This time, the Democrats are trying, with Representative Pramila Jayapal: “The 25th Amendment, impeachment, and demanding his resignation: we must do whatever it takes to remove Trump from office.” Congress is growing concerned about Trump’s words and choices.
The US president, however, told the press: “You saw what we did with Venezuela, it’s going to be similar,” referring to Iran. Trump admitted he had no other options than to bomb civilian infrastructure: “The only thing we really have left is their water, and hitting that would be devastating.” “I wouldn’t want to do it, but it’s their water, their desalination plants, and their power plants.” “We could destroy them all. And I mean destroy them, in the sense that they wouldn’t have electricity for ten years…” “They probably wouldn’t be able to rebuild them again.” “I think we’ve pretty much reached the limit, other than those few things.”
Meanwhile, the contents of the US proposal to Iran have emerged: according to Fox News, Vice President Vance’s final proposal, presented to the Iranian delegation in Islamabad before the collapse of the Pakistan-brokered peace talks between the two countries, consisted of the following demands: Cease all uranium enrichment; Dismantle all major nuclear fuel enrichment facilities; Withdraw highly enriched uranium; Accept a broader peace, security, and de-escalation framework that includes regional allies; Stop funding the “terrorist organizations” Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis; Fully open the Strait of Hormuz, eliminating tolls for crossing it. This text, widely contested by Iran, calls for unilateral management of Hormuz and continued enrichment of uranium for civilian purposes.
Iranian diplomats revealed their red lines to Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, which are: “The Strait of Hormuz is under full Iranian control. Iran will receive war reparations. Frozen Iranian assets will be unfrozen. A stable ceasefire in all areas relevant to Iran.”
The Pentagon confirmed that the United States will blockade Iranian ports. “It applies to ships of all nations, including China, Russia, and India. It affects all Iranian ports on the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.” CENTCOM says it will not prevent transit through Hormuz to non-Iranian ports. Sailors have been ordered to monitor Notice to Marine broadcasts and contact US naval forces on channel 16. In response, Iran declared: “Come closer. Iran will sink your ships.”
Meanwhile, the coalition for the liberation of Hormuz is crumbling: Great Britain says it will never participate in a US war against Iran or a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese: “Australia refuses to participate in the US naval blockade of Iranian ports, in line with the position previously expressed by the United Kingdom.” The Spanish Foreign Minister: “NATO will not participate in any military operation to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.”
And as tensions between Israel and Spain escalate, the Spanish ambassador to Iran, upon arriving at the Iranian border at Astara, called for “bilateral cooperation” and “lasting peace,” Fars reports. He added that economic and investment relations will be reviewed. Iran’s first vice president praised Spanish President Pedro Sánchez for his “humanitarian stance” against the aggression. France, Spain, and Australia have called for Lebanon to rejoin peace negotiations and to ensure Lebanon does not become another Gaza.
A British destroyer sent to Cyprus to strengthen air defenses was disabled shortly after arrival. A date for the resumption of patrols has not yet been set. Cyprus is preparing for a possible mass influx of migrants due to instability in Lebanon. Authorities are developing a contingency plan, strengthening security, and preparing infrastructure.
Arrests in Haifa: A group suspected of manufacturing bombs on Iranian orders to target former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has been arrested. Haifa resident Ami Gaydarov and three accomplices were arrested on charges of working for Iranian intelligence. The group allegedly received approximately $26,000 for these activities, which included testing explosives and gathering intelligence on strategic sites. According to Channel 13: “There are a lot of Iranian spies in Israel; they’ve formed a special unit like the Shin Bet and the police. So far, there are 38 cases involving over 50 spies. The Israelis are selling Israel out for pennies, not big money…”
In his April 11 address to the people of Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that their campaign against Iran “is not over yet,” even though Israel has achieved “historic results” in the ongoing conflict. On April 13, the Israeli cabinet approved the extension of the state of emergency in the rear areas until the end of the month. Among the reasons is “uncertainty regarding the ceasefire in Iran.” Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich released a preliminary estimate according to which the direct budgetary costs of Operation Roaring Lion amount to approximately NIS 35 billion (about $11.5 billion at current exchange rates).
After the ultimatum between Hamas and Israel expired on April 9, on April 13, Netanyahu declared that there will be a new phase: “The Israel Defense Forces will resume operations in Gaza to ‘disarm’ Hamas.” “Trump failed to mobilize a coalition to open the Strait of Hormuz, so he also understands that building a coalition to disarm Hamas is less realistic. We will have to do it ourselves. We will have to do it ourselves.”
