Global Pulse

分类： world

  • US influencer Clavicular’s ‘Israelmaxxing’ propaganda trip ends in national scandal

    US influencer Clavicular’s ‘Israelmaxxing’ propaganda trip ends in national scandal

    A high-stakes coordinated public relations gambit aimed at boosting Israel’s battered global image and rehabilitating a controversial American influencer’s tarnished reputation has devolved into a public embarrassment for all parties involved, ending with an Israeli military spokesperson reassigned and the influencer expelled from venues across the country. The scheme centered on Braden Eric Peters, better known by his online alias Clavicular, a leading voice in the polarizing “looksmaxxing” subculture—an online movement where young men pursue drastic physical changes to outcompete other men in perceived attractiveness. What began as a carefully planned outreach to win over younger, online audiences for Israel amid widespread global backlash over its military campaign in Gaza collapsed into chaos in just days.

    Peters’ brand of looksmaxxing has drawn widespread condemnation for promoting harmful practices. While some adherents stick to conventional grooming and bodybuilding, community leaders including Clavicular have popularized far more dangerous tactics, from unregulated performance-enhancing drug use to “bone-smashing” — the deliberate striking of the jaw, sometimes with heavy tools like hammers, in an attempt to reshape facial structure. The movement’s core end goal is “framemogging,” a slang term for appearing more physically attractive than rivals in photos and online content, a pursuit that has garnered Clavicular millions of followers across major social platforms in recent years.

    But Clavicular’s rise to fame has been marred by repeated scandal tied to antisemitic rhetoric and associations with far-right extremists. Most notably, in January 2024, he was filmed singing along to Kanye West’s widely banned explicitly Nazi-aligned song *Heil Hitler* during a nightclub gathering in Miami that also included misogynistic influencer Andrew Tate and prominent white nationalist Nick Fuentes. The incident sparked widespread outrage from Jewish organizations globally, and cost Clavicular significant support among many online audiences. A second high-profile setback came in early 2026, when he became the target of viral mockery after being “framemogged” by a little-known college fraternity leader from Arizona State University, further eroding his online brand.

    Against this backdrop, Israeli outreach leaders framed a visit from Clavicular as a win-win. For Israel, which has seen global public opinion plummet amid accusations of war crimes in Gaza and the occupied West Bank—an April 2026 poll found 60 percent of U.S. adults hold an unfavorable view of the country, with negative sentiment particularly pronounced among young people—winning the endorsement of a massive online influencer was seen as a way to claw back support among Generation Z and millennial audiences. For Clavicular, the visit was meant to repair his reputation with Jewish communities after the 2024 Nazi sing-along scandal. The trip was publicly championed by Rabbi Yossi Farro, a New York-based Hasidic leader affiliated with the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, which has long documented ties to hardline Israeli settler politics in occupied Palestinian territory. Farro personally courted Clavicular, documented the visit on his public Instagram, and even made several outlandish gestures: he gifted the influencer a custom necklace that merged the OpenAI logo with the Star of David, and claimed in a post that the biblical figure Joseph was history’s first looksmaxxer. Right-wing pro-Israel outlet *The Free Press* celebrated the trip, coining the term “Israelmaxxing” and framing the visit as a fun, casual moment of influencer support for the country.

    The carefully curated image quickly fell apart when Clavicular began collaborating publicly with Shira Braun, an active-duty soldier assigned to the Israeli military’s Spokesperson’s Unit, widely recognized as the military’s official propaganda arm. During multiple of Clavicular’s public livestreams from Israel, the influencer made inappropriate advances toward Braun, joking about touching and kissing her and suggesting he would take her to a hotel. He also openly asked if he would receive $7,000 in payment for posting pro-Israel content to his audience. The clips quickly went viral online, drawing swift backlash from Israeli military officials. Authorities ultimately reprimanded Braun, removed her from her role as a social media coordinator in the Spokesperson’s Unit, and reassigned her to a different role for the rest of her mandatory military service.

    Beyond the military scandal, Clavicular faced widespread public pushback across the country. Multiple Israeli nightclub and venue owners ejected him from their properties, after other patrons threatened to protest his presence over his involvement in the 2024 Nazi sing-along incident. When Israeli public broadcaster Channel 13 interviewed Clavicular and asked if he had traveled to Israel to issue an apology for the Heil Hitler video, the influencer refused to address the question, accused the reporter of “trying to drag me through the mud,” and walked off set. He insisted he had come to improve Israel’s global reputation, which he admitted was “in utter shambles,” but refused to apologize for his own past actions.

