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‘Go Get Your Own Oil’: Trump Lashes Out at Europe for Not Backing Unprovoked War on Iran

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Original article by Julia Conley republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

US President Donald Trump exits Air Force One on March 29, 2026 at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. (Photo by Nathan Howard/Getty Images)

“NATO is a defensive alliance,” said one UK military analyst as the president demanded help in his unprovoked war on Iran. “It’s not been clear what the legal justification for the war is.”

President Donald Trump on Tuesday lashed out at European countries over the message leaders have been clear about since the US joined Israel in waging an unprovoked war against Iran—an assault that swiftly led Iran to retaliate by closing the Strait of Hormuz, sending global oil prices skyrocketing.

The war, Europe has said, is not one the United States’ longtime allies have started or that they’ll be “dragged into,” and the worldwide economic consequences are the responsibility of the countries that chose to attack Iran.

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Reports that France over the weekend barred US military planes headed for Israel from flying over its territory appeared to particularly send Trump into a rage, prompting him to call the French government “VERY UNHELPFUL” on his social media platform, Truth Social.

“The U.S.A. will REMEMBER!!” said the president Tuesday morning.

He then took aim at countries across Europe, writing, “Go get your own oil!” in a separate missive.

Trump repeated previous suggestions that US allies are “cowards” for not offering their assistance in the unprovoked war, demanding that they “build up some delayed courage, go to the Strait, and just TAKE” the oil by force.

“You’ll have to start learning how to fight for yourself, the U.S.A. won’t be there to help you anymore, just like you weren’t there for us,” he added.

France denied the reports that it had prevented US planes from flying over its airspace, but it is one of a number of longtime US allies that have reportedly taken action to avoid complicity in the US-Israeli war, which experts say is a clear violation of international law, including the United Nations Charter, and which has killed nearly 2,000 Iranians and over 1,000 people across the Middle East as the conflict has widened.

Italian officials have denied the US military the use of an airbase in Sicily, saying the Trump administration had not gone through the required authorization procedure. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has been most vocal about refusing to help the US war effort, saying Trump had embarked on an “illegal war” as his administration announced the US military would be barred from Spanish airspace after an earlier statement that the US could not use Spain’s military bases for operations involving the Iran war.

One senior European government official told Politico last week that Trump’s demands for help have been “absurdly incoherent to put it mildly,” considering the White House has also demanded that countries in Europe step up their efforts to defend Ukraine without relying on the US.

“The big picture is: The US has asked us to take care of and defend our own countries, take care of supporting Ukraine… and now [the] Middle East and global supply chains,” the official said.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday reiterated Trump’s message, saying that “there are countries around the world who ought to be prepared to step up on this critical waterway as well.”

“It’s not just the United States Navy,” said Hegseth, who has attempted to rebrand the Department of Defense as the Department of War. “Last time I checked, there was supposed to be a big, bad Royal Navy that could be prepared to do things like that as well.”

Hegseth: "The president was clear this morning in his Truth that there are countries around the world who ought to be prepared to step up on this critical waterway as well. Last time I checked there was supposed to be a big bad Royal Navy that could be prepared to do things like… pic.twitter.com/WTVurKV2jQ
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 31, 2026

On Sky News in the UK on Tuesday, military analyst Sean Bell issued a reminder after Hegseth’s and Trump’s comments that “it’s not a [North Atlantic Treaty Organization] war.”

“NATO is a defensive alliance,” said Bell. “It’s not been clear what the legal justification for the war is.”

Iran’s closing of the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20% of the worldwide oil supply flows, has sent oil prices soaring in the US and around the world. In the US, gas prices hit an average of $4 per gallon on Tuesday, and Europe has seen prices go up by about 70% since the war began.

European leaders on Tuesday were meeting to discuss the growing energy crisis, with the European Commission urging governments to consider a public call for people to reduce their use of energy, particularly in the transport sector.

As the global community faces the economic consequences of the war, Trump’s comments on Tuesday bolstered the previous day’s reporting by The Wall Street Journal that the president is “willing to end the US military campaign against Iran even if the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed, administration officials said, likely extending Tehran’s firm grip on the waterway and leaving a complex operation to reopen it for a later date.”

At Drop Site News, journalist Murtaza Hussain joined co-founder Ryan Grim for a discussion on Tuesday about Trump’s latest comments.

While noting that Trump has “engaged in deception” and could actually “be gearing up to launch some operation intended to open the strait” by force, Hussain said that the suggestion that the US will no longer ensure global shipping routes are flowing could be a a “fall of the Berlin Wall moment.”

