Blockading the blockaded; Hezbollah Gone Wild; Support for Israel cratering - IRAN WAR NEWS - 13-Apr-2026 (updated)
UPDATE 1
J Street backs ending US military aid to Israel in sign of widening Democratic shift - Middle East Monitor
The liberal pro-Israel lobby group J Street has called for the phased end of all US military aid to Israel by 2028, in a striking sign of how far the political ground has shifted in Washington over unconditional support for the occupation state.
Israel's 'rock' in Europe, anti-Muslim far-right leader Viktor Orbán, defeated in landmark election - Middle East Monitor
Israel has suffered a major political setback in Europe after Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán, conceded defeat in a landmark election that ended his 16-year rule and handed a crushing victory to the opposition Tisza party led by Péter Magyar.
Tisza won 138 of 199 parliamentary seats, giving it a two-thirds majority and the power to begin dismantling much of Orbán's entrenched political system. Orbán's defeat followed years of economic stagnation, corruption scandals and growing public anger at his authoritarian style of government.
The Day After Islamabad: When U.S. Power Meets Its Future in the Narrow Strait of Hormuz - 21st Century Wire
Islamabad was never a peace conference in any honest sense. It was the moment Washington tried to turn military failure into diplomatic blackmail. What it could not break with bombs, it tried to extract across a polished table. Iran answered by making clear that sovereignty defended under attack would not be converted into a concession or any form of surrender.
The Islamabad talks did not fail because diplomacy ran out of time. They failed because Washington came demanding what war had not delivered, while Tehran came unwilling to sign away, in a hotel room, what it had just defended under fire in its own skies and waters.
WSJ: More than 15 US warships are involved in the naval blockade of Iran
To support the naval blockade of Iran, the United States has deployed more than 15 warships, reports The Wall Street Journal, citing a senior US official.
"According to representatives of the Navy and Central Command, the US has an aircraft carrier, several guided-missile destroyers, an amphibious assault ship and a number of other warships in the Middle East," the article states.
US's 'Very Foolish' Double Blockade of Hormuz Strait Makes Absolutely No Sense: Here's Why
Every step Washington has taken in the conflict with Iran to date has worsened its own strategic position, and the blockade of Iranian oil exports is no exception, says Center for Contemporary Iranian Studies director Rajab Safarov.
"This is a very foolish move on the part of the United States. With each passing day and every step," Washington is "worsening" its own position, and that of many countries around the world for whom Hormuz is the lifeline to their economic existence, Safarov told Sputnik.
Meanwhile, "the Iranian position grows stronger" over time relative to others, something "the Iranians understand perfectly well," Safarov said. Therefore, Tehran has no incentive to agree to or be bullied into a peace deal on American terms.
Safarov doesn't rule out that President Trump is being provided poor information on conditions on the ground by underlings like Secretary Hegseth, and making statements and decisions that have "no connection to reality."
The observer pointed out, for example, that Trump claimed Iran's Navy has been destroyed. But it's this same Navy that's now "ready to sink any ship that might move toward the Indian Ocean without Iran's permission."
Trump warns any Iranian ships that come close to US blockade 'will be immediately eliminated' - Middle East Monitor
Any Iranian ships that come close to the US blockade of Iranian ports "will be immediately eliminated," US President Donald Trump said Monday, Anadolu reports.
"Iran's Navy is laying at the bottom of the sea, completely obliterated - 158 ships. What we have not hit are their small number of, what they call, 'fast attack ships,' because we did not consider them much of a threat," Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth social.
"Warning: If any of these ships come anywhere close to our blockade, they will be immediately eliminated, using the same system of kill that we use against the drug dealers on boats at sea,"
12bytes: That "small number" of Iran's fast attack boats is actually a very large number and the only reason the US "did not consider them much of a threat" is because they're stored in underground tunnels which are out of the reach of any bombs the US possesses.
What do we know about sea mines in and around the Strait of Hormuz? | US-Israel war on Iran | Al Jazeera
The United States military says its warships will conduct an operation to clear mines laid by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz.
