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The United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to the press before the United States President Donald Trump departs the White House en route Miami, Florida on March 20, 2026, in Washington DC. [Celal Güneş – Anadolu Agency]
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday that Washington is close to achieving its objectives in Iran “in a matter of weeks,” adding that President Donald Trump has “a number of options available” to prevent Iran from controlling the Strait of Hormuz, Anadolu reports.
During an interview with ABC News, Rubio said that the US is focused on the “destruction” of Iran’s air force, navy, and factories where they make all their weapons, as well as the substantial reduction in the number of missiles they possess.
“All of those objectives are being met, on or ahead of schedule and should be able to achieve in a matter of weeks,” he said.
On the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Rubio said Trump has “a number of options available” to prevent Iran from imposing control or a tolling system on the vital waterway.
“The president has a number of options available to him if he so chooses to prevent that from happening. … Obviously, I’m not going to discuss what those options are, and we’re not going to discuss military tactics,” he added.
The US and Israel have been carrying out airstrikes on Iran since Feb. 28, killing more than 1,340 people.
Iran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, along with Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf countries hosting US military assets, causing casualties and infrastructure damage while disrupting global markets and aviation.
At least 13 US service members have been killed since the war began, and the conflict has driven up energy prices and affected shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which is a critical global oil chokepoint, with a significant portion of global oil shipments passing through it.
The US has sent Iran a 15-point plan to end the war and outlined steps regarding Tehran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, as well as maritime security in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran rejected the proposal and outlined five conditions for ending the war, including a halt to attacks, guarantees against renewed conflict, recognition of its sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, and reparations for war damages.
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 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/
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Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz holds a security situation assessment meeting with Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, Head of the Israeli Military Intelligence Directorate (AMAN) Shlomi Binder and other senior commanders in Tel Aviv, Israel, on March 07, 2026. [Israeli Ministry of Defense – Anadolu Agency]
A warning by Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir about a potential army “collapse” due to troop shortages has triggered a wave of political reactions in Israel, with opposition figures backing the assessment and allies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu questioning its motives, Anadolu reports.
Israel’s military is currently engaged in conflicts in Iran and Lebanon while continuing strikes in Gaza. The army has also deployed additional forces to the occupied West Bank amid rising violence by Israeli occupiers, which necessitates sending more soldiers there, while ultra-Orthodox Jews (Haredi) refuse military service.
While the army has been using its aircraft to attack Iran since Feb. 28, it announced the deployment of four military divisions to southern Lebanon and is deploying large forces in the West Bank, in addition to the forces present in Gaza.
“More than 100,000 reservists are deployed across all fronts, but the army still needs around 15,000 additional troops, including 7,000 to 8,000 combat soldiers,” military spokesperson Effie Defrin told a press briefing Thursday.
A day earlier, Zamir warned in a closed meeting of the Security Cabinet that the army could face “collapse” if the manpower shortage is not addressed, citing expanding missions in southern Lebanon and continued control over roughly half of Gaza.
He explained that the scope of the tasks is “constantly increasing,” with the expansion of military operations in southern Lebanon, and the continued control of about half of Gaza.
“But the number of soldiers is decreasing, especially after the cancellation of the extension of service for regular soldiers, which exacerbates the crisis,” he added.
Amir Yissscharoff, an analyst at Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, told Anadolu that Zamir’s warning was “professional, even as pro-government factions tried to cast it as political.”
Zamir spoke after the government legalized dozens of settlement outposts in the West Bank and as violence by Israeli occupiers escalated, alongside multiple security threats from Iran, Lebanon and Gaza, Yissscharoff said.
“Zamir sounded the alarm about a crisis, and his message was directed primarily at the Israeli domestic audience — he spoke before Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz and other political and military officials,” he said, adding that the message was clear: “We face a problem, and given the military’s expanding missions, everyone must be drafted — including the ultra-Orthodox.”
Attacking Zamir and labeling his remarks as political “misses the point,” Yissscharoff said. “He is addressing a professional problem. Zamir is not the problem; Netanyahu is.”
Haredi draft
Zamir’s remarks came as Netanyahu continued to stall on a military draft bill.
The opposition, along with factions within the nationalist right, argues that everyone — including the ultra-Orthodox — must serve, while the religious parties Shas and United Torah Judaism are pushing for legislation that would formally exempt seminary students from military service.
Opposition parties accuse Netanyahu of shielding the religious parties to preserve his governing coalition, dubbing the proposed measure the “draft evasion law.”
Israel’s Supreme Court ruled in June 2024 that Haredi must be drafted and ordered a halt to state funding for religious institutions whose students refuse to serve.
Ultra-Orthodox Jews make up roughly 13% of Israel’s population of approximately 9.7 million. They do not serve in the military, citing religious devotion to Torah study.
While Israeli law requires all citizens over 18 to serve, the Haredi exemption has fueled controversy for decades — a debate that has grown sharper amid Israel’s multiple wars and mounting military casualties, with secular parties demanding the ultra-Orthodox share what they call the “burden of war.”
