's plan was an attempt to
continue what it called a genocide against the Palestinian people. Hamas'
October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli
tallies. Israel's ensuing two-year campaign killed more than 72,000
Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to Gazan health authorities. The
offensive spread famine, reduced most of the strip to rubble, and displaced the
majority of its population.
Former NATO commander on Iran
rejecting ceasefire proposal: ‘They still have cards to play’
The Hill/April 06/2026
James Stavridis, a former NATO commander, on Monday said Iran hasn’t accepted a
ceasefire because they “still have cards” to play in the war. Stavridis, during
an appearance on CNN’s “Situation Room,” said that “Iran wants to hold on to its
high-value cards: number one, Strait of Hormuz closure, and number two, almost
1,000 pounds of enriched uranium.”“So, they still have cards to play,” he added.
The former NATO commander noted the price fluctuation was caused by Iran’s
decision to close a critical choke point. The Strait of Hormuz’s closure has
caused energy prices to spike and oil transports to slow. The strait’s shutdown
has also pushed President Trump to issue threats of additional strikes on Iran.
“Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in
Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the F‑‑‑in’ Strait, you crazy
bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah.
President DONALD J. TRUMP,” Trump wrote in a Sunday Truth Social post. Trump’s
profane post caught the attention of lawmakers and left some wondering who has
the strategic advantage in the war against Tehran. “Now Iran recognizes that, in
fact, their control over the strait is even more strategically vital to them
than the development of a nuclear weapon,” Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.) said
during a Sunday appearance on Fox News’s “Fox News Sunday.”Auchincloss added
that the president is “blustering” with these recent threats, claiming “he
always backs down.”As Trump threatens to strike desalination plants and other
sites, Stavridis said the planned attacks violate international law. “If you go
after desalinization, water production facility, I think that is almost
certainly a war crime because it serves the population so directly,” Stavridis
told anchor Wolf Blitzer. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Sunday also said
Trump’s latest threats to Iran would constitute “war crimes” if committed.
“Trump is calling reporters today to tell them he is going to commit mass war
crimes next week,” Murphy wrote on the social platform X. “GOP leaders need to
stop him. Never mind that blowing up bridges and power plants and killing
innocent Iranians won’t reopen the Strait. It’s also a clear war crime.” Egypt,
Pakistan and Turkey have stepped in to mediate the ongoing conflict in the
region. However, Iran has vowed to defend itself with strikes on nations with
U.S. assets until its five conditions for ending the war are met. The nation
rejected a peace proposal earlier Monday.
Iran says US airman rescue
may have been cover to ‘steal enriched uranium’
AFP/06 April/2026
Iran’s foreign ministry said on Monday that a US operation to rescue a downed
airman may have been a cover to “steal enriched uranium” from the Islamic
Republic. On Sunday, President Donald Trump said the US recovered a second crew
member of an F-15E that went down over Iran on Friday in what he called a
“daring” search and rescue operation. Iran’s military has called it “a deception
and escape mission,” insisting it was “completely foiled.”On Monday, Iran’s
foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said there were “many questions and
uncertainties” about the operation. “The area where the American pilot was
claimed to be present in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province is a long way from
the area where they attempted to land or wanted to land their forces in central
Iran,” Baqaei said. “The possibility that this was a deception operation to
steal enriched uranium should not be ignored at all.” He added that the
operation was “a disaster” for the United States. Iran’s military said several
US aircraft had to “make emergency landings” in southern Isfahan province after
being hit during the mission, with the US “forced to heavily bombard the downed
aircraft” as a result.
The ayatollahs’ enforcers
The Week/April 6, 2026
What is the IRGC?
Officially, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is the military force sworn to
protect Iran’s ruling clerics. Yet its enormous reach, into all aspects of
political and economic life, makes it a state within a state. Far better
resourced than Iran’s regular armed forces, the IRGC controls roughly half of
the country’s $376 billion economy and directs Iran’s nuclear program. It has
responded to international sanctions with a “resistance economy” of illicit
activities, including smuggling arms, narcotics, and alcohol. Abroad, its
network of violent proxy groups in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Gaza has
destabilized the Middle East for decades. And the current war has only further
tightened its stranglehold on Iranian society. When President Trump early on
threatened the IRGC with “certain death” if it did not immediately surrender, it
responded by mining the Strait of Hormuz and greenlighting attacks on Gulf Arab
states. “The survival of the Islamic Republic is dependent on the IRGC,” said
Georgetown University political scientist Nader Hashemi. “They were created for
a moment like this.”
How was the IRGC created?
After the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini didn’t trust
Iran’s conventional army, saying it had “the Shah in its blood.” He set up the
IRGC as his own parallel force, and during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s it
absorbed the myriad local armed groups that had sprung up around mosques. When
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei became Supreme Leader in 1989, he allowed the IRGC to
take over the economy, controlling weapons procurement, construction, and
government contracts. Now it has some 200,000 active members and holds
monopolies over critical infrastructure and major industries. “It’s like a huge
investment company with a complex of business empires and trading companies,
while also being a de facto foreign ministry,” said Mohsen Sazegara, who helped
found the IRGC and is now an exiled Iranian dissident. “I know of no other
institution like the Revolutionary Guards.” An attractive employer for men in
need of steady income, it has an intense indoctrination program stressing the
imperative of jihad against Jews and other infidels. It exports these ideals
through its elite branch, the Quds Force.
What is the Quds Force?
It’s the armed IRGC wing charged with spreading “revolutionary values” abroad
and training proxy militias. In the early 1980s, a Quds group in Lebanon helped
create Hezbollah and masterminded the bombings of the U.S. Embassy and the
U.S.-French barracks in Beirut, which together killed 370 people, 258 of them
Americans. And it trained Shiite militias in Iraq to plant roadside bombs that
killed hundreds of U.S. soldiers. But its primary archenemy is Israel and Jews,
who are frequently targeted by its proxies. In 1994, a bomb killed 85 people at
a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, an attack said to have been planned
by the IRGC’s current commander, Gen. Ahmad Vahidi. The force trained Hamas in
Gaza ahead of the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre of Israelis. And IRGC-plotted arson
attacks hit Jewish institutions in Australia in 2024.