    The entire episode has delivered exactly the opposite outcome Israeli officials sought. What was meant to be a polished PR win to soften global criticism of the country’s actions in Gaza has instead become another high-profile public relations misstep, highlighting the risks of partnering with controversial online figures to repair damaged international standing.

    This report draws on independent reporting from Middle East Eye, which provides original coverage of the Middle East and North Africa region.

  • Zambia’s Guy Scott, who was Africa’s first white head of state in decades, has died at 82

    Zambia’s Guy Scott, who was Africa’s first white head of state in decades, has died at 82

    Zambian government has confirmed the passing of veteran politician Guy Scott, who made history as Africa’s first white head of state in over 20 years during his three-month tenure as acting president. He was 82 years old at the time of his death.

    Scott breathed his last on Wednesday at his personal farm located in Lusaka, Zambia’s capital, according to an official statement released by the administration. Current Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema has granted Scott the honor of a state funeral, though organizers have not yet finalized and announced a formal date for the memorial service.

    Born to European parents with Scottish and English ancestry, Scott built a decades-long political career in Zambia following the southern African nation’s independence from British colonial rule in 1964. He first won a seat in Zambia’s National Parliament in 1991, marking the start of his years in public service. He later took on the role of Minister of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, where he focused on policy related to the country’s key agricultural sector, before being appointed vice president in 2011. That appointment made him the first white politician to hold the vice presidency in Zambia’s post-independence history.

    Scott stepped into the acting presidency in 2014, following the sudden death of sitting president Michael Sata while he was still in office. Over the subsequent three months, Scott served as interim head of state, a role that carved out his unique place in African political history. Before Scott, the last white head of state to hold office on the continent was F.W. de Klerk, the final South African leader under the apartheid system. De Klerk left office in 1994 after South Africa’s first multiracial democratic election, which brought anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela to power, meaning 20 years passed between de Klerk’s exit and Scott taking the interim presidency.

  • More people around the world now favour China over the US, Pew study suggests

    More people around the world now favour China over the US, Pew study suggests

    A landmark new survey from the nonpartisan U.S.-based Pew Research Center has captured a historic shift in global public opinion: for the first time since the organization began tracking global attitudes toward the world’s two major superpowers in 2002, a majority of surveyed nations hold more favorable views of China than of the United States.

    Between February and May, Pew researchers polled more than 42,000 respondents across 36 countries, asking participants to rate their opinions of both China and the U.S. on a four-point scale from very favorable to very unfavorable. The final results showed that in 25 out of the 36 included nations, more respondents reported holding a favorable opinion of China than the U.S. Only six nations — all longstanding close U.S. allies, including Poland, the Philippines, South Korea, India, Japan and Israel — still registered more favorable views of the U.S. than China.

    Jonathan Schulman, a lead researcher on the study, noted that while global approval of the U.S. has dipped in previous years — most notably at the end of George W. Bush’s administration in 2008 and at the start of Donald Trump’s first term in 2017 — China’s favorable ratings never outpaced the U.S. by this margin in prior measurements. This year’s survey saw record-high favorable ratings for China across multiple nations, including Italy, Spain, Colombia, Mexico, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria and Turkey. The largest shifts toward more positive views of China were recorded in Spain, Indonesia, Italy, Greece and Canada.

    Longitudinal analysis from the research team found that median favorable opinion of the U.S. across tracked nations has declined steadily in recent years, while median favorable opinion of China has climbed consistently. The research also identified a broad demographic pattern: middle-income countries generally hold more positive views of China, while wealthier nations tend to report more negative perceptions. Singapore stands out as a clear exception to this rule: as the nation with the highest GDP per capita in the survey, it still recorded high levels of favorable sentiment toward China.

    Regional breakdowns showed that the most extreme divergences in views of China are found within the Asia-Pacific. Roughly 90% of Pakistani respondents expressed favorable views of China, compared to just 11% of Japanese respondents.

