Daily Archives: 5 May 2026

Israeli army ‘on high alert’ for possible resumption of Iran war

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This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. 

Israeli air defense systems intercepted and destroyed several missiles over the skies of Haifa, Israel after the Israeli army announced that it had detected a retaliatory missile attack from Iran on February 28, 2026. [Samir Abdalhade – Anadolu Agency]

The Israeli army said Monday evening it is on high alert for a possible resumption of war with Iran amid rising escalation between Tehran and Washington in the Strait of Hormuz, Anadolu reports.

“We are monitoring the situation and are on high alert amid the escalation in the Gulf,” the army said in a statement.

“We confirm that there is no change in the instructions of the Home Front Command,” it added.

The public broadcaster KAN said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held “a series of security consultations” throughout Monday to discuss the situation in the Gulf.

Regional tensions have escalated after the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Feb. 28, triggering retaliation from Tehran against Israel, as well as US allies in the Gulf, along with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

A ceasefire took effect on April 8 through Pakistani mediation, but talks in Islamabad failed to produce a lasting agreement. The truce was later extended by US President Donald Trump without a set deadline.

Since April 13, the United States has enforced a naval blockade targeting Iranian maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.

READ: US directs ships to transit Strait of Hormuz through Oman’s territorial waters

This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. 

Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Strait of Hormuz despite saying on 7 March 2026 that they don't need people to join wars after they've already won. He's challenged with the claim that he lies as much as the IDF.
Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Strait of Hormuz despite saying on 7 March 2026 that they don’t need people to join wars after they’ve already won. He’s challenged with the claim that he lies as much as the IDF.
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel's genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism "without qualification". Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Keir Starmer says that he's banning words and phrases now as well as placards.
Keir Starmer says that he’s banning words and phrases now as well as placards.

Continue ReadingIsraeli army ‘on high alert’ for possible resumption of Iran war

Major fire erupts at UAE oil facility after drone strike from Iran

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This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. 

High-rise buildings stand at the Dubai Marina on August 28, 2025. [FADEL SENNA / AFP/ Getty Images]

A major fire broke out at an oil facility in the Fujairah emirate of the UAE on Monday after it was struck by a drone launched from Iran, authorities said, Anadolu reports.

The attack marks the first since a ceasefire took effect between Iran and the US last month.

In a statement, the Fujairah Media Office said the blaze erupted at the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone, a key energy hub on the UAE’s eastern coast, after it was targeted by a drone launched from Iran.

Civil defense teams were immediately dispatched to the site and are continuing efforts to contain and extinguish the fire, the statement said.

Authorities in Fujairah said three Indian nationals were injured with moderate wounds and were transported to a hospital for treatment, it added.

The incident came shortly after the UAE Defense Ministry said it detected four cruise missiles launched from Iran toward the country, adding that air defenses successfully intercepted most of them.

READ: US directs ships to transit Strait of Hormuz through Oman’s territorial waters

Three of the missiles were intercepted over the country’s territorial waters, while the fourth fell into the sea, it added.

Regional tensions have escalated after the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Feb. 28, triggering retaliation from Tehran against Israel, as well as US allies in the Gulf, along with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Since April 13, the US has enforced a naval blockade targeting Iranian maritime traffic in the strategic waterway.

A two-week ceasefire became effective on April 8 through Pakistani mediation, followed by direct talks in Islamabad on April 11, but no agreement was reached on a lasting truce.

US President Donald Trump later extended the ceasefire without setting a new deadline, following a request from Pakistan.

This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. 

Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Strait of Hormuz despite saying on 7 March 2026 that they don't need people to join wars after they've already won. He's challenged with the claim that he lies as much as the IDF.
Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Strait of Hormuz despite saying on 7 March 2026 that they don’t need people to join wars after they’ve already won. He’s challenged with the claim that he lies as much as the IDF.
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel's genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism "without qualification". Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/

Keir Starmer says that he's banning words and phrases now as well as placards.
Keir Starmer says that he’s banning words and phrases now as well as placards.

Continue ReadingMajor fire erupts at UAE oil facility after drone strike from Iran

Met Police Commissioner Mark Rowley accused of making “false claims and accusations” against anti-war protestors, correction requested

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The Palestine Coalition has written to the Metropolitan Police Commissioner calling on him to retract his claims that they “set out with an intent to march near synagogues”. The letter describes these claims as “incomprehensible and defamatory” and urges a “speedy … retraction.”

The letter

Dear Mark Rowley

We are very concerned to see that you have publicly stated that the organisers’ initial suggestion for the Palestine marches have ‘involved walking by a synagogue’ and that this sends a message that ‘feels like antisemitism’. These claims are incomprehensible and defamatory.

