War On Iran, War On the Ummah: Power, Resistance, And Betrayal

Firoz Osman

War today is not confined to a single battlefield. It is being waged across multiple fronts of the Muslim world: Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Sudan, and now Iran.

These are not isolated conflicts, but interconnected theatres within a broader geopolitical struggle for power, resources, and ideological dominance.

To understand the present escalation against Iran, one must situate it within a longer historical arc defined by intervention, resistance, and the contest over sovereignty in the Muslim world.

1979: The Turning Point

The modern phase of confrontation with Iran began with the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The revolution overthrew the Shah, a monarch whose rule had been secured through foreign intervention. In 1953, a CIA-backed coup removed Mohammad Mossadegh after he nationalized Iran’s oil industry, previously dominated by British interests. Reinsated in power, the Shah ruled through repression, enforced by the SAVAK—his feared security apparatus known for widespread torture and brutality.

Resistance to this regime grew steadily until it culminated in the Islamic revolution. On February 11, 1979, the Islamic Republic was declared, fundamentally altering the regional balance of power.

Iran and Palestine: Ideology and Alignment

The Islamic revolution immediately signaled a shift in foreign policy priorities.

Within days, Iran handed over the former Israeli embassy in Tehran to the Palestine Liberation Organization. Yasser Arafat became the first foreign leader to visit post-revolution Iran, symbolizing a new strategic alignment.

Later that year, Imam Ruhollah Khomeini declared Al-Quds Day an annual global mobilization on the last Friday of Ramadan dedicated to the liberation of Al Quds (Jerusalem).

Iran’s support for Palestine was not framed as optional diplomacy, but as a religious and ideological obligation rooted in the defense of the oppressed.

Why the west felt Threatened by the Revolution

The Islamic Revolution represented more than regime change; it disrupted the architecture of western influence in the region.

The Shah had been a critical ally, ensuring:

• Western access to oil resources

• Regional stability favorable to western interests

• Strategic alignment with Israel

With his removal, the United States, Britain, and Israel lost a central pillar of their regional order.

Two strategic imperatives, control over energy resources and the protection of Israel, have long shaped western policy in West Asia (ak the Middle East). The emergence of a defiant, independent Iran challenged both.

Containment: Sanctions and Isolation

In response, Iran was subjected to sustained economic and political pressure.

For decades, sanctions have been used as a tool to weaken the Islamic Republic, limit its influence, and undermine internal support for its revolutionary model.

This pattern extends beyond Iran. Any state that challenges dominant global structures risks economic strangulation or military confrontation.

Palestine: Siege and Resistance

While Iran faced sanctions, Palestine endured siege.

For nearly two decades, Gaza has been blockaded, its population confined, monitored, and economically suffocated. Despite these conditions, Palestinian resistance movements developed extensive underground networks, enabling them to organize, train, and sustain their struggle.

Support from Iran, alongside coordination with groups such as Hizbullah, contributed to the evolution of this المقاومة (resistance) infrastructure.

Arab Normalization and Strategic Betrayal

Parallel to Palestinian suffering, several Arabian regimes moved toward normalization with zionist Israel.

Countries including Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan established or strengthened ties with Israel—prioritizing regime stability, economic cooperation, and security guarantees.

This shift reflected a broader calculation: survival of ruling elites over solidarity with Palestine.

Reliance on western military protection, particularly through US bases in the Gulf, reinforced this alignment.

October 7: A Strategic Shock

On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched a daring large-scale attack on Israel, an operation it called Tufan al-Aqsa (Al-Aqsa Flood).

The operation disrupted long-standing assumptions about Israeli military invulnerability and triggered a regional escalation. It also reactivated a network of allied groups, including:

• Hizbullah in Lebanon

• Ansarullah (Houthis) in Yemen

• Armed factions in Iraq

This constellation, often described as the “axis of resistance,” demonstrated coordinated, multi-front pressure against Israel and its allies.

Why Iran Supports Palestine

Although Palestine is not explicitly named in Iran’s constitution, the leadership in Iran grounds its support in broad principles:

• Defense of the oppressed

• Opposition to injustice

• Commitment to Muslim unity

Article 152 of Iran’s constitution frames foreign policy around these ideals, providing the basis for its consistent pro-Palestinian stance.

Leadership, Sacrifice and Narrative Power

The resistance narrative is reinforced through figures regarded as martyrs, including:

Ahmed Yassin, Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi, General Qassem Solaimani, Ismail Haniyeh, Yahya Sinwar, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, Imam Ali Khamanei and Ali Larijani.