“The entire basis of the American empire is that it’s a maritime empire,” said Hussain. “So if now, very perfunctorily, the US is saying, ‘We’re not going to defend one of the most important shipping lanes on the entire planet,’ where 20% of the world’s energy comes out of… It’s kind of like the Suez crisis, which put the nail in the coffin of the British empire.”

https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1nxeLyewNPnJX

Grim added that despite Hegseth’s claim that the US has “set the conditions for success” in the Strait of Hormuz, the Trump administration actually “took an open strait, made it closed, and are now going to walk away.”

The end result of the US and Israel’s decision to attack Iran could be the further isolation of the two countries, said Grim.

“If the US decides it doesn’t have the military capacity or willingness to open the strait violently, the idea that France is going to do it is preposterous,” he said. “What France would more likely do is call up Iran and say, ‘What’s the price?’… If you’re Israel and you’re calling Iran, you’re probably not going to get the same deal… You would imagine Iran would say, ‘Here’s what it costs, and it gets a little cheaper if you cut ties with Israel…’ All of a sudden, they’re a global player now, because they have this leverage.”

Original article by Julia Conley republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

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.

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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 …

Post author:dizzy
Post published:1 April 2026
Post category:Benjamin Netanyahu crap pretend Labour Fascism human rights violations Israel Keir Starmer Labour Party Neo-liberalism new authoritarianism plutocracy politics Zionism
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Hegseth Broker Reportedly Tried to Make ‘Big Investment’ in Weapons Stocks Just Before Iran War

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Original article by Jake Johnson republished form Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

Pentagon Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks during a White House Cabinet meeting on March 26, 2026. (Photo by Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)

“In a functional democracy, he would offer his resignation tonight.”

A broker for Pentagon Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly tried to make a “big investment” in a bundle of weapons stocks just weeks before the US and Israel launched their war on Iran, an unpopular assault that Hegseth has aggressively championed.

Citing three unnamed people familiar with the matter, The Financial Times reported on Monday that Hegseth’s “broker at Morgan Stanley contacted BlackRock in February about making a multimillion-dollar investment in the asset manager’s Defense Industrials Active ETF… shortly before the US launched military action against Tehran.” The bombing began on February 28.

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A spokesperson for the Pentagon denied the story, calling it “entirely false and fabricated” and insisting that neither Hegseth nor any of his representatives approached BlackRock about such an investment. But the FT reported that the broker’s “inquiry on behalf of the high-profile potential client was flagged internally at BlackRock.”

The investment was not ultimately made because the fund—which includes behemoths such as RTX, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and Northrop Grumman—was not available for Morgan Stanley clients to buy at the time.

The purchase would not have been immediately lucrative: Over the past month, the Defense Industrials Active ETF is down over 12%. But the reported allegation that Hegseth’s broker sought to make the largest investment in the weapons industry set off alarm bells, particularly amid growing concerns that Trump administration officials are using inside knowledge and manipulating markets to cash in on the war.

“You know, back when the [US government] gave a damn about anti-corruption, this is something we would’ve seen as a ‘no no,’” said Richard Nephew, a former anti-corruption coordinator at the US State Department.

Economist Justin Wolfers wrote of Hegseth that, “in a functional democracy, he would offer his resignation tonight.”

Instead, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell demanded that the FT issue an “immediate retraction,” dismissing the newspaper’s story as “yet another baseless, dishonest smear designed to mislead the public.”

Hegseth has emerged as the most prominent and belligerent cheerleader of the Iran war in the US, and—according to President Donald Trump—the Pentagon chief was the first of the president’s advisers to “speak up” in favor of the assault during the internal decision-making process.

Trump has also suggested Hegseth does not want the war to end, saying last week that the Pentagon chief was “quite disappointed” when the president claimed the conflict would be over shortly.

“I don’t want to say this, but I have to,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “I said, Pete and General Razin’ Caine, this thing is going to be settled very soon, and they go, ‘Oh, that’s too bad.’”

Original article by Jake Johnson republished form Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

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Post published:1 April 2026
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Majority of American Jews Oppose Trump-Netanyahu War on Iran: Polls

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Original article by Jake Johnson republished form Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

Local groups and residents protest the US-Israeli war on Iran on March 1, 2026 in Albany, New York. (Photo by Lori Van Buren/Times Union via Getty Images)

“This data is a wake-up call for anyone claiming to speak for the American Jewish community while beating the drums of war,” said Jeremy Ben-Ami, president of J Street.

Two separate polls released Monday show that a majority of American Jews oppose the US-Israeli war on Iran as the assault drags on into its fifth week, with increasingly dire regional and global consequences.