In a statement released on Saturday, Central Command (CENTCOM), which has responsibility for US military operations in the Middle East, said the mission would be undertaken by guided missile destroyers USS Frank E Peterson and USS Michael Murphy and would aim to establish a "safe pathway" for the free flow of global commerce after Iran's near-closure of the waterway since the war the US and Israel launched on Iran on February 28.
12bytes: Yeah, good luck with that. Anyone stupid enough to attempt to forcefully open the strait will be greeted by the very large segment of Iran's Navy that hasn't yet been touched.
Iran Threatens Gulf Ports Over U.S. Blockade, Netanyahu Says Ceasefire Could End At Any Moment
Security in the Gulf and the Sea of Oman will be enforced on a reciprocal basis, following the United States' announcement of a naval blockade targeting Iran, the spokesperson for the Islamic Republic's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, Lieutenant Colonel Ebrahim Zolfaghari, stated on April 13.
In a statement, Zolfaghari said that Iran considers the defense of its territorial waters a "natural and lawful duty," stressing that the presence of foreign-aligned vessels in key maritime corridors will not be permitted.
"The Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran explicitly and decisively declare that the security of ports in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman is either for everyone or for no one," the spokesperson said, warning that any threat to Iranian maritime security would result in broader regional consequences.
Yemen may close key Red Sea strait amid US threats to blockade Iran: Report
Ahmed Nagi, a senior analyst for Yemen at the International Crisis Group think-tank, told the Associated Press that the ruling Houthi Ansarullah movement is well capable of escalating the situation in their regional waters nearly a week after a ceasefire was announced to stop the US-Israeli aggression on their key ally Iran.
Nagi said the Yemenis would close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to double the oil price pressure felt by the US because of Iran's control over the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf.
Hezbollah claims 11 attacks on Israeli targets as sirens sound 15 times in northern Israel - Middle East Monitor
Hezbollah said Monday it carried out 11 attacks on Israeli targets, as air raid sirens sounded 15 times across northern Israel following launches from Lebanon, Anadolu reports.
In a series of statements, the Lebanese group said it used drones to target the settlement of Metula, as well as military sites in Avivim and Kiryat Shmona, and gatherings of Israeli soldiers in Shlomi and Shomera.
It said drone strikes also hit a hill in the border town of Odaisseh in southern Lebanon, causing a fire at the site.
Hezbollah added that it launched rockets at the settlement of Dovev, troop gatherings in Kfar Giladi, and targeted another troop gathering in Misgav Am with both rockets and drones.
[...]
The alerts were activated in multiple settlements, including Metula, Tel Hai, Kfar Giladi, Beit Hillel, Kiryat Shmona, Misgav Am, Dovev, Margaliot, Shtula and Zarit.
YouTube removes pro-Iran channel producing anti-Trump videos | Middle East Eye
Google, the owners of YouTube, has removed a channel on the platform belonging to a pro-Iran group producing Lego-themed videos mocking Donald Trump.
"Upon review, we've terminated the channel for violating our Spam, deceptive practices and scams policies," a YouTube spokesperson told Middle East Eye.
IN OTHER NEWS...
EU's Military Buildup Signals It Prepares for Large-Scale War Against Russia - Russian Envoy to UN
UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) - Increased military preparations of the European Union make it obvious that it is getting ready for a major war against Russia, Russian Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia said on Monday.
US judge dismisses Trump's $10bn lawsuit against WSJ over Epstein story | Donald Trump News | Al Jazeera
A United States federal judge has dismissed US President Donald Trump's $10bn defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal and its owner Rupert Murdoch over a story on Trump's ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
Miami-based US District Judge Darrin Gayles said on Monday that Trump did not meet the "actual malice" standard that public figures must clear in defamation cases.
END UPDATES
A Superpower Besieged: America Acts Like a Cornered Animal - and the World Will Pay the Price - Global Research
The negotiations in Islamabad have collapsed - exactly as scripted by Washington and Tel Aviv.