These figures are presented not merely as leaders, but as symbols of resistance.

Narratives of sacrifice such as accounts of Sinwar fighting until his final moments serve to strengthen morale and legitimize ongoing struggle.

Leadership and Moral Authority

Accounts attributed to figures like Imam Ali Khamenei emphasize a model of leadership rooted in shared risk and moral consistency.

The idea is simple but powerful:

A leader cannot call for sacrifice while avoiding it himself.

This framing draws deeply from Islamic historical memory particularly the legacy of Imam Husain where steadfastness in the face of overwhelming odds is seen as the highest form of integrity.

Al-Quds Day: Meaning and Mobilization

Al-Quds Day functions as more than a symbolic event. It is:

• A tool of political mobilization

• A reaffirmation of ideological commitment

• A global expression of solidarity

It connects local struggles to a broader تصور (vision) of unity within the ummah.

War, Power, and the Future

The current confrontation with Iran cannot be reduced to a single issue. It reflects deeper structural tensions:

• Between independence and external control

• Between المقاومة (resistance) and normalization

• Between ideological commitment and political expediency

For its supporters, Iran represents defiance against a global order perceived as unjust. For its adversaries, it represents a destabilizing force that must be contained.

What remains clear is that the conflicts across Palestine, Iran, and the wider region are not isolated. They are interconnected expressions of a larger struggle, one that will continue to shape the political and moral landscape of the Muslim world.

***************************************************

Dr. Firoz Osman, Executive Member, Media Review Network, Johannesburg, South Africa

US imperialismZionist IsraelIslamic Republic of Iran

Trump indulged in lies and hype to pacify Americans angry about the war

Crescent International

Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu: Two war criminals who belong in prison for the crimes they have committed against innocent people.

Donald Trump’s much-hyped speech (April 01) turned out to be a rehash of the nonsense he has uttered ever since he returned to the White House in January 2025.

Here are some salient points of his speech:

1: No nuclear weapons for Iran; they are a threat to the US and Israel;

2: Iranian proxies were responsible for bombing the marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon;

3: He even blamed Iran for attack on the USS Cole of October 2000 in Aden, Yemen. It was carried out by al-Qaeda;

4: He alleged “45,000 Iranian protesters” were killed in December 2025 – January 2026.

How he came up with this fantastic figure when an estimated 3,000 people were killed, we do not know. The vast majority were killed by US-Zionist agents.

5: He boasted about killing General ‘Solomany’. He admitted committing a war crime.

6: He also boasted about terminating Barack Obama’s horrible deal (JCPOA 2015); and gave $1.7 billion to Iran;

7: They would have had a nuclear weapon with Obama’s deal but “I stopped them”;

8: We totally obliterated their nuclear sites;

9: Iran has developed conventional missiles; they would soon have had missiles that would threaten the US; we took them all out;

10: Again, Iran cannot have a nuclear bomb; for years people said so, but only I took action;

11: Iran’s navy has been obliterated; its air force is gone; missiles are just about gone or about to be gone. One wonders how Iran is able to fire drones and missiles at US military bases in the region and at Zionist Israel every day, including today (April 01).

12: While claiming the US armed forces have performed tremendously well, he again said, no nuclear weapons for Iran;

13: We are going to finish the job, without defining what the job is.

14: Thanked allies in the Middle East: Saudi Arabia, Israel, UAE, Bahrain, Qatar;

15: In trying to assure the American public, he claimed gas price hikes are because of Iran (he referred to it as the “terrorist regime”) attacking tankers but will be “short term”.

16: This, Trump claimed had nothing to do with the war. Gas prices will come down once the war is over. How that will occur, he did not explain.

17: I have built the best US economy ever;

18: Again, no nuclear weapons for Iran;

19: Under my leadership, we are the #1 oil producer in the world. We are also getting oil from Venezuela;

The US produces more oil than Saudi Arabia and Russia combined;

20: We have completely decimated Iran, militarily and economically;

21: Those who get oil from the Persian Gulf, should go and open the Stait of Hormuz; we will help;

22: They should develop some courage; and also buy oil from us;

23: When the war is over, Hormuz will automatically open; prices will come down. How this will happen was not explained.

24: Our economy is strong and will come roaring back;

25: Operation Epic Fury will achieve all of our military objectives, we will hit them very hard;

26: Regime change was not our objective but has occurred; The new leaders are much more “moderate”.