Are there other wings?
The Basij, a paramilitary security force, has around 600,000 reservists at its
disposal to quash dissent. Black-clad brigades typically disperse protests with
batons, tear gas, and guns; their crackdown on last winter’s protests killed up
to 40,000 civilians. “The population of Iran may wish what it will,” said former
U.S. army adviser Brad Patty, “but they are meant to live in terror of the IRGC.”
The Revolutionary Guards also have an intelligence service as well as their own
versions of traditional military service branches. That includes ground troops,
a 15,000-member air force that runs Iran’s missile program, and a navy of some
20,000 that patrols the Strait of Hormuz. All these branches, plus the IRGC’s
drone center and cybercommand, are directing Iran’s response to the U.S.-Israeli
attacks.
How are they doing?
Better than anticipated. U.S. and Israeli air strikes have hit well over 15,000
Iranian targets, destroying ballistic missile sites as well as killing Supreme
Leader Ali Khamenei, IRGC commander Mohammad Pakpour, security chief Ali
Larijani, and several other senior officials. But Iran, which watched the 2003
toppling of Saddam Hussein next door, has been hardening its regime ever since.
The IRGC has built layers into its dispersed chains of command and trained its
troops in asymmetric warfare. Though Trump boasted that U.S. strikes have
“demolished” Iran’s regular navy and air force, the IRGC versions of those
forces have struck more than 20 commercial vessels, sometimes swarming them with
lightly armed speedboats. These strategies, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas
Araghchi recently claimed, mean that “bombings in our capital have no impact on
our ability to conduct war.”
What might weaken the IRGC’s grip?
Decapitation strikes won’t do it—the Guards have a bench of replacements handy
for each senior post, and their forces are fighting to protect the system, not
any individual. Still, some IRGC units are reporting shortages of food,
ammunition, and basic supplies, and the decentralization of their control raises
the risk that one or more might eventually defect. Defeating the IRGC would
“require not a swift campaign but, at best, a prolonged and costly war of
attrition,” said Oxford political scientist Ashkan Hashemipour, but “this may
prove difficult for the American president to sustain politically.”
Turkey’s Erdogan accuses
Israel of undermining peace initiatives
AFP/06 April/2026
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday accused Israel of undermining
all efforts to halt the war in the Middle East, but said Ankara would continue
to pursue any opportunity to advance a ceasefire. “The Israeli government has
continued to undermine all initiatives aimed at ending the war,” Erdogan said
following a weekly cabinet meeting in the Turkish capital. “If there is even the
slightest chance to silence the weapons and open space for negotiations, we are
making sincere efforts to seize it,” he added. Our hope is that this unlawful,
senseless, illegitimate, and extremely costly war for all humanity will come to
an end as soon as possible.”Erdogan also said Turkey has stepped up diplomatic
contacts to achieve a ceasefire. “As the war drags on, we have warned that the
fire could spread to other countries. As we leave behind the 38th day of the
conflict, we unfortunately continue to carry the same concerns for our region,”
he said.“In the face of increasing risks, I, as president, on one hand, and our
ministers on the other, are accelerating our diplomatic contacts,” he added.
Turkey has attempted to mediate an end to the hostilities, notably through
negotiations conducted with Pakistan and Egypt. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan
Fidan on Monday met with the US ambassador to Turkey, Tom Barrack, who called
the meeting “productive.”“Turkiye’s partnership continues to be vital as we work
toward @POTUS’s (Trump’s) vision for a more secure region,” the ambassador said
on X, using Turkey’s official name.
Fidan also spoke on the phone with his Iranian counterpart to discuss “the
course of war and other developments,” a Turkish diplomatic source said.
Links to several television channels and newspapers
Asharq Al-Awsat Newspaper
https://aawsat.com/
National News Agency
https://www.nna-leb.gov.lb/ar
Al Arabiya/Arabic
https://www.alarabiya.net/
Sky News
https://www.youtube.com/@SkyNewsArabia
Nidaa Al Watan
https://www.nidaalwatan.com/
Al Markazia
https://www.nidaalwatan.com/
Al Hadath
https://www.youtube.com/@AlHadath
Independent Arabia
https://www.independentarabia.com/
The Latest
LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published
on April 06-07/2026
The Strait of Hormuz crisis, why Iran must reopen the Strait of Hormuz
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Al Arabiya
English/06 April/2026
The war between Iran, Israel, and the United States has entered a dangerous new
phase – one defined not only by military confrontation, but by economic warfare.
In recent days, Donald Trump has issued a firm ultimatum to Tehran: reopen the
Strait or face devastating consequences. Initially setting a deadline and then
extending it, he has made clear that failure to comply will trigger a new phase
of the war – one targeting Iran’s core infrastructure, including power plants
and bridges.
A global artery, not a national lever
The Strait of Hormuz does not belong to Iran alone. It is one of the most vital
arteries of the global economy, with a significant portion of the world’s oil
supply passing through it daily. Its stability is not a regional concern – it is
a global necessity. Any disruption affects not just neighboring states, but
economies across continents. By keeping the Strait closed, Iran is not asserting
sovereignty – it is disrupting a shared global lifeline. This transforms the
conflict from a regional war into an international crisis, drawing in
stakeholders far beyond the Middle East. The longer the disruption continues,
the more pressure builds for a broader international response.
The credibility of US threats
Iranian leadership must also consider a critical reality about Donald Trump:
When he issues threats tied to deadlines and consequences, he has demonstrated a
willingness to follow through. His warnings regarding infrastructure strikes are
not rhetorical – they are strategic signals intended to compel action.
Targeting power plants, bridges, and energy infrastructure would have profound
implications for Iran. Such strikes would not only weaken military logistics but
also push the country economically and technologically backward. Electricity
shortages, disrupted transportation networks, and crippled industrial output
would reverberate across society. This kind of damage would not be easily
reversible. It would deepen internal instability, strain governance, and trigger
long-term economic decline.