Our first route suggestion for the next demonstration to commemorate the Nakba, made in writing on 18 December last year, was for a march from Embankment to Whitehall, via Westminster and Waterloo bridges, a route which we have used at least twice before and on which there are no synagogues.

After three months of silence we finally were told by your officers that this route was disallowed on the grounds that Tommy Robinson’s far right demonstration – a real hate march – was inexplicably going to be granted the whole political centre of London, and that we would have to march elsewhere.

Our second suggestion, made after much protest, was that we march from the Israeli Embassy via Knightsbridge to Trafalgar Square – again, a route that does not go past a synagogue, and one previously agreed by the police.This too has been disallowed, and a shorter route has been arbitrarily imposed.

The truth is that at no point have we ever requested to ‘walk by’ a synagogue on any of our marches. We have no interest in doing so. Police recordings of our meetings with you will confirm this.

We can and will provide the email evidence to back up these facts. It is completely unacceptable for a senior public official to make these false claims and accusations, which can only raise the level of tension in the current situation.

We urge a speedy public retraction of your statement and the accompanying scurrilous claim of antisemitism.

Yours sincerely

The Palestine Coalition

Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Palestinian Forum of Britain
Stop the War Coalition
Friends of Al-Aqsa
Muslim Association of Britain
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament04 May 2026

Continue ReadingMet Police Commissioner Mark Rowley accused of making “false claims and accusations” against anti-war protestors, correction requested

Trump Admin Denies That Iran Hit US Warship Entering Strait of Hormuz

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Article by Stephen Prager republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

A photo illustration taken in Nicosia on May 4, 2026, shows a person in front of a large screen displaying vessel movements in the Strait of Hormuz on a ship-tracking website. (Photo by AFP via Getty Images)

One foreign policy expert urged skepticism of the administration’s claim, noting its consistent pattern of “immediate, unequivocal denial, then slowly dribbling out confirmation.”

The Trump administration has denied reports from Iranian media on Monday that a US Navy warship was hit in the Strait of Hormuz.

After US President Donald Trump said this weekend that the US Navy would help “guide” commercial ships through the strait, in what was referred to as “Project Freedom,” an Iranian official described it as a ploy to “provoke” retaliation and pledged that any vessels attempting to navigate the waterway without authorization would be “promptly intercepted” by Iranian forces.

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According to Iranian news agencies, that is just what occurred on Monday morning. The Fars News Agency, which is linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), said that according to local news sources, “two missiles” had made impact in an attack on a US Navy frigate that had entered the strait without permission from the Iranian government.

It said the ship “violated security protocols for transit and navigation near Jask with the intent to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, [and] came under missile attack after ignoring warnings from the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Navy.” Fars added that the ship “has been prevented from continuing its course due to these strikes and has been forced to retreat and flee the area.”

In a comment to Reuters, a senior Iranian official added that it was unclear whether the warship had sustained any damage.

The Tasnim news agency published a statement from the Iranian army’s public relations department, saying that “with the decisive and swift warning from the Navy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the entry of enemy American Zionist destroyers into the Strait of Hormuz area was prevented.”

US Central Command (CENTCOM) quickly denied the claim, posting a “fact check” on social media.

“CLAIM: Iranian state media claims that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps hit a US warship with two missiles,” the post said. “TRUTH: No US Navy ships have been struck. US forces are supporting Project Freedom and enforcing the naval blockade on Iranian ports.”

Another post stated that “US Navy guided-missile destroyers are currently operating in the Arabian [Persian] Gulf after transiting the Strait of Hormuz in support of Project Freedom” and that “American forces are actively assisting efforts to restore transit for commercial shipping.”

It added that “as a first step, two US-flagged merchant vessels have successfully transited through the Strait of Hormuz and are safely headed on their journey.”

Iran’s shuttering of the Strait of Hormuz to unauthorized ships has allowed it to wreak havoc on the Western economy in retaliation for the war launched by the US and Israel at the end of February.

About 20% of the globe’s seaborne oil shipments pass through the waterway, and its closure has caused global oil prices to spike, driving US gas prices to more than $4 on average and rippling inflation through the economy.

Observers of open-source marine tracking reports have said it did not show that two US-flagged merchant ships passed through the strait on Monday. However, it is possible the ships could have navigated the strait with the tracking technology disabled.

While information from the strait remains scarce, Matt Duss, a former foreign policy adviser to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has said the public should remain skeptical of the Trump administration’s denials given its track record.

“Watch closely,” he wrote on social media. “The Trump administration’s consistent pattern has been immediate, unequivocal denial, then slowly dribbling out confirmation that ‘yeah, that happened, it was bad, actually very bad,’ and hope coverage has already moved on, and no one notices.”

