Trump renews threats to ‘knock out’ Iran’s power plants, bridges if final deal fails

April 19, 2026

Iran has reclosed the Strait of Hormuz due to Washington’s ongoing blockade on the country’s ports

Iran: Strait of Hormuz is Open; but with Conditions

April 18, 2026
Juan Cole
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, announced on “X” Friday morning that the Strait of Hormuz is “completely open.”

Victory Disease in Iran

April 17, 2026
Matthew Stevenson 

Old fortification in Oman. Photo by Matthew Stevenson.

War on Iran leaves $58 billion repair bill across region – report

April 16, 2026

US-Israel strikes and Tehran’s retaliation are pushing oil and gas facility damage costs toward $50 billion, Rystad Energy projects

Research reveals that EU AI rules stop at its borders with little accountability for human rights impacts abroad

April 16, 2026

Nadim Nashif

EU exports AI systems that are escalating human rights violations in Palestine and the WANA region

An aerial view of the Flour massacre, when at least 118 Palestinians were killed, and 760 were injured after Israeli forces opened fire while they were seeking food from aid trucks, February 29, 2024. Photo on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0).

هدیه مجوسان

 شاهکاری از ویلیام سیدنی پورتر - ا«او هنری»ا

The Gift of the Magi

A Masterpiece By William Sidney Porter- “O’Henry”

ONE DOLLAR AND eighty-seven cents. That was all. And sixty cents of it was in pennies. Pennies saved one and two at a time by bulldozing the grocer and the vegetable man and the butcher until one's cheeks burned with the silent imputation of parsimony that such close dealing implied. Three times Della counted it. One dollar and eighty-seven cents. And the next day would be Christmas.

US Sends Thousands More Troops to Middle East, Considers Ground Ops in Iran

April 15, 2026
Dave DeCamp
The US is sending thousands of additional troops to the Middle East and is considering restarting the bombing campaign against Iran or launching ground operations in the country, The Washington Post reported on Wednesday, citing unnamed US officials.

Marines aboard the USS Portland, part of the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group, conducting weapons functions check during a drill in the Pacific Ocean on April 9, 2026 (US Marines Corps photo)

LIVE BLOG: Iran Signals Ceasefire End over Hormuz Rights as Lebanon Toll Rises – Day 46

April 14, 2026
Iran warns ceasefire may collapse without recognition of Hormuz control, as Israeli strikes intensify across southern Lebanon front.

 

PFP Gubernatorial Candidate Ramsey Robinson is Fighting for the People of California, not the Billionaires

April 13, 2026
“Billionaires have their two parties. Working people need our own. That’s why I’m thrilled to be part of the Peace and Freedom Party’s long history of anti-war candidates. I’m fighting for a socialist California where healthcare, housing and good jobs are human rights, not luxuries.”

Trump Orders Naval Blockade of Iran After Failed Talks, Iran Threatens Retaliation in Gulf

April 13, 2026
Ship traffic has been halted again in the Strait of Hormuz after President Trump ordered the U.S. military to begin a naval blockade of all Iranian ports and coastal areas starting Monday at 10 a.m. ET. Iran denounced Trump’s move as an illegal act amounting to “piracy” and has threatened to strike Gulf ports in retaliation. Trump ordered the blockade after the U.S. and Iran failed to reach a deal to end the war following 21 hours of talks in Islamabad, Pakistan. Global oil prices jumped after Trump announced the blockade.

DAYS 41-44: Trump Declares Blockade As Talks Collapse

April 12, 2026
Joe Lauria

Donald Trump has announced plans for a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz after the collapse of U.S.-Iran peace talks following 21 hours in an Islamabad hotel, writes Joe Lauria.

Trump’s Truth Social post on the blockade.

US-Israeli Strikes on Iran’s Universities Signal Higher Ed No Longer Off-Limits

April 11, 2026
Kourosh Ziabari

Even if the ceasefire holds and the war comes to an end, Iran’s academia will bear great costs and long-term impacts.

The Shahid Beheshti University seen destroyed after a missile strike the previous day, on April 4, 2026, in Tehran, Iran.

US ceasefire with Iran: What’s next? A former diplomat explains 3 possible scenarios

April 10, 2026
Donald Heflin
President Donald Trump on April 7, 2026, announced a ceasefire between the United States and Iran, after more than a month of war marked by U.S. and Israeli strikes against Iranian military leadership, Iranian retaliation against regional oil infrastructure and a global energy crisis.

A vessel passes through the Strait of Hormuz following the announcement of a two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran. Shady Alassar/Anadolu via Getty Images

What Israelis can learn from the nightmares of an Iranian hangman

April 9, 2026
Orly Noy

As Israel embraces the death penalty, government ministers can look to what they call the ‘Iranian terror regime’ for inspiration — and caution.

A public execution in Fayyam Square, Shiraz, November 21, 2018. (Students' News Agency)

US-Iran talks in Pakistan: Who’s attending, what’s on the agenda?

April 9, 2026

Abid Hussain

Islamabad hosts negotiations as US and Iran seek an off-ramp. But deep mistrust and regional tensions threaten talks.

Middle East ceasefire may have made Iran stronger

April 8, 2026
Bamo Nouri and Inderjeet Parmar

Sustained bombing of its infrastructure may have left Iran with new financial mechanisms to rebuild and even expand its regional influence

آتش‌بس با شرایط ایران، اشتباه استراتژیک جنگ را برجسته می‌کند

نوشتهٔ تریتا پارسی‌

استفاده ناموفق ترامپ از زور، اعتبار تهدیدهای نظامی آمریکا را از بین برده و پویایی کاملاً جدیدی را در مسیر دیپلماتیک ایجاد کرده است

Iranian Synagogue ‘Completely Destroyed,’ Reportedly By US-Israeli Airstrike

April 7, 2026
Stephen Prager

The representative for Iran’s Jewish community in Parliament said Israel “showed no mercy... during the Jewish holidays and attacked one of our ancient and holy synagogues.”

A person holds the damaged fragments of a text in Hebrew after a US-Israeli strike on a residential building destroyed the adjacent Rafi-Nia Synagogue on April 7, 2026, in Tehran, Iran. (Photo by Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)

Iran war live: Israel strikes second petrochemical plant after hitting South Pars

April 6, 2026

Iran reviews Pakistan's ceasefire deal but rejects any immediate move to reopen Hormuz