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Iran has ‘high’ incentive to maintain ceasefire, US forces remain ‘postured’: US defense chief

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United States Secretary of War Pete Hegseth speaks during the press conference held by The United States President Donald Trump in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on April 6, 2026, in Washington DC, United States. [Celal Güneş – Anadolu Agency ]

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday that Iran’s “motivation” to maintain the ceasefire is “very high,” while warning that US forces remain “maximally postured” to resume war if Tehran rejects a deal, Anadolu reports.

“Our forces are maximally postured to restart combat operations, should this new Iranian regime choose poorly and not agree to a deal,” Hegseth said during a Pentagon briefing.

He urged Iran to “choose wisely,” warning its military leadership that Washington is closely “watching” their actions.

Hegseth said Iran’s command and control capabilities are “highly degraded,” limiting its ability to coordinate operations, but noted that its “motivation to want to stay in the ceasefire is very high.”

“They understand that a violation of that ceasefire means a commencement,” he continued.

“We are reloading with more power than ever before, and better intelligence, even more importantly, better intelligence than ever before,” said Hegseth. “As you expose yourself with your movement to our watchful eye, we are locked and loaded on your critical dual-use infrastructure, on your remaining power generation and on your energy industry.”

“We’d rather not have to do it, but we’re ready to go at the command of our president and at the push of a button,” he added.

READ: Iran and US deny reports of preliminary ceasefire extension agreement

Strait of Hormuz

Hegseth also said the US Navy controls traffic in and out of the Strait of Hormuz, enforcing a blockade with “less than 10%” of America’s naval power.

Separately, Joint Chiefs Chair Dan Caine said the blockade applies to all vessels heading to or from Iranian ports, regardless of nationality, but stressed it does not constitute a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz itself.

The remarks came as the US and Iran have been holding negotiations to extend a two-week ceasefire announced last week, which is set to expire on April 22.

Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has been severely disrupted since the US-Israeli war against Iran began Feb. 28, and a US naval blockade announced Monday, after Washington said talks last weekend failed to yield a deal.

About 20% of global oil supply passes through the strait daily, and heightened insecurity has driven up oil prices as well as shipping and insurance costs.

READ: Iran supreme leader’s adviser threatens to sink US ships in Strait of Hormuz

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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/
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.
Orcas discuss how Trump was re-elected and him being an obviously insane, xenophobic Fascist.
Orcas discuss how Trump was re-elected and him being an obviously insane, xenophobic Fascist.

Continue ReadingIran has ‘high’ incentive to maintain ceasefire, US forces remain ‘postured’: US defense chief

‘Psychological torture’: outcry over conditions at ICE desert detention camp

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https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/15/ice-desert-detention-camp-east-montana

Large white tents and steel fencing at Camp East Montana at the Fort Bliss army base in Texas. Photograph: AP

Detainees tell of abuse at sprawling Texas facility whose giant generators gobble energy and fuel climate crisis

Dust was everywhere, covering people’s blankets and clogging their airways inside Camp East Montana, the huge tent facility for immigration detention in west Texas, said D, a young Venezuelan man who was held there.

The air conditioning blasted constantly, keeping the living areas inside tents the length of two football fields at what felt like near-freezing temperatures despite the balmy weather outside, and rain leaked through the tarps, so people awoke on wet mattresses, he recalled.

“Everyone was coughing a lot – and with the same problem to breathe,” said D, who has since been released and spoke with the Guardian via video interview.

Camp East Montana is the facility with the largest number of immigration-related detainees in the US, with a capacity of 5,000 and an estimated daily average of 2,505 locked up. After just nine months in operation it has become a health and human rights scandal – and also an environmental hazard that affects the inhabitants and the area, while fueling the climate crisis.

Reports of harsh conditions, abuse, sickness and death have accumulated since the camp was erected last summer on the Fort Bliss army base in El Paso. And flying thousands of people often hundreds of miles to be locked up in an encampment run on electricity generators in the desert gobbles energy and produces emissions that are heating the planet.

…

Article continues at https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/15/ice-desert-detention-camp-east-montana

Donald Fuhrump says that Amerikkka doesn't bother with crimes or charges anymore, not being 100% Amerikkkan and opposing his real estate intentions is enough.
Donald Fuhrump says that Amerikkka doesn’t bother with crimes or charges anymore, not being 100% Amerikkkan and opposing his real estate intentions is enough.
Continue Reading‘Psychological torture’: outcry over conditions at ICE desert detention camp

A journalist filmed an ICE protest at a Minnesota church. Then federal agents showed up at her door

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https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/16/minnesota-journalist-charged-ice-protest

Georgia Fort. Photograph: Sheldon Powell

After Georgia Fort and Don Lemon reported from a church whose pastor reportedly works for ICE, agents arrested Fort in front of her children

When federal agents arrived at Georgia Fort’s front door to arrest her, she knew what to do: be a journalist.

Fort, an independent Minnesota reporter who faces criminal charges after covering a protest inside a St Paul church, took out her phone and spoke directly to the camera, livestreaming to her audience that her lawyer advised her to go with the agents. Her three kids were in the house at the time, she said.