The spokesman for the Al-Qassam Brigades, responding to Netanyahu’s statements: “What the enemy failed to take from us with tanks and extermination, he will not take from us with politics and at the negotiating table.”
Regarding negotiations between Israel and Lebanon, they are stalled, according to Benjamin Netanyahu: “We will negotiate with Lebanon on two conditions: to conclude the Abraham Accords and to confiscate Hezbollah’s weapons.” Lebanon has currently postponed the meeting scheduled in Washington next week. Netanyahu: “We attacked 100 targets in Lebanon in one minute and we promise more.” And again on April 13, Netanyahu: “We are not talking about five positions in southern Lebanon, but about a security belt to eliminate the threat of a Hezbollah (ground) invasion and repel the missile threat.” According to Israel, the belt should be 7 km long on Lebanese territory, where there will not be a single Lebanese home.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun: “No one negotiates on our behalf, and we don’t want anyone to do it for us: this is something we will not accept (…) We are in contact with our friends, calling for a ceasefire and the resumption of negotiations.” Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam postponed his trip to the UN and the United States.
The Lebanese prime minister reportedly ordered the Lebanese army to deploy throughout Beirut to ensure that weapons are used only by official forces, limiting their possession exclusively to state security agencies. The government also decided to file an urgent complaint with the UN Security Council in response to Israel’s indiscriminate attacks on civilian infrastructure in Lebanon. At the beginning of the meeting, the prime minister stated that Lebanon was “tired of mere statements of condemnation,” expressing disappointment that the country had not been included in the ceasefire announced between the United States and Iran. Twitter users reported: most cities in Lebanon have disappeared from Apple Maps. The reason is unclear.
700,000 barrels per day cut in Saudi oil production due to the war between the United States and Israel and Iran, Saudi press reports. The East-West pipeline has suffered significant damage following the recent attacks. Further conflict is expected to lead to further supply shortages and volatility in global oil markets. The Saudi Ministry of Defense announced that military equipment from Pakistan arrived at the King Abdulaziz Air Base in the Ash Sharqiyah region of Saudi Arabia on April 11. According to the ministry, the equipment consists of fighter jets and support aircraft belonging to the Pakistan Air Force. According to a statement from the Saudi Ministry of Defense, Islamabad’s move was undertaken as part of the joint defense agreement signed between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan a few months ago. A total of 13,000 Pakistani soldiers and 10 aircraft have arrived. On April 13, the Saudi Foreign Minister spoke again by phone with Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi after the stalemate in negotiations between Tehran and Washington in Pakistan.
Saudi Arabia and Qatar will provide Pakistan with $5 billion in financial assistance to meet Islamabad’s debt repayment obligations to the United Arab Emirates, sources told Anadolu Agency.
The United Arab Emirates stands with Israel and the United States and calls for the unconditional opening of the Strait of Hormuz, without conditions. Emirates Global Aluminum, the largest aluminum producer in the Persian Gulf, has declared force majeure on some contracts, Bloomberg reported. The company used this measure to suspend at least some supplies after one of its smelting plants was disabled in an Iranian attack in early April.
The Yemeni movement Ansar Allah has warned that it will intensify its military operations if the United States and the Israeli government resume their aggression against Iran.
Both during the talks in Islamabad and after they failed, the Strait of Hormuz remained closed to vessels near Israel and the United States. South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun decided to send a special envoy to Iran to discuss bilateral issues between South Korea and Iran and address the challenges to navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. On April 12, the US Central Command stated: “U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces will begin blocking all maritime traffic in and out of Iranian ports on April 13 at 3:00 p.m. (Ed.), in accordance with President Trump’s announcement.” Iranian Parliament Speaker Ghalibaf responded: “Enjoy the current gasoline prices. With the so-called ‘blockade,’ you will soon regret the $4-$5 a gallon.” Finally, Ghalibaf also published a new formula for oil price hikes, demonstrating that a renewed blockade of the Strait of Hormuz would lead to further price increases and drag Trump deeper into the oil price swamp he created.
Iran has begun reconstruction of the Yahyabad railway bridge in Kashan, destroyed in the Israeli attacks on April 7. Reconstruction work is underway across the country, especially on critical infrastructure.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei, responding to a Washington Post article: “While American officials accuse Iran of bad faith and blackmail, circles within American politics and the media are openly calling for the assassination of Iranian negotiators should the talks fail. This blatant incitement to “international terrorism” must be condemned by all.