    When asked to rate their confidence in each nation’s leader to handle global affairs correctly, overall confidence scores for both Chinese President Xi Jinping and then-U.S. President Donald Trump remained mostly below 50%. Still, a majority of surveyed nations registered higher confidence levels in Xi than in Trump. Xi received his highest confidence rating (83%) from Pakistan and his lowest (7%) from Japan, while Trump earned his highest score (68%) from the Philippines and his lowest (4%) from the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Schulman observed that respondents tended to hold more polarized extreme opinions of Trump, while views of Xi were generally more muted.

    On questions of governance and foreign policy, the survey found that while more respondents still believe the U.S. government respects personal freedoms more than China’s government does, the gap between the two has narrowed significantly in recent years. When asked about interference in other countries’ internal affairs, a median of 75% of respondents across middle-income nations said the U.S. interferes a great deal or a fair amount, compared to just 45% who said the same of China.

    Pew’s findings align with results from a 2024 Gallup survey, which also found that China had surpassed the U.S. in global approval ratings, marking the largest gap in China’s favor in 20 years. By contrast, a 2025 survey from the U.S.-based think tank Asia Society found that China’s global image, which dipped during the COVID-19 pandemic, has only seen a modest recovery to date.

    Chong Ja Ian, a non-resident scholar at Carnegie China, noted that Pew’s latest results are not unexpected. He pointed out that the survey was conducted against a backdrop of highly volatile U.S. foreign policy, including aggressive rhetoric from Trump about annexing Greenland, the U.S. targeting of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, and the launch of new military conflict with Iran — all events that left many global observers unsettled. “The volatility of U.S. policy, including the use of force and the resulting economic harm, has put many on edge,” he explained.

    Chong added that while China’s absolute global popularity remains an open question, it is currently seen as a more predictable actor by many global publics, and Beijing has invested significant effort into improving its global image, particularly in developing nations. He also addressed the disparity between high favorable ratings for China overall and relatively low confidence scores for Xi personally, noting that “whether China is absolutely popular is an open question, but it seems like a more predictable entity at present. […] I suppose people attribute the more coercive and economically less helpful policies to Xi personally but associate more positive elements, such as technological advances, to China more broadly.”

  • Special police team to investigate killing of an anti-migrant leader in South Africa

    Special police team to investigate killing of an anti-migrant leader in South Africa

    South African law enforcement has deployed a specialized multidisciplinary investigative team to probe the fatal shooting of a senior provincial leader from one of the country’s most active anti-undocumented migrant groups, a killing that comes at a moment of surging national tension over immigration policy and xenophobic violence.

    Andile Mvuyelwa Somgxada, who led the Gauteng province chapter of the nativist group March and March, was gunned down in the driveway of his residence east of Johannesburg earlier this July. He succumbed to his injuries and died in a local hospital several days after the attack.

    Per Sandile Dube, national spokesperson for March and March, the group is convinced the assassination was a deliberate retaliatory attack tied directly to the organization’s high-profile campaign to force all undocumented migrants to exit South Africa. Dube confirmed that multiple senior leaders across the group, which has organized widespread anti-migrant protests across every major region of the country, have received formal threats and warnings of violence in recent weeks. Describing the killing as a coordinated, professional hit, Dube told the BBC that authorities must move quickly to unmask those responsible and end the pattern of intimidation targeting movement members.

    In an official statement released Tuesday evening, acting South African Police Service Lieutenant General Puleng Dimpane confirmed the formation of the cross-functional investigative task force, emphasizing that law enforcement views the case as an urgent priority. “We are committed to conducting a thorough investigation to establish the circumstances surrounding this murder and to ensure accountability,” Dimpane said.

    Immigration policy, particularly the presence of undocumented foreign-born residents, has emerged as one of the most divisive political issues in contemporary South Africa. Anti-migrant activists and organizers have repeatedly claimed that undocumented migrants strain overstretched public services and contribute to rising national crime rates, claims that remain contested by independent researchers and government officials. Ahead of the current wave of protests, March and March set an unofficial 30 June deadline for all undocumented migrants to leave the country voluntarily, and has pledged to hold weekly demonstrations until its policy demands are met.

    Since launching a national “migration management” crackdown five weeks ago, the South African government confirms it has deported or repatriated more than 53,000 foreign nationals. As Africa’s most economically developed nation, South Africa has long drawn migrants from across the continent seeking improved employment and livelihood opportunities, but xenophobic sentiment and violence have persisted as a long-running societal challenge. The current wave of anti-migrant demonstrations has already been marked by widespread reports of violence, intimidation against foreign-owned businesses, and looting.

