Democracy Now! Audio - Democracy Now! 2026-03-13 Friday

Episode Date: March 13, 2026

Democracy Now! Friday, March 13, 2026

Chicago, this is Democracy Now. Even now, it can be said with certainty. This is no longer the same Iran. This is no longer the same Middle East. And this is also not the same Israel. We are not waiting. We are initiating. We are attacking.

And we are doing so with a force, the like of which has not been seen before. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu proclaims a new Middle East, as the Israeli-U.S. war on Iran continues to destabilize the region, disrupt global energy markets, expand environmental fallout and claim lives. Israel's expanded its assault on Lebanon beyond the south, striking central Beirut. We'll go to Beirut for the latest, and then to Tel Avid. To speak with Ha'R. Sjournalist, Gidun Levy. He writes, quote, everyone in this country has gone insane, calling attention to the lack of action. anti-war voices in Israeli politics and media. Meanwhile, the United Nations Security Councils

voted to condemn Iran for military aggression while failing to adopt a second resolution calling for hostilities by all parties to end, which would include the U.S. and Israel. Russia sponsored that resolution. They have just rejected the possibility of the Council sending an unequivocal demand to immediately stop hostilities and settle all disputes. peacefully. And this shows very clearly, yet again, that all of the loud statements on the part of those countries about how committed they are to international law, the UN Charter, and Peace are nothing more than empty rhetoric. We'll speak to renowned economist Jeffrey Sachs, who says the U.S. and Israel are murdering the U.N. Charter. All that and more coming up.

Welcome to Democracy Now.comocracyNow, Democracy Now.org, the War and Peace Report. I'm a Goodman. The United Nations Refugee Agency warns the U.S. Israeli war in Iran has forced 3.2 million people to flee their homes in less than two weeks, creating a humanitarian crisis on a massive scale. Most of those displaced are evacuating Tehran and other urban areas to seek safety in northern Iran and rural areas. This is Mashid, whose home in Tehran was destroyed and airstrikes Tuesday. They destroyed that house and this one and ours here. Now we're staying with relatives.

Where are we supposed to go? We have nowhere. I had just replaced all my belongings and it's all ruined. Now we are collecting the scraps left behind on the floors because we were all siblings. Earlier today, huge explosions, rocked central Tehran, not far from where a massive Okudstay demonstration in support of Palestinians was underway. Iranian media reports a woman attending the rally was killed by shrapnel from the U.S.-Israeli coalition air strike. On Thursday, Iran's new supreme leader, Mushdaba Khomeini, said in a written statement he'd ordered the military to continue

blocking shipments through the Strait of Hormuz and called on other Middle East nations to close U.S. military bases used to attack Iran. They were Moshdaba Khomeini's first public comments since he was chosen to replace his father, Ali Khamene, who was assassinated February 28th, along with other members of the family, including Mosh Tabah's son, brother-in-law, and sister. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held his first press briefing since attacking Iran, where he vowed to continue the bombardment of Iran and Lebanon and threatened to kill Iran's new supreme leader. Even now, it can be said with certainty, this is no longer the same Iran. This is no longer the same Middle East, and this is also not the same Israel. We are not waiting. We are initiating.

We are attacking. And we are doing so with a force, the like of which has not been seen before. The Pentagon says at least four service members are dead after a refueling aircraft supporting the U.S. bombing of Iran crashed in Western Iraq Thursday. The Pentagon has not revealed the fate of two other crew members saying that rescue efforts continue. This comes as a coalition of 250 prominent groups sent a joint letter to Congress urging lawmakers to vote against any additional funding for the U.S. Israeli war in Iran. The groups include the ACU, public citizen, Greenpeace, Jewish Voice for Peace, and the SEIU, the Service Employees International Union. They write, quote, the $50 billion that the administration reportedly seeks for a new Pentagon supplemental

would be enough to restore food assistance for four million Americans that was taken away in the tax and budget reconciliation bill, establish universal pre-K education, and pay for the annual construction of more than 100,000 units of housing, among other possible priorities. In Oman, two foreign nationals were killed and several other. injured after Iranian drone struck Oman's northern Soha province. Of 14 civilians killed so far in Gulf nations, all but one were immigrants, predominantly South Asia nationals who work low-wage jobs. One Pakistani worker told Middle East eye that despite the risks, quote, if I don't work, I go hungry. Oh, quote. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia says it shot down 56 Iranian drones since early

