A person receives food aid bags at the Young Family YMCA in Atlanta, Georgia, 6 November 2025. Photograph: Erik S Lesser/EPA
Analysis finds more than 4 million Americans lost Snap benefits, or food stamps, from July 2025 to March 2026
More than a million children across the US have lost access to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap) food benefits since Congress approved the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in July 2025, according to a new report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP).
The analysis found that more than 4 millions Americans were removed from Snap from July 2025 to March 2026, marking a significant decline in participation in the federal food assistance program.
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According to the CBPP analysis, children make up a significant portion of those losing benefits, with more than 1 million children across the 19 states studied no longer receiving Snap assistance.
In Louisiana, nearly one in four children receiving Snap benefits lost assistance. Massachusetts and Texas each saw close to one-fifth of children enrolled in the program removed from Snap.
The report comes as participation in the program continues to fall nationwide following major reductions to the federal food assistance program under the Trump administration.
Snap, commonly referred to as food stamps, provides monthly benefits to low-income and no-income households to help pay for groceries and remains the country’s largest food assistance program.
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Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr. [Photo/AA]
Iran’s top security official said Saturday that the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until the US changes what he described as its hostile policies and meets a set of Iranian demands, Anadolu reports.
In a statement, Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said Washington must “correct its behavior” before the strategic waterway can reopen.
He listed six conditions, including ending what he called threats against Iran’s supreme leader, permanently halting military action against Iran and its regional allies, withdrawing US naval and air forces involved in what he described as the blockade of Iran, compensating Tehran for damage caused during the recent conflicts, lifting US sanctions and releasing Iran’s frozen assets.
Zolghadr said the demands reflected the will of the Iranian people, citing nationwide rallies over the past six days.
“The Supreme National Security Council will not retreat from these demands, whether in war or in negotiations,” he said.
Separately, Iranian army spokesman Brig. Gen. Mohammad Akraminia said the “Iranian order” governing the Strait of Hormuz was “irreversible,” adding that the US had “no choice but to accept the existing reality” or face “far greater costs than before.”
The remarks come as negotiations over the future of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz remain at an impasse.
Iran and the US signed a memorandum of understanding on June 18 through Pakistani and Qatari mediation, ending active hostilities and launching negotiations toward a broader agreement. The memorandum envisaged a gradual restoration of commercial navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, but implementation later stalled as both sides exchanged accusations of violating its terms.
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Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian delivers remarks during a meeting with officials from the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development in Tehran, Iran on July 26, 2026. [Iranian Presidency / Handout – Anadolu Agency]
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Saturday said that now is the “best time” to reach an agreement with the US, Anadolu reports.
“When people talk about reaching an agreement, I believe now is the best time, because there is cohesion, strength and unity in the country. As far as I know, Iran is regarded as having emerged from this war and this conflict victorious and strong,” Pezeshkian said at his second news conference since taking office.
He said the current situation provided an opportunity to pursue an agreement and resolve outstanding issues through dialogue.
According to the semi-official ISNA news agency, Pezeshkian said Iran could pursue its rights through dialogue and that it sought “nothing beyond the rights of the country and its people.”
He said wars alone could not resolve disputes and reaffirmed his government’s commitment to pursuing peace under the memorandum of understanding signed with the US in June.
“The issues cannot be resolved through war alone,” he said. “We are trying to move toward peace based on the provisions of the memorandum.”
“We are determined to make the memorandum the basis of our approach, provided the United States abandons the atmosphere of distrust it has created and trust can be rebuilt,” Pezeshkian said, adding that Washington remained “untrustworthy” in Tehran’s view.
In other remarks carried by the official IRNA news agency, Pezeshkian said dialogue had not altered Tehran’s long-standing position toward Washington.
“The US is colonialist, the US is criminal, and the Islamic Republic remains the Islamic Republic. There is no doubt about that,” he said.
Pezeshkian, however, argued that diplomacy had compelled Washington to negotiate with Tehran.
“The very fact that we held talks and pursued diplomacy forced the US to come to the table and reach an agreement and understanding with Iran,” he said.
He rejected criticism of the memorandum, saying it contained no provision requiring Iran to relinquish any of its interests or positions.
“You will not find a single clause in the memorandum in which we gave anything away,” he said, adding that Tehran “stands firmly” behind what it signed.
Pezeshkian accused Washington of violating the memorandum by pursuing alternative shipping arrangements in the Strait of Hormuz instead of adhering to procedures to be jointly agreed by Iran and Oman.
He said disputes over the alleged violations should be addressed through mechanisms established under the memorandum and expressed hope the implementation process would continue “with dignity and honor” for Iran.
Pezeshkian also defended Iran’s negotiating team, describing its members as “dedicated, expert and hardworking,” and said criticism directed at them was unfair.
He also said his administration was working with the heads of the three branches of government and the Supreme National Security Council to ease internet restrictions while taking security and infrastructure considerations into account.
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Throughout history, almost every national liberation struggle has been labelled “terrorism” by the powers exercising colonial rule or foreign occupation. This strategy is nothing new.
The British Empire branded IRA fighters in Ireland and EOKA guerrillas in Cyprus as terrorists. France portrayed Algeria’s National Liberation Front (FLN) as a criminal organisation. The same happened to the Mozambique Liberation Front (FRELIMO), the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), the South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO) in Namibia, and even Nelson Mandela’s African National Congress (ANC).
History, however, vindicated these movements and condemned the colonial regimes that sought to perpetuate their domination.
This pattern reveals a constant: those who occupy a territory seek to strip the occupied people of any legitimacy to resist.
The dehumanisation of resistance is a colonial strategy. By labelling every resistance fighter a “terrorist”, attention is shifted away from illegal occupation, apartheid and the denial of self-determination, and redirected towards the reaction of the occupied people.