    In a separate incident this week, law enforcement in Limpopo province arrested five people accused of impersonating official immigration officers to harass foreign nationals and force them to leave the country. The suspects allegedly targeted a Nigerian citizen who was residing in South Africa on valid legal documentation, forcing him to close his small business under threat of harm. Lt Gen Dimpane used the arrest to issue a sharp public rebuke to vigilante groups targeting migrants. “The law applies equally to everyone,” he said. “No individual or group has the authority to conduct immigration inspections, verify legal status, or remove people from communities.”

    When asked about incidents of violence linked to the group’s demonstrations, spokesperson Dube emphasized that March and March rejects all illegal activity and violence, stating the movement only pursues its goals through peaceful protest.

    Official government data puts the number of legally documented foreign nationals residing in South Africa at more than 3 million, a figure that does not include the unknown population of people living in the country without valid immigration status. In response to the recent wave of unrest and intimidation, several African nations that are major sources of migration to South Africa—including Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, and Uganda—have organized special repatriation flights and bus convoys to help their citizens return home voluntarily in recent weeks.

  • Celebrations as Gibraltar-Spain border fence removed

    Celebrations as Gibraltar-Spain border fence removed

    In a momentous step that has been hailed as a new chapter in cross-border relations, the long-standing physical barrier separating Gibraltar and Spain has been removed, triggering widespread celebrations among communities on both sides of the boundary. The landmark event kicked off with a carefully orchestrated symbolic ceremony held at the stroke of midnight, marking the end of decades of physical separation at the crossing point.

    As the final sections of the fence were taken down, thousands of people from Gibraltar and neighboring Spanish towns gathered to witness the historic occasion, and immediately after the ceremony concluded, huge crowds began moving freely across the unobstructed boundary without any mandatory border checks in place. For many local residents, the removal of the fence represents more than just an infrastructure change—it is a powerful symbol of improved cooperation and easier connection between communities that have been separated by political disputes for generations.

    Local leaders on both sides have framed the move as a confidence-building measure that will boost cross-border travel, support local economies that rely on movement between the two territories, and strengthen people-to-people ties across the Gibraltar-Spain border. The event has drawn international attention as a sign of progress in resolving long-standing regional tensions through diplomatic dialogue.

  • Three killed as Russian bombing of Odesa continues

    Three killed as Russian bombing of Odesa continues

    A new wave of deadly Russian strikes on Ukraine’s southern Odesa region has left three civilians dead, marking five consecutive days of targeted assaults on the strategic Black Sea port area that underpins Ukraine’s wartime economy. The overnight attacks that began late Tuesday damaged a multi-story residential building, a non-civilian structure and a local gas pipeline, Odesa regional governor Oleh Kiper confirmed in a Telegram post Wednesday. Kiper accused Russian forces of intentionally targeting civilian populations alongside critical industrial and port infrastructure, a charge that contradicts Moscow’s official claims about the strikes.

    Russia’s Ministry of Defense stated the attacks were deliberately focused on port facilities used to unload fuel products, and that all targets were linked to Ukrainian military weapons manufacturing and cargo transport operations. The targeted deepwater ports in the greater Odesa area handle the vast majority of Ukraine’s grain and commercial cargo exports, making them a strategically critical asset for the country’s wartime economic stability.

    The assault on Odesa coincided with a major reciprocal strike by Ukrainian forces, who announced their drones had hit 20 Russian vessels operating in the Black Sea overnight. This latest attack follows a series of intensive strikes on Russian shipping in the nearby Sea of Azov, a waterway bounded by Crimea, eastern Ukraine’s coastline and mainland Russia. According to Reuters reporting, the persistent Ukrainian attacks on shipping have forced Russia — the world’s largest grain exporter — to suspend commercial traffic through the Sea of Azov, which carries roughly a quarter of the country’s total grain exports.

    Parallel to the escalating military clashes on the Black Sea frontlines, Ukraine is navigating a sudden domestic political shakeup. On Tuesday, Ukraine’s parliament approved the resignation of Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, who had held the post for less than a year. The dismissal came amid widespread pushback from lawmakers, who raised questions about the lack of a clear public explanation for the leadership change. Serhiy Koretskyi, the current head of Ukraine’s state-owned energy giant Naftogaz, is widely tipped as Svyrydenko’s successor, with a parliamentary confirmation vote scheduled for Thursday.