Friday, including one targeting the high-security diplomatic area of Riyadh. And NATO says its air defenses in the eastern Mediterranean shot down a third ballistic missile that was fired from Iran towards Turkey. Iran's attacks continue to royal energy markets with the price of oil surging to nearly $100 a barrel, even after the International Energy Agency announced a record release of oil from strategic reserves. On Thursday, President Trump suggested skyrocketing fuel costs are a good thing. He wrote on a social media platform, quote, The United Nations is the largest oil producer in the world by far.

So when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money, unquote, Trump wrote. Israel's military has bombed central Beirut, killing at least 12 people and sending black smoke billowing into the sky over Lebanon's capital. The Israeli strikes on Thursday targeted the Bashura neighborhood close to downtown Beirut, separate Israeli attacks ripped through Beirut's southern suburbs and large swaths of southern Lebanon. Earlier today, an Israeli strike targeted a bridge over the Latani River, a major crossing point between northern and southern Lebanon, among the latest dead or nine people, including five children killed by Israeli bombs in the town of Arki.

Israel's military said it was responding to rockets and drones fired at Israel from Hezbollah. On Thursday, Israeli officials said they're expanding a forced evacuation order for southern Lebanon, almost doubling the size of the zone, more than 800,000 people have been displaced by Israeli attacks across Lebanon with 687 people killed in less than two weeks, including 98 children, after headlines will go to Beirut for the latest. Israel's militaries dropped all charges against five soldiers accused of assaulting and gang raping a Palestinian man detained at the Stetemann prison in 2024. The prison has become notorious for the gruesome torture of Palestinians. The man was hospitalized with broken ribs, a punctured lung and rectal damage and other injuries. The former top lawyer for the Israeli military was arrested last year for her alleged role in the leak of surveillance.

video that showed the Israeli soldiers raping the Palestinian prisoner who was returned to Gaza after his release from the Israeli prison. At the time, far-right Israeli finance minister, Bezalal Smotrick, said these soldiers should be treated like heroes, not villains. Meanwhile, Spain has permanently removed its ambassador to Israel as the Spanish government intensifies its opposition to the U.S.-Israeli in Iran. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said last week Spain would refuse to allow the U.S. to use naval and air bases in southern Spain to strike Iran. In related news, Iceland and the Netherlands have joined South Africa's genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice. The case was first brought in December 23. In Greece, thousands of demonstrators marched through

Central Athens Thursday towards the U.S. Embassy to protest the war in Iran and to demand the closure of NATO bases in Greece. We consider the stance of the Greek government to be despicable because it not only puts us in danger by hosting American bases all over the country, but also has very strong ties with the state of Israel that is conducting a genocide with the United States. For us, the government should have already issued a public statement that would clarify that they are not getting involved in this war. On the contrary, we see them making moves, either with the frigates in the Red Sea or the F-16s in Cyprus. That shows our country wants to be part of the war. The Trump administration has granted a 30-day

waiver for countries to buy U.S. sanctioned Russian oil currently stranded at sea. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the move was needed to stabilize energy markets that have been royaled by the U.S.-Israeli assault on Iran. The waiver came as you, Ukrainian drones on Thursday struck a pipeline terminal in Russia's Krasnodar region, setting fuel tanks on fire at one of the largest oil facilities in southern Russia. Meanwhile, officials in Kiev say fighting in the Middle East is rapidly consuming expensive U.S. air defense munitions that Ukraine desperately needs to fend off Russian missiles and drones. In Geneva, investigators presented evidence to the U.N.'s Human Rights Council Thursday,