Alienating allies and global partners
Iran’s decision to keep the Strait closed is also harming countries that are not
party to the conflict – including its own partners. Major economies such as
China rely heavily on energy shipments passing through the Strait. By
restricting this route, Iran is imposing economic costs on neutral and even its
allies. This undermines potential diplomatic support and risks isolating Iran
further on the global stage. Instead of consolidating alliances, such actions
weaken them and reduce Iran’s strategic flexibility.
The risk of regional expansion
Iran’s broader regional posture further complicates the situation. Targeting or
threatening countries that are not directly involved in the conflict risks
expanding the war unnecessarily. Each additional escalation increases the
probability of a wider regional confrontation. Such actions deepen instability
and heighten the chances of miscalculation. The region stands on the edge of a
broader conflict that could draw in multiple actors.
In sum, the Strait of Hormuz is not a national instrument to be leveraged at
will – it is a global commons whose disruption carries immense consequences. By
refusing to reopen it, Iran is not strengthening its position; it is inviting
greater military escalation, alienating international partners, and inflicting
economic harm on the global system. If the current trajectory continues, the
next phase of this war will not be limited to missiles and airstrikes. It will
be defined by infrastructure collapse. The rational course is clear: Iran must
reopen the Strait, and cease actions that endanger regional and global
stability.
The madness before the explosion: Iran, Trump, and the cost of victory
Raghida Dergham/Al Arabiya
English/06 April/2026
We are entering a phase of escalating madness in the war with Iran – one without
red lines, marked by a qualitative shift in US military operations targeting
civilian infrastructure, accompanied by Iranian retaliation in kind across the
Arab Gulf states, with all the resulting repercussions for oil and gas markets
and global financial systems. We may be approaching the stage that precedes the
outbreak of global chaos – without controls and without instruments of
deterrence.
If President Donald Trump carries out his promise to return Iran to the “Stone
Age” should its leaders persist in their obstinacy, those in power in Tehran
will move to realize their core ambition: the destruction of the rise and vision
of the Arab Gulf states built on development, prosperity, and freedoms. The sons
and grandsons of the 1979 Iranian Revolution seek revenge for the Gulf states’
refusal to embrace Iran’s extremist and domineering doctrine, choosing instead
the path of moderation and growth.
Tehran’s leadership operates with unconventional calculations of victory and
defeat in war, and of gain and loss in battle. The mindset of the revolution’s
heirs is both suicidal and vengeful. They have made clear that the geography of
retaliation for the American-Israeli war on Iran will not be confined to Israel
or to American bases. Their strategic decision includes drawing Saudi Arabia,
Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, and even Oman into the war.
They have sought to lure these states into going beyond defensive responses,
effectively inviting them into direct war. Their calculations extend far beyond
expelling the United States from the region. The larger war with Arab states is
ideological, intertwined with religious confrontation.
President Donald Trump may not have fully grasped the intricacies of the Iranian
revolutionary mindset and therefore may not have been adequately prepared to
enter this war. Military operations were not structured on the basis of full
knowledge of the adversary and how it thinks.
“Know your enemy” is the foundation of warfare. Russian President Vladimir Putin
entered the war in Ukraine without fully understanding the capabilities of the
other side and thus became entangled in a war that has exceeded four years. The
American-Israeli operation in Iran appears to have committed the same mistake –
misinterpreting and misjudging the capabilities, the mindset, and the centrality
of doctrine within the Iranian leadership.
The American president has recently collided with the inevitability of a
difficult decision after realizing that Tehran’s leadership rejects negotiation
because it equates concession with surrender, and because it bets on its
suicidal capabilities to subdue the enemy and disorient it through a logic it
considers rational.
Donald Trump has collided with the logic of Iran, its allies, and its proxies –
that strength lies in perceived weakness. He now finds himself, along with the
overwhelming power of the American military equation, facing the force of
Iranian ideological resolve and its determination to compel the United States
and its allies to retreat. Donald Trump was surprised not only by the
capabilities of the Islamic Republic of Iran upon discovering the scale of
missiles and drones in its possession – US and Israeli intelligence should not
have erred in their assessments – but also by another surprise of equal
importance: the centrality of Iran’s network of proxies in Lebanon, Iraq, and
Yemen within its broader strategy.
The essential question now is whether Donald Trump will retreat, burdened by
defeat because he fears the cost of victory – particularly among American troops
– or whether he will double down on his determination to achieve strategic
objectives regardless of the cost.
In other words, will Donald Trump risk an Iranian retaliation that would affect
the entire world, including China – not only the Arab Gulf states? Or will he
fear the repercussions of a collapse in global markets on the American economy,
as well as on his political future and his historical legacy?It may be said that
Donald Trump entered the war in a state of disorientation and then lost his
compass. It may also be argued that he fully knows what he is doing, and that
his core strategy has been to contain Iran and Venezuela together in order to
seize control of global oil and dictate market dynamics.
Let us assume that Tehran’s leadership has engaged in a form of strategic
suicide through the Strait of Hormuz, implementing policies that in reality harm
China, Asia, and Europe more than the United States. Let us assume that it
decides to destroy the city of Dubai so that global financial markets collapse,
believing that this would trigger panic in American markets.
In reality, the United States would be among those affected, but not at the
forefront. Iran’s partners – China and Russia – would be in the front ranks,
along with India, Pakistan, and other Asian states, in addition to European
countries.
Iran would be shooting itself in the foot if it chose to ignite neighboring
states. Its “suicide” would not merely be doctrine and determination – it would
become its grave, and that of its proxies. The sons and grandsons of the Iranian
Revolution would bury one another over the bodies of the Iranian people if
Donald Trump were to carry out his threat to return Iran to the “Stone Age” –
for he would not stop at condemnations by the Human Rights Council, nor at
European protests over the humanitarian cost, nor at accusations by Democrats
and segments of American public opinion.