    The unfolding violence and political shifts come as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen arrived in Kyiv on Wednesday for her 11th visit to Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022. Von der Leyen called the visit a “special moment” on social media, noting that she would present new cooperation initiatives designed to ramp up joint defense production between the European Union and Ukraine. The announced initiatives are expected to streamline collaboration, enabling both sides to increase defense output at a faster pace to support Ukraine’s frontline needs.

  • Top EU official visits Ukraine and pledges continued support against Russia’s invasion

    Top EU official visits Ukraine and pledges continued support against Russia’s invasion

    On Ukraine’s annual Statehood Day, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen traveled to Kyiv Wednesday to reaffirm unwavering European Union backing for the country’s ongoing defense against Russia’s full-scale invasion, now in its third year. The visit marked von der Leyen’s 11th trip to Ukraine since Moscow launched its large-scale incursion in February 2022, and comes as Kyiv has built growing battlefield momentum through deep strikes inside Russian territory.

    Ukraine’s Statehood Day, a national public holiday, honors the country’s right to self-determination — a principle that has been under active threat for more than a decade. Russian forces first seized and illegally annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014, before expanding their aggression with the full-scale invasion eight years later. The war has already claimed thousands of military and civilian lives, displaced millions of people, reduced major Ukrainian urban centers to rubble, and stoked global fears of a broader direct confrontation between Russia and the NATO alliance.

    Alongside von der Leyen, senior leaders from across Southeast Europe gathered in Kyiv Wednesday for a regular summit focused on Black Sea and regional security. Notably, Serbia’s Moscow-aligned President Aleksandar Vucic joined the gathering, marking a high-profile appearance from a Balkan state that has refused to join Western sanctions on Russia, despite officially recognizing Ukraine’s territorial integrity. Serbia remains almost entirely dependent on Russian energy imports. The 2023 iteration of this summit was held in Odesa, where leaders collectively reaffirmed their commitment to upholding Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

    During her visit, von der Leyen announced new targeted EU support packages tailored to Ukraine’s immediate and long-term needs. The bloc will advance new integration measures linking European and Ukrainian defense industries, and deliver additional assistance to strengthen Ukrainian air defenses ahead of the coming winter — a season when Russia has repeatedly launched large-scale strikes to cripple Ukraine’s critical energy infrastructure. To date, the EU has committed tens of billions of euros in military, financial, and diplomatic backing to Kyiv, and remains watchful of Russia’s broader expansionist ambitions across the European continent.

    The high-level diplomatic visit coincides with a shifting battlefield dynamic, Western military analysts and officials confirm. Ukraine’s increasingly frequent and precision drone and missile strikes are now successfully striking high-value targets deep inside Russian territory, disrupting key Russian military supply lines and triggering widespread civilian fuel shortages across multiple Russian regions. “Ukraine has built a strong military momentum. The tide is turning,” von der Leyen wrote on social media ahead of her Kyiv engagements.

    The day was marked by fresh Russian attacks across Ukrainian territory, which left at least eight civilians dead and 11 more injured. Three people were killed and seven wounded when Russian forces dropped six powerful glide bombs on infrastructure targets in Ukraine’s northern Sumy region, regional military governor Oleh Hryhorov confirmed. A separate Russian strike on the southern port city of Odesa killed three more civilians and injured three others, according to Odesa military head Serhii Lysak. In northern Chernihiv region, two civilians died and an 18-year-old was seriously wounded in a Russian drone attack, regional governor Viacheslav Chaus reported.

    In a corresponding update, Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed its air defense forces intercepted 93 Ukrainian drones overnight across multiple Russian regions, as well as over occupied Crimea, the Sea of Azov, and the Black Sea. No immediate reports of casualties or major damage from the intercepted drones were released by Russian officials.

    Von der Leyen’s visit adds to a string of recent international support pledges secured by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, including new commitments from the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations and the broad “Coalition of the Willing” backing Kyiv’s defense. To date, no negotiated peace settlement has emerged to end the conflict, which remains deadlocked along hundreds of kilometers of front line.

