Dr. Marwa Osman
Marwa Osman/MidEaStream + Part 2

Statement by His Eminence Sheikh Naim Qassem, Secretary General of Hezbollah

The Israeli enemy, backed by the American hegemon, wagered on eliminating Hezbollah, its Islamic Resistance, and the people who stand united with it in dignity and honor. It spared no method, no crime, no conspiracy, no avenue, yet it has failed since the outset of the "Uli al-Ba's" battle on September 23, 2024, to this day.

The enemy's decisive bet came on March 2, 2026, which we confronted with the battle of "The Devoured Storm." The Israeli enemy, its patrons, the defeated, and indeed the entire world were taken aback by the steadfastness of the resistance fighters; their valor, intensity, diversity of tactics, operational effectiveness, and disciplined command and control, alongside the remarkable solidarity of the people who endured displacement and immense sacrifice. The enemy has reached a dead end. This resistance endures, strong and unbreakable.

Amid this atmosphere of sacrifice and dignity, and the enemy's defeat, the authorities hastened into a gratuitous and humiliating concession, one devoid of necessity, justified only by submission without return, not even by the smallest measure. We categorically reject direct negotiations. Let those in power understand: their conduct will benefit neither Lebanon nor themselves. What the Israeli-American enemy seeks from them lies beyond their capacity, and what they seek from it will not be granted.

The path to resolution begins with securing five essential points before anything else: a complete cessation of aggression, by land, sea, and air; Israel’s withdrawal from occupied territories; the release of prisoners; the return of displaced residents to all their towns and villages; and reconstruction.

No authority can endure while forfeiting Lebanon's rights, conceding land, and confronting its own people in resistance. It must return to its people, unite them, and become a government of the whole nation, not a fragment, grounded in the consensus that underpins the Taif Agreement. Its responsibility is to reverse grave missteps that threaten Lebanon's stability: halt direct negotiations with the Israeli enemy in favor of indirect ones, rescind the March 2 decision that criminalizes the resistance and its people, more than half of Lebanon, and enable a genuine internal dialogue that places Lebanon's interest above all else, free from Israeli and external dictates.

Pepe Escobar
Strategic Culture Foundation

From now on, it’s clear that no settlement will be possible – and realistic – without Russian influence.

Talk about an entrance pregnant with meaning!

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi engaged on a high-stakes diplomacy tour to Islamabad, Muscat and St. Petersburg aboard flight “Minab 168” on Meraj Airlines.

In memory, of course, of the 168 schoolgirls from Minab killed by the Empire of Chaos, Lies, Plunder and Piracy.

Before he set out on his voyage, Araghchi went straight to the point:

Araghchi explained the importance of reviewing negotiations in Pakistan, and “under what conditions negotiations could continue.” Conversations in Oman “will lead to greater expansion in relations with neighbors, especially in the southern regions of the Persian Gulf.”

On the Strait of Hormuz, “consultations with Oman were also necessary…We share many common views with Oman, and it was agreed that discussions would continue at the expert level.”

Araghchi in St. Petersburg did not only meet his counterpart, Grandmaster Sergey Lavrov, as protocol would have it. Himself and his mini-delegation were personally received by President Putin.

Elena Panina
Елена Панина (Telegram)

It is no longer possible to examine the war in Ukraine separately from EU industrial policy—that is the general conclusion drawn from numerous articles appearing in Western military publications. There is no point in recounting them all; we will only highlight two points "for clarity."

❖ This week, the European Commission presented the results of the call for proposals for the 2025 European Defense Fund. Fifty-seven joint research and development projects (drones and other autonomous systems) worth $1.26 billion were selected. At least four separate initiatives—EURODAMM, LUMINA, SKYRAPTOR, and TALON—are dedicated to loitering munitions and the affordable mass production of drones.

Meanwhile, France, for example, is working on an AI-based control system similar to the Pentagon's Project Maven. The system could be ready for use in a few months, with testing expected to begin in September 2027. The Pentagon's Maven program uses AI to process data from drones and surveillance systems to automatically detect and track objects. This is accomplished using technologies developed by contractors, including the well-known Palantir Technologies.