If Donald Trump decides to act decisively in the coming days, he will not leave
Iran without securing Kharg Island under his control, as it remains key to the
strategy of oil and global influence that he will not relinquish. This island,
along with others, remains central to the traditional definition of victory and
defeat. While the fate of enriched uranium is critically important in
interpreting the war Donald Trump has waged against Iran, deeper strategic
calculations have always been the primary driver behind his decision to enter
this consequential war. It is not true that the Islamic Republic of Iran was
peacefully coexisting with its neighbors and the world before the war that
struck it. What this war has exposed is the extent to which Iran’s doctrine is
committed to undermining state sovereignty through militias commanded by the
Revolutionary Guard, through which it wages wars against the will of governments
and their peoples. These militias are used to destabilize Gulf states, because
its fundamental objective is to destroy them, break their confidence, and
dismantle their vision and prosperity.
We are facing difficult days and weeks in which we may witness all forms of the
madness of war, Trump’s unpredictability, and a world standing on the brink –
either of chaos or of a profound transformation in the fate of the Middle East
and the world.
Reading the First Six Weeks
of the War
Sam Menassa/Asharq Al-Awsat/April 06/2026
Amid the uncertainty surrounding the war in Iran, it is premature to speak of
“the day after.” At this stage, it is more useful to draw lessons from six weeks
of fighting and to assess the possible implications for the region’s future.
The war has confirmed what many observers already believed: Iran remains driven
more by its revolutionary identity than by that of a normal state. Accordingly,
the region will not achieve genuine peace unless the nature of the regime
changes, either becoming a conventional state governed by law or having its
capacity to project power curtailed, including through nuclear weapons, drones,
missiles, terrorism, and proxy networks.
The first point is that, in this conflict, Iran still appears capable of
prioritizing its ideological mission of regional dominance and religious
rigidity over its population, its allies, its economy, and even its military
losses, something most modern states cannot sustain. No matter the scale of
losses across all fronts, non-state actors are deemed to have prevailed simply
by not being eliminated. Iran’s capabilities will undoubtedly decline as a
result of the severe damage it has sustained, but the ideologically driven
leadership will not retreat. It will seek to rebuild its proxy networks and
weapons programs to challenge the status quo again. There is also no guarantee
of a popular uprising, nor that such an outcome would produce a normal state;
the result could instead be chaos or a non-ideological dictatorship resembling
the systems of Assad, Saddam, or Gaddafi.
The second point is the qualitative shift in Iran’s relationship with Gulf
states. A return to the pre-war situation, or even to the recent phase of
cautious de-escalation, appears unlikely. The targeting of vital facilities and
civilian infrastructure, exceeding what was directed at Israel, has not been
interpreted as a temporary response to the US presence, but as a direct attack
on sovereign states.
Here, the meaning shifts. Iran is no longer accused merely of destabilizing the
region through proxies, but of being prepared to strike states directly. This is
sufficient to create a rupture in trust that may not lead to open war, but will
translate into stronger deterrence, more solid alliances, and tougher conditions
for any future arrangements. More grave still, the war has exposed an old–new
threat: the networked dimension. The idea of “sleeper cells” backed by Tehran in
some countries is no longer just a security concern, but an established reality
on which policy will be built. As the fighting subsides, the conflict will shift
into a quiet internal confrontation, dismantling networks, controlling
financing, and monitoring social environments vulnerable to infiltration. In
other words, the war will move from a military phase to a long-term security
phase, where sovereignty becomes synonymous with the ability to fortify the
domestic front, not only deter external threats.The third point is what Gulf
states have demonstrated in terms of resilience and their ability to absorb
shocks, not only by strengthening defensive capabilities, but by diversifying
deterrence tools across military, security, and risk-management domains. Even
so, the conflict remains open between two paths: escalation targeting vital
infrastructure, particularly energy, with long-term regional and global
consequences, or a shift toward negotiations that could produce a more durable
settlement than mere de-escalation.
The fourth point is that military superiority does not guarantee decisive
outcomes. Israel is not capable of ending the conflict on its own, highlighting
the role of the United States as a decisive power whose deterrence credibility
is being tested globally. It faces the challenge of adapting to low-cost
threats, alongside a persistent gap between political objectives and military
means, limiting its ability to translate this superiority into stable strategic
outcomes.
The US–Israeli war against Iran has not reached a decisive moment. It continues
to oscillate between escalation and containment. Paradoxically, however, the
contours of the region’s future may now be clearer, as the events have broken
existing balances and shattered long-standing illusions. This is a war that does
not end a phase so much as it opens another, one defined by a redefinition of
sovereignty in the region.
Most importantly, clarity has emerged after prolonged ambiguity in several
states where the boundaries between state and non-state actors were blurred, and
where the line between deterrence and chaos was unclear. The war has forcefully
removed this ambiguity and posed a simple yet difficult question: who holds
decision-making power within these states? The answer will shape the region in
the years ahead more than the outcomes of the battles themselves.
In sum, the conflict will reshape the region and raise fundamental questions
about the balance of power, the stability of the international order, and the
role of the United States, whether it will endure or recede amid rising
instability and the difficulty of achieving decisive outcomes. Arab states,
meanwhile, will face a threefold test: safeguarding their sovereignty against
external threats, the importance of partnership in settlements with Iran, and
strengthening internal cohesion so they are not used as arenas for settling
conflicts.
The Iranian Carpet of Embers
Ghassan Charbel/Asharq Al-Awsat/April 06/2026
This was years ago. Commander of the Quds Force General Qassem Soleimani was
frank and adamant. He told his visitors that the “American troops had no choice
but to leave Iraq. Baghdad was on fire under their boots, just like a carpet
made of fire. Their withdrawal will damage their image and reputation. The
Americans must feel that they are walking on fire anywhere they go in the Middle
East.”Soleimani was turning into reality not just the dream of supreme leader
Ali Khamenei, but that of founding supreme leader Khomeini to oust the Americans
from the Middle East as a precursor to isolating, weakening and then destroying
Israel. I was once in Baghdad where I heard politician Ahmed Chalabi say that
“the majority of the people of the Middle East and the US have a deep
misunderstanding. The US does not understand the nuances and sensitivities of
their societies, and they do not know how to cooperate well with a major power
that doesn’t share their culture. The people here view America as only a fleet.
Its power, however, doesn’t lie there alone, but also in universities, research,
wealth, progress and technology. America’s fate does not hinge on the oil in
Iraq and Iran as some believe. Establishing firm relations with the US is an
opportunity to advance. Just look at Japan, South Korea and others.”