This narrative, however, encounters clear limits within international law itself.
From the United Nations Charter to Resolution 1514 (XV) on decolonisation and Resolution 2625 (XXV), which reaffirms the principle of peoples’ self-determination, the understanding has been consolidated that peoples subjected to colonial domination, foreign occupation or racist regimes have the right to struggle for their liberation.
Several subsequent resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly recognised the legitimacy of national liberation movements and acknowledged that such resistance may take the form of armed struggle, provided that it remains subject to the rules of international humanitarian law.
This is precisely why the international community has never automatically equated national liberation movements with terrorist organisations.
International humanitarian law regulates the manner in which armed conflicts must be conducted and imposes obligations on all belligerents, including resistance movements.
However, it does not eliminate the political and legal right of a people to resist occupation. Confusing these two dimensions serves only the interests of occupying powers, because it transforms a conflict of a political and legal nature into a mere policing matter.
The history of the so-called “State of Israel” itself exposes this contradiction.
Before 1948, Irgun and Lehi were regarded as terrorist organisations by the British government because of attacks such as the bombing of the King David Hotel and the assassination of UN mediator Folke Bernadotte.
Years later, their leaders reached the highest levels of government, and Menachem Begin received the Nobel Peace Prize. This demonstrates that the label “terrorist” often reflects political circumstances more than any permanent legal definition.
In the contemporary context, this debate remains highly relevant. Palestine continues to be recognised by the United Nations as a territory under occupation, while Western Sahara remains on the UN list of Non-Self-Governing Territories, awaiting the fulfilment of its people’s right to self-determination.
In this context, the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), which emerged during the First Intifada, and the Polisario Front, recognised by the United Nations as the representative of the Sahrawi people in the Western Sahara peace process, belong to the historical tradition of national liberation movements.
As with South Africa’s ANC, Algeria’s FLN, Namibia’s SWAPO, Mozambique’s FRELIMO and many other movements, both base their struggle on their peoples’ claim to the right of self-determination in the face of occupation or foreign domination.
This does not mean that every military action carried out by resistance organisations is automatically legitimate under international law.
The rules of international humanitarian law apply to all parties to a conflict and prohibit deliberate attacks against civilians, regardless of the cause being defended.
However, possible violations of these rules do not, in themselves, invalidate the legal legitimacy of the struggle for self-determination, nor do they automatically transform a national liberation movement into a terrorist organisation under international law. These are distinct questions, frequently conflated for political convenience.
There is no colonialism without resistance. There never has been.
The French Resistance against Nazi occupation, Vietnamese guerrillas, Algerian fighters, South Africans who confronted apartheid, African liberation movements, the Polisario Front and the Palestinian resistance all demonstrate that no people will indefinitely accept the loss of their land, sovereignty and dignity.
The real question, therefore, is not why resistance exists.
The question the world should be asking is why military occupations, colonial processes and regimes that deny entire peoples the right to determine their own destiny continue to exist.
As long as there is colonisation, apartheid, illegal annexation and denial of self-determination, there will be armed resistance movements.
And international law, despite political pressure and attempts to criminalise liberation movements, continues to uphold the fundamental principle that the freedom of peoples is not an act of terrorism, but a fundamental right of humanity.
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Iraqi Prime Minister-designate Ali al-Zaidi. [Photo/AA]
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi said Saturday that his country seeks balanced relations with neighbouring states and will not allow its territory to be used to threaten their security, during a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron, Anadolu reports.
The two leaders discussed strengthening bilateral relations and cooperation, regional developments and the scheduled end of the international coalition’s mission in Iraq, according to a statement from the Iraqi prime minister’s media office.
The statement said they also discussed economic and investment cooperation in Iraq, opportunities for French companies, and joint efforts to reduce tensions and promote regional security and stability.
Al-Zaidi highlighted the importance of relations between Baghdad and Paris and invited Macron to visit Iraq, calling for joint efforts to build a “sustainable economic and investment partnership” that serves the interests of both countries.
He said his government would continue working to strengthen stability and “transform Iraq into an influential economic and political power in the region,” citing the country’s resources and strategic position connecting international trade routes.
Al-Zaidi said Iraq remained committed to building balanced relations with neighbouring countries and “not allowing Iraqi territory to be used to threaten their security.”
He also reaffirmed Iraq’s commitment to protecting its security, sovereignty and national interests while relying on dialogue to address regional and international issues.
On security issues, al-Zaidi reiterated that 30 September would be the “final date for the withdrawal of coalition forces from Iraq.”
He said ending the coalition’s mission would give Iraq greater room to focus on reconstruction and development, promote economic growth and improve the welfare of its people.
Macron, for his part, praised steps taken by the Iraqi government and reaffirmed France’s support for Iraq’s efforts to combat corruption and implement economic reforms, according to the statement.
The French president also said Paris would continue supporting Iraq in combating terrorism and strengthening the capabilities of the Iraqi armed forces.
On 27 September, 2024, Washington and Baghdad announced in a joint statement that they had agreed on a two-phase plan to end the coalition’s mission in Iraq.
The first phase was scheduled to be completed by September 2025 and included ending the coalition’s military mission, withdrawing forces and handing over bases before transitioning to a bilateral security partnership.
The second phase runs through September 2026, during which the coalition’s military mission in Syria continues from an air base in Erbil, Iraq.
The US leads the coalition, which includes countries such as France and Spain. It was formed in 2014 to fight the ISIS (Daesh) terrorist group, which at the time controlled large areas of Iraq and Syria.
On 10 December, 2017, then-Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared “victory” over ISIS after three years of fighting.
The group, however, continues to operate in northern, western and eastern provinces through sporadic attacks, while the Iraqi government conducts security and military operations to eliminate its remnants.
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