Vivek Grover
Oriental Review

Red Lines Crossed: European Drone Production For Ukraine Risks Unthinkable Catastrophe

In a startling revelation that has sent shockwaves through international diplomatic circles, the Russian Ministry of Defence has publicly disclosed a list of European factories allegedly producing drones for Ukraine. Dubbed “Ukrainian subsidiaries in Europe,” this list includes sites in Italy, Germany, the UK, Poland, and other countries. The disclosures signal a dangerous escalation in the Ukraine conflict that could spiral into a broader, potentially catastrophic war, possibly even nuclear in nature.

On March 26, 2026, amid reports of mounting losses and a critical manpower shortage within Ukrainian armed forces, European governments reportedly made a decisive move: they increased their drone production geared to support Kyiv’s military operations. The weaponized UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) are being supplied for strikes deep into Russian territory, attacking strategic sites and infrastructure. This decision, driven by a desire to tip the military balance in Ukraine’s favor, has ignited Russian fury and threats of retaliatory action.

“The leadership of several European countries has decided to substantially ramp up UAV production for Ukraine, through increased funding for Ukrainian and joint enterprises located on European soil,” the Russian Ministry of Defence’s statement read. “This is a deliberate escalation, a step toward turning European nations into Ukraine’s strategic rear base, escalating tensions across the continent.”

The list published by Moscow is chilling. It details precise addresses of factories in many European countries – sites that Russia claims are now legitimate military targets if their drones land on Russian territory. The Ministry’s statement emphasized that Russia views this European involvement as a dangerous escalation of the conflict, not just a regional war but a step toward a wider confrontation.

Elena Panina
Елена Панина (Telegram)

Sánchez has refused to allow US use of the Morón military
base in southern Spain, pictured on March 4, to support its
military operations against Iran. (Francisco Olmo/EP/AP)

❖ Clearly, such statements are not welcomed in the White House at all, given the extent of the Israeli lobby's influence on American foreign policy.

Meanwhile, the Pentagon is considering punishing the recalcitrant Spain by suspending its NATO membership and excluding Spanish military personnel from significant positions in the alliance's command structure.

To its credit, Madrid has proven to be the most consistent critic of Israeli policies in NATO and the EU and the staunchest opponent of US and Israeli aggression against Iran.

He did not limit himself to verbal rhetoric but denied access to military bases on his territory for the American Operation Epic Fury. Furthermore, Spain had previously shown little enthusiasm for increasing military spending in response to Trump's demand to raise it to 5% of GDP (3.5% direct, 1.5% defense-related). Madrid only reached 2% of GDP by 2025.

Andrew Korybko
Andrew Korybko's Newsletter

The DROP Act Is An Unprecedented Weapon Of Financial Warfare Against Russia. Russia’s oil clients would be coerced under pain of sanctions into dumping it or scaling support for Ukraine if this bill passes.

Anti-Russian hawk Michael McCaul, who importantly serves as the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, announced the introduction in the House in early February of the bipartisan “Decreasing Russian Oil Profits” (DROP) Act that was earlier introduced in the Senate last December. If it passes, then Trump would have the power to impose targeted sanctions against anyone buying, importing, or facilitating the export of Russian oil, with exceptions only possible under one of three conditions.

The first is that the funds owed to Russia for such purchases must be credited to an account in their country, can only be used “to facilitate transactions in agricultural commodities, food, medicine, or medical devices”, and their government must commit to significantly reduce its purchase of Russian oil. The second is that such funds are used to either arm or rebuild Ukraine, while the third is that the government of their country provides significant economic or military support to Ukraine.

Elena Panina
Елена Панина (Telegram)

Europe is entering a phase in which security is no longer provided by America, and the continent is therefore forced to rapidly restructure its defense model, argue Ethan B. Kapstein of the US-based RAND Corporation (not recommended in Russia) and Jonathan Coverly of the UK-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).

