Andy Burnham’s statement on Gaza. He refers to and apologises for the Labour party’s initial response which I think is a reference to Keir Starmer saying that Israel does have the right to withhold power and water from Gaza. There can be no argument with that, Starmer was wrong to support collective punishment. There’s a reference to bombs and bullets while there is plenty of other support for Israel’s genocide from UK. Is it correct that no UK bombs and bullets are reaching Israel? Burnham’s statement is measured, we’ll have to see what happens.
8.10p.m. 20 minutes or so later. I would expect that this blog has had a big effect on making Starmer and the Labour party unpopular through relentlessly attacking Starmer & Co, Labour actions and policies. I have a real hatred of the UK Labour party from the Blair era when they were attacking me while hiding and intend to continue. Burnham may have it easier, I don’t particularly have any issues with him. We’ll see.
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced late Wednesday that it “completed an additional round of strikes against Iran,” hitting approximately 90 military targets, Anadolu reports.
“US forces struck approximately 90 Iranian military targets including air defense systems, coastal surveillance assets, missile and drone storage sites, naval capabilities, and military logistics infrastructure along Iran’s coastline. The latest strikes follow successful execution of offensive strikes in Iran the night before,” CENTCOM wrote on the US social media platform X.
CENTCOM said the strikes were intended to “further degrade Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping and innocent civilian mariners in the Strait of Hormuz.”
Earlier Wednesday, CENTCOM said that American forces had begun a new round of strikes against Iran.
“At the direction of the Commander in Chief, U.S. Central Command forces have started conducting additional strikes against Iran to further degrade their ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz,” it said in a statement on X.
“The United States is holding Iran accountable for recent unjustified aggression against commercial shipping and civilian crews freely navigating a vital international waterway,” the statement added.
Meanwhile, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported that an explosion was heard in Iran’s southern city of Bandar Abbas on Wednesday evening.
The strikes came hours after US President Donald Trump said the memorandum of understanding signed with Iran to end the war was “over” and that the US would “probably” hit Iran again Wednesday night.
A US official told CNN that the ceasefire with Iran “has at least temporarily ceased.” “The US military is in a wait-and-see mode,” CNN reported, citing the official, adding that today’s targets were missiles and drones.
Another US official later told Axios that the current escalation could last a day or two, a week or a month, depending on whether Iran continues its attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
“We’re going to slap them a bit,” the official said, claiming that the current escalation stems from frustration among a part of the Iranian leadership who believe the deal with the US has not delivered real benefits for Tehran.
Donald Trump sings and dances, says that it’s fun to kill everyone … unless he gets distracted or falls asleep.Orcas discuss rotting brain, front Orca says Sundown Syndrome is a dead givaway and he wishes someone would Lock Him Up
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
The aftermath of Israeli airstrikes revealed in the Dahieh district of southern Beirut, Lebanon, on March 07, 2026. [Houssam Shbaro – Anadolu Agency]
Amnesty International on Thursday called for an investigation into three Israeli air strikes in southern Lebanon carried out in March, saying they may amount to war crimes after killing 24 civilians.
In a report published on Thursday, the rights group said the three Israeli strikes “killed 24 civilians, including 12 children, and wiped-out entire families”, adding that they “must be investigated as war crimes”.
The strikes targeted homes in the cities of Tyre and Nabatieh, as well as the town of Erkay near Sidon, between 6th and 13th March.
Kristine Beckerle, the organisation’s Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, said: “Within the space of just a week – the Israeli military obliterated entire families, including a dozen children, in Lebanon, demonstrating a callous disregard for civilian lives.
As part of its investigation, Amnesty International interviewed 15 people, including survivors, relatives of victims, paramedics, journalists who visited the strike sites and local officials.
The organisation said the evidence it gathered provided “reasonable basis to conclude that “Israeli forces violated international humanitarian law, including by failing to distinguish between civilians and military objectives, by carrying out attacks directed against civilians or civilian objects, or by failing to take all feasible precautions to minimize harm to civilians.”
Donald Trump sings and dances, says that it’s fun to kill everyone … unless he gets distracted or falls asleep.Orcas discuss rotting brain, front Orca says Sundown Syndrome is a dead givaway and he wishes someone would Lock Him Up
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
The flags of Qatar and Iran displayed together. [IRANIAN PRESIDENCY – Anadolu Agency]
Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi discussed the latest regional developments during a phone call on Wednesday, with both sides emphasizing the importance of preventing further escalation.
According to a statement issued by the Iranian Foreign Ministry, the two ministers reviewed developments across the region, with particular focus on the situation in the Strait of Hormuz.
The ministry said the two officials stressed the importance of using diplomatic channels to address regional challenges and underscored the need to maintain communication and coordination to prevent further tensions.
The conversation took place amid heightened instability following recent exchanges between the United States and Iran after attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
One of the vessels targeted was reported to be a Qatari tanker, and the Qatari government has held Iran responsible for the attack.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry did not indicate that the two ministers had reached any specific agreements but said both sides reaffirmed the importance of diplomacy and continued dialogue in addressing the ongoing crisis.
Donald Trump sings and dances, says that it’s fun to kill everyone … unless he gets distracted or falls asleep.Orcas discuss rotting brain, front Orca says Sundown Syndrome is a dead givaway and he wishes someone would Lock Him Up
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
In this photo illustration, US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are seen behind the Iranian flag, with all of them displayed on screens, in Ankara, Turkiye on June 24, 2025. [Dilara İrem Sancar – Anadolu Agency]
A former deputy chief of the Pakistan Air Force, Muhammad Aryan, has said the success of the memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran will depend primarily on the willingness of both governments to fully implement its provisions.
Speaking in an interview on Egypt’s Cairo News Channel, Aryan said Pakistan continues to support diplomatic engagement with both Washington and Tehran but stressed that responsibility for resolving the dispute ultimately rests with the two sides.
He argued that military action cannot resolve the crisis, saying previous US strikes against Iran had failed to produce a lasting solution.
Aryan also suggested that statements by US President Donald Trump should be viewed cautiously, arguing that the president’s positions can shift rapidly in response to changing political circumstances.
He said that even if Trump were to declare the memorandum of understanding no longer valid, such a position could change quickly and might be intended as leverage during negotiations. At the same time, he said Iran could either maintain its current demands or choose to make concessions during future talks.
Aryan emphasized that continued negotiations remain the only viable path to resolving the dispute and called for the full implementation of the memorandum of understanding through diplomacy.
He added that the crisis extends beyond the United States and Iran, arguing that other regional actors have an interest in preventing the agreement from succeeding.
According to Aryan, those actors should be closely monitored, specifically mentioning Israel as a country whose strategic interests could influence the course of the negotiations.
His remarks reflect his personal assessment of the regional situation and do not represent an official position of the Pakistani government.
Donald Trump sings and dances, says that it’s fun to kill everyone … unless he gets distracted or falls asleep.Orcas discuss rotting brain, front Orca says Sundown Syndrome is a dead givaway and he wishes someone would Lock Him Up