I also recalled him saying: “Iran has figures who harbor deep hatred towards
America and are petrified of it. They believe that a clash with it is
inevitable. If the vision of these figures prevails, then Tehran will be
committing a grave mistake because the US can isolate Iran and deal it massive
damage without having a single American soldier step foot on Iranian soil.”
I recalled the tale of the carpet of fire as I watched the American and Israeli
bombs rain down on Iran, while the latter fired at non-military targets in the
Gulf countries and Jordan. Has America chosen to go to war in response to Iran’s
policy of expanding the carpet of fire that sought to control capitals, maps and
straits? Is it too much to say that the Arab world has since 1979 been enduring
the repercussions of the embers of the Iranian revolution? The change that took
place impacted a country that even under the shah did not hide its ambitions to
play an influential role in the region, with some circles even speaking of Iran
“policing” the area. The Khomeini revolution was born in a sensitive part of the
world and region where oil wells and straits run through.
Before the world grew preoccupied with talk about Iran’s nuclear program, it was
preoccupied with talk about the embers of the revolution. From its very
inception, the revolution promoted a blunt project of “championing the weak” and
“exporting the revolution.” It soon enshrined this dream in its constitution.
The revolution acted as though the Iranian borders were too tight for its
ambitions - never mind that Iran is a vast country.
Early on, Khomeini dreamed of expelling America from the region. Even during his
days in al-Najaf, his ambitions were too grand to contain, and they became
difficult to deal with after Iraq signed an agreement with the shah in Algeria
in 1975 that openly said that neither side would support the opposition in their
countries. This meant that the shah would stop backing the Kurdish revolution in
northern Iraq and that Baghdad would stop backing opponents of the shah whom it
was hosting.
At one point Iraqi intelligence proposed to Saddam Hussein assassinating
Khomeini in Iraq and blaming it on the shah. Saddam shocked them by responding:
“Don’t those people know that Iraq does not assassinate its guests?”
The situation started to heat up when Ali Rida, an Iraqi intelligence official,
returned from France where he visited Khomeini. He told Saddam that Khomeini
informed him that he first wants to topple the shah and then topple the “infidel
Baath regime in Iraq.” Saddam dreaded the moment he would have to fight Iran and
its allies in the very streets of Baghdad, so he waged war on Iran with a losing
hand.
Some believed that the Iraq-Iran war prevented the flow of Iranian embers in the
region. Iran, however, took advantage of the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982
and, with Hafez al-Assad's approval, sponsored the birth of the Lebanese
Hezbollah, in what was seen as the first success of its operation to export the
revolution. The Iranian carpet played its role in Lebanon, from bombing the
Marine headquarters and American embassy to kidnapping western hostages. The
carpet grew and developed deep roots and southern Lebanon transformed into an
Iranian-Israeli front.
There isn’t enough space here to list everything that happened, but Iran
benefitted a lot from Saddam’s recklessness when his forces invaded Kuwait. The
region and world became preoccupied with the threat from Iraq. In 2003, Iran
received the greatest gift with the overthrow of Saddam’s regime by the American
army. The Iranian carpet of fire flowed into Iraq. The Iranian leadership
concluded from its war with Iraq that it needed to keep conflict away from its
territories and build walls to protect itself inside Arab countries. And so,
Soleimani started to plan and surround the region with small roaming armies.
Then emerged ISIS and the “Arab Spring” and maps were shaken to the core,
including Yemen, which would also taste the Iranian embers and witness the birth
of the Houthi player.
The militias assumed the role of expanding the Iranian carpet of embers and
moving them to new maps. Iran expanded its ambitions, from uranium enrichment to
extending the range of its missiles and growing the arsenal of its proxies.
Trump decided to return the Iranian embers back to the map they came from. The
question here is will this war cool the embers or deepen the wounded supreme
leader’s conviction that the survival of the revolution hinges on the ability to
produce and distribute these embers?
Trump has said that time is running out and that hell awaits with a hail of
burning embers. This is a decisive battle in the terrible Middle East.
On Some of the Origins of Iran’s War Policy
Hazem Saghiehl/Asharq Al-Awsat/April 06/2026
When we are hit with the bitter truth that Iran has launched fivefold more
strikes on the Gulf than it has on Israel, we go back decades searching for the
roots of this behavior. The origins are probably found in the early days, 1979,
and the trajectory is peaking this war season.
From its inception, the Khomeinist regime raised the banner of "exporting the
revolution."
Like all fanatical ideological movements, it claimed to uphold an absolute truth
that justifies pursuing any means it deems useful for its agenda. It has
forcefully rejected the notion that international law should constrain its
actions since it saw the light of day by seizing the American embassy in Tehran
and taking the embassy staff hostage. Of course, Palestine and its cause were
the primary pretext that Tehran has relied on since these early days, expanding
its use of this pretext after the Iran-Iraq War.
For a comparison to this approach that disregards states, borders and
sovereignty, another trajectory moving in the opposite direction also began to
take shape in the same year, 1979: retreat from the principle of cross-border
intervention and a focus on domestic affairs.
Through its peace treaty with Israel, Egypt reversed course; it broke with its
previous policies that are best exemplified by its participation in the Yemen
War during the 1960s and, before that, its reluctant acceptance of a union with
Syria, and its encouragement of military coups and civil conflicts as
experienced by Iraq, Jordan, and Lebanon. On the other hand, it is inaccurate to
claim that the Camp David Accords and the policy of focusing on domestic affairs
ignored the Palestinian cause. The accords addressed it in a document entitled
"A Framework for Peace in the Middle East," proposing full autonomy for the
Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Residents would manage their own
internal affairs; during a five-year transitional period, an autonomous
governing authority would be elected, and the authority of the Israeli military
government would gradually diminish. After that, final status negotiations would
determine the future of the occupied territories.
This proposal did not explicitly call for an independent Palestinian state, but
it offered far more than the balance of power could have delivered — especially
since the October 1973 war had exhausted the maximum military capacity of the
combined Arab effort, economic pressure included. And while it did not foreclose
theoretically possible future scenarios, the alternative described as
revolutionary — the armed Palestinian factions — had come out of one war in
Jordan and was mired in another in Lebanon.