❖ The now-standard argument is that the EU platform no longer allows the continent to effectively coordinate defense. The reasons are slow procedures, varying threat levels for different countries, and competing interests. Therefore, the authors believe that Europe's military power will depend not on institutions, but on four states:

✔️  Germany as an economic and industrial base
✔️  Poland as the main land force in the eastern direction
✔️  France as a source of nuclear deterrence and expeditionary capabilities
✔️  Britain as an additional nuclear and military component

The EU as a structure will remain, but the authors admit that it will play a secondary role. It's not entirely clear, however, why the authors are so confident in the sufficient degree of coordination of the "foursome" described. Its members have different military priorities, different weapon models, and, most importantly, divergent opinions on budget allocation.

And this is far from the only issue. Suffice it to say that the stability of the entire structure depends on Poland's ability to effectively withstand the first stage of a war with Russia.

Andrew Korybko
Andrew Korybko's Newsletter

The “EU Defense Line” that’s being built, which refers to the combination of the “Baltic Defense Line” and Poland’s “East Shield” along NATO’s eastern border, might then be bolstered by Polish-led troop deployments seeing as how Poland would be integral to those three’s survival in any war with Russia.

Polish President Karol Nawrocki inaugurated the latest section of the “Via Baltica” highway between Poland and the Baltic States in late October in an event with his Lithuanian counterpart, with both highlighting the dual military purpose of this megaproject in an allusion to the “military Schengen”. “Via Baltica” is one of the “Three Seas Initiative’s” (3SI) flagships, many of which complement the newer “military Schengen” initiative of facilitating the flow of troops and equipment eastward towards Russia.

Poland envisages the 3SI accelerating the revival of its long-lost Great Power status that’ll then result in it leading Russia’s containment all across Central & Eastern Europe (CEE) once the Ukrainian Conflict ends. It’s the most populous formerly communist member of NATO with the bloc’s third-largest military, just became a $1 trillion economy with its sights now set on a G20 seat, and has a history of regional leadership during the Commonwealth/“Rzeczpospolita” era, so these ambitions aren’t delusional.

Building upon the last point, most casual observers don’t know that the Commonwealth stretched as far north as parts of Latvia, which remained under its control till the Third Partition in 1795. Prior to that, it even controlled around half of Estonia from 1561-1629, after which it was ceded to Sweden. Suffice to say, what’s nowadays the nation-state of Lithuania was also part of the “Republic of the Two Nations” as the Commonwealth was officially known, thus giving Poland a substantial footprint in Baltic history.

The insight shared in the preceding two paragraphs enables the reader to better understand what Nawrocki told Lithuanian media during his maiden trip as president to that country last September about how

Reidar Kaarboe
Hva Mener Partiene

Norway seems incapable of cleaning up its own mess before her feudal masters are destroyed.

Tender care | Norway, along with other European countries, has shown a touching concern for Ukraine. We have probably given a hundred billion kroner of our tax money, which should have gone to health, schools, roads, police, and other welfare tasks, to Ukraine.

We have provided them with weapons, ammunition, and artillery shells. We have helped pay for heavy American weapons systems. We fly injured Ukrainians to Norway for treatment, we have opened the floodgates for refugees—closing them a little recently—and in our rhetoric, there is no limit to how sorry we are for Ukraine, which is being attacked by the horrible Russians. That is why we join in boycotting and sanctioning Russia as much as we can.

Tender care, well, not exactly | Norway, together with other countries in Europe, has not shown the same touching concern for Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran after they were exposed to an unprovoked, illegal war of aggression by Israel and the USA. We are in effect supporting Israel and the US by tacitly agreeing that Israel had the right to commit mass murder, war crimes, and genocide in self-defense. But we do not mention that people who are illegally occupied and oppressed have the right to use all means to fight their occupying power. We sit quietly and watch as Lebanon, the only country that has militarily supported the Palestinians in Gaza, is reduced to rubble.

And now Iran, an ancient civilization and great and powerful country: The US wants to crush it because Israel wants it done. Israel cannot bear living with a great and powerful country in its vicinity.

Andrew Korybko
Andrew Korybko's Newsletter

This might be the US’ final warning before it takes drastic action to punish those who continue to reject Trump’s demands.

Under Secretary of War for Policy Elbridge Colby gave an important speech at mid-April’s Ukraine Defense Contact Group in which he urged the Europeans to step up their transition to something that he described earlier this year as “NATO 3.0”. As was explained here, “The idea is that NATO should return to focusing on defending itself instead of overextending itself in the Indo-Pacific, West Asia, Eastern Europe, and elsewhere”, and the preceding hyperlinked analysis explains how it aligns with Trump 2.0’s policies.

