US Blockades Iranian Ports to Force a Deal
After the failure of the, hopefully, first round of peace negotiations between the United States and Iran, Donald Trump initiated a blockade of the strait of Hormuz on Monday, April 13th. Twelve US Navy vessels, led by the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group have choked off the Gulf of Oman, the body of water which controls the westerly approach to the the strait of Hormuz, for the purpose of interdicting any vessels, Iranian or otherwise, which have either embarked from, or intend to debark to an Iranian port. The purpose of the blockade is to do what tomahawk cruise missiles and JDAM guided bombs failed to do: strangle Iran into submission.
It bears mentioning here that every move the US empire makes here is in tension with US dependence on oil prices. We all know that oil is everything for the US ruling class – fuel is the most basic commodity which keeps a modern economy running. The US war on Iran has massively inflated oil prices, which inflates the cost of production, and jacks up rates at the gas pump. A blockade of Iran will obviously not bring down oil prices, and we’ve seen that oil prices remain elevated far above pre-war rates.
What will certainly not help oil prices is the Iranian closure of the strait of Hormuz entirely on Saturday, April 18th. The Iranians have decreed that the strait will remain closed to all shipping until such a time as a peace deal, satisfactory to the Iranian state, is achieved. The United States started the war: they attacked a much smaller, weaker state, Iran, and have murdered over 3,000 Iranians in the process; but they have failed to achieve any of their military objectives. Iran is still standing, and has continuously proven that it is willing and able to match US aggression with defiance. And, it’s nice to see the US empire get a bloody nose for once.
Sources:
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5yv6xr6me3o
Israel-Lebanon “Ceasefire”
On April 16th, the leaders of Israel and Lebanon held direct talks in Washington for the first time in 34 years and agreed to an initial 10-day ceasefire after 7 weeks of intensified Israeli strikes on Lebanon.
The deal requires that Lebanon’s government prevent Hezbollah from attacking Israeli targets while demanding no equivalent promises or concessions from Israel, in fact reasserting Israel’s right “to take all necessary measures in self-defense, at any time, against planned, imminent, or ongoing attacks.” This is a notable departure from a 2024 deal that retained Lebanon’s inherent right to self-defense. Israeli troops are to continue occupying a permanent militarized buffer zone in southern Lebanon where Hezbollah operations are concentrated, in some places extending up to 10km in from the border. Though the agreement does not explicitly call for Hezbollah to disarm, in effect, it rests on Lebanon’s “ability to assert its sovereignty” — an “exclusive responsibility” designated to state security defense forces — hinging a long-term ceasefire on the disarmament of the resistance.
The conditions of the Iran ceasefire brokered on April 8th already called for a cessation of Israeli hostilities in Lebanon, but the Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has since proclaimed that “no one negotiates over Lebanon except the Lebanese state.” US officials such as JD Vance have also insisted that the original deal never included Lebanon, saying continued Israel’s strikes on Lebanese civilians since the 8th have “nothing to do with” Iran. The Lebanese government traded a larger regional settlement backed by Iran’s hard-won military and economic leverage for a fragile, completely asymmetric deal contingent on selling out the Lebanese right to resist.
Right before the ceasefire went into effect Thursday night, the IDF struck the last operational bridge over the Litani River dividing the south from the rest of Lebanon as part of an ongoing strategy to isolate Hezbollah. Nevertheless, tens of thousands of Lebanese immediately started marching back to their destroyed homes in the face of their occupier, many even defiantly driving through the river. Israel has not wasted a minute observing the truce: every day, Israeli bulldozers and bombs continue to demolish homes and civilian infrastructure in southern Lebanon as displaced Lebanese by the border remain trapped away from their homes under constant terror.
Sources:
https://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5260239-lebanon-rejects-iran-negotiating-its-behalf
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/08/world/middleeast/jd-vance-lebanon-iran-cease-fire.html
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/whats-lebanon-ceasefire-deal-will-it-hold-2026-04-17/
Texas Court Interpreter Kidnapped by ICE
Meena Batra, a Texas court interpreter who has lived in the United States for more than 35 years, was arrested by ICE last month. Batra is the only licensed Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu court interpreter in all of Texas, having interpreted for hundreds of immigrants, and her arrest and detention is a clear targeting of those helping immigrants in the legal system.
Not only does Batra have a valid status and a legal work permit, she had been granted a withholding of removal in 2000, a legal designation meant to protect people at high risk of persecution in their country of origin. Batra is Sikh, and had fled Punjab in 1991 to avoid violent persecution of Sikhs in India. However, her lawyer reportedly fears that the government is preparing to deport her to a third country.
Batra faces the same inhumane conditions as other detainees, and has reported being denied food and water for a full day, and medication for several days. Her detainment has fractured her family of four children, with one leaving his studies at college to go visit her. Witnessing the brutality of guards towards other detained immigrants, Batra has continued to fight for immigrants inside the detention center, using her skills in English, translation, and law to aid her fellow detainees in their cases.
Sources:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/16/ice-immigration-court-interpreter-detained
War Slop Served Hot
According to military personnel deployed to fight for the US war machine in Iran, they are struggling with access to and the quality of food they’re receiving. Family members of those abroad, on various warships—named presidents like the USS Abraham Lincoln, USS Gerald Ford, and USS George H.W. Bush—are distraught to hear about the slop they’re being served.
The daughter of Dan, an ex-Marine in his 60s, sent photos of what their meals consist of to her father; to his dismay, it consisted of “one small scoop of shredded meat and a single folded tortilla.” When she mentioned the coffee machine on board, breaking, he stood “in solidarity” by deciding to forego his daily coffee.
“We have the strongest military in the world. You shouldn’t be running out of food, and you shouldn’t not be able to get mail on the ship,” Dan shared. He’s referring to the fact that the US Postal Service “has indefinitely suspended delivery” due to the war in Iran. So those oh-so thoughtfully curated “care packages” containing Girl Scout cookies and Emergen-C packets—to help with that oncoming sore throat, apparently—sit in limbo. The cost for shipping isn’t cheap either; some families have paid at least $540.
US military members and their families’ accounts of the supposed hardships they’re facing make it sound like they’re facing crimes against humanity, while on board a US warship that carries lethal weapons that are used to bomb schools in Iran (an actual war crime). Not to mention that the people of Iran have suffered under US sanctions, which restrict the entrance of sustenance, medical aid and vaccines, and financial support that Iranian families abroad try to send overseas to try and ease the actual hardships the Iranian population faces day to day. We welcome the demoralization of troops, who we hope can develop a mutinous spirit and refuse to be meat for the war machine to grind up like the war slop they’re served.
Sources:
https://ofac.treasury.gov/sanctions-programs-and-country-information/iran-sanctions
Behind Enemy Lines 