The surveys were published by the liberal advocacy group J Street and the Jewish Electorate Institute (JEI), a research organization. Both polls of Jewish Americans showed majority opposition—60% and 55%, respectively—to the US-Israeli war on Iran.

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Jeremy Ben-Ami, J Street’s president, said in a statement that “this data is a wake-up call for anyone claiming to speak for the American Jewish community while beating the drums of war.”

“Most American Jews see this war for what it is: A reckless, unforced error by a president who has no clear, achievable goals or an exit strategy,” said Ben-Ami. “This poll proves that the ‘pro-Israel’ position is the pro-peace position—and that means stopping this war before more lives are lost.”

J Street’s poll shows that 77% of Jewish Americans don’t think US President Donald Trump “has a clear plan and mission for the war.” In JEI’s survey, 41% of those who expressed opposition to the Iran war said they were against US military action because “we should not go to war without clear provocation and clear objectives.”

Jim Gerstein, principal at GBAO Strategies—which conducted the poll on behalf of J Street—said that American Jews “have clearly formed views on the war in Iran.”

“A large majority opposes the war, and they do not think Trump has a plan and mission in Iran,” said Gerstein. “Jewish voters hold overwhelmingly negative views of both Trump and Netanyahu—Jewish opposition to the war and those leading it is unmistakable.”

The surveys mark the latest evidence of widespread US public opposition to the war on Iran. Nearly 60% of American voters overall believe that, one month in, the war has “gone too far,” according to a poll released last week, and around 70% oppose a ground invasion of Iran as Trump deploys thousands of troops to the Middle East.

The opposition to the war among Jewish Americans stands in stark contrast to the strong support among Jewish Israelis. The Israel Democracy Institute released a poll on Friday showing that 78% of Jewish Israelis support the assault on Iran.

Original article by Jake Johnson republished form Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

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Post published:1 April 2026
Post category:Donald Trump Fascism human rights violations Israel Keir Starmer Neo-liberalism new authoritarianism plutocracy politics Zionism
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Israel Admits It ‘Photoshopped’ Image to Portray Assassinated Lebanese Journalist as Hezbollah Operative

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Original article by Stephen Prager republished form Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

Journalists and activists gather at Martyrsâ Square to protest the targeting of journalists, calling for the protection of media workers and accountability for those responsible for attacks in Beirut, Lebanon, on March 28, 2026. (Photo by Houssam Shbaro/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The Committee to Protect Journalists regional director called the killing part of “a disturbing pattern” of “Israel accusing journalists of being active combatants and terrorists without providing credible evidence.”

An Israel Defense Forces spokesperson has admitted that the military posted a “photoshopped” image of a Lebanese journalist killed in an airstrike in order to portray him as a Hezbollah operative.

On Saturday, three journalists—Ali Shuaib, a veteran correspondent for Al-Manar TV; Fatima Ftouni of the Al Mayadeen channel; and her brother, cameraman Mohammad Ftouni—were killed when four precision missiles hit their car on the Jezzine Road in Southern Lebanon. Several other reporters were injured in the attack.

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According to Al Jazeera, the vehicle was clearly marked “press.”

In the following hours, the IDF’s official social media account posted that it had “ELIMINATED” Shuaib in the attack.

“For years, Ali Hassan Shuaib operated as a Hezbollah Radwan Force terrorist under the guise of a journalist,” the post read. “Turns out the ‘press vest’ was just a cover for terror.”

🔴ELIMINATED: For years, Ali Hassan Shaib operated as a Hezbollah Radwan Force terrorist under the guise of a journalist.

Turns out the “press vest” was just a cover for terror. pic.twitter.com/24F7MJ3Yth
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) March 28, 2026

The post, which has more than 2.1 million views on X as of Monday, featured a split image showing Shuaib in a press outfit on one side and in a Hezbollah military uniform on the other.

But according to Fox News’ chief foreign correspondent, Trey Yingst, the network later asked the IDF about the photo’s source. They were told: “Unfortunately, there isn’t really a picture of it. It was photoshopped.”

On Monday, Israel issued another statement claiming that Mohammad Ftouni was “an additional terrorist in Hezbollah’s military wing, who also operated under the guise of a journalist.”

But when asked for evidence to confirm this by the Agence France-Presse, it provided none, with a spokesperson saying, “What we have is what we can state.”

Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) regional director Sara Qudah called the killings part of “a disturbing pattern in this war and in the decades prior [of] Israel accusing journalists of being active combatants and terrorists without providing credible evidence.”

Israel accused Shuaib of “consistently working to expose the locations of IDF troops operating in southern Lebanon and along the border, and maintain[ing] continuous contact with other terrorists in the Radwan Force unit in particular, and within the terror organization in general.”