27: If there is no deal, will hit all of their electric generating plants. This constitutes a war crime. We have not hit their oil facilities;

28: Their radars are obliterated;

29: Their nuclear sites are so badly damaged, it will take them years to recover;

30: In trying to mollify people’s concerns about the war that nearly 75 percent of Americans oppose, he drew comparison with the first and second world wars, the Vietnam and Korean wars that lasted for years. This one has only lasted for 32 days and will end in 2-3 weeks. How that would occur, he did not say.

31: The war, he claimed, is an “investment in your and your children’s future”. Again, he did not explain how that was the case.

32: Every American can look forward to a nuclear-free Iran, the world is watching;

33: When it’s all over, we would have achieved our objectives.

What precisely are those objectives, Trump did not say apart from repeating in every second sentence that Iran cannot have nuclear weapons.

If Iran wanted nuclear weapons, it would have had them by now.

A day before his live televised broadcast, Trump had indulged in his typical incoherent rant with the New York Post.

He told the paper that he believes the Iran war is likely to end soon and that other nations can reopen the Strait of Hormuz without US military action.

This was meant to assure a jittery stock market, leading to its rally and optimism that elevated fuel costs will drop.

“We’re not going to be there too much longer.”

So here you have it; the most nonsensical speech from an American president who lies every time he opens his mouth.

Donald TrumpUS war crimeszionist war crimesIslamic Republic of IranStrait of Hormuz

Iran downs two advanced US jets, including second F-35

Iranian forces shot down two more advanced US fighter jets today, including second F-35, while simultaneously obliterating a secret hideout of American pilots in the UAE as part of the expanding 'Operation True Promise 4'.

The operations are part of Iran's swift and massive retaliation against the unprovoked aerial aggression launched by the US and Israel on February 28, which came some eight months after their previous attacks on the country.

In a statement on Friday, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said that its newly developed and advanced air defenses had shot down a stealth F-35 fighter jet in central Iran.

The downed aircraft belonged to the Lakenheath squadron, it said, adding that the fighter jet was completely destroyed and crashed.

Due to the complete disintegration of the aircraft, the fate of the pilot remains unknown, it noted.

Earlier on Friday, the IRGC announced that another advanced enemy fighter jet was targeted by air defense systems south of Qeshm Island.

The advanced aircraft subsequently crashed between Hengam and Qeshm islands, plummeting "into the depths of the ever-Persian Gulf."

The downing was a direct rebuke to recent rhetoric from Washington. The IRGC noted that Donald Trump had previously claimed that US forces had destroyed Iran's air defenses.

"Following the false claim of the liar US President regarding the complete destruction of the IRGC's air defense, moments ago an advanced enemy fighter jet was hit in the south of Qeshm Island by the modern advanced air defense system of the IRGC Navy, under the control of the country's integrated air defense network," the IRGC statement read.

These interceptions adds to a growing list of staggering aviation losses for the US military. On March 11, the IRGC successfully hit a US Air Force F-35 stealth fighter jet in central Iran's airspace.

While US media later confirmed that an F-35 made an emergency landing at a US airbase in West Asia due to what was believed to be Iranian fire, a subsequent report by NPR noted that the heavily damaged aircraft would not be able to resume operations anytime soon.

Furthermore, the US military has confirmed the loss of three US F-15s and one KC-135 tanker during the ongoing war. The Pentagon has continuously attempted to cover up these catastrophic losses, portraying the downings as "friendly fire" or "accidents."

Recently, the US military even announced the fall of an F-35 in Nevada, an announcement that military experts widely view as a desperate cover story for the loss of stealth fighter jets in the war with Iran.

Strikes on US assets and pilot hideouts

Since dawn today, the IRGC Navy has continued the 91st wave of Operation True Promise 4, according to a statement by the force's public relations

During this phase, military and infrastructure targets belonging to US-Zionist terrorists in the southern countries of the Persian Gulf were heavily attacked with a massive barrage of ballistic missiles, Qadir cruise missiles, and suicide drones.

In a strike in the North Indian Ocean, the aggressor American Abraham Lincoln strike group was targeted with four Qadr 380 cruise missiles, said the statement.

The second wave of this intelligence and offensive operation delivered a devastating blow to US personnel. Using precision-guided ballistic missiles, the IRGC directly hit a secret gathering place and hideout of American flight engineers and fighter pilots outside an enemy base in the United Arab Emirates.

According to the IRGC, field reports and extensive ambulance traffic at the site indicate a massive number of dead and wounded American personnel.