The current Knesset’s term expires in October, when general elections are expected unless early elections are called. The Knesset passed the 2026 state budget Sunday, allowing the government to avert early elections — a result attributed largely to Netanyahu securing Haredi party support, even without passing legislation cementing their draft exemption.
Yissscharoff stressed that Netanyahu needs the religious parties, and it is in their interest for the government to remain in power.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid sought to capitalize on Zamir’s remarks ahead of the expected elections.
“I want to warn Israeli citizens that we are facing a security catastrophe,” Lapid wrote Thursday on the US social media company X.
“Over 13 years, I served on Israel’s most important security councils and committees — as prime minister, foreign minister, finance minister and a member of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee,” he said. “Throughout all those years, I cannot recall a warning as severe as the one issued by the chief of staff.”
According to Lapid, the army chief told the Security Cabinet he no longer has the means to continue mobilizing reservists, with some soldiers now on their sixth and seventh rotations since October 2023.
“They are completely exhausted,” Lapid said, adding that Zamir also informed the Cabinet that regular forces are in a state of total collapse and that the military does not have enough troops to carry out its missions.
“The government’s continued encouragement of ultra-Orthodox draft evasion constitutes a security threat,” he said, adding that Zamir presented a series of threats, “most of which cannot be mentioned on camera, but the bottom line is: the government is sending the army into a multi-front war with no strategy, no resources and too few soldiers.
“The government will not be able to claim this time that it didn’t know. This is their appointed chief of staff, and they will not be able to politicize him or blame him. From now on, Netanyahu cannot escape responsibility,” Lapid said, calling on the government to immediately cut funding to draft evaders and deploy military police against those who flee service.
He also called on the government to “combat Jewish terrorism by all means” and strip authority from National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir “who publicly supports Jewish terrorists.”
A cry for help
Yair Golan, former deputy chief of staff and leader of the opposition Democrats party, said Zamir’s remarks are “not merely a warning — they are a massive black flag waving over the government’s policy.”
“When the highest military official tells the Cabinet during wartime that the army is struggling to fulfill its missions because of government policy, that is not a situation assessment — it is a cry for help,” he wrote on X.
“A government that continues this policy is one that has abandoned security. It is a dangerous government that promotes Jewish terrorism, draft evasion, and combines anti-Zionism with antisemitism,” he said.
“Despite all the warnings, the government continues to establish more outposts, supports and arms rioters (occupiers), and the result is direct damage to the army’s ability to carry out its real missions. Whoever continues this policy in wartime bears direct responsibility for harming state security,” Golan added.
Former Defense Minister and Yisrael Beiteinu leader Avigdor Lieberman said on X that Zamir warned draft evasion “is harming Israel’s security.”
“The government, as usual, is ignoring warnings before disaster strikes. The army is facing the worst manpower shortage in its history, and everyone must be drafted,” Lieberman added.
Israel has occupied Palestinian territories and land in Lebanon and Syria for decades, and continues to reject withdrawal or the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.
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 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/
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a speech in Jerusalem on October 16, 2025. [Alex KOLOMOISKY / POOL / AFP via Getty Images]
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday he has ordered the military to expand the occupation in southern Lebanon, vowing to continue attacks until Israel achieves its objectives, Anadolu reports.
Israel is “determined to fundamentally change the situation in the north,” Netanyahu said in a video statement released on the US social media platform X.
He said military operations in Lebanon would continue, adding that Israeli forces would act with force until their goals are met.
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 region has been on alert since the US and Israel launched an air offensive on Iran on Feb. 28, so far killing over 1,340 people, including then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Iran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, along with Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf countries hosting US military assets, causing casualties and damage to infrastructure while disrupting global markets and aviation.
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 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/
Timothy Crosland leaving the Old Bailey, central London, after his preliminary hearing, September 26 2025
A TRIAL date has been set for six people charged with allegedly organising mass gatherings against the ban on the group Palestine Action.
The charges related to plans for meetings in London, Cardiff and Manchester which were allegedly organised over Zoom in July, August and this month.
Former government lawyer Timothy Crosland, 55, from Southwark, south London; gardener Dawn Manners, 61, from Hackney, east London; David Nixon, 39, from Barnsley, South Yorkshire; student Patrick Friend, 26, of Grange, Edinburgh; Gwen Harrison, 48, from Kendal, Cumbria; and Melanie Griffith, 62, from Southwark, are accused of breaches of the Terrorism Act.
They are accused of allegedly arranging, managing or addressing meetings, knowing that the purpose was to support a proscribed organisation.
Each defendant spoke to confirm their names in the dock during a preliminary hearing at the Old Bailey today.
Nixon remained standing in the dock throughout the hearing with his eyes closed and holding a white banner with the words “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action.”
The defendants are alleged to be members of a group called Defend Our Juries, or to work closely with it, which opposes the ban on Palestine Action.
Palestine Action joke that appeared in the UK satirical magazine ‘Private Eye’.Keir “I support Zionism without Qualification” Starmer supporting genocide.Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.