  • Air India crash report ‘expected to be ready’ in October

    Air India crash report ‘expected to be ready’ in October

    One year to the day after the deadliest aviation crash in recent Indian history killed 260 people, India’s official accident investigation body has confirmed that a draft final report on the June 2025 Air India AI171 disaster is on track to be completed by October.

    The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) outlined its investigation progress in a formal affidavit submitted to India’s Supreme Court this Tuesday, noting that the probe is currently in its evidence analysis phase, a stage expected to wrap up in approximately six weeks. The filing did not include any preliminary findings on the root cause of the crash, nor did it confirm a timeline for the full report to be released to the public.

    The tragedy unfolded on 12 June 2025, when a Boeing 787 Dreamliner operating Air India’s flight from Ahmedabad, a major city in western India, to London crashed just seconds after lifting off from Ahmedabad’s airport. The aircraft crashed roughly 6 kilometers from the airport runway, slamming into a doctor’s residential building on the campus of a local medical college and triggering a massive explosion on impact.

    Of the 241 passengers and crew on board, only one passenger—Viswashkumar Ramesh, a resident of Leicester, U.K.—survived the impact. Nineteen people on the ground also died in the crash and subsequent explosion, bringing the total confirmed death toll to 260.

    Investigators launched a full probe within hours of the crash, and released an initial preliminary report just one month later, in July 2025. On the first anniversary of the disaster last month, the AAIB released a brief update confirming that it had made “significant progress” in evidence analysis, but shared no additional details about the probe’s direction.

    In this week’s court filing, the AAIB reported that it has completed 49 of the 66 required procedural steps mandated for major aircraft accident investigations. Completed work includes a full forensic examination of the crash site and aircraft wreckage, recovery and analysis of both flight data and cockpit voice recorders, and a full review of all relevant documentation, including the flight crew’s medical history and training records.

    The affidavit also confirmed that investigators have completed a full review of Air India’s organizational culture, human factors protocols, and industry safety practices, and have received the final report from an aviation psychologist who conducted a psychological autopsy as part of the human factors probe. This process typically involves a detailed assessment of crew members’ psychological profiles to rule out pre-existing mental health factors that could have contributed to the accident. Investigators have also completed a full transcript of the cockpit voice recorder recording, though no details from that transcript have been released to the public.

    The preliminary report released last year already revealed a critical, unexplained anomaly in the moments after takeoff: the aircraft’s fuel-control switches suddenly moved to the “cut-off” position, cutting all fuel flow to both engines and causing a total loss of power seconds after the plane left the runway. Cockpit audio captured one pilot asking the other why they had moved the switches, to which the other pilot replied that he had not done so. The preliminary report did not identify which pilot made each statement, leaving a critical ambiguity that sparked widespread public and media speculation.

    Some international media reports later claimed that investigators were shifting focus to senior captain Sumeet Sabharwal, suggesting the captain may have been responsible for the accidental or intentional movement of the switches. These claims sparked immediate public pushback from Sabharwal’s father, Indian national pilots’ associations, and the AAIB itself, which criticized the unsubstantiated reporting.

    The current affidavit was filed in response to a public interest lawsuit brought by Sabharwal’s father, who is demanding an independent, external investigation into the crash. In the filing, the AAIB acknowledged that unregulated media speculation placing blame on the flight crew has had a negative impact on the probe, noting that “media speculation and narrative attributing blameworthiness to the pilots have, regrettably, caused some witnesses to become restrictive and non-responsive.”

    As the investigation enters its final analysis phase, families of the victims and the global aviation industry remain waiting for the final report to answer the lingering questions that have remained unresolved for a full year after the crash.

  • Iran reports fresh US strikes in return to war

    Iran reports fresh US strikes in return to war

    Just one month after the United States and Iran signed an interim memorandum of understanding to de-escalate the regional conflict that erupted last February, open hostilities have resumed between the two longstanding adversaries, throwing global energy markets and Gulf stability into fresh uncertainty.

    Iranian officials confirmed Wednesday that new American airstrikes targeted the southern port city of Bushehr, the location of Iran’s only operational civilian nuclear facility, alongside multiple military and coastal sites near the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz. This escalation comes after Washington reimposed a full naval blockade of Iranian ports, marking a clear end to the brief ceasefire that had raised hopes for a negotiated peace.