In the next phase, Iranian forces launched a heavy assault against a US "MQ1" drone unit stationed at the Ali Al Salem airbase.

Massive strike on Israeli-occupied territories

Simultaneously, the devastating wave of attacks extended deep into the occupied territories. Troop deployments, military-industrial companies, and support equipment of the Zionist regime in western Tel Aviv and the port of Eilat were targeted and completely destroyed, said the IRGC.

These strikes were carried out using long-range liquid and solid-fuel, as well as super-heavy missile systems.

This phase of Wave 91 was conducted by the IRGC Aerospace Force, alongside Yemeni armed forces, according to the IRGC.

The sound of massive and consecutive explosions echoing through the center and heart of the occupied lands forced more than five million settlers to flee to underground shelters.

According to the IRGC, this sheer scale of panic and destruction has "stripped the Zionist intelligence agencies of the ability to censor and distort the realities of the battlefield."

The IRGC noted that the continuous, combined, and comprehensive operations of this wave against Zionist targets and American bases in the region are actively ongoing.

Voices from the frontline: Colleagues recall fearless legacy of slain Lebanese journalists

By Hiba Morad

Southern Lebanon has long been a frontline for war between the Israeli regime and Hezbollah, but on Saturday, it became the site of a devastating blow to press freedom.

An Israeli airstrike struck a vehicle clearly marked as a press car, killing several journalists, including Al-Mayadeen correspondent Fatima Ftouni, her brother and cameraman Mohammad Ftouni, and Al-Manar’s veteran journalist Ali Shoaib.

The attack also claimed the life of a paramedic who rushed to the scene, underscoring the peril faced not only by reporters but also by those who attempt to save them.

A legacy of frontline reporting

Shoaib, a seasoned war correspondent who covered the Israeli wars of aggression against South Lebanon for decades, was remembered by colleagues as ‘a defining figure in war correspondence’.

Mohammad Kazan started working with Shoaib during the July 2006 war, when the latter reported from Lebanon’s frontlines in the South and Kazan was reporting from Nabatiyeh.

“As colleagues, we worked side by side, maintaining direct cooperation until my role shifted from correspondent to managing the channel’s website,” Kazan recalled in a conversation with the Press TV website.

Shoaib, he asserted, never missed anything and was always on the frontline, covering every attack and every act of aggression from the Israeli side, fearlessly and resolutely.

Ali Shoaib, reporting from the frontline for Al-Manar TV

“His field reporting also took him to Syria and Iraq, where he documented events on the frontlines in the battles against extremist groups like Daesh. Ali was regarded as one of the most prominent figures in resistance media in Lebanon and the region,” Kazan said.

“Shoeib’s assassination is seen not only as a personal loss but as a symbolic moment that will inspire future generations of journalists committed to reporting from the frontlines.”

A voice of resistance

For decades, Shoeib was a permanent fixture in southern Lebanon’s media landscape. He reported on landmark events, including the 2000 war of liberation, the 2004 prisoner exchange, and the 2006 war that redefined the resistance against occupation.

In 2023, when Israel erected a fence cutting off the border village of Ghajar in South Lebanon, Shoaib told the Press TV website in an exclusive interview: “Whatever Israelis do, they will not prevent us from carrying out our duty as Lebanese people who seek to liberate their lands.”

His words reflected the defiance that defined his career, his colleagues and acquaintances said, commending him for always standing on the right side of history as a war correspondent.

Ftouni: Journalism as belonging

According to Abbas Zein, Ftouni’s colleague and close friend at al-Mayadeen, journalism for her was more than a profession – it was an expression of identity.

“Her work was a reflection of her identity, her roots, and her deep attachment to the land she loved. Covering the south was not simply a professional assignment—it was an expression of authenticity and belonging,” he told the Press TV website.

In the field, she became a trusted source of truth, correcting misinformation and documenting violations by the aggressor, until the last moment.

Fatima Ftouni, reporting from Al-Mayadeen from the frontline.

“In recent days—when rumors spread about Israeli incursions inside the South of Lebanon—her reports helped correct misinformation. Her words carried weight, quickly disseminated as a trusted source of truth, documenting violations and aggression,” Zein told the Press TV website.

According to him, her reporting carried the voice of southern Lebanon’s people, and her martyrdom is mourned as both a personal and collective loss by the people of South Lebanon in general and the media fraternity in particular.

