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Military vehicles belonging to the Lebanese Armed Forces move in the Marjayoun area in southern Lebanon following Israeli attacks in the region on March 5, 2026. [Stringer – Anadolu Agency]
France has delivered 39 armored personnel carriers to the Lebanese Armed Forces, fulfilling a prior commitment made by French officials, the Defense Ministry said on Friday, Anadolu reports.
The delivery “aims to guarantee Lebanon’s territorial integrity, the protection of civilians, regardless of their faith, and the preservation of state institutions,” French Deputy Defense Minister Alice Rufo said during a handover ceremony at the port of Beirut on Tuesday.
The armored vehicles, known as VABs, are designed to enhance troop mobility and enable operations in high-risk areas.
Each vehicle can carry about 10 fully equipped troops and is built with welded steel plates to protect against small-arms fire and shrapnel.
French President Emmanuel Macron announced in late March that France would continue supporting Lebanon’s armed forces, including the delivery of armored personnel carriers, while stressing the need to protect the country’s “territorial integrity” and civilians.
The Israeli army has pounded Lebanon with airstrikes and launched a ground offensive in southern Lebanon since a cross-border attack by Hezbollah on March 2.
The current escalation followed the Feb. 28 start of a joint US-Israeli offensive on Iran, which has since killed over 1,340 people.
Tehran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, along with US military assets in Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf countries.
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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.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/
Palestinians barred from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque due to restrictions imposed by Israeli forces citing Iran’s retaliatory attacks perform Friday prayers on the streets surrounding the mosque in Jerusalem on April 03, 2026. [Mostafa Alkharouf – Anadolu Agency]
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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.
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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.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.
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.
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
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.”
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.”
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/
Donald Trump sings and dances, says that it’s fun to kill everyone …
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The United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in Nabatieh, Lebanon on November 15, 2025. [Ramiz Dallah – Anadolu Agency]
A group of European nations as well as the EU on Tuesday strongly condemned all recent attacks on the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), calling on Israel to avoid widening the conflict, including through a ground operation, Anadolu reports.
In a joint statement, foreign ministers of Belgium, Croatia, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, the UK, the Greek Cypriot administration and the EU foreign policy chief reaffirmed that Lebanon’s territorial integrity must be respected.
Condemning Hezbollah attacks, which they called “in support of Iran against Israel,” the foreign ministers said these attacks “must cease immediately.”
“We call on all parties to immediately de-escalate and to revert to the cessation of hostilities agreement and UN Security Council resolution 1701 (2006),” said the statement.
It also called for the protection of the civilian population, humanitarian personnel, peacekeepers, and civilian infrastructure, including airports, ports and bridges across the country, in line with international humanitarian law.
“We reaffirm our concern regarding the forced displacement of over 1 million people in Lebanon,” said the statement.
The foreign ministers also called on Israel to avoid a further widening of the conflict, including through a ground operation on Lebanese territory.
It added: “We strongly condemn all recent attacks on UNIFIL contingents, which provoked unacceptable casualties among peacekeepers in recent days.”
Israel has pounded Lebanon with airstrikes and launched a ground offensive in southern Lebanon since a cross-border attack by Hezbollah on March 2.
Lebanese authorities said at least 1,247 people have since been killed and 3,690 injured in Israeli attacks.
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/
Donald Trump warns against following the https://onaquietday.org blog, says that it’s easy atm, she only needs to report war crimes supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion.
A fire and plume of smoke rise after, according to authorities. debris from an intercepted Iranian drone struck an oil facility in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, March 14, 2026
IRAN denied today that it had called on the United States and Israel to cease fire as the war in the Middle East continued to spread death and destruction.
US President Donald Trump claimed on NBC News that Iran had wanted to make a deal to end the US-Israeli assault, but that he had refused to negotiate because “the terms are not good enough yet.”
He did not specify what those terms should be, but he did say that Iran must commit to abandoning its nuclear ambitions, which the two countries were already discussing in high-level talks before the US and Israel launched their surprise attack on February 28.
Iran’s response has been to launch drone and missile strikes on Israel and Persian Gulf states that host US forces or are otherwise allied with Washington, while also blocking ships from sailing through the Strait of Hormuz, halting the follow of fossil fuels and global trade.
At the weekend, Mr Trump called on Britain, France, China and other nations to help reopen the strategic waterway. He claimed today that several countries had committed to do so, but he has yet to name them.
The US president also said that his country’s forces may bomb Kharg Island, where Iran’s most important oil export facilities are located, again “just for fun,” after the US targeted military installations there on Friday.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told CBS News: “No, we never asked for a ceasefire and we have never asked even for negotiation. We are ready to defend ourselves as long as it takes.
“There are people being killed only because President Trump wants to have fun.”
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.Donald Trump explains why he established his Bored of PeaceElon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.
A fire and plume of smoke rise after, according to authorities. debris from an intercepted Iranian drone struck an oil facility in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, March 14, 2026
