Featured speaker on April 3 was a ski-masked “Captain Marcos,” presumably the same charismatic spokesman once known as “Subcommander Marcos.” He delivered an exegesis entitled: “A Peephole into the Storm in the World: Nation-States Under Attack” (Una mirilla a la Tormenta en el Mundo: Los Estados-Nación bajo ataque). Marcos portrayed a supra-national imperialism under Donald Trump, in which “the nation-state has no decision-making power.” Marcos decried the “kidnapping” of Nicolás Maduro from Venezuela, and the US oil blockade on Cuba, especially noting that Mexico has been effectively barred from shipping oil to the Caribbean island nation. He hailed the tenacious resistance of the Cubans and Palestinians.

Marcos asserted that in the US-Israeli war against Iran, the big oil companies are the ones who benefit, as the price of oil has dramatically risen. “That’s what needs to be discussed: who is profiting from these wars?” (La Jornada via Mexico Solidarity Media)

Image: Enlace Zapatista

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Photo: Tony Webster via Wikimedia Commons

After five weeks of war, the US and Iran on April 8 agreed to a two-week ceasefire brokered by Pakistan. Its basic details, however, and to what extent it will be implemented, are surrounded by uncertainty. A main sticking point is the question of whether Lebanon was included in the deal. Iranian and Pakistani officials are insisting it was, but the US and Israel say that it wasn’t. Meanwhile, Israel has continued to carry out devastating attacks on Beirut and other parts of Lebanon.

The shaky ceasefire is based on a 10-point plan to end the war sent by Iran to Washington in the final hours before a deadline set by US President Donald Trump. If Iran did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Trump threatened on April 7 that a “whole civilization will die tonight.” Since the ceasefire began, some vessels have begun to trickle through the strait, but Iran is maintaining its chokehold on passage. The fate of the ceasefire could be decided in the coming days as US and Iranian officials head to Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, for peace talks.

Israel’s position on the question of whether Lebanon was part of the US-Iran ceasefire was made painfully clear on April 8, as Israel unleashed a massive series of attacks on Beirut and throughout the country. Many of the strikes targeted densely-populated civilian neighborhoods, killing at least 303 people, by the latest count. Hospitals now struggling to deal with the influx of casualties were already working on power supplied by emergency generators, with supplies dwindling.

On April 9, Israel issued an evacuation order for the Beirut neighbourhood of Jnah, which includes two hospitals, Rafik Hariri University Hospital and al-Zahraa, that are treating the injured. WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said there is nowhere to evacuate patients to, and urged Israel to reverse the order. While various aid groups and leaders urge for the inclusion of Lebanon in the truce, and issue conflicting statements, Lebanese civilians are once again left to wait, search for survivors, and mourn the dead.

From The New Humanitarian, April 10

Image: Pixabay

In a statement run by Mehr and quoted in The New Arab, the local Jewish community condemned the bombing. “We, the Jews of Iran, condemn the brutal attacks carried out by the American-Zionist enemy against our dear homeland and the Rafi-Nia synagogue,” the statement said, adding that the Jewish community stands “alongside the people and the system of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” prepared to defend the country “until our last breath.”

A representative of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told Middle East Eye that the IDF “regrets the collateral damage to the synagogue and emphasizes that the strike was targeted at a senior military target within the regime’s armed forces, not at any place of worship.” The representative identified the target as a neraby “emergency headquarters” of Iran’s joint military command, and added that a review would be launched.

Iran has the third-largest Jewish population in the Middle East after Israel and Turkey, with a 2016 census placing the number of Jews at just over 9,000. However, some members of the community believe the real number is higher. The community maintains some 30 synagogues, as well as schools and kosher facilities, mostly in Tehran, Isfahan and Shiraz. Judaism is one of Iran’s legally recognized “minority religions,” alongside Sunni Islam, Zoroastrianism and Christianity, with each represented in parliament.

According to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) 3,600 Iranians have been killed since US-Israeli bombardment began in late February, including at least 1,665 civilians.

Screenshot via JTA

These claims were quickly refuted by Iran’s Kurdish opposition parties. “We did not receive any weapons during the time of the demonstrations in Iran,” Hejar Berenji, stateside representative of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) told Fox News.

Siamand Moeini, a senior leader in the armed Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), similarly denied the report. “We as PJAK, as I know, have not received anything. As for others, I cannot answer,” he told Middle East Eye.

Hana Yazdanpanah, foreign representative for the Iraq-based Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK), which has a wide following in Iran, told Middle East Eye that their fighters only have their “old Kalashnikov[s] that we fought ISIS with for five years and the weapons they abandoned after its defeat.” She added: “We have received no single weapon from the US at this time.”

Mohammed Nazif Qaderi, a senior official of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI), told the Kurdish news agency Rudaw: “Those statements made are baseless and we haven’t received any weapons. The weapons we have are from 47 years ago, and we obtained them on the Islamic Republic’s battlefield, and we bought some from the market.”

Immediately after the US and Israel launched their air campaign against Iran in late February, Tehran embarked on a barrage of missile and drone attacks against Kurdish targets in northern Iraq. Iranian drone strikes targeted KDPI camps in the Koya district, along with a KDPI headquarters in Erbil province. (AW)

Image: Middle East Forum via Wikimedia Commons

In Iran, approximately 2,345 people have been arrested on charges related to “national security.” Many of these, as well as more arbitrarily arrested during the January protests, are being held in harsh conditions and incommunicado detention. The state has also cut internet access to prevent external sharing of information. Three protesters were publicly hanged in March after being convicted of “waging war against God” based on “confessions” obtained under torture. Many more are at imminent risk of execution.

Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty International’s deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, issued a statement stressing the grave nature of this situation:

It is unconscionable that even as the population is reeling from conflict and mass bereavement amid the ongoing aerial bombardment by Israel and the USA, the authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran continue to weaponize the death penalty to eradicate dissenting voices and further terrify people.

The wave of repression and arbitrary detentions extends across the Midlle East. In Bahrain, activist Sayed Mohammed al-Mousawi died in custody in March after suspected torture. Human Rights Watch has also decried Bahrain’s blanket ban on protests.

In Qatar and the UAE, authorities have announced hundreds of detentions for sharing information showing the impact of strikes. In Kuwait, authorities imposed a new decree of imprisonment and steep fines for anyone who “undermine[s] the prestige of the military” or works toward eroding public trust in the armed forces. In Jordan, at least four government critics have been arrested. For example, Omar Awad was taken from the streets by security forces without explanation and has been denied contact with his family and lawyers.

In Palestine, Türk warned of similar trends. Israeli authorities have detained 200 Palestinians on the occupied West Bank since the US-Israeli war on Iran began, including for posting on social media, or on suspicion of “incitement” or “glorifying the enemy.” Rights groups have also reported a rise in direct violence by Israeli forces and settlers. One school principal in Dura, outside Hebron, was physically assaulted and had his home vandalized by Israeli authorities in response to a post he reportedly published in support of Iran. Israel has also recently passed legislation providing for a death penalty to apply selectively to Palestinians for particular crimes.

Türk summarized the increased restrictions on rights, stating:

We are witnessing a sharp securitisation of civic space across the region, with severe restrictions imposed by governments on people exercising their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. Waves of arrests and broad clampdowns, mostly on vaguely defined accusations, have had a deeply chilling effect on people, many of whom are already living with uncertainty, fear and anxiety.

Türk called on states to respect their obligations under international human rights law related to freedom of expression and assembly, ensuring access to legal counsel, due process, and a fair trial.

From JURIST, April 2. Used with permission. Internal links added.

Image: Pixabay

Image: Pixabay

The World Food Programme (WFP) warned March 17 that the escalating hostilities in the Middle East could lead to record levels of food insecurity, and the largest disruption in the global economy and humanitarian efforts since the COVID-19 pandemic.

WFP deputy executive director and chief operating officer Carl Skau said: “If this conflict continues, it will send shockwaves across the globe, and families who already cannot afford their next meal will be hit the hardest.” Skau urged the international community to mount an adequately funded humanitarian response.

Since the United States and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran in late February, the conflict has spread to encompass much of the region, causing thousands of civilian casualties and forcibly displacing over 3 million people. The WFP predicts 45 million people may slide into acute hunger (a level known as IPC Phase 3+) if the conflict continues. Due to the heavy reliance of food and aid distribution on energy, the skyrocketing price of oil has placed heightened strain on already over-stretched aid supply lines. The disruption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has also increased fertilizer costs, posing a more long-term threat to food security.

In 2025, an estimated 318 million people across 68 countries were already experiencing acute food insecurity, with 41.1 million under “Emergency” conditions or worse (IPC Phase 4+). The number of people facing catastrophic hunger (Phase 5) remained alarmingly high in 2025, exceeding 1 million.

Import-reliant countries, predominantly in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, face the greatest risk. Humanitarian organizations are already spread thin by tightening budgets, as well as the proliferation and exacerbation of global crises. Global funding for foreign aid has contracted exponentially in recent years, with a sharp decline following President Trump’s signing of Executive Order 14169, which effectively suspended most operations of USAID. Together, these developments place extraordinary pressure on humanitarian organizations, leaving millions at risk of famine. Sudan and Somalia were named as particularly vulnerable.

From JURIST, March 19. Used with permission.

Note: Hunger in the Global South has already been exacerbated by Trump’s trade tariffs regime, while spikes in the price of oil and grain since the start of the Ukraine war in 2022 have contributed to popular privation and unrest worldwide.

Photo: Alex Blokha via Wikimedia Commons

The Feb. 28 strike on the girls’ school in Minab, in southern Iran, killed over 100 children. Amnesty’s Evidence Lab conducted an investigation into the strike, analyzing over 30 satellite images and reviewing official statements, independent media reports, and witnesses accounts.

The group found that the school was hit by precision-guided munitions, and additionally uncovered that the US may have relied on outdated intelligence to conduct the strike. This would constitute a violation of international law—specifically the duty to verify that an intended target is a military objective. While the school was located adjacent to a military compound of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, satellite images show that the building had been physically separated from the compound by construction of perimeter walls at least since from 2016.

Erika Guervara-Rosas, Amnesty’s senior director of research and advocacy, stated:

This harrowing attack on a school, with classrooms full of children, is a sickening illustration of the catastrophic and entirely predictable price civilians are paying during this armed conflict. Schools must be places of safety and learning for children. Instead, this school in Minab became a site of mass killing. The US authorities could, and should, have known it was a school building. Targeting a protected civilian object, such as a school, is strictly prohibited under international humanitarian law.

The group called for US authorities to launch a public investigation, prosecute those suspected of criminal responsibility, and provide reparations for victims. Both Amnesty and Human Rights Watch have called for the attack to be investigated as a war crime.

From JURIST, March 18. Used with permission. Internal links added.

Photo: Mehr via Wikimedia Commons

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