Yearly Archives: 2026

Iran claims strike on Israeli-linked oil tanker in Gulf waters

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Commercial ships anchor off the coast of the United Arab Emirates due to navigation disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, Dubai on March 2, 2026. [Stringer – Anadolu Agency]

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard announced on Wednesday that it had targeted an oil tanker in the Gulf, claiming the vessel was linked to Israel.

In a statement carried by Iranian state television, the Guard said that an oil tanker named “Aqua 1”, which it described as belonging to the Israeli entity, was struck in what it called a “precise missile operation” carried out by its naval forces, adding that the vessel was set ablaze.

Qatar had earlier stated that the tanker was hit within its territorial waters, raising concerns over the expansion of hostilities into sensitive maritime zones in the Gulf.

Meanwhile, the United States has intensified its military posture, deploying 12 A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft to Britain and increasing aerial refuelling operations across Europe.

According to open-source intelligence tracking, multiple Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft conducted coordinated flights from bases in the United Kingdom and Romania on 31st March. Additional refuelling aircraft departed from RAF Mildenhall, carrying out missions over southwest England before returning to base.

READ: Iran rejects Trump’s claim of ceasefire request as “baseless”

Aircraft movements also included a KC-135 Stratotanker (registration 60-0333) and a Lockheed Martin MC-130J Commando II (09-6207), which were observed operating from the same base.

In Romania, several refuelling aircraft were seen departing from Henri Coandă International Airport near Bucharest and heading toward southern Greece.

Further movements included multiple US refuelling aircraft traveling from the United States toward the Middle East, with some reportedly landing in Israel and others continuing toward the region.

The developments come amid escalating tensions following the ongoing war between Israel, the United States, and Iran, with military activity increasingly extending across regional and international theatres.

READ: Iran launches missile attack on Israel moments after Trump threat

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 Straight 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 Straight 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/
Climate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of global privateering.
Climate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of global privateering.

Continue ReadingIran claims strike on Israeli-linked oil tanker in Gulf waters

The politics of death in “Israel’s” prisons

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Palestinians stage a protest against Knesset’s approval of the law that imposes death penalty on Palestinian prisoners in Gaza, Palestine on April 01, 2026. [Abdalhkem Abu Riash – Anadolu Agency]

by Sayid Marcos Tenorio  soupalestina

The approval by the Knesset of a law instituting the death penalty for Palestinian prisoners marks a historic rupture in Israeli penal policy—and a dangerous escalation in the institutionalization of state violence.

For the first time in decades, the Zionist state has formalized execution as a regular instrument of punishment, establishing death, including by hanging, as a standard sentence for Palestinians accused of attacks classified as “terrorism.”

The law, approved by 62 votes to 48, stipulates that executions must be carried out within 90 days of conviction, with severe restrictions on the right to defense, no requirement for judicial unanimity, and virtually no possibility of appeal or clemency.

In practice, this is a legal mechanism designed to target Palestinians exclusively. These cases are tried in military courts, while Jewish settlers—even those involved in acts of violence—and Israeli citizens remain under civil jurisdiction, where such punishment is rarely, if ever, applied.

The racial selectivity of the measure has been widely recognized by experts and international bodies. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has already classified it as a violation of international law and warned of its discriminatory character.

But this law did not emerge in a vacuum. It is the culmination of a broader process of hardening Israeli prison policies, particularly under the direct influence of Internal Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.

Ben Gvir, a fascist politician and a central figure of Israel’s far right, has built his political trajectory by openly advocating extreme punitive measures against Palestinians. In recent years, he has pushed the government toward increasingly harsh policies, including severe restrictions on prison conditions and even the direct execution of detainees.

His role goes beyond rhetoric. He was one of the main architects of the death penalty law and used his political leverage to pressure Prime Minister and war crimes suspect Benjamin Netanyahu into advancing it.

This dynamic reveals a pattern of political coercion within the Israeli government itself. Dependent on a fragile coalition and under pressure from internal crises and legal accusations, Netanyahu has repeatedly yielded to far-right demands. The result is a continuous escalation of repression, in which Palestinian prisoners have become direct targets.

Today, around 10,000 Palestinians are held in Israeli prisons, including women and hundreds of children.

Reports by human rights organizations indicate a dramatic deterioration in detention conditions, including documented cases of torture, medical neglect, prolonged solitary confinement, and severe restrictions on family visits. Since October 2023, dozens of prisoners have died in Israeli custody, many as a result of abuse or medical neglect.

READ: Israeli law to execute Palestinian prisoners reflects far-right dominance: Israeli daily

In this context, the introduction of the death penalty does not merely represent a new punitive measure—it fundamentally redefines the role of the prison system. Prison ceases to function as a mechanism of containment and becomes a potential space of elimination.

This marks a qualitative shift—from repression to a politics of death.

The Israeli government attempts to justify this escalation in the name of security. However, the evidence tells a different story. Decades of mass incarceration, blockades, and military offensives have failed to eliminate Palestinian resistance.

On the contrary, the persistence of struggle—both inside and outside prisons—reveals the limits of a model based solely on force.

Rather than neutralizing resistance, prisons have become spaces of political organization and consciousness-building. Hunger strikes, internal mobilizations, and the central role of prisoners in political negotiations demonstrate that incarceration has failed to fulfill its intended function.

Faced with this failure, the death penalty emerges as an attempt to reconfigure the repressive system. When imprisonment is no longer sufficient, death becomes the next option.

But this logic carries a fundamental contradiction.