“I’m going to have to hop off here and surrender to agents,” she said in the video on 30 January. “As a member of the press, I filmed the church protest a few weeks ago, and now I’m being arrested for that. It’s hard to understand how we have a constitution, constitutional rights, when you can just be arrested for being a member of the press.”

…

During the height of “Operation Metro Surge” in January, days after a federal agent killed Renee Good, dozens of people entered the church to call attention to one of its pastors, who reportedly served as an acting field director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Nearly 40 people have been charged over the protest in a sprawling case that pits the first amendment rights to protest and report against the free exercise of religion. The Trump administration has made clear that the case is a high priority. Harmeet Dhillon, the head of the civil rights division at the Department of Justice, has said the government is “going to pursue this to the ends of the earth”, which the government said in legal filings was not a political statement but “mere promises to vigorously enforce federal criminal law”.

…

Fort often highlights attacks on journalists in her coverage, and she brings up the sustained attack on press freedom globally as context for her arrest. She points to journalists like Mario Guevara, a Latino journalist in Georgia who was deported by the Trump administration, and the hundreds of journalists killed in Gaza.

These attacks on journalists aren’t just personal – they are an attack on the public’s right to know, she said.

“Why would anybody not want you to know truth and facts?” she said. “Why would someone want to arrest and criminalize the people whose job it is to simply keep you informed?”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/16/minnesota-journalist-charged-ice-protest

Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.
Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.
Donald Trump warns against following the Onaquietday.org blog, says that he's heard that she's a witch with a black cat and a dangerous kitchen.
Donald Trump warns against following the Onaquietday.org blog, says that he’s heard that she’s a witch with a black cat and a dangerous kitchen.
Continue ReadingA journalist filmed an ICE protest at a Minnesota church. Then federal agents showed up at her door

Israel’s New Gospel of Perpetual War | Palestine This Week with Mouin Rabbani

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

In this episode, we examine why the first round of Iran-US talks broke down, how Lebanon has moved to the centre of ceasefire negotiations and why Trump appears to be retreating from his earlier endorsement of Iran’s 10-point plan.

In this episode, we examine why the first round of Iran-US talks broke down, how Lebanon has moved to the centre of ceasefire negotiations and why Trump appears to be retreating from his earlier endorsement of Iran’s 10-point plan.

We also ask whether the war on Iran now amounts to a historic strategic defeat for both Washington and Tel Aviv, before looking at the build-up to war and Netanyahu’s role in shaping it. The discussion then turns to the growing rift between Pope Leo and Trump, the dangerous normalisation of political assassination and the rise in US soldiers refusing to fight with Iran. We close by considering why Israel is more dangerous than ever and what Viktor Orban’s defeat could mean for Israel and the global far right.

Gaza Apocalypse by Mouin Rabbani

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

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/
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.
Orcas discuss how Trump was re-elected and him being an obviously insane, xenophobic Fascist.
Orcas discuss how Trump was re-elected and him being an obviously insane, xenophobic Fascist.
Continue ReadingIsrael’s New Gospel of Perpetual War | Palestine This Week with Mouin Rabbani

Bint Jbeil ablaze as close-range battles turn city into open military test ground

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Israeli military vehicles and tanks are stationed in southern Lebanon, as seen from a vantage point in northern Israel on March 14, 2026. [Tsafrir Abayov – Anadolu Agency]

The southern Lebanese city of Bint Jbeil is witnessing a sharp military escalation, with what have been described as “fierce” clashes between Hezbollah fighters and the Israeli army, in one of the most intense rounds of fighting since the current escalation began.

According to field reports and corroborating accounts, the fighting is taking place inside residential neighbourhoods and on the outskirts of the city. Military and media sources say the clashes involve direct engagements at close range, as Israeli forces attempt to advance into positions inside the city, facing resistance and repeated ambushes.

Hebrew-language media outlets described the situation as “street-by-street battles”, noting that Israeli soldiers encountered unexpected resistance. Hezbollah fighters were reported to be emerging “from all directions” to launch surprise attacks on advancing forces, highlighting the complex and close-quarters nature of the fighting.

READ: Hezbollah bloc chief rejects Lebanon direct talks with Israel

Alongside the ground clashes, Bint Jbeil and its surroundings have been subjected to heavy air cover involving warplanes and drones, as well as intense artillery shelling. This has effectively turned the city into an open battlefield, where air strikes overlap with ground engagements.

Reports also indicate that Israeli forces have carried out demolition and explosive operations inside parts of the city in an effort to secure their advance, as the heavy fighting continues.

Hezbollah, for its part, announced a series of large-scale operations targeting Israeli troop gatherings and military vehicles in and around Bint Jbeil. The group said it carried out successive rocket barrages and artillery strikes throughout the day and night, claiming direct hits on advancing forces.

The group also said it targeted a military bulldozer of the D9 type using a suicide drone, in addition to drone attacks on Israeli military positions in southern Lebanon and along the front line.

READ: Israel launches operation to demolish homes in frontline villages in Lebanon: Report

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

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/
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.
Orcas discuss how Trump was re-elected and him being an obviously insane, xenophobic Fascist.
Orcas discuss how Trump was re-elected and him being an obviously insane, xenophobic Fascist.
Continue ReadingBint Jbeil ablaze as close-range battles turn city into open military test ground