on Russia's deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children since Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Some 20,000 children have been abducted and sent to Russia and Belarus, where they're sometimes subjected to military training and even forced to fight against Ukraine. This is Eric Mercer, the chair of the UN's Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine. Families remained unaware of the fate of the children for prolonged periods. of time. This has led to lengthy separation, distress, and suffering. These acts have been widespread and systematic, committed as a matter of policy, and amount to enforce disappearance as a crime against humanity. In Michigan, an attacker armed with a rifle rammed his pickup truck into the

Temple Israel Synagogue near Detroit on Thursday. exchanging fire with security guards who shot him dead. One guard was knocked unconscious by the assault. No one else was injured. At the time, 140 students were in the synagogue's early childhood learning center. The Detroit News reports the attacker was a Dearborn Heights man originally from Lebanon, whose two brothers, niece and nephew were killed days earlier in Israeli military strike on their home in Lebanon. In Virginia, the FBI says it's investigating 30.

shooting at Old Dominion University is an act of terrorism. Federal agents say the former Virginia Army National Guard member, Mohamed Baylor Jallo, opened fire on a classroom of students in the Reserve Officers Training Corps, or ROTC, killing one person and injuring two others before the students subdued and killed him. Jalo pleaded guilty in 2016 to attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State Group and served seven years in prison. He was on supervised release at the time of Thursday's shooting. And today marks the first anniversary since Palestinian activist Likaa Cordia was arrested and detained by ICE. Cordia, who was born in East Jerusalem, was arrested during the 2024 Gaza Solidarity protests at Columbia University in New York.

Those charges were dropped, but Cordia was later detained at a routine immigration check-in in New Jersey. Rights groups and supporters have continued demanding Lechah's release, including Mahmoud Khalil, who wrote an op-ed for the Guardian, titled, To My Palestinian Sister in Ice Detention, I will carry you until you are free, unquote. This week also marks one year since Mahmoud Khalil was arrested by federal agents at his residence. He was released from an ICE jail in Texas last June to mark the anniversary. New York City mayor, Zoran Mamdani hosted Mahmoud Khalil, his wife, Dr. Nur Abdullah and their baby dean at Gracie Mansion for Iftar, the meal at sunset to break the daily fast during the holy month of Ramadan. Last year, Khalil was returning home after sharing an iftar with his wife, Noor, when he was taken by federal agents, then flown to Louisiana, where he was jailed for over 100 days. And in Colorado, nearly 4,000 meatpacking workers are set to begin a strike on Monday to protest. unfair and dangerous labor conditions at JBS USA, the world's largest meat producer. This would mark the first major labor strike in the meatpacking industry in decades. Unionized workers at the slaughterhouse and beef processing plant in the city of Greeley

approved the strike after their employer refused to agree to a fair contract following months of negotiations, the meatpacking workers, many of whom are immigrants, have described low wages being forced to pay for personal protective gear out of pocket and say they face discrimination over their immigration status. There's currently an ongoing lawsuit against JBS alleging discrimination against Haitian workers. Last year, JBS agreed to pay a $4 million settlement over child labor violations, but without admitting wrongdoing. And a correction. On Thursday, President Trump wrote online, quote, the United States is the largest oil producer in the world by far. So when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money, unquote.

