News

The economic fallout of the US-Israeli assault and Tehran’s retaliation is spreading fast, and pushing the most vulnerable towards disaster Soaring prices at the pump, the scrapping of mortgage deals, and the prospect of higher prices for everything from food to smartphones. The US-Israeli attack on Iran, and Tehran’s retaliation, has rocked the global economy. Consumers are already feeling the pain of the biggest energy supply shock in history, and Iran’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, vowed on Thursday that the strait of Hormuz will remain closed, according to a statement attributed to him by state media. The corridor is the biggest chokepoint for the global energy system. The relief to oil prices brought by the International Energy Agency’s largest ever release of reserves had already proved shortlived: as the US and Israel intensified attacks on Iran, it escalated attacks on transport infrastructure across the Gulf. But the impact is not evenly felt. In Asia, heavily reliant on the Middle East for crude oil and liquefied natural gas, Bangladesh closed all its universities and Pakistan some of its schools due to fuel shortages. While US coverage is dominated by the impact at home, others are paying a higher price. And it is the world’s poorest and most vulnerable who will be worst hit. Continue reading...

Democrats introduce ‘Justice for Hind Rajab Act’ as film about her death gains Oscar buzz MEE staff on Thu, 03/12/2026 - 15:51 If passed, it would compel the Trump administration to reveal everything it knows about Israel's killing of the child in Gaza A person holds a portrait of Hind Rajab during the red carpet arrivals for the film 'The Voice of Hind Rajab' presented in competition at the 82nd International Venice Film Festival, at Venice Lido, Italy, on 3 September 2025 (Tiziana Fabi/AFP) Off US Democratic lawmakers have introduced a bill demanding that the State Department explain exactly what it did to investigate the circumstances of the killing of Palestinian child Hind Rajab, and whether any Americans were involved, The Hollywood Reporter revealed on Thursday. The "Justice for Hind Rajab Act" will have to go through committees and floor debates in both chambers of Congress before it comes to a vote. It undoubtedly faces an uphill battle in a Republican-dominated legislature.  Rajab was a six-year-old Palestinian girl from Gaza whose agonising death at the hands of Israeli soldiers on 29 January 2024 has become symbolic of the widespread violations of international humanitarian law committed during Israel's genocide in the enclave, where over 72,000 Palestinians have been killed.  The text of the bill, which is being introduced by Peter Welch in the Senate, and Pramila Jayapal and Sara Jacobs in the House, says that if it is enacted into law, the secretary of state and the secretary of war will be compelled to produce a report within 45 days that explains whether the killing ran afoul of the US Foreign Assistance Act and the Leahy Law.  The Leahy Law prohibits the US from providing arms or military assistance to foreign militaries that violate human rights. The US State Department has an "Israel Leahy Vetting Forum" as part of the law. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Lawmakers also want to know the identities of the Israeli soldiers who took part in Rajab's killing, and whether any of them are also US citizens.  The bill effectively demands that the US government hand over everything it knows about the incident, including whether the Department of Justice ever investigated human rights violations. "Since October 7, 2023, the United States has provided more than $21,700,000,000 in military assistance to Israel, which has funded a majority of the expenses needed by the Israel Defense Forces to conduct the war in Gaza," the bill says. "According to information from the Government of Israel, an estimated 10,000 people from the United States were activated for the war in Gaza," it adds. "According to reports from the Gaza Ministry of Health, more than 20,000 children have been killed in Gaza." The Biden administration had repeatedly referred reporters to the government of Israel when asked about investigations into Rajab and other alleged war crimes in Gaza, but critics have pointed to that approach as a stalling and diversion tactic. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); "The same day the Justice for Hind Rajab Act is being introduced in Congress, Israel has announced it is dropping its prosecution into the on-camera rape and torture of a Palestinian detainee at the notorious Sde Teiman facility," the US-based advocacy organisation, A New Policy, wrote on X on Thursday. A New Policy was founded by two US officials who resigned because of the Biden administration's unconditional support for Israel's assault on Gaza following the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on 7 October 2023.  "It's obvious - Israel can't be trusted to investigate itself," A New Policy said. "That's why we need international bodies like the International Criminal Court (currently under US sanctions) to pursue their case, why we need to apply the Leahy Law to Israel, & why we need Bills like the Justice for Hind Rajab Act." Spotlight Jayapal and Welch hosted a screening of the Oscar-nominated film, The Voice of Hind Rajab, on Capitol Hill last month. It is expected to win the international film category at Sunday's awards ceremony.  (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); The bill's timing is likely to capitalise on that spotlight. Unfolding over the course of 24 hours and set entirely at a Palestine Red Crescent Society call centre, 52 miles from Gaza, The Voice of Hind Rajab is a docu-fiction hybrid that dramatises the efforts of Palestinian aid workers to save the pleading child on the phone.  An investigation in June 2024 revealed that Rajab and five of her family members were targeted with 335 Israeli army bullets as they attempted to flee northern Gaza in their car. For three hours, Hind was the sole survivor, trapped alongside her slain relatives. Desperate for help, she called the Palestinian Red Crescent, but paramedics Yusuf al-Zeino and Ahmed al-Madhoun were both killed by Israeli forces before they could rescue her. A harrowing recording of Hind’s final phone call, released after the incident, captured her chilling pleas: "I'm scared of the dark, come get me."  It formed the basis for the highly acclaimed film, which has already received awards on the festival circuit.  Middle East Eye has reached out to Jayapal's office for comment, but did not receive a response in time for publication.  Israel's genocide in Gaza News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0