The fact is that the victory of the Khomeinist approach over Sadat's has had
disastrous consequences that continue to accumulate. It is worth noting that
many parties (for various reasons, including the fear of being blackmailed
through the "cause") facilitated this victory.
Lebanon, in turn, came under the control of Hafez al-Assad's army, becoming the
stage for the embodiment of one approach’s triumph over the other under the
pretext of the "cause."
Gradually, particularly with and after the Iran-Iraq War, the strategy born of
this trajectory took full shape. Iran had to operate wherever its expansionist
policies could be advanced. This entanglement imposes something close to
dissolution on its smaller "allies", leaving little for their states, their
societies, or their political arrangements. Qassem Soleimani, for instance,
becomes a transnational savior; the Revolutionary Guard becomes both partner and
patron to the military and security apparatuses of those countries. Officials,
whether appointed or elected, must pass through an Iranian filter. Eventually,
these countries are reduced to something like deferred projects: their domestic
schisms are summoned, fueled, and exploited, with their communities potentially
dragged into clashes that expose them (as has happened more than once) to
Israeli occupation. In pursuing this gradual encroachment, monopolizing the
Palestinian cause has always been essential, and it was established in
coordination with the Assad regime and was manifested in successive wars against
the Palestine Liberation Organization before culminating in the engineering of
the "unity of the arenas."
The closest parallel to this transnational posture may be what became known as
the "Brezhnev Doctrine," which the Soviet leader developed in 1968 following the
Prague Spring.
The doctrine held that the Soviet Union had the right to intervene in any
socialist state where it believed socialism had been "imperiled." Smaller
"allies" had to fall in line with the Soviet regime and its demands or face an
invasion by the countries of the Warsaw Pact. Indeed, a "threat" to one
socialist state, so the argument went, was a threat to them all. In the Middle
East, particularly after the killing of Supreme Leader Khamenei and the growing
influence of the Revolutionary Guard at the expense of other centers of power,
this disregard for states, borders, and sovereignty is likely to only become
stronger and more entrenched. Twice already, the Gulf states have faced similar
challenges posed by regimes with no regard for states, borders, or national
sovereignty, first with the Yemen war that Egypt entered forcefully, and then
with Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait in 1990. If this current challenge is
by far the greatest and most dangerous, especially with the Gulf states now
deeply integrated into the global economy, these two precedents prove the rule.
The 'New Syria': Same Old Jihad
...Why the US Should Not Trust Syria's Ahmed al-Sharaa (or Iran's Mohammad
Bagher Ghalibaf)
Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone
Institute/April 06/2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/04/153477/
Recent footage from Aleppo and other parts of Syria should serve as a wake-up
call to anyone in Washington and European capitals still clinging to the
illusion of a "moderate" new Syria under President Ahmed al-Sharaa. It is
crucial to understand what the anti-Israel demonstrations mean. Soldiers and
tens of thousands of people do not chant such slogans unless these ideas are
supported, if not encouraged, by their leaders. That such rhetoric and massacres
openly take place within formal military units as well as among many Syrians
indicates that extremist thinking remains deeply embedded in the system al-Sharaa
leads. There is a recurring pattern in Western
policy toward the Middle East: the tendency to mistake tactical shifts for
genuine ideological transformation. Leaders rebrand themselves, adopt more
polished rhetoric and wardrobe, and present a moderate face to the outside
world, while the underlying worldview remains unchanged.
At a minimum, al-Sharaa needs to demonstrate a clear commitment to
restraining extremist elements inside Syria and ending incitement against
Israel. Until then, the talk about a "moderate" Syria -- or, for that matter, a
"new, moderate" Iran under Speaker of the Parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf --
is premature at best and dangerous at worst.
The scenes from Syria -- and the current intransigence from both Iran and Hamas
-- are not aberrations. They are a glimpse into the true nature of the forces
now shaping the future of Syria, Gaza and Iran -- a future the Trump
Administration and the West need to view with skeptical open eyes, not
illusions.
In the video, soldiers from Brigade 60, a unit affiliated with the Syrian Army,
are seen chanting slogans that openly threaten Israel: "O my enemy [Israel], I'm
coming after you!"
The message is neither subtle nor ambiguous: the struggle of the soldiers does
not end inside Syria's borders. It extends to Israel and, by implication, to its
allies, especially the US.
This is not the language of moderation. It is the language of jihad (holy war).
For months, some Western officials, including US President Donald J. Trump, have
expressed optimism about Syria's new leadership under al-Sharaa. Last year,
Trump described al-Sharaa as an "attractive, tough guy."
The argument goes that Syria has entered a new phase, that its leadership has
evolved, become more pragmatic, and is ready to engage constructively with the
international community.
Such assessments, however, are dangerously detached from reality. They ignore a
central, deeply troubling fact: al-Sharaa's past is not merely controversial. It
is steeped in jihadist militancy.
Before attempting to rebrand himself as a statesman, al-Sharaa was known as Abu
Mohammed al-Jolani, the longtime leader of Jabhat al-Nusra, al-Qaeda's branch in
Syria. Under his leadership, the group pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda and played
a central role in Syria's jihadist insurgency.
Al-Sharaa's network later evolved into Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a dominant force in
parts of Syria that has continued to espouse Islamist governance and maintain
authoritarian control. While as president of Syria, al-Sharaa has sought to
present a more pragmatic face to the outside world, his regime's roots remain
firmly anchored in jihadist ideology. Rebranding is not the same as reform.
Against this backdrop, the chants from Brigade 60 are not surprising. They are
consistent with the ideological environment that figures like al-Sharaa
cultivate over many years.
The chants of the Syrian soldiers are not an isolated incident. Instead, they
reflect a deeper ideological current running through Syria and other Arab and
Islamic countries. This is an ideology that glorifies confrontation with Israel,
romanticizes armed struggle, and frames regional conflicts through a jihadist
lens.
Recently, several demonstrations took place across parts of Syria in which
participants voiced support for Hamas, called for jihad, and threatened Israel.