Following Donald Trump’s recent statements about imposing a naval blockade on Iran and restricting maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, the Tasnim news agency wrote: “Such threats no longer carry weight or credibility, adding that if they were effective, Trump would not be desperately seeking a ceasefire during a war.” Tasnim: “These positions will not help solve the problems and warned that Trump should instead be concerned that such recklessness and the tendency to focus on threats could also cost him Bab el-Mandeb, further complicating energy transit and global trade in the region and making them more expensive.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi: “During intense negotiations at the highest level in 47 years, Iran has negotiated in good faith with the United States to end the war. But when we were on the verge of signing the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, we were faced with maximalist demands, constant changes in terms, and a stalemate. Nothing has been learned; goodwill breeds goodwill, hostility breeds hostility.”
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian believes in negotiations: If the American government abandons its totalitarianism and respects the rights of the Iranian nation, ways to reach an agreement will certainly be found. The Head of the Iranian Judiciary, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i: “The Iranian Judiciary is switching to all-out war mode against spies and traitors: ‘In dealing with spies, traitorous elements, and invading enemy soldiers, our organization is fully in war mode and adapts to wartime conditions. In accordance with law and justice, we will demonstrate the utmost firmness and speed in handling their cases. These cases are no longer subject to normal peacetime procedures. Until further notice, the Judiciary will maintain its wartime training in cases involving collaborators of the enemy. We operate according to the rules of war, not ordinary ones.”
And now a look at the ongoing military scenarios in the Middle East and Western Asia, updated at 3:00 PM on April 13. A US military survivor of the deadliest Iranian attack on American forces since the war began has disputed the Pentagon’s version of events. He claimed that his unit in Kuwait was left exposed. The survivor spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media and gave the interview without official permission from the US military.
Trump ordered the US Navy to block the Strait of Hormuz from “any vessel attempting to enter or leave.” He also instructed the Navy to search and detain any vessel in international waters that has paid tolls to Iran: “No one who pays an illegal toll will be granted safe passage on the high seas.” U.S. Army soldiers perform maintenance on the Patriot mobile missile defense system in the Middle East. A U.S. Air Force B-52H strategic bomber at Fairford Air Base is on high alert with ammunition loaded. The CVN-77 George Bush aircraft carrier has passed through the Strait of Gibraltar. According to local Middle Eastern sources, “US military buildup accelerates: C-17s invade the region.”
The war between Israel and Lebanon has never stopped. Hezbollah rockets targeted northern Israel continuously from April 9th to April 13th. On April 9th alone, Hezbollah claimed 30 operations. The city of Haifa, the Stella Maris base, and areas in southern Israel were hit. Defense systems are active in Ashkelon. A rocket fell near Safed. Shlomi settlement in Western Galilee hit, Karmiel settlement hit
Dozens of US tankers (KC-135s and KC-46As) have been crowding Ben Gurion Airport since April 11. Channel 15, April 13: “The Chief of Staff has ordered the Israeli army to immediately go on alert in preparation for war with Iran. A decision on resuming bombing has not yet been made.”
Two soldiers from the 890th Paratrooper Battalion were injured by a Hezbollah rocket in southern Lebanon.
An Israeli soldier was seriously injured following an operational incident in central Gaza. As the food crisis intensified, Israel drastically restricted the entry of aid, including flour, into Gaza, leading to a continued rise in bread prices amid severe poverty in Gaza. (Source: Hamas)
Hezbollah stated that fighters engaged in close-range clashes with light and medium weapons and rocket launchers against a well-equipped Israeli force attempting to advance towards the market in the town of Bint Jbeil. In addition to defending the town, Hezbollah also used artillery fire against gatherings of Israeli vehicles and soldiers near the Musa Abbas compound and the Triangle of Liberation and Professionalism in Bint Jbeil. On April 13, fierce and bloody clashes were reported between the Israel Defense Forces and Israeli troops at frontline positions in Bint Jbeil, Sham, and Al-Khiyam, in southern Lebanon.
Bint Jbeil is considered the “Capital of the Resistance” and was a crucial turning point in the 2006 war, which turned the tide of the conflict in Hezbollah’s favor, known as the “Battle of Bint Jbeil.” The capture of Bint Jbeil would represent only a symbolic victory for Israel, an incentive to intensify efforts to defeat Hezbollah once and for all.
Israel also attacked Nabatieh in southern Lebanon. Several people are reported to have died as the Israel Defense Forces intensified its bombardment in the south. Two IDF soldiers were injured. Two other Israeli soldiers from the Paratrooper Brigade were injured in clashes in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah launched shelling at a house housing Israeli soldiers in Al-Bayyada, southern Lebanon.