And those are some of the headlines. This is Democracy Now, Democracy Now.org, the War and Peace Report. I'm Amy Goodman in New York. In Chicago, we're joined by Democracy Now's Juan Gonzalez. Hi, Juan. Hi, Amy, and welcome to all of our listeners and viewers across the country and around the world. The United Nations is estimating more than four million people have been displaced in the Middle East. In the two weeks since the U.S. and Israel launched their unprovoked war on Iran. About 3.2 million people in Iran have been displaced and over 800,000 in Lebanon. We begin today's show in Lebanon, where Israeli strikes have killed nearly 700 people over the past two weeks. Israel's expanded its bombing campaign to target areas of central Beirut. Israeli officials have also

expanded a forced evacuation order for southern Lebanon, almost doubling the size of the zone. Earlier today, Israel targeted a key bridge over the Latani River, a major crossing point between southern and northern Lebanon. Israel defended the attack on civilian infrastructure, claiming the bridge was also used by members of Hezbollah. This comes as Israeli defense minister Israel Katz, says Israel plans to expand its occupation of areas in southern Lebanon until Hezbollah is disarmed. Earlier today, UN Secretary General Antonio Gutierrez arrived in Beirut. He wrote online, quote, I have just landed in Beirut for a visit of solidarity with the people of Lebanon. They did not choose this war. They were dragged into it, unquote. Gutettish called on Israel and Hezbollah to negotiate a ceasefire and stop the war.

We go now to Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, where we're joined by Leila Eunice, who has been reporting on the war for drop site news. Leila, thanks so much for being with us again. describe what's happening on the war as Israel expands the zone that it is demanding people evacuate from southern Lebanon beyond. Yes, Amy. So the people of Lebanon got another displacement order from the Israelis to now evacuate the region between the Litany River and the Zahrani River. So this is practically the vast majority of southern Lebanon is now under displacement orders. that is approximately 15% of the country. I think it's important for listeners who are not familiar with Lebanon to understand this is a very small country and one with densely populated urban areas.

There aren't a lot of places for people to go. The government has opened a number of shelters across Beirut, but many people there have told me that they don't feel safe. I visited a shelter in Virhasan, which is a neighborhood on the outskirts of the southern suburbs of Dahlia, which has actually also been targeted during this war. this escalation, I should say. And people there told me that they have been struggling to sleep the nights from the bombing, which is very close by, and that sometimes they'll get, the area, we'll get a warning for the nearby neighborhood of Janach or even Virh Hassan or an area close by, and then they'll pick up their things and they'll get in their car and they'll drive to the waterfront and they'll spend the night sleeping in their car or in a tent on the sand.

But Amy, even there is no longer safe. Two nights ago was at Ramletal Baidah, which is a beach on the end of the Beirut's promenade, on the southern end of the promenade. I was there. I kind of watched the sunset. I was observing. There were many displaced people. They had pitched tense. The sunset, people took out their hookas, had their iftas.

I go home. A few hours later, massive massacre right there where I was at Ramlittal Baida. a drone fired several bombs on these displaced people in their tents and on the sidewalk, and killing eight, injuring at least 30 others. And again, this is an area in central Beidu, not an area where there is a displacement order. And while Israel has been issuing warnings for some buildings, or areas, like the neighborhood of Bashura, which is actually very close to where I am right now, there are these other drone attacks where people are being killed.

where there are no warnings issued in advance. We saw that happened as well last night in another area of Beirut and Burj Hamud in Injna as well. So, you know, despite these absolutely sweeping displacement orders, we are seeing, you know, people actually being targeted, mostly displaced people outside of those areas

and the massacres are multiplying a massacre just today in Saida, killing eight. We saw Syrian refugees displaced already killed, seven killed in a massacre. in Thameen in the Bikha Valley, a massive massacre in Nabishit also in the Bikha Valley when the Israelis tried to do a nighttime incursion by helicopter. So the death toll, as you read in your news updates, it's mounting. We are at almost 700 people in under two weeks. That's approximately 50 people a day. You know, we're reaching numbers that we saw during certain periods of the Gaza genocide here in Lebanon.