    Within hours of the US strikes, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards responded by launching attacks against the US Fifth Fleet based in Bahrain. US military officials confirmed they intercepted all projectiles aimed at civilian infrastructure in the kingdom, while Jordan’s armed forces announced they had shot down three Iranian missiles launched toward its territory.

    The core dispute driving the renewed violence remains control of the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that carries roughly a fifth of the world’s daily oil and natural gas supplies, making it one of the most critical energy chokepoints on the planet. Iran first closed the strait to commercial traffic after the US and Israel launched a large-scale offensive against the country on February 28, only briefly reopening it following the Islamabad peace memorandum signed last month. Tehran has now renewed its vow to keep the strait closed “until the US ends its aggression.”

    “Retaliatory operations will continue, and the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until the United States ends its acts of aggression,” the Revolutionary Guards said in an official statement.

    US President Donald Trump, for his part, issued a stark warning to Tehran Wednesday during an interview with Fox News, threatening to dramatically expand the scope of American strikes next week unless Iranian leadership agrees to return to negotiations. “Next week it gets really bad for them,” Trump said, signaling targeting of critical Iranian infrastructure including power plants and key bridges if no diplomatic breakthrough is reached. Despite the return to open fighting, mediated peace talks between the two sides have not been formally suspended.

    Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi called the reimposed US naval blockade a de facto termination of the interim peace deal. “The renewed US blockade has, in a way, dismantled the Islamabad memorandum,” Gharibabadi said, referring to the agreement that was meant to pave the way for broader peace negotiations.

    Five days into the resumption of hostilities, US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed it has carried out strikes against dozens of Iranian military targets near the strait and along Iran’s southern coastline, with the stated goal of “degrading Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping and civilian crews.” Iranian state media has reported multiple explosions across strategic coastal locations, including Bandar Abbas, Qeshm Island, and Bandar Imam Khomeini, in addition to the strikes on Bushehr.

    CENTCOM head Admiral Brad Cooper accused Iran of intentional attacks on civilian targets over the past week, saying “Iran has intentionally targeted civilians across the region by attacking seven commercial ships resulting in nearly a dozen civilian crew members killed, missing, or injured.” He added, “US forces are holding Iran accountable for unwarranted aggression that continues to endanger innocent lives.”

    Recent attacks have already disrupted regional shipping: crisis response firm MTI Network reported an explosion from an unidentified device hit a Norwegian tanker off the coast of Oman early Tuesday, while Kuwait confirmed one of its naval vessels was struck in an Iranian drone and missile barrage that wounded four crew members.

    In a sudden shift of policy, Trump announced Wednesday he was scrapping a planned 20 percent levy on all commercial ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz that he had unveiled just one day earlier. In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said the fee would be replaced with new trade and investment deals with Gulf Arab allies. “I have decided to replace the 20% United States Reimbursement Fee with Trade and Investment Deals that the various Gulf States will be making into the United States,” the post read.

    Iranian government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani confirmed that renewed US airstrikes have killed at least 30 Iranians since last week, with seven additional Iranian military personnel killed in Wednesday’s strikes on the country’s southeast.

    While Israel has not yet rejoined the fighting, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a sharp warning to Iranian leadership Tuesday during a visit to Dimona, the southern Israeli town widely believed to host the country’s undeclared nuclear arsenal. “Do not count on things remaining quiet if you attack us,” Netanyahu said, warning Iran would face a “heavy blow” if it targets Israeli territory.

    On the ground, the impact of the renewed conflict varies sharply across the region. In Tehran, AFP correspondents reported no immediate visible signs of war preparation, with large crowds of ordinary Iranians gathering in cafes to watch the World Cup semi-final match between France and Spain as usual. But in Kuwait, which has faced repeated attacks throughout the conflict, residents are gripped by persistent anxiety over the escalating crisis.

    “Every day, I wake up wondering whether the situation will de-escalate or worsen,” said Mustafa Mohamed, a 39-year-old Sudanese accountant based in Kuwait. “It has become difficult to feel at ease or plan anything because uncertainty grips everyone.”

    George Atef, a 38-year-old Egyptian civil servant in Kuwait, echoed that frustration. “What exhausts me most is not knowing when this situation will end — the waiting itself has become draining,” he said.