After a tense second day, Iranian negotiators, led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, contemptuously rejected Washington's grotesque ultimatum: total surrender of Iran's nuclear program in exchange for worthless "goodwill" promises, with zero guarantees on sanctions relief, a Lebanon ceasefire, or frozen assets.
As many suspected, it was all political theater designed to fail.
Why US-Iran Talks Were Meant to Fail - Patrick Henningsen talks to Dialogue Works - 21st Century Wire
This latest attempt at a 'ceasefire' is coming unravelled at record speed. Unfortunately, its viability hinges on whether the US and Donald Trump can restrain Israel from its constant violent attacks on Lebanon and Gaza. In that sense, these talks were meant to fail, as Netanyahu is desperate for the war to continue. The Iranians are under no illusion as to whether the US is agreement capable- and are skeptical about whether this latest 'pause' could lead to any permanent ceasefire agreement, or any sustainable political settlement. Tehran has very little trust that Trump will actually honor his commitments, and understand that Israel will not observe any ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon. The reason it's a nonstarter is because Trump's last two cycles of negotiations with Iran ended abruptly ended with Israeli and American mounting a sneak attack them twice- in June 2025 and February 2026. Meanwhile, Trump and his party are hemorrhaging voters ahead of the Midterms. What will it take for hostilities to wind down? All this and more.
Dialogue Works host Nima Alkhorshid talks to editor of 21st Century Wire Patrick Henningsen. Watch:
U.S. Imposes Naval Blockade On Iran, Could Resume Strikes
President Donald Trump on April 12 declared that the U.S. Navy will immediately start blockading the Strait of Hormuz and will also intercept in international waters every vessel that paid a toll to Iran.
The move came amid a two-week ceasefire, and right after lengthy American-Iranian talks in Pakistan failed to produce an agreement.
In a post to Truth Social, Trump said that the talks "went well" for the most part, but "the only point that really mattered, NUCLEAR, was not" agreed to by Iran.
"Effective immediately," he wrote, the U.S. Navy "will begin the process of BLOCKADING any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz."
"I have also instructed our Navy to seek and interdict every vessel in International Waters that has paid a toll to Iran. No one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas," he added.
"Other countries" will also be involved in the blockade, Trump claimed, without identifying them by name.
Trump also renewed his threats to the Islamic Republic, saying that "any Iranian who fires at us, or at peaceful vessels, will be BLOWN TO HELL!"
The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), from its side, announced that its forces "will begin implementing a blockade of all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports on April 13 at 10 a.m. ET, in accordance with the president's proclamation."
"The blockade will be enforced impartially against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman," CENTCOM said.
The command added that its forces "will not impede freedom of navigation for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports."
Will Trump's Order to Blockade Iranian Ports Actually Work?
The short answer to my question is, No! The US, notwithstanding Trump's threats, is not going to deploy its Navy ships close to Iran's shore... The USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) Carrier Strike Group (CSG 3) learned this the hardway in March. The Lincoln CSG got within 210 miles of the Iranian southern coast in March but was forced to retreat to a position about 700 miles from the coast of Iran after it was attacked by a swarm of Iranian missiles and drones. So, any attempts to interdict a tanker will take place hundreds of miles off the coast of Iran.
[...]
Trump, in making this announcement, has given the owners of those tankers that are allowed to leave the Persian Gulf ample time to place security teams on board those ships, armed with shoulder-fired MANPADS (i.e., man-portable air-defense system). If any of those tankers are carrying the Chinese [or] Japanese flag, any attempt to board those ships could be viewed as an act of war by those countries. I don't think CENTCOM has really thought through the problems and dangers that will arise if CENTCOM actually executes this mission.
Ghalibaf to Americans after Hormuz closure threats: "Enjoy the current pump figures" - Yemen Press Agency
TEHRAN, April 13 (YPA) - Iranian Parliament Speaker and chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has reacted to Donald Trump's threats, sharing an image showing recent gasoline prices at stations near the White House.
In a post on "X", Ghalibaf addressed Americans directly, saying: "Enjoy the current pump figures. With the so-called 'blockade', Soon you'll be nostalgic for $4-$5 gas."