Before moving to field reporting, she worked as an editor at Al-Mayadeen Net, where colleagues described her as warm, devoted, and uncompromising in her integrity.

Earlier this month, her uncle and his family were killed in an Israeli strike, a loss she had reported on live television, which inspired awe and admiration.

Targeting the press

On Saturday, shortly after the missile strike that killed Ftouni, al-Mayadeen's correspondent Jamal Ghourabi said the regime targeted her vehicle with four precision missiles.

After that, when ambulances arrived on the scene, paramedics were also targeted, leading to the martyrdom of at least one paramedic, reflecting an obvious attempt to assassinate press crews and even paramedics attempting to reach them, he said from the scene of the incident.

According to Zein, the incident highlights the “dangers journalists face in conflict zones, where press markings offer little protection against deliberate Israeli strikes.”

Israel, which has killed more than 270 journalists in Gaza since October 2023, often justifies its deliberate killing of journalists, claiming that they are linked to resistance groups.

It claimed the same for several Palestinian journalists who were killed in the line of duty in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, linking them with Hamas. Following the killing of Shoaib on Saturday, an Israeli military page on X posted his image, linking him with Hezbollah, without providing any evidence.

The car in which the slain journalists were travelling on Saturday.

The cost of bearing witness

Reporting from the frontline is perilous and comes at a cost. Few are willing to risk their lives to document wars and occupations.

Yet for Ftouni, Shoaib, and their colleagues, the mission was clear: to bear witness, to speak for the oppressed, and to ensure that the realities of war reached the world.

“Their martyrdom marks a painful chapter in Lebanon’s media history, but their legacy endures in the determination of those who continue to report from the frontlines,” Zein stated.

They were fearless and unwavering in their work, a commitment evident in the reports they filed.

Nearly five months before her own martyrdom, Ftouni documented the killing of her colleagues by the Israeli regime, holding up their torn vests in a widely circulated video.

Shoaib was equally resolute. During a visit to Tehran in October 2024, he admitted in an interview with Press TV that he longed for martyrdom in the line of duty.

As one social media user put it, they remained on the front lines from day one, undeterred by the danger, so the world could witness the truth.

Following their killing on Saturday, fellow journalists gathered in South Lebanon, condemning the deliberate attack on them as a war crime and a blatant violation of international law.

They pledged to carry on their mission of reporting the truth from the front lines.

Araghchi: US-Israeli strikes on Iranian civilian infrastructure expose enemy’s moral collapse

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has stated that US-Israeli attacks on civilian structures, including unfinished bridges, will never break the Islamic Republic’s resolve, describing the assaults as clear signs of the aggressor’s defeat and moral bankruptcy.

In a message posted on X on Thursday, Araghchi stated: “Striking civilian structures, including unfinished bridges, will not compel Iranians to surrender. It only conveys the defeat and moral collapse of an enemy in disarray. Every bridge and building will be built back stronger. What will never recover: damage to America's standing.”

The remarks come amid the ongoing illegal US-Israeli aggression against the Islamic Republic, where civilian infrastructure has repeatedly been targeted in flagrant violation of international law.

Iranian officials have consistently highlighted these desperate acts as evidence of the enemy’s strategic failure and frustration on multiple fronts. They said that any damaged infrastructure will be reconstructed with greater strength and determination, while the United States suffers irreparable harm to its already diminished global standing.

In a second pointed post, Foreign Minister Araghchi issued a warning to US President Donald Trump and those who supported his return to office, cautioning against any reckless escalation that could plunge the region and the world back into instability by disrupting vital energy supplies.

“There’s one striking difference between the present and the Stone Age: there was no oil or gas being pumped in the Middle East back then. Are POTUS and Americans who put him in office sure that they want to turn back the clock?” he asked.

Araghchi’s statement serves as a clear reminder of the severe global economic consequences that would follow any attempt to destabilize energy flows from West Asia.

Iran has always advocated for peace, stability and respect for sovereignty, yet it stands fully prepared to defend its legitimate rights and the interests of the region against any aggression.

The US and Israel launched their illegal act of aggression against Iran on February 28 by assassinating Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, along with senior military commanders, in flagrant breach of the country's sovereignty.

The Iranian armed forces have responded with 91 waves of retaliatory strikes, codenamed Operation True Promise 4, launching hundreds of ballistic and hypersonic missiles as well as drone attacks against sensitive and strategic American and Israeli targets throughout the region.

United Nations experts have recently strongly denounced the ongoing US-Israeli war of aggression against Iran as flagrant violations of international law.