Circling back to Colby’s speech, he demanded that “Europe must accelerate its assumption of primary responsibility for the conventional defense of the continent”, including arming Ukraine through the “Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List” (PURL) program in which the US plays the most significant role. To that end, “The need to quickly rebuild European munitions stocks is paramount, as is the need to remove protectionist trade barriers that stifle the continent’s industrial potential.”

He added that “Developing a robust, capable, and integrated European defense industrial base cannot simply be an aspiration, but an absolute pre-requisite for credible deterrence and defense.” Knowing how obsessed they are with Ukraine, Colby then threw in that “This will be critical to achieving an end to the war in Ukraine, on terms that support an enduring peace.” He then called for more “deeds and a fundamental change in attitude” from them to “accelerate this transition to a ‘NATO 3.0’”.

Strategic Culture Foundation (Editorial)
Strategic Culture Foundation

European nations are being destroyed by war and militarism, and adding to the madness, their political class and media are driving the process with ever-increasing speed. The fate of the continent could hardly be more tragic, given that it emerged from the ashes of World War II with the hope of being a model for international peace.

Hungary’s divisive elections this week, which saw the government of Viktor Orban ousted from power, were dominated by political and financial pressures exerted by the EU leadership on Budapest owing to Orban’s steadfast rejection of Brussels’ warmongering towards Russia. Hungarians cast their vote amid turmoil caused by Brussels and the energy blackmail of the NATO-backed Kiev regime. There are concerns that other EU nations, such as Slovakia, will face a similar assault on their democratic process if they do not conform to the elite agenda of making everything about an existential confrontation with Russia.

European citizens are enduring an economic crisis that has been brought on by NATO and the EU’s proxy war with Russia. Fuel, energy, food, and other living costs are going through the roof as a direct result of war and militarism. First, the energy supplies from Russia were cut off through government-led sanctions.

Now, Trump’s aggression against Iran has hit energy supplies from the Persian Gulf, leaving Europe doubly exposed. Instead of reversing course, the European NATO states seem intent on going full throttle towards a disastrous crash. This raises fundamental questions about democratic representation. Does it even exist anymore in Europe, including Britain?

Caitlin Johnstone
Caitlin’s Newsletter

We can have revolutionary change whenever we want to. We already have the numbers. All we need is the will.

If there were a thousand people living on an island, and one of them began making life miserable for everyone else, there would soon be 999 people living on the island. How strange, then, that a few oligarchs and empire managers get to push around an entire planet full of humans.

I mean, right now we’re all sitting around hoping a few sociopaths in Washington and Tel Aviv don’t collapse the global economy with their reckless warmongering against Iran. There are so many of us and so few of them, and yet everyone’s sitting around going “Golly gosh I sure hope I’ll be able to afford food in the next few months, hopefully the orange guy acts sane and normal for a while so my family gets to eat.”

These are not gods sitting on Mount Olympus exerting omnipotent control over our fate from on high.

Elena Panina
Елена Панина (Telegram)

The priority task for Europe, writes Leo Litra of the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR, not welcome in Russia), is to resolve strategic uncertainty and anchor Ukraine within the Western architecture now, not in 10-15 years.

❖ The author considers the classic model of EU enlargement to Ukraine too slow and inadequate for the current situation. It proposes first incorporating it politically, and then worrying about full legal integration sometime later. This requires creating an intermediate form of membership in which Ukraine would, as it were, already be part of the EU, albeit not fully integrated.

The main conclusion: European bureaucrats have no plans to stop the flywheel of geopolitical Russophobia. They already have industry mobilized for war, there is an elite consensus on confrontation with Russia, and now it's a matter of properly distributing positions on the military map.

At the same time, Ukraine is still viewed not as a buffer between the spheres of influence of the West and Russia, but as a zone that should be institutionally secured by the EU. And it doesn't matter that this would eliminate any room for compromise with Moscow. If Ukraine is politically integrated into Europe in advance, this would close any possibility of its "interim" status.