And Leila, what's been the response of the Lebanese government, especially in view of the fact that some of these Israeli attacks, as you mentioned, have been actually even in downtown Beirut? The Lebanese government has condemned the attacks. They have also condemned Hezbollah. So at the UN Security Council yesterday, the Lebanese representative opened up his remarks by distancing the Lebanese government for Hezbollah, saying the Lebanese people did not ask for this war. saying that the government was willing to enter direct negotiations with Israel, which is unprecedented. Lebanon considers Israel an enemy state. It's important to recall the 18-year occupation of southern Lebanon from 1982 to 2000. And so usually Lebanon has mediators that involves in these types of negotiations. Now the government is sort of pushing forth saying, let's talk. We want to

negotiate. But reportedly, the White House is actually not answering the prime minister's phone calls. And I think it's also very important to note that this bodes very poorly for the people of Lebanon because the civilian infrastructure, which is now, as of today, you read in your news updates, two bridges were targeted, were beginning to be targeted. And the Americans sort of have given the Lebanese government guarantees that the airport and the airport and the police. court will not be bombed as they were in the 2006 war, but now the Americans sort of giving the cold shoulder to the Lebanese government, it's not clear how long those guarantees will actually hold up. And also, could you talk about the ability of Hezbollah to continue to fire rockets

into Israel, given supposedly Israel's crippling strikes on the organization in past the in Lebanon? Hasbalah is firing barrages of rockets towards Israel, but the Israeli defense systems are very good at intercepting them. I believe a couple have fallen within Israel. They've been targeting particularly missile defense systems, these rocket attacks, but they have been so far not, you know, very successful in creating widespread damage in Israel.

The Israeli defense systems are very good at intercepting the types of rockets that Hasbullah launches. And I think it's also important to know, you know, we don't know exactly what Hasbalah's capacity is. Vast weapons stores that they, you know, once had were destroyed during the 66th day war in the fall of 2024. And then also over the course of the so-called ceasefire, which was not really a ceasefire. Remember, you know, the United Nations counted over 15,000 violations of the ceasefire reach between Lebanon and Israel in 2024. So basically, over the past year and a half, Israel has been bombing Lebanon. Lebanon on a daily basis and bombing particularly, you know, in addition to killing over 300

civilians, has been bombing, you know, routinely bombing Hezbollah weapons stores. So it's not exactly clear how much capacity Hasbalah has. They've been, where they've really seen the most success has actually been targeting Israeli soldiers who have been, who are inside of Lebanon and thereby not protected by those missile defense systems, you know, firing anti-tank missiles towards Israelis in the town of El Chiam, for example. Lely Eunice, we want to thank you for being with us, investigative journalist and writer based in Beirut, Lebanon. Please be safe. We will link to your articles for DropSight News at DemocracyNow.org.

Coming up, the Israeli journalist, Gidon Levy, he writes in Haaret's quote, everyone in this country has gone insane. Stay with us. in the hog of thee forsaken got no reason to cry he got to chew the angels pulling from on high waiting for no answer baking warful pie pie of eyesight pie blue black

oh that pie the pie of pie of pie and pie In the hog of thee forsaken He will leave you one more chance Which if you won't be taken He leave it for the ants Sings out in the wilderness Sings for friend and foe He sings of these and those times

As well As the times to go Hog of thee forsaken Got no reason to cry He got to chew the age Angels falling from home home high. Antserve begging warful pie. By advice like pot and black.

Hog of the Foraken by Michael Hurley, performed in our Democracy Now studio. This is Democracy Now, Democracy Now.org, the War and Peace Report. I'm Amy Goodman in Los Angeles with Juan Gonzalez in Chicago. As we continue our coverage of the U.S. and Israeli war on Iran and the widening regional war, we go now to Israel. On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu proclaimed a new Middle East

as Israel escalates its attacks on Iran and Lebanon. Even now, it can be said with certainty. This is no longer the same Iran. This is no longer the same Middle East. And this is also not the same Israel. We are not waiting. We are initiating. We are attacking.

and we are doing so with a force, the like of which has not been seen before. We go now to Tel Aviv, where we are joined by the award-winning Israeli journalist, Gidon Levy. He writes for Ha'Aratz and is a member of its editorial board. His latest pieces include, everyone in this country has gone insane, and the Israeli media are first and foremost IDF soldiers. Levy's latest book is titled The Killing of Lov. Gaza reports on a catastrophe. Geydon, welcome back to Democracy Now. I know you've just come out of a bomb shelter, an air shelter.