On April 11, Israel fired white phosphorus at the civilian area of Al-Tiri in southern Lebanon. On the morning of April 11, Lebanese media reported 11 deaths following Israel Defense Forces (IDF) attacks on April 10 in: Jibchit, Tul village, near Tebnine hospital, and attacks in the village of Zefta.
Saudi broadcaster Al Arabiya reported, citing its sources, that the drones launched on April 9 against Kuwait, which targeted the country’s vital infrastructure, were launched from Iraq, not Iran. Vital infrastructure of the National Guard was hit and injured several of its personnel.
Pakistani military forces with fighter jets arrive at the Saudi air base as part of the Mutual Strategic Defense Agreement, Saudi Arabian Ministry of Defense. On April 11, the seventh American Bombardier E-11A BACN relay aircraft, callsign BLKWF01, tail number 24-9049, arrived at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. Similar aircraft with tail numbers N770AG, 21-9045, 22-9046, 22-9047, 12-9506, and 23-9048 are already stationed there. On April 13, a steady stream of C-17 military transport aircraft arrived at American and Israeli bases in the region to replenish ammunition stocks. One of the last American air bases where a transport aircraft landed was in Saudi Arabia.
Qatari media reported severe damage to the AN/FPS-132 early warning radar located at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, following a precision strike by Iran in the hours before the ceasefire. This system is the primary ballistic missile detection system in the US arsenal. On April 12, Qatar fully restored maritime navigation, according to the Ministry of Transport.
Transit through the Strait of Hormuz is closed or almost closed. UKMTO: The maritime threat level in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz remains “critical.” On April 10, a Russian-flagged supertanker passed through the Strait of Hormuz into the Persian Gulf, marking a rare passage for a Russian vessel, as traders closely scrutinize every transit through this war-torn waterway. Iran maintains tight control over Hormuz: traffic was blocked to fewer than 10 vessels on April 11.
“All ships entering the Strait of Hormuz must pay a toll under a new control system,” Iranian security chief Ebrahim Azizi told RT. “The government must establish full management and control of the Strait based on national interests.” “The Americans need this agreement more than we do.” “If they don’t accept our conditions, we will go our own way: nothing will change.”
A security incident occurred in the Red Sea on April 12. Four oil tankers turned back from the Strait of Hormuz on April 12. The last two Pakistani-flagged tankers, “Khairpur” and “Shalamar,” which were previously rumored to be heading towards the Strait, made a 180-degree turn and are now turning back. On April 13, five Chinese COSCO oil tankers, scheduled to transit the Strait of Hormuz this week, were blocked and will not proceed until the situation is clarified.
Sheikh Zakzaky, Leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria: “The Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb belong to the nations of Iran and Yemen. The Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb are not unowned territories; they belong to the nations of Iran and Yemen. We call on the aggressor groups to withdraw, admit defeat, and abandon any idea of launching new acts of aggression.”
In Iran, the head of Iran’s Forensic Medicine Organization stated that during the war imposed by the United States and Israel on Iran, the bodies of 3,375 people were identified and their identities were confirmed by the Forensic Medicine Organization, including 2,875 men and 496 women.
The Revolutionary Guards released footage of the moment a Hermes 900 drone was destroyed and shot down over the city of Lar, in Fars province. On April 11, Iranian military officials informed their negotiating delegation that a US destroyer was moving from the port of Fujairah toward the Strait of Hormuz. Iran informed the Pakistani mediator that if the destroyer continued its course, it would be targeted within 30 minutes. The US destroyer stopped sailing in the Strait of Hormuz and turned back.
Bloomberg, citing a regional intelligence official: “Two US Navy Arleigh Burke-class destroyers attempted to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, but were forced to turn back after being threatened by the Revolutionary Guards and after a drone was launched against the ships.”
The Revolutionary Guards in Semnan Province: “Two Mossad-affiliated spies have been identified and arrested. The said individuals communicated repeatedly with a Mossad intelligence officer from the time of the 12-Day War until their arrest, sending information gathered on people and locations.” A satellite image published in the New York Times shows that the war has caused severe damage to the Eagle 44 base in southern Iran, near the Strait of Hormuz, previously used by Su-35 fighter jets arriving from Russia. The images show damage to the exit tunnels of the air raid shelter beneath the mountain ridge, and all the aircraft inside are trapped with no possibility of evacuation. Access to the runways has also been blocked, and earthworks are visible on the runways themselves, likely an attempt by Iranian forces to prevent enemy aircraft from landing at the base.
Antonio Albanese e Graziella Giangiulio
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