  • Mahmoud Khalil sues Trump administration officials and pro-Israel groups for ‘conspiracy’

    Mahmoud Khalil sues Trump administration officials and pro-Israel groups for ‘conspiracy’

    Palestinian American activist Mahmoud Khalil has launched a landmark civil lawsuit against a coalition of high-ranking Trump administration officials and right-wing advocacy organizations, accusing them of an unlawful conspiracy to intimidate and silence pro-Palestinian speech. He made the announcement official during a public press conference held Tuesday.

    The legal action is being spearheaded by the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) alongside legal representation from the firm Beldock Levine & Hoffman. The suit alleges that the named parties deliberately targeted Khalil and other non-citizen Palestinian rights activists to send a punitive message, with the explicit goal of weakening the rapidly expanding global movement in solidarity with the Palestinian people.

    In a rare legal maneuver targeting coordinated public-private repression, the lawsuit is filed under the Enforcement Act of 1871, more widely known as the Ku Klux Klan Act— a Reconstruction-era law designed to combat conspiracies by private groups and state actors that violate civil rights.

    Court documents argue that the campaign against Khalil was rooted in explicit anti-Palestinian prejudice, with private anti-Palestinian groups coordinating directly with senior executive branch officials to target and persecute Khalil and other advocates for Palestinian rights.

    “The goal was never to win an argument. The goal was always to manufacture fear, to convince people that the cost of speaking out would be too high. When those campaigns were not enough, they brought in the power of the state,” Khalil told reporters during the press conference.

    Khalil, a green card holder married to a U.S. citizen, first became a target of the Trump administration starting in 2024 for his role in organizing anti-Gaza war protest encampments on the Columbia University campus. In 2025, he was taken into immigration detention, where he remained locked up for 104 days. The detention forced him to miss the birth of his first child, a devastating personal consequence he says the defendants are responsible for.

    Despite the years of retaliation for his advocacy, Khalil said the campaign to silence him has failed. He declared, “We cannot let fear become the price of consciousness. To those who built this machinery to silence us, hear me clearly: it did not work. You detained me, and I’m standing here. You tried to make me a warning, and instead, you made me a plaintiff.”

    The lawsuit names a slate of top Trump administration officials: senior presidential advisor Stephen Miller, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin, acting attorney general Todd Blanche, former Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, and John Armstrong, an official with the State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs.

    Alongside government officials, the suit names three private organizations: Canary Mission, Betar US, and the Heritage Foundation. Canary Mission is a controversial website that maintains a public blacklist of students, activists, and academics who express pro-Palestinian views or criticize Israeli government policy. The outlet routinely conflates pro-Palestinian advocacy and anti-Zionism with antisemitism and support for terrorism, framing its work as documenting anti-American, anti-Israel, and anti-Jewish activity on North American college campuses. Israeli authorities also use Canary Mission’s blacklist to bar pro-Palestinian advocates, including both Palestinian and Jewish critics of Israel, from entering the country.

    Betar US, the U.S. affiliate of the international far-right Zionist movement Betar, is also named as a defendant. The group describes its mission as empowering Jewish people to embrace their identity and defend their heritage, calling itself one of the most impactful Zionist movements in history. It has previously publicly admitted to collecting personal information on participants in pro-Palestinian events and sharing that data directly with the Trump administration. An investigation from New York Attorney General Letitia James found that Betar US repeatedly targeted individuals based on their faith and ethnic background, specifically targeting Muslim, Arab, Palestinian, and Jewish residents of New York. The group was ordered to cease all operations in New York state as a result of the findings.

    The conservative think tank Heritage Foundation, the third private defendant named in the suit, is best known for developing Project 2025, a 900-page comprehensive policy blueprint that has guided the Trump administration’s second-term policy agenda. Project 2025 includes explicit commitments to maintain unwavering U.S. support for Israel regardless of Palestinian civilian harm.

    Khalil currently has two outstanding legal cases pending in the U.S. court system. One is an immigration removal proceeding, where an immigration judge ruled he could be deported; Khalil has appealed that ruling to the U.S. Board of Immigration Appeals. The second is a federal constitutional challenge, where his legal team argues that his detention and attempted deportation violated his First Amendment right to free speech and Fifth Amendment right to due process.

    Khalil closed his press conference by vowing to see the legal fight through to the end. “I will not stop fighting until everyone who willingly contributed to my missing the birth of my son, and to taking 104 days of my life from me, answers for what they’ve done,” he said.