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Israeli forces raid the el-Amari Refugee Camp, located south of the city of Ramallah in the West Bank on September 14, 2025. [Issam Rimawi – Anadolu Agency]
While the genocide and destruction in Gaza have reached unprecedented levels, Israel now appears to be moving towards its next bold step — a West Bank version of the Gaza endgame scenario. Tension is mounting regionally and globally over a possible imminent Israeli declaration to annex the occupied West Bank. If it happens, the move would mark a major turning point in the timeline of the Arab-Israeli conflict over the land of Palestine. “There are serious and real concerns that Israel may, in the coming days, announce the annexation of the West Bank. The annexation of the West Bank to Israel is a central part of the political project of two main parties allied with Likud in this extremist government led by Netanyahu,” said Qadura Fares, the former Palestinian minister and member of the Legislative Council, in a phone conversation from Ramallah in the West Bank.
At the same time, we are witnessing a historic shift as Western nations long supportive of Israel begin to take a different stance, recognising the State of Palestine one after another. These strong Western voices are also warning Israel, in real time, against any unilateral annexation of the West Bank in response to this global wave of recognition.
“This government in Israel has two options now on the table. It can either respond diplomatically to each of the countries recognising Palestine, or it can declare the annexation of the West Bank as a collective punishment against those nations,” Ambassador Alon Liel, retired senior Israeli diplomat, told me in a short conversation.
For many Israelis, this is seen as the moment to change realities on the ground — taking advantage of Western recognition of Palestine as a pretext to move deeper into the West Bank. While everything they have done in Gaza so far has been approved by the Trump administration, they foresee that this golden era in Washington will not return anytime soon. With the unprecedented support President Trump is granting Israel, taking full sovereignty of the land is exactly what the Israeli far right needs now. As Jason Shvili wrote in the far-right Israeli newspaper Israel HaYom: “No other US administration, Democrat or Republican, has been more receptive to the idea of Israel extending its sovereignty to Judea and Samaria, so annexation must happen as soon as possible.”
Retired Israeli ambassador and senior diplomat Alon Liel agrees that the chances are high the USA will back Israel in such a step. But he adds: “The real fear inside the government now is the threat annexation may pose to the Abraham Accords. The achievement of the Accords and relations with the UAE and Bahrain are attributed to PM Netanyahu. Taking over the West Bank may threaten the future of these agreements. These accords are seen as Netanyahu’s biggest diplomatic achievement.”
Annexing the West Bank has long been a central vision for the future of the Jewish state according to the Israeli agenda, but timing is critical. As we see day by day on the ground in Gaza, Israel has pushed much of Gaza’s population southward, concentrating residents into a narrow strip of land and effectively emptying large areas of Palestinians. These actions appear aimed at displacement, potentially forcing Gaza’s Palestinians to leave for Egypt as part of a broader strategy for a Greater Israel, another vision repeatedly mentioned in the narrative of several ministers in the coalition currently running Israel and leading the ongoing war we are witnessing right now.
Bringing the West Bank formally under Israeli sovereignty would therefore complete the picture — unifying the lands of historic Palestine under the authority of the self-styled Jewish state “The annexation of the West Bank is linked to other plan in the Israeli agenda, linked to the displacement of the Palestinians, the transfer of the Palestinian people in the West Bank and Jerusalem into Jordan” said former Palestinian minister and member of the Legislative Council, Qadura Fares “This harms the Jordanian sovereignty, a decisive stance must be taken by all Arab countries to respond to Israel,” Mr. Fares added.
Israeli opposition, represented by Yair Lapid, the leader of the Yesh Atid party, expressed its disapproval of the possible move to annex the West Bank. Lapid’s concern was not a fundamental objection to the idea of annexation itself, but rather the timing and the heavy diplomatic cost.
“What are they trying to do? Further damage our international relations? All we’ll get out of this is more serious international backlash for something that has no viability,” Lapid said earlier this month. He described calls for taking over the West Bank as “another provocation toward a world that is already turning its back on us.”
Former ambassador Alon Liel believes the opinion of the other segment of Israeli society is completely different. “The religious part of the population in Israel does not care about the world — if we lose the support of the world or not, they see the world as antisemitic anyhow. Israel is sharply divided,” Liel said.
Former Palestinian minister Qadura Fares emphasized that the West Bank is occupied — and will remain so regardless of any possible annexation order. Palestinians therefore have the right to resist the occupation, and any annexation would be illegal, adding yet another entry to a long list of Israeli actions deemed violations under international law.
Both the measures Israel is taking in Gaza — pushing the population outward and crushing resistance — and its actions in the West Bank, from the destruction of refugee camps like Nour Shams and Jenin to expanding illegal settlements and cutting the region’s geographical integrity, follow a single prescription. They make a Palestinian state on the land occupied in 1967 impossible. They kill all chances of a two-state solution and pave the way for uprooting the Palestinian people entirely, leaving the land to the Jewish state.
Israel is seizing what it sees as the best use of the remaining three years of the current US administration. In this window, the impossible becomes possible — a season unlikely to return under any future administration. But the true end of eight-decade Palestinian struggle will take far longer than these three years.
The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.
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Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpAKeir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.Vote Labour for Genocide.
Timothy Crosland leaving the Old Bailey, central London, after his preliminary hearing, September 26 2025