Iran's new supreme leader vows to block Strait of Hormuz in first statement  BBC

Israel's military bombed a busy residential and commercial district in central Beirut after issuing a warning for residents to evacuate, saying it was targeting Hezbollah sites. The strikes hit a building in the Bashoura district twice, in the closest attack to downtown since the start of the war on Iran by Israel and the U.S.

US officials say Iran war could last four to five weeks: Report Two US officials have told Al Jazeera that Washington expects the war against Iran to continue for four to five weeks, though it could end sooner. According to the officials, the conflict may conclude within two weeks if political conditions change, but the final decision will depend on US President Donald Trump.

As oil prices rise, the US, Israel and Iran seem ready to keep fighting no matter the costs.

Unpacking The Cost Of The War On Iran : 1A  NPR

Iran vows to fight until US regrets ‘grave miscalculation’ Ali Larijani, a senior security official in Iran, says the country will continue fighting until the United States regrets its decision to launch the war on the country. Larijani condemned US President Donald Trump and rejected suggestions that the conflict could be resolved quickly. "Trump says he is looking for a speedy victory. While starting a war is easy, it cannot be won with a few tweets. We will not relent until making you sorry for this grave miscalculation,” Larijani said on X.

How Iran war ship attacks choked off Strait of Hormuz  BBC

What America is paying for Trump’s war in Iran  Center for American Progress

Tucker Carlson’s “ignorant” comments on Iran war spark outrage from New York Jewish groups  amNewYork

Key questions emerge around AI use and human errors in the Trump administration’s rush to strike Iran

AFP reporters have been speaking to a range of people living in Iran to build a picture of life under daily US and Israeli bombardment despite an internet blackout and major communication problems. Here is a selection of their comments, either from people who sent messages to AFP reporters or from those interviewed at the borders as they fled. AFP is withholding identifying information for their security. - My son 'has no understanding of war' - A 37-year-old man in Bukan, northwest Iran:

Iceland and Netherlands intervene in ICJ South Africa v Israel genocide case MEE staff on Thu, 03/12/2026 - 16:57 The move adds to an expanding list of governments weighing in on the high-profile Gaza case before the UN’s highest court President of the International Court of Justice Yuji Iwasawa chairs a hearing in The Hague on 22 October 2025 (AFP) Off Iceland and the Netherlands filed declarations to intervene in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Thursday, bringing the number of countries seeking to participate in the proceedings to 18. Both states filed declarations under Article 63 of the court’s statute, which allows countries that are parties to a treaty at issue in a case to intervene in order to present their interpretation of that treaty. The case, brought by South Africa in December 2023, accuses Israel of violating the 1948 Genocide Convention through its military campaign in Gaza since October 2023. Israel has so far killed over 70,000 Palestinians in Gaza, most of them women and children. South Africa argues that Israel’s actions in Gaza amount to genocide, including through killing Palestinians, causing serious bodily or mental harm and imposing conditions of life calculated to bring about the group’s destruction. Israel denies committing genocide. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); But a UN commission of inquiry concluded last September that Israel has committed genocide (the gravest crime under international law) in Gaza since 7 October 2023. The UN report’s authors, including legal experts Navi Pillay and Chris Sidoti, told Middle East Eye that the report used evidence and a similar methodology in its analysis to that which will be used by the ICJ. On Thursday, Israel is scheduled to submit its counter-memorial, or arguments in response to South Africa's filings, after several deadline extensions by the court. The court has yet to announce that Israel has filed its evidence, however. Mass interventions  The new interventions by Iceland and the Netherlands come as a growing number of states seek to weigh in on the interpretation of the Genocide Convention in the case. Under Article 63, interventions have already been filed by Colombia, Libya, Mexico, Palestine, Spain, Turkey, Chile, the Maldives, Bolivia, Ireland, Cuba, Belize, Brazil, the Comoros, Belgium and Paraguay. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Palestine and Belize have also sought to intervene under Article 62 of the ICJ statute, which allows states to apply to join proceedings if they believe they have a legal interest that could be affected by the court’s decision. Article 63 interventions do not make intervening states parties to the dispute. Instead, they allow them to submit observations on how the relevant treaty – in this case the Genocide Convention – should be interpreted. Genocide in Gaza: How many Palestinians did Israel kill? Read More » In its declaration, Iceland said the Convention must be interpreted in a way that supports its fundamental aim of preventing and punishing genocide. It argued that genocidal intent can often be inferred from patterns of conduct rather than direct evidence. Iceland also said the court should consider whether actions such as deprivation of food, shelter or medical care could constitute conditions of life intended to destroy a protected group, and emphasised the particular vulnerability of children in assessing serious bodily or mental harm. The Netherlands, in its filing, said the court should take into account patterns of conduct and circumstantial evidence when determining genocidal intent. It also argued that forced displacement and the withholding of humanitarian aid could, depending on the circumstances, contribute to acts prohibited under the Convention. Both countries stressed that their interventions were limited to questions of treaty interpretation and did not address the factual allegations in the case. The proceedings are one of the most closely watched disputes ever heard by the ICJ and have drawn an unusually large number of third-state interventions. The court has already ordered Israel in binding provisional measures to take steps to prevent acts that breach the Convention and to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, while stopping short of ordering a ceasefire. Israel has been accused of repeatedly violating the court's orders.  A final ruling on whether Israel has breached the Genocide Convention could take until 2028, experts have previously told Middle East Eye. Israel's genocide in Gaza News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0

Israel targets centre of Lebanese capital in escalation of military campaign that has killed nearly 700 people.

Iran vows to keep Strait of Hormuz closed in new leader's first statement  The Detroit News

submitted by /u/BarnabusTheBold to r/geopolitics [link] [comments]

Charges dropped against five soldiers accused of sexually abusing a Palestinian detainee at a military facility.

Editorial: Everyone but Donald Trump can see that while a short campaign was within the president’s power to start, a wider conflict is not within his purview to stop

Qatar cuts 50 percent of workforce at major LNG project over Israeli-US war on Iran Work at QatarEnergy’s huge North Field Expansion liquefied natural gas project has slowed sharply as the war on Iran enters its third week. A source familiar with the situation told Reuters that the workforce at the site has been reduced to below 50 percent, citing security concerns linked to the regional conflict. The development follows an earlier decision by Qatar to halt production at its existing 77 million tonnes-per-year LNG facility and declare force majeure on shipments. The North Field expansion is one of the world’s most important energy projects and aims to boost the country’s LNG output to 126 million tonnes per year by 2027. Qatar is currently the second-largest exporter of LNG globally, meaning disruptions to its projects could have wider implications for global energy markets already strained by the conflict.