UK and France plan naval mission over Strait of Hormuz | Middle East Eye
"This strictly defensive mission, which will be separate from the warring parties, is intended to be deployed as soon as the situation allows," Macron said.
Keir Starmer warned that the continued closure of the route is fuelling economic strain.
"This week the UK and France will co-host a summit to advance work on a coordinated, independent, multinational plan to safeguard international shipping when the conflict ends," he said.
Starmer says UK will not support US blockade of Strait of Hormuz | US-Israel war on Iran News | Al Jazeera
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says his country will not join the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz announced by United States President Donald Trump, a move also criticised by other US allies.
"We are not supporting the blockade," Starmer told BBC radio on Monday, adding that the United Kingdom "is not getting dragged in" to the US-Israel war on Iran.
12bytes: The UK is already involved in the war because they're allowing the US to conduct strikes from at least one base in the UK.
Lebanese resistance strikes Israeli positions over ceasefire breaches - Yemen Press Agency
BEIRUT, April 13 (YPA) - The Islamic Resistance in Lebanon said on Monday it had launched a series of attacks targeting Israeli occupation's military gatherings, barracks, and settlements in southern Lebanon and the occupied territories, in response to alleged violations of the ceasefire.
[...]
The attacks included heavy rocket fire, missile barrages, and attack drones targeting military sites and troop gatherings in several settlements, including "Kiryat Shmona, Doviv, Shlomi, and Misgav Am, as well as locations such as Avivim, Metula, and the Amiad base north of Lake Tiberias".
In Video: Hezbollah targets Israeli position in town of Taybeh in southern Lebanon - Yemen Press Agency
BEIRUT, April 13 (YPA) - The Islamic Resistance in Lebanon (Hezbollah) released video footage showing its fighters targeting a position of "Israeli" enemy army soldiers in the town of Taybeh in southern Lebanon with an attack drone.
'Unhinged & unchristian': Global outrage erupts after Trump attacks Pope, poses as Jesus
A massive firestorm of international condemnation erupted on Orthodox Easter Monday after President Donald Trump launched a vicious attack on Pope Leo XIV and shared an image of himself depicted as Jesus Christ.
People, cutting across the political and religious spectrum, labeled the remarks as "deranged," "abhorrent," and a dangerous display of a "messiah complex."
It came days after Pope Leo XIV strongly criticized Trump's unprovoked war against the Islamic Republic of Iran and the threat to end the Iranian civilization, which the Pontiff called "truly unacceptable" on moral and international law grounds.
In response, Trump lashed out at the spiritual leader of over 1.3 billion Catholics worldwide.
Israeli forces fire tear gas near Palestinian schoolchildren | Israel-Palestine conflict | Al Jazeera
Israeli forces fired tear gas towards a group of children trying to walk to school in Masafer Yatta in the occupied West Bank after a fence had been erected blocking their route, according to local reports.
Iran: Death toll among students, teachers rises to 345 - Yemen Press Agency
TEHRAN, April 13 (YPA) - Hossein Sadeghi, head of the Media and Public Relations Center at Iran's Ministry of Education, announced that the number of students and teachers killed has risen to 345, with 222 others injured.
Global Sumud Flotilla sets sail again to Gaza amid continued Israeli blockade - YouTube
Footage shows the Global Sumud Flotilla setting sail again to Gaza from the ports of Barcelona, Spain, as activists express why it is important to sail again.
One activist stressed that "we need to show support when there's people who are brave enough to take action and go and fight against a system that's oppressing."
Another affirmed, "When the government fails, we sail."
More than 70 boats and nearly 1,000 volunteers set sail from Barcelona on Sunday as part of the Global Sumud Flotilla's second mission to break the Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip, nearly doubling the scale of its previous attempt in September.
Free speech under attack: French parliament advances bill criminalizing speech on Israel
France is moving closer to passing legislation that would criminalize a broad range of speech involving the Israeli regime, with penalties of up to five years in prison.