German Chancellor Friedrich MerzsaysIran is “humiliating” the United States. Secretary of State Marco Rubiosaysthe U.S. cannot “tolerate” Iranian control over the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian strikes on U.S. basescausedover $5 billion in damages, NBC reports. Bahrainjails30, strips citizenship of 69 in Iran-related cases. UAE announces surprise exit from OPEC. Israeliattackson Lebanon continue. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahutellsmilitary Israel can strike anywhere in Lebanon under ceasefire terms. Israeli defense ministerthreatensto burn Lebanon. Two brotherskilledweeks apart while gathering firewood in Gaza. Israeli forcescoerceWest Bank municipal official to resign after election win. Gaza’s emergency medical system isnearingcollapse as Israeli blockade cuts off ambulance fuel and parts. MSF: Israeluseswater as a weapon against Palestinians in Gaza. California manchargedwith attempting to assassinate Trump at White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Rep. Josh Gottheimer’s WPR comes up for a vote in the House. Senate tovoteon resolution blocking Trump from military action against Cuba. NYC Council Speaker tojoinMayor Zohran Mamdani in calls for tax increase on hedge funds and law firms. Pakistan and Afghanistantradeaccusations of cross-border attacks. ChinablocksMeta’s acquisition of AI startup Manus amid tech rivalry with U.S. U.S. sanctionsdrove148% rise in Cuba’s infant mortality rate since 2018, report finds. Congo todeployU.S.- and UAE-funded paramilitary mining force, starting in copper and cobalt heartland. Gunmenkidnap23 children from Nigerian orphanage; 8 remain missing after partial rescue. Sudanese army drone strike on Zalingei displacement campwounds15. RSFholdingover 2,400 detainees in dire conditions in el-Fasher, including 20 doctors, report finds.
From Drop Site:Drop Site reports on Gaza’s municipal elections.Exposing Canary Mission, and Israel’s “Ceasefire” War in Lebanon.
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German Chancellor says Iran is “humiliating” the U.S:German Chancellor Friedrich Merzoffereda blunt assessment on Monday of American strategy in the Iran conflict, saying Tehran’s leadership has humiliated Washington by drawing U.S. envoys to Islamabad and sending them home without results. “The Iranians are obviously very skilled at negotiating, or rather, very skilful at not negotiating, letting the Americans travel to Islamabad and then leave again without any result,” he said while speaking to students in the town of Marsberg. “An entire nation is being humiliated by the Iranian leadership, especially by these so-called Revolutionary Guards.” Merz said he sees no clear U.S. exit strategy and drew comparisons to past military failures in Afghanistan and Iraq, adding that had he foreseen the war’s trajectory, he would have urged President Donald Trump even more forcefully against it.
Rubio says the U.S. cannot “tolerate” Iranian control over the Strait of Hormuz:U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubioattributedthe collapse of weekend negotiations in Islamabad to a fundamental disagreement over the status of the Strait of Hormuz during an interview with Fox News, saying the waterway is “not open” and that the U.S. cannot “normalize, nor can we tolerate… a system in which the Iranians decide who gets to use an international waterway and how much you have to pay them to use it.” In aposton Truth Social Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump claimed Iran is in a “state of collapse” and has asked the U.S. to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian officials have denied reports that any talks were planned in Islamabad, and have continued to demand the lifting of the U.S. naval blockade on Iran’s ports prior to advancing to a second round of high-level talks.
Iranian strikes on U.S. bases caused over $5 billion in damages, NBC reports:Iranian strikes on American military installations across the Middle East since February 28causedfar more extensive damage than the Pentagon publicly disclosed, with repair costs estimated to exceed $5 billion across more than 100 targets in at least seven countries, NBC News reported over the weekend. Among the most significant findings in the report: an Iranian F-5 fighter jet successfully penetrated advanced U.S. air defenses to strike Camp Buehring in Kuwait, a Boeing E-3 Sentry AWACS surveillance aircraft was destroyed on the ground at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, and an AN/TPY-2 missile defense radar was destroyed in Jordan.
Bahrain jails 30, strips citizenship of 69 in Iran-related cases:Bahrain hassentenced30 people to prison terms in a mass trial over accusations of spying for Iran and supporting alleged Iranian-backed attacks, according to the Associated Press. The public prosecution said five defendants, including two Afghans, received life sentences after being convicted of spying for Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, while 25 others were handed 10-year sentences for allegedly supporting what authorities described as “terrorist acts” in the country. The cases have drawn renewed scrutiny over Bahrain’s judicial practices, with human rights groups long criticizing closed-door trials and limited defense for defendants. Among those affected is freelance Bahraini photographer Sayed Baqer Al-Kamel, who was arrested on March 1, 2026, after a raid on his home by plainclothes officers, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). Bahrain alsostripped69 people of citizenship on Monday over alleged support for Iranian strikes.The individuals have not been publicly identified, and their whereabouts and detention status remain unclear.
UAE announces surprise exit from OPEC: UAE Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei stated Tuesday that Abu Dhabi is leaving both OPEC effective May 1, ending a membership that dates to 1967 and removing the group’s third-largest energy producer. In public comments, Mazrouei added that Saudi Arabia, the cartel’s de facto leader, was not consulted, and that the withdrawal, which will allow the UAE to set its own production targets without coordinating other members, was unilateral. The move follows months of UAE criticism that fellow Arab states have not done enough to protect it from Iranian attacks during the current war, and while the UAE lobbies the U.S. and Israel for more direct financial and military support. President Trump has repeatedly accused OPEC of inflating prices and tied continued US military support in the Gulf to lower oil costs.
Israeli attacks on Lebanon continue
An Israeli drone striketargeteda motorcycle in the town of Majdal Zoun Tuesday, injuring two people, according to the state’s National News Agency while additional airstrikes hit the towns of al-Sultaniyya and Braashit. Artillery shelling was also reported in Bayt al-Sayyad in the Tyre district, alongside a drone strike on agricultural land between al-Burj al-Shamali and al-Housh. The Israeli military on Tuesdayissuedforced displacement orders to residents of a number of villages and towns south of the Litani River and north of the “Yellow Line” to evacuate immediately toward the Sidon area.
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