If you can describe the scene inside there and then why you say your country has gone crazy and also talk about the media coverage. Well, first of all, going to the shelter is always a very strange experience. we kind of got used and we never got to get used and it kind of became routine and it will never be a normal routine day and night. We are going quite often now also at nights I can't foresee how this can last for many weeks or months

God forbid but you know in Ukraine they hardly have shelters so at least in part of Israel not all over Israel but at least in part of Israel, we gained this privilege of being protected. Now to your other questions. There is a strange phenomenon in which this war is so highly popular in Israeli public opinion or in Jewish-Israeli public opinion. I never saw such a thing. Ninety-three percent of the Israeli Jews, according to a last survey by the Israel's

Israeli Democracy Institute, 93% of the Israelis support this war. Those are North Korean figures. In all democracy, there is such a figure in a survey about any kind of question. 93% support the war. And this comes after two and a half year of another war, which didn't conclude with big success. I mean, the war in Gaza. 70,000 victims, 1,000 babies killed. What for?

What did Israel gain exactly? But let's put it aside. Where are we aiming now? Where does this lead us? Nobody knows. I mean, all kinds of slogans and cliches in the air, changing regimes. And meanwhile, there are six million. I just made now the account where you mentioned it, Amy,

Six million human beings are now homeless because of Israel. Can you imagine yourself? 3.2 in Lebanon, 800,000 in Lebanon, 3.2 in Iran and another 2 million in Gaza. This should shake us. This should lead us to some questions. Do we have the right to do all those things? do we achieve anything? Where are we aiming?

What will be the morning after? But unfortunately, Israel discourse and the Israeli media as a whole are not ready even to discuss those questions. When you speak about 93% of the population which supports this war, you have to understand that they are exposed to 100% of agreeing with the war in the media,

mainly in the TV. There's no way. room for any question, much or doubts about this war. And the more it develops, the most suspicious it seems. So here we are, Amy. Well, at the same time, though, you say that the overwhelming percentage of the Israeli Jews, but there's 21% of Israel that are Arab, from the citizens of Israel, we're not talking about the occupied territories. So there's obviously, it has to be a different perspective among those Arabs who are citizens of Israel, doesn't there? So first of all, nobody counts them.

Their voice has no influence, neither in the parliament, even though they vote and can be elected, nor in their public discourse. Nobody counts them. Nobody listens to what they have to say, so they are totally irrelevant and many times not legitimate. But if you want the figure, the figure was 23% of the people. of them support this war. I mean, a tiny minority relative to the vast majority of Jews. And this is quite understandable. I even wonder who are those 23% who support this war,

but this is the figure. Right. I wanted to ask you also about the level of, it seems to me, overextension of the Israeli military machine. We're talking about Israel is now involved in hostilities, not just in Iran and still in attacking Gaza. There are in the West Bank, obviously, there are Israeli soldiers deployed there in Lebanon, in Syria. There are still Israeli troops in Syria. And conceivably even in Iraq, because there have been attacks now, it's not clear whether it's from Israel or the United States on popular mobilization forces in Iraq in the past few days.

How is it possible for the leaders of Israel to think they can continue this on any kind of long-term basis? The fact is that they can, and maybe they are implementing the vision of your ambassador, your official ambassador, Mike Hakebe, who just said recently in an interview that Israel should be between the Nile and the reverse of Iraq. In other words, he believes that Israel, that the entire Middle East belongs to Israel. Maybe we are on a stage of implementing the vision of His Excellency