History shows that regimes which rely on extreme violence as a central instrument of governance tend to accelerate their own decline. Repression may impose temporary silence, but it does not eliminate the structural causes of conflict. On the contrary, it often intensifies them.

In the Palestinian case, this reality is unavoidable. Resistance is not a circumstantial phenomenon, but a historical response to a system of occupation and denial of rights. As long as these conditions persist, no policy of punishment—no matter how brutal—will be capable of producing stability.

The death penalty law, therefore, is not a sign of strength.

It is a symptom of crisis—the unfolding collapse of the Zionist regime, already visible across multiple dimensions.

By transforming the prison system into a space of execution, the Zionist “state” not only violates international law. It exposes, unmistakably, the limits of a model that can no longer sustain its own legitimacy.

The politics of death does not resolve the conflict.

It only reveals that the system producing it has run out of alternatives for survival.

OPINION: The collapse of the myth of Israel’s invincibility

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.

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

Related: Palestinian teenager was starved in prison before death, judge rules

Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Straight 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 Straight 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 objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza's hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.
Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.
Climate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of global privateering.
Climate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of global privateering.

Continue ReadingThe politics of death in “Israel’s” prisons

Iran publishes lists of regional bridges in possible ‘tit-for-tat’ retaliation after US-Israeli attack

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King Fahd Causeway – Saudi Bahrain Border [S.Raj/Flickr]

Iranian media published a list of major bridges across the region on Thursday, hinting at a “tit-for-tat” retaliation following a US-Israeli attack on a key bridge in the northern city of Karaj, Anadolu reports.

The semi-official Fars News Agency said that several prominent bridges in regional countries could be possible targets after two strikes hit the B1 bridge early Thursday.

The list includes Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah Sea Bridge in Kuwait, King Fahd Causeway linking Saudi Arabia to Bahrain, Sheikh Zayed Bridge and Sheikh Khalifa Bridge in the United Arab Emirates, as well as King Hussein Bridge, Damia Bridge, and Abdoun Bridge in Jordan.

The US and Israel carried out two strikes early Thursday on the B1 bridge, a vital transport link in Karaj in Alborz province, killing two people and causing its destruction.

Videos circulating on social media showed major sections of the bridge collapsing following the attack.

According to media reports, the B1 bridge is one of Iran’s notable modern engineering projects, stretching about 1,000 meters and designed to ease traffic congestion between Tehran and Karaj and facilitate movement toward the country’s northern provinces.

Regional tensions have escalated since the US and Israel launched a joint offensive on Iran on Feb. 28, killing more than 1,340 people to date, including then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Tehran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, as well as Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf countries hosting US military assets.

US defense chief asks Army Chief of Staff Gen. George to step down: Report

Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Straight 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 Straight 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/
Climate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of global privateering.
Climate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of global privateering.

Continue ReadingIran publishes lists of regional bridges in possible ‘tit-for-tat’ retaliation after US-Israeli attack

UN chief warns of wider Middle East war, urges de-escalation

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United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks during a press conference as part of his visit to Lebanon in Beirut, Lebanon, on March 14, 2026. [Houssam Shbaro – Anadolu Agency]

UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned on Thursday of the consequences of the war in the Middle East, saying it is causing widespread destruction and could expand into a full regional conflict.

Speaking to reporters at the UN headquarters in New York, Guterres said “the world is on the edge of a wider war that would engulf the Middle East with dramatic impacts around the globe,” noting that its impact is already being felt in many countries, “in the daily lives of people struggling with rising food and energy costs.”

He said “Every day this war continues, human suffering grows,” warning that any disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz would directly affect the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people.

Guterres added that attacks targeting civilians and infrastructure, along with rising food and energy prices, are placing increasing pressure on societies worldwide, stressing that continued escalation will only worsen the situation.

He called for an end to what he described as a “spiral of death and destruction”, urging the protection of civilians and vital facilities, including nuclear sites, and the safeguarding of international maritime navigation.

READ: Iran publishes lists of regional bridges in possible ‘tit-for-tat’ retaliation after US-Israeli attack

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 Straight 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 Straight 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/
Climate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of global privateering.
Climate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of global privateering.

Continue ReadingUN chief warns of wider Middle East war, urges de-escalation

Triple veto blocks Arab push to reopen Strait of Hormuz by force

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Commercial ships anchor off the coast of the United Arab Emirates due to navigation disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, Dubai on March 2, 2026. [Stringer – Anadolu Agency]

Russia, China and France have blocked a broad Arab initiative aimed at securing international backing for military action against Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, The New York Times reported.

According to a diplomat and senior United Nations official, Arab states sought a resolution “authorising the use of force” to ensure global freedom of navigation. However, the effort failed due to opposition from the three countries, which hold veto power.

Russia, China and France said their stance was based on a “principled opposition to any language authorising force”. This position has been widely interpreted as effectively allowing Iran to continue holding the global economy hostage and restricting the flow of oil and goods.

The development highlights deep divisions within the international community. France aligned with Russia and China in blocking what was described as a necessary military decision against Tehran, while the United States and Israel continue their military actions against Iran and reject calls for a ceasefire.

READ: Iran publishes lists of regional bridges in possible ‘tit-for-tat’ retaliation after US-Israeli attack

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

  • Relates to a UN Security Council resolution which was defeated – through being opposed – by Russia, China and France.
Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Straight 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 Straight 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/
Climate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of global privateering.
Climate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of global privateering.

Continue ReadingTriple veto blocks Arab push to reopen Strait of Hormuz by force