As an example, he pointed to the first Trump administration’s claim following the 2020 assassination of IRGC Gen. Qassem Soleimani that retaliatory attacks against the Al Asad airbase, a US military installation, had resulted in zero casualties.

“Initially, Trump claimed, ‘We suffered no casualties,’” Duss said. “In the weeks that followed, we learned that there were actually over 100 casualties.” At least 109 US troops had suffered brain injuries from the strikes, according to the Pentagon.

More recently, CENTCOM initially denied claims that Iran had shot down US fighter jets in early April, claiming that “all aircraft are accounted for” when a plane had, in fact, been shot down, requiring a multi-day operation to rescue two pilots from Iranian territory.

Article by Stephen Prager republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Strait of Hormuz despite saying on 7 March 2026 that they don't need people to join wars after they've already won. He's challenged with the claim that he lies as much as the IDF.
Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Strait of Hormuz despite saying on 7 March 2026 that they don’t need people to join wars after they’ve already won. He’s challenged with the claim that he lies as much as the IDF.

Continue ReadingTrump Admin Denies That Iran Hit US Warship Entering Strait of Hormuz

Trump’s Strait of Hormuz Ploy Aims to Manufacture ‘Pretext for Escalation,’ Iran Warns

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Article by Jake Johnson republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

A cargo boat navigates the sea behind a mural depicting the shoreline on April 28, 2026 on Qeshm Island, Iran. (Photo by Asghar Besharati/Getty Images)

“Any American interference in the new maritime regime of the Strait of Hormuz will be considered a violation of the ceasefire,” said a member of the Iranian Parliament.

Iranian officials warned Sunday that US President Donald Trump’s newly announced plan to help “guide” stranded ships out of the Strait of Hormuz is an attempted provocation aimed at justifying additional military action against the Middle Eastern country.

An unnamed senior Iranian official told Drop Site that Trump’s plan, announced on Truth Social and confirmed by the US military, “is primarily intended to provoke Iran into taking an initial step toward confrontation, thereby creating a pretext for escalation and enabling him to justify further military action in response to an Iranian initiative.”

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The official added that “our definitive position is that any commercial vessel attempting to transit through designated restricted routes without prior coordination will be promptly intercepted by Iranian forces.”

“Should US military vessels respond, such actions would be met with an immediate and corresponding response from Iran,” the official continued. “The US military vessels are far from the corridor area. If commercial vessels attempt to move, they would be engaged well before reaching any American ships,” the official added. “Trump has effectively turned them into bargaining tools in his political game.”

Ebrahim Azizi, who heads the national security commission of the Iranian Parliament, warned in response to Trump’s plan that “any American interference in the new maritime regime of the Strait of Hormuz will be considered a violation of the ceasefire” that took effect in early April.

“The Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf would not be managed by Trump’s delusional posts,” Azizi added.

Trump wrote on his social media platform on Sunday that his administration has told countries with vessels stranded in the vital strait that “we will guide their Ships safely out of these restricted Waterways, so that they can freely and ably get on with their business.” Iran closed the strait—through which around 25% of the world’s seaborne oil trade and a third of global fertilizer trade flows each year—in response to the US-Israeli war as well as the Trump administration’s naval blockade against Iran.

The US president characterized his plan, which is titled Project Freedom and set to take effect on Monday, as a “humanitarian gesture on behalf of the United States,” but provided few details on how it would work.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement on Sunday that military support for Project Freedom would “include guided-missile destroyers, over 100 land and sea-based aircraft, multi-domain unmanned platforms, and 15,000 servicemembers.”

“Last week, the U.S. Department of State announced a new initiative, in partnership with the Department of War, to enhance coordination and information sharing among international partners in support of maritime security in the strait,” CENTCOM said. “The Maritime Freedom Construct aims to combine diplomatic action with military coordination, which will be critical during Project Freedom.”

Brian Finucane, senior adviser to the US Program at the International Crisis Group, wrote that CENTCOM’s statement makes the president’s plan “sound like information-sharing backed by a vague threat of military action.”

The president’s scheme drew immediate support from one of the most vocal boosters of the Iran war, US Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who said he “totally” agrees with Trump’s decision to launch Project Freedom.

“I hope this conflict can end diplomatically,” said Graham, “but it is now time to regain freedom of navigation and forcefully respond to Iran if they insist on terrorizing the world.”

Article by Jake Johnson republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

Donald Trump sings and dances, says that it's fun to kill everyone ...
Donald Trump sings and dances, says that it’s fun to kill everyone …

Continue ReadingTrump’s Strait of Hormuz Ploy Aims to Manufacture ‘Pretext for Escalation,’ Iran Warns