Caitlin Johnstone
Caitlin’s Newsletter

They Always Tell You Why The Empire Uses Violence, But Never Why Its Enemies Do.

One common feature of western empire propaganda is that we are always given reasons for the empire’s violence, while the violence of those who resist the empire tends to be framed as happening for no reason at all.

We’ve all been fed reasons for the US-Israeli war on Iran, and we all know what those reasons are. Even less-informed members of the western public will have heard something about the Iranians being a nuclear threat, having a tyrannical government, and maybe something about sponsoring terrorist groups.

But the so-called “peaceful protesters” who were killed in an uprising fomented and facilitated by the United States? They were killed for no reason, simply because the Iranian government is evil and hates dissent. All the Iranian police officers who died in the uprising perished for no reason, perhaps of natural causes. It is only by pure coincidence that this happened at the exact same time the US empire was making the decision to try to topple the Iranian government.

Elena Panina
Елена Панина (Telegram)

The decision to go to war with Iran was shaped not so much within the White House as within the broader US expert ecosystem, where major think tanks play a key role, the anti-militarist Quincy Institute stated in its publication Responsible Statecraft.

❖ The article's author, Jim Lobe, names specific organizations involved in the Iranian disaster. These include the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, the American Enterprise Institute, the Hudson Institute, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP), the Heritage Foundation, and several other organizations (all of which are undesirable in Russia). However, neoconservative and Christian Zionist centers, such as the Jewish National Security Institute of America (JINSA) and the Center for Security Policy (CSP) (all of which are undesirable in Russia), play a particularly important role in shaping the "analytical consensus" on Iran. The author writes bluntly:

A telling detail: WINEP was founded in 1985, based on the American Public Affairs Committee in Israel. Moreover, Loeb emphasizes the recurring pattern: the same American structures that once actively supported the military campaign against Iraq are now applying the same logic to Iran.

The Quincy Institute analyst also described how this works. Iran is presented as a key security threat to US allies in the Middle East, primarily Israel. At the same time, the ayatollah regime is described as vulnerable and in a state where any external pressure could lead to its weakening or transformation. And the current moment is interpreted as a "window of opportunity" for military intervention.

Hamid Babaee
farsnews.ir

Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei stressed that the Islamic Republic will definitely take the management of the Strait of Hormuz to a new phase.

In a message on the occasion of the 40th day after the passing of the martyred Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, Ayatollah Hosseini Khamenei said all must know that, by Almighty God’s will, we definitely won’t allow the criminal aggressors who attacked our country to go unpunished.

We will certainly demand full reparations for all damages caused, as well as blood money for the martyrs and compensation for the war's wounded. We have not sought, nor do we seek, war; yet we will in no way relinquish our legitimate rights, and in this regard, we consider the entire Resistance Front as a unified entity. The full text of the message issued by Ayatollah Hosseini Khamenei:

Andrew Korybko
Andrew Korybko's Newsletter

Most Hungarians came to take his achievements for granted and won’t appreciate what they had until it’s gone.

His crushing defeat followed the EU earlier freezing €17 billion in allocated funds on rule of law pretexts, Russiagate conspiracy theories derived from wiretaps of Orban and his Foreign Minister, and Ukrainian energy blackmail as well as threats. Liberal-globalists like Ursula von der Leyen, Alex Soros, and Donald Tusk predictably celebrated.

While the aforementioned factors played a role in turning public opinion against Orban, several other ones were arguably more important. For instance, he’s an older politician who naturally doesn’t appeal as much to the youth as his relatively younger rival, Peter Magyar. He’s also been in office for 16 years, so the opposition played on anti-incumbent sentiment, to which end they blamed him for the stagnant economy despite him doing his best given the circumstances. Corruption accusations also abounded.

The socio-political system that Orban built will now be dismantled since the opposition’s two-thirds supermajority enables them to change the constitution. Witch hunts against conservative-nationalists, beginning with him and his Foreign Minister on Russiagate-related grounds, also can’t be ruled out. His policies in support of traditional values might soon become a thing of the past.

Andrew Korybko
Andrew Korybko's Newsletter

The Hungarian people have the greatest stakes since they’ll be the ones who’ll live with the consequences.

