From an interview that will be posted on both Truthwire & Critical Perspectives Podcast:
Despite official announcements of a ceasefire between Iran and the United States, the reality on the ground in West Asia tells a very different story. Israel has systematically violated every agreement, with its most brutal assault coming on April 8th—now referred to as Black Wednesday—when it killed 357 Lebanese civilians and wounded more than 1,200 others in less than five minutes.
I open our discussion by reminding everyone that the so-called ceasefire was dead on arrival, with both the U.S. and Israel continuing military operations against Iran and Lebanon. Further, Iran has already bypassed the U.S. naval blockade, with at least 34 oil tankers successfully transiting the Strait of Hormuz since the blockade was imposed on April 13th. Meanwhile, the IRGC has seized multiple Israeli military vessels, proving that Iran is far from subdued and that the war is very much ongoing. Iran has even proudly declared that it’s ready to “create shocking events beyond the enemy’s comprehension on the battlefield”. Meanwhile, vast majority of Iranians have gone out in the streets to shout that they’re stand against any ceasefires, reject curbs on missiles, uranium, and Strait of Hormuz control, wanting instead to continue the war for their liberation, and understand the fight is existential and continues because the U.S. and Israel were never serious about ending it. While we will go into this specific discussion at a later time, Washington has been clearly trying to destroy Europe by making them dependent on U.S. gas, as Iranian and Russian gas is particularly sanctioned and the U.S. now fresh off having oil from Venezuela and most of LATAM, can hold off much longer. It’s clear that the U.S. has been profiting off this but the end game isn’t oil—it’s control and shifting to resources off fossil fuels right in time for Agenda 2030—but more on this later.
Dr. Marwa Osman, a journalist and TV host based in Lebanon, then joins the show to describe the horror unfolding in real time—realities many are ignoring. She explains that she had just returned from a double funeral for a friend’s nephew and brother, both killed by Israeli strikes in South Lebanon. “This is an ethnic cleansing that’s going on in South Lebanon, especially against Shia villages and towns,” Marwa states, adding that some Christian towns have been spared only because they surrendered to Israeli demands but even them, Israel is going after Christian statues and relics. The resistance, led by Hezbollah, continues to retaliate, but the Lebanese government has betrayed its own people by engaging in direct talks with Israel—an act Marwa calls unconstitutional and morally indefensible. She warns that the government’s collaboration with the enemy has backfired, uniting many Lebanese across sectarian lines in support of Hezbollah as the only credible defender of the nation.
Israel has bombed at minimum 17 bridges connecting South Lebanon, destroyed water pumping stations, and leveled schools, hospitals, churches, and mosques. Marwa details how the enemy is using contractors paid per demolition to systematically erase entire neighborhoods, mirroring the tactics used in Gaza—the more they destroy, the better they’re rewarded. We also discuss how pamphlets have been dropped ordering civilians to evacuate, while the bridges they would need to flee are simultaneously destroyed—a deliberate strategy to trap and displace populations reminiscent of Nazi Germany.
Despite everything, Marwa notes that Lebanese people have adapted, relying on private wells and generators, and that major bridges were quickly rebuilt after the last war. During this time Marwa’s lights go off for a few minutes before they come back—a reality she says is a normal, daily occurrence for them. Still, the goal is clear: to make return impossible and to claim the Litani River, one of the Middle East’s largest sources of fresh water, for Israel.
Perhaps the most infuriating aspect of the crisis, Marwa explains, is that Lebanon’s own government is now acting as a puppet for the United States and Israel. According to the Lebanese constitution, Israel remains an enemy state, and any direct negotiation would require a constitutional change and a popular referendum—neither of which has occurred. Yet government officials have met with Israeli and U.S. representatives immediately after major massacres (and plan to meet again), attempting to blame Hezbollah for the violence. Marwa states bluntly that if the prime minister tries to return to Lebanon after such meetings, “he will not be allowed back.” The military, she adds, is capable of defending the country, but the political will is absent, leaving the Resistance as the people’s only line of defense.
Marwa emphasizes that the coordination between Iran, Hezbollah, Iraq, and Yemen—what she calls the “unity of battlefields”—has proven effective and remains intact. She notes that the U.S. has also violated the ceasefire by sending drones over Iranian ships and approaching Iranian territory, which led Iran to cancel planned talks in Istanbul. Things are now escalating with Iran seizing vessels linked to Israel and the U.S. continuing its blockade. Marwa predicts that the next phase of war will be uncontrollable, involving not only the Strait of Hormuz but also Bab el-Mandeb, which together handle 50% of the world’s crude oil. “No one will be able to stop it,” she warns, “not Islamabad, not Russia, not China.”
In her closing remarks, Marwa addresses Americans who oppose the war and feel powerless. Her message is direct and simple: Resist. Stop paying taxes to a genocidal administration, refuse to let your children be sent to die in foreign wars, and investigate the financial crimes of Trump officials like Pete Hegseth, who among others in the Trump administration is accused of illegal insider trading from within the military-industrial complex. “This war is only making Donald Trump’s pocket bigger,” Marwa says. She urges people to research companies like Power Us, created just weeks before the war on Iran, and to hold their leaders accountable. I stated: “Everything being done to us will happen to everyone else in the world,” as a needed emphasis to many in the U.S. who only act when their pockets are hit, perhaps their freedoms are far more in jeopardy than they realize—Resistance is the only way out for humanity.
Earlier today Marwa mentioned the targeting of journalists, specifically how an Israeli soldier allegedly identified as Gideon Gal Ben Avraham, sent death threats to Journalist Amal Al-Khalil while she was reporting in southern Lebanon. Khalil then hid at a house nearby. Her body was later found after Israel directly pursued and then issued direct strikes where she was hiding, murdering her and blocking rescue teams from getting to her. May her soul Rest In Power.
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