American journalist Ryan Grim, the co-founder of Drop Site News, said: “The Israeli statement itself says that his ‘crime’ was reporting on troop locations and communicating with sources in Hezbollah. That is called war reporting.”

After killing Ali Shuaib, the IDF accused him of being part of Hezbollah’s Radwan forces, releasing a photo of the Al Manar reporter in military garb.

“Unfortunately there isn’t really a picture of it, it was photoshopped,” the IDF told Fox News about the source of the photo. pic.twitter.com/JrHbZqNNB0
— Trey Yingst (@TreyYingst) March 29, 2026

According to a report last month by CPJ, a record 129 journalists were killed in 2025, and Israel was responsible for two-thirds of the worldwide total.

The vast majority of those killed have been Palestinian journalists in Gaza—at least 261 of whom have been killed since October 7, 2023—according to a running tally by the International Federation of Journalists. At least 11 journalists have also been killed in Lebanon since 2023.

In addition to Shuaib and the Ftounis, two others have been killed since Israel’s latest onslaught in Lebanon after Hezbollah retaliated against US-Israeli attacks on Iran. Israeli attacks have also resulted in the deaths of photojournalist Hussain Hamood and journalist Mohammed Sherri this month.

🚨IMPORTANT: Multiple Israeli strikes on a civilian vehicle in southern Lebanon killed journalists Ali Shoeib, Fatima Ftouni, and photojournalist Mohammad Ftouni, along with two civilians who attempted to assist. According to an Al Araby TV correspondent, the car—clearly carrying… https://t.co/ys5EzOT3Cs pic.twitter.com/rxLukXsurH
— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) March 28, 2026

An investigation last year by +972 and the Israeli outlet Local Call revealed that the IDF has an informal unit known as the “Legitimization Cell,” which seeks to find tenuous links between journalists and militant groups to justify assassinating them.

As one source explained, the cell’s members seek out reporters they believe are “smearing [Israel’s] name in front of the world” by reporting evidence of the country’s conduct.

While Al-Manar is the official news outlet for Hezbollah and Al Mayadeen is considered to be closely tied with the militia, Qudah noted that under international law, “journalists are not legitimate targets, regardless of the outlet they work for.”

In less than a month, Israeli attacks in Lebanon have killed more than 1,100 people, including at least 121 children, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

Many pieces of civilian infrastructure—including hospitals, schools, and residential buildings—have been attacked, and Israel has issued forced evacuation orders that have led more than 1 million people to be displaced from their homes.

On the same day that the three journalists were attacked, the World Health Organization reported that nine paramedics were killed across southern Lebanon in a series of attacks on healthcare infrastructure.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said that by attacking civilian workers carrying out their professional duties, Israel has violated “the most basic rules of international law.”

He called it “a blatant crime that violates all norms and treaties under which journalists are granted international protection during armed conflicts.”

Original article by Stephen Prager republished form Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

Post author:dizzy
Post published:1 April 2026
Post category:Benjamin Netanyahu crap pretend Labour Donald Trump Fascism human rights violations Keir Starmer Labour Party Neo-liberalism new authoritarianism plutocracy politics Zionism
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Iran seeks no ceasefire but complete end to war: Foreign minister

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

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi gives a speech in Tehran, Iran on November 30, 2025. [Ahmet Serdar Eser – Anadolu Agency]

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tuesday that Iran is not seeking a ceasefire but a complete end to the war across the region, stressing that any resolution must include guarantees against future attacks and compensation for damages, Anadolu reports.

He said contacts with the US do not constitute negotiations, but are limited to the exchange of messages — directly or through regional intermediaries.

Araghchi told Al Jazeera he continues to receive messages from US envoy Steve Witkoff, as in the past, but stressed that it should not be interpreted as formal negotiations.

He said the messages are conveyed through the Foreign Ministry, with some communication between security bodies, adding that there are no talks with any specific entity inside Iran.

READ: Iranian president slams EU stance, warns ‘intervention’ in war would have ‘serious consequences’

Araghchi indicated that the exchange of messages is conducted within an official government framework under the supervision of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.

He added that the messages include warnings and mutual perspectives, delivered through specific channels.

Addressing reports that Iran had responded to 15 US proposals, Araghchi said no response has been sent, and Tehran has not submitted any proposals or conditions to date.

He said no decision has been made on negotiations and emphasized that the Iranian people cannot be threatened, urging the US president to address Iran with respect.

On maritime security, Araghchi said the Strait of Hormuz remains fully open and would only be restricted to parties engaged in hostilities against Iran, adding that measures have been taken to ensure safe passage for vessels of friendly countries.

READ: Trump says war against Iran will not last ‘much longer’: Report