"Millions of martyrs are marching to Jerusalem," chanted the spokesman for the
Syrian Ministry of Interior, Nour al-Dina al-Baba, who led one of the
anti-Israel demonstrations.
These rallies, whether spontaneous or tolerated, offer further evidence that the
ideological climate inside "new Syria" remains deeply hostile, radicalized, and
shaped by Islamist narratives: the use of Islam to justify intolerant, extremist
governance; military conflict; glorification of jihad as armed struggle -- not
just "spiritual striving" or promoting the idea that Muslims must unite against
perceived enemies such as Israel and the West -- and the legitimization of
terror groups such as Hamas, Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the
Houthis, including proxies led by Iran's regime.
It is crucial to understand what the anti-Israel demonstrations mean. Soldiers
and tens of thousands of people do not chant such slogans unless these ideas are
supported, if not encouraged, by their leaders.
That such rhetoric and massacres (here, here and here) openly take place within
formal military units as well as among many Syrians indicates that extremist
thinking remains deeply embedded in the system al-Sharaa leads.
This should alarm not only Israel, but also the US and its allies.
For Israel, the implications are immediate and clear. A Syrian army infused with
jihadist ideology represents a direct and growing threat along Israel's
northeastern border. The chants from the streets of Syria are not mere words;
they are a declaration of intent.
The danger, however, does not stop there.
History has shown repeatedly that regimes or movements (such as Iran, Hamas, and
Hezbollah) that adopt jihadist rhetoric rarely confine their ambitions to one
front. Anti-Israel incitement often goes hand in hand with broader hostility
toward the West.
Today it may be chants about the Gaza Strip; tomorrow it could be threats
against American interests in the region.
That is why the West must resist the temptation to embrace the narrative of a
"new Syria" without new rigorous scrutiny.
There is a recurring pattern in Western policy toward the Middle East: the
tendency to mistake tactical shifts for genuine ideological transformation.
Leaders rebrand themselves, adopt more polished rhetoric and wardrobe, and
present a moderate face to the outside world, while the underlying worldview
remains unchanged.
The result is predictable. Western governments lower their guards, offer
diplomatic recognition or economic incentives, and hope engagement will produce
more moderation.
In the instance of al-Sharaa, the early signs are already troubling. The chants
from the Syrian soldiers and the recent public demonstrations suggest that the
new regime has either failed to purge extremist elements from its ranks or has
chosen, tacitly or not, to back them. Neither explanation inspires confidence.
If anything, it suggests continuity, not change.
The West seriously needs to approach the Syrian leadership with caution.
Engagement should be conditional, measured, and based on verifiable actions, not
"assurances" or wishful thinking.
At a minimum, al-Sharaa needs to demonstrate a clear commitment to restraining
extremist elements inside Syria and ending incitement against Israel. Until
then, the talk about a "moderate" Syria -- or, for that matter, a "new,
moderate" Iran under Speaker of the Parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf -- is
premature at best and dangerous at worst.
The scenes from Syria -- and the current intransigence from both Iran and Hamas
-- are not aberrations. They are a glimpse into the true nature of the forces
now shaping the future of Syria, Gaza and Iran -- a future the Trump
Administration and the West need to view with skeptical open eyes, not
illusions.
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/22409/new-syria-old-jihad
**Khaled Abu Toameh is an award-winning journalist based in Jerusalem.
**Follow Khaled Abu Toameh on X (formerly Twitter)
© 2026 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute.
Guerre Iran-USA: quels
intérêts?
Par Dr. Mona Fayad/Publié Apr
06/2026
Ceux qui ont étudié la guerre, à l'image de Gaston Bouthoul ou de Marvin Harris,
n'ont jamais circonscrit leur analyse à la seule dimension géopolitique
immédiate. Ils ne se contentaient pas de demander «pourquoi a-t-elle éclaté?»,
mais posaient aussi «que produit-elle? » et «qui sert-elle?». Car les sociétés,
lorsqu'elles se révèlent incapables de résoudre leurs contradictions internes,
tendent à les exporter vers l'extérieur, et la guerre se transforme alors en
moyen de réorganiser l'espace intérieur par le biais d'une violence orientée
vers l'extérieur.
Cette approche autorise une lecture des guerres contemporaines qui échappe à
leur réduction à la sphère militaire ou géopolitique. Le conflit qui embrase
aujourd'hui le triangle irano-américano-israélien ne peut se comprendre ainsi
comme un simple affrontement d'influence ou une dissuasion mutuelle. Il faut
plutôt le saisir comme un processus complexe aux fonctions multiples, visant à
consolider des légitimités intérieures en crise et à redessiner les équilibres
régionaux, tout en produisant des récits de mobilisation qui redéfinissent
simultanément l'ennemi et le soi.
Pour Bouthoul, la guerre a enfanté l'histoire, laquelle commence avec la
chronique des batailles armées. Elle constitue la frontière qui marque toutes
les grandes transformations. Elle incarne l'une des figures du passage accéléré.
Dans Vaches, porcs, guerres et sorcières, Marvin Harris s'efforce d'expliquer
les phénomènes culturels, religieux et guerriers à partir d'un angle matériel,
économique et écologique. Sa démarche aide à mesurer l'importance des ressources
comme facteur de conflit et à montrer que l'économie et le rôle géostratégique
constituent l'arrière-plan des affrontements apparents. Elle éclaire aussi
pourquoi certaines communautés demeurent dans un état de guerre prolongé malgré
les pertes accumulées, parce que la guerre remplit des fonctions sociales
inscrites au cœur de la structure matérielle. Harris relie par ailleurs
l'infrastructure, entendue comme l'économie, l'environnement et la technologie,
à la superstructure formée par la religion, les symboles et les croyances.
Cependant, son cadre d'analyse peine à rendre compte du rôle de l'idéologie
religieuse et politique, qu'elle soit chiite, sunnite, sioniste ou nationaliste,
ou de la place des émotions, de la haine et de la mémoire historique, dont
l'agression iranienne contre les États du Golfe a pourtant attesté la puissance
déterminante. Il laisse également de côté les interactions en temps réel entre
les dirigeants d'État qui ponctuent l'actualité.
Il convient donc de considérer la guerre en cours comme un conflit aux objectifs
pluriels. Les ressources stratégiques jouent un rôle décisif dans l'engagement
américain, à travers l'affermissement de l'influence dans le Golfe, le contrôle
des corridors énergétiques et des passages maritimes, et l'affirmation de la
supériorité technologique ; les tactiques de maintien de l'hégémonie se lisent
quant à elles dans le difficile équilibrage qu'opère Washington entre sa propre
sphère d'influence et les menaces montantes qui la défient. Les structures
sociales internes aux États jouent également leur rôle, puisque les élites
politiques et industrielles exploitent l'instabilité au profit de leurs intérêts,
tandis que les appareils économiques et militaires tirent un bénéfice
substantiel de la perpétuation des tensions. Le conflit sert par ailleurs à
préserver la cohésion interne de certains régimes, particulièrement celui de
Netanyahu, et la «menace extérieure» se convertit en instrument de contrôle
social, comme c'est manifestement le cas en Iran.
C'est ici qu'intervient le facteur symbolique, psychologique et directement
politique. Les symboles, la mémoire et les identités exercent, au Moyen-Orient
précisément, une fonction centrale. La guerre actuelle obéit aussi à des
ressorts idéologiques, religieux et nationalistes que le seul matérialisme
culturel ne saurait épuiser ; elle engage les luttes pour les identités, pour
les récits religieux et historiques, pour la sécurité existentielle et pour la
légitimité intérieure.
Décomposer le conflit entre les trois États permet de mettre au jour les
intérêts matériels que dissimule le discours idéologique, et d'interroger qui
bénéficie structurellement de la continuation de la guerre. Sur le plan de la
géographie et des ressources, l'Iran se présente comme une puissance régionale
dotée d'une profondeur territoriale considérable et de vastes réserves
énergétiques, tandis qu'Israël, géographiquement exigu, fonde sa survie sur la
supériorité technologique et militaire ainsi que sur le soutien américain. Le
théâtre stratégique de l'affrontement englobe le Golfe, les corridors
énergétiques et les eaux régionales. L'équilibre des forces entre les deux camps
révèle qu'Israël perpétue une supériorité nucléaire non déclarée, face à un
programme nucléaire iranien qui vise à instaurer une dissuasion stratégique,
tandis qu'une course parallèle aux missiles, aux drones et à la guerre
cybernétique redouble encore la tension.
Du côté américain, le conflit touche à l'architecture même de l'économie
mondiale. Les sanctions imposées à l'Iran engendrent une économie de résistance
intérieure, pendant que les industries militaires israéliennes et américaines
profitent pleinement du climat de menace qui règne dans la région, et que les
tensions persistantes fournissent une justification aux alliances militaires et
sécuritaires à l'échelle mondiale. Le conflit déborde ainsi le simple
antagonisme doctrinal pour recouvrir une lutte pour l'hégémonie, la dissuasion
et la distribution du pouvoir dans un environnement exceptionnellement riche en
ressources stratégiques.
La question qui s'impose est dès lors de savoir comment le conflit sert la
structure interne de chacun des acteurs. En Iran, la «menace israélo-américaine»
a depuis longtemps renforcé le récit du siège, justifié le resserrement de
l'étau sécuritaire et consolidé la position des Gardiens de la Révolution en
tant qu'institution cardinale de l'État. En Israël, la menace iranienne a
renforcé la centralité de la sécurité dans la vie politique, conforté les
courants qui perçoivent le danger comme existentiel, et produit un degré de
cohésion sociale sans précédent, en dépit des fractures profondes qui traversent
la société. Pour les États-Unis, elle a permis de maintenir l'équilibre régional,
de consolider les alliances et de gérer l'influence face aux puissances
émergentes. En ce sens, le conflit remplit une fonction sociale interne,
générant de la cohésion par le truchement d'une peur partagée.
Au plan de la superstructure symbolique, qui embrasse le langage, la religion et
l'identité, on entre dans l'orbite des grandes formules que sont l'effacement
d'Israël, la défense de l'existence, le soutien à l'axe de la résistance et la
menace nucléaire. Ces formules ne relèvent pas du simple discours ; elles
fonctionnent comme autant d'outils de mobilisation. Il faut y ajouter la
dimension métaphysique inscrite dans le discours iranien, et le traumatisme
historique qui, dans la conscience israélienne, a resurgi avec une intensité
redoublée après la guerre du 7 octobre, convoquant la mémoire collective et
l'angoisse existentielle que ce traumatisme charrie.
Le conflit entre l'Iran et Israël est-il structurellement soluble ? Ou bien
est-il devenu partie intégrante d'un équilibre fonctionnel qui sert la survie
des régimes eux-mêmes? Netanyahu n'a-t-il pas un besoin impérieux de voir les
guerres se perpétuer à son profit? Trump n'a-t-il pas besoin de l'équilibre
stratégique pour empêcher la Chine de s'allier avec l'Iran, de voir son
influence s'étendre et de conforter la Route de la Soie? L'Iran n'a-t-il pas
besoin de maintenir le régime face à un peuple en rébellion?
Pourtant, l'équilibre fonctionnel que nous venons de décrire semble à présent
échapper à tout contrôle. Les régimes qui se croient maîtres de l'escalade
demeurent exposés à tout événement imprévu, qu'il s'agisse d'un assassinat,
d'une erreur de calcul ou d'une frappe décisive, et nous voilà plongés dans une
guerre dont le coût pèse sur tous les acteurs, tandis que la survie même du
régime iranien se trouve désormais en jeu.
*Levant Time* Guerre Iran-USA: quels intérêts? Article de Mona Fayad Au-delà du
choc Iran–États-Unis, la guerre révèle des fonctions internes: consolidation des
régimes, contrôle social et lutte pour les ressources. Un conflit structurant
aux logiques multiples. Lire l’article en 5 langues - Read the article in 5
languages https://levanttime.com/.../abc9777a-c6b5-44e2-ac5f... Plus de contenus
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