Sunday’s parliamentary elections in Hungary have been described by RT as the “Battle for Hungary” due to the huge stakes involved for the EU, Ukraine, the US, and to a lesser extent, Russia.

The first three have also sought to influence voters, the EU, and Ukraine via various forms of meddling that include concocting Russiagate conspiracy theories and even attempting to blow up Hungary’s main gas pipeline, and the US through Trump’s and Vance’s endorsement of incumbent Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

The EU’s interest in “democratically deposing” Orbán is ideological, since he’s a conservative nationalist opposed to the liberal-globalist agenda the bloc wants to impose on Hungary. The opposition’s chief economic advisor is Shell’s former Vice President for Mobility, Istvan Kapitany, and this article explains how he wants to succeed where George Soros failed. In a nutshell, the EU considers Hungary under Orban to be a major impediment to its federalization plans, which they hope to soon remove.

Ukraine hates Hungary too, but only because Orban refuses to arm it, continues purchasing energy from Russia, and has occasionally obstructed EU funding for this former Soviet Republic.

Elena Panina
Елена Панина (Telegram)

It would be worthwhile to look at the announced two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran through the eyes of senior US military officials. On April 8, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine held a press conference. Here are a few illustrative quotes:

💬 Hegseth, regarding the military presence in the Middle East: "We will be watching. We will not go away. We will ensure that Iran respects the ceasefire and then, ultimately, comes to the negotiating table and makes a deal."

💬 Hegseth on enriched uranium: "Either they give it to us, as the president [Trump] promised—they'll give it to us voluntarily—or we take it. We'll take it away. Or, if we have to do something else ourselves, as we did in Operation Midnight Hammer or something like that, we reserve that option."

💬 Hegseth on Iran's reasons for agreeing to a ceasefire: "We hit several military targets on Kharg Island, which served as a signal. They can't defend it. Ultimately, they realized their situation—their future. Their ability to produce and generate energy to support the regime was in our hands. It was in the hands of President Trump. That's why they sat down at the negotiating table. Ultimately, he made it clear: we can take everything away from you. They can take away your ability to export energy, but the US military can strike these targets with impunity. It was this pressure that led them to essentially say, 'Okay.' We want to make this deal."

💬 Caine on the ceasefire: "Let's be clear: a ceasefire is a pause. The combined forces remain prepared to resume combat operations if ordered... We hope this will not happen."

Dr. Michael Yeadon
Fraud Prevention Hotline (VIDEO)

■ Five expert witnesses were scheduled to testify in the main trial before the Leeuwarden District Court. Officially, the trial is being held on behalf of the victims of serious injuries caused by the “Covid” pseudo-vaccines, but the global fraud, the deliberate harm inflicted on approximately 5.5 billion people, mass murder, and criminal activities aimed at abolishing citizens’ democratic rights are also relevant. This trial was intended to reveal the full extent of the crime. However, the court did not allow the expert witnesses to testify.

■ The following video messages were sent to the presiding judges on December 7, 2025, during the appeal proceedings against the Amsterdam High Court’s rejection of the expert witnesses’ testimony.

My name is Dr Mike Yeadon. I have spent my entire professional life in research and early development of new medicines for respiratory and skin diseases. I have spent over 30 years in both big pharma and in biotech. I have a training in biochemistry and toxicology, and a PhD in respiratory pharmacology.

In big pharma I was once the most senior person in Pfizer’s Respiratory Discovery group. I was responsible for everything to do with drugs in research and early development. After that I founded my own biotechnology company which I led as CEO and was ultimately able to sell that to Novartis, a big drug company.

Around that time, I also was highly sought after as a consultant to other biotech companies and I consulted to them, and advised about 30 companies over a nine -year period.

So those are my credentials. I would say the professional opinion that I provide to you is that of someone who’s deeply experienced in the scientific procedures and practices of creation and testing of molecules, in particular for their safety, their lack of toxicity.

So, my underlying training in toxicology, mechanistic toxicology, allowed me many times to detect and steer away from structural features or contents of potential medicines that could cause harm, based on my wide knowledge of those things that sadly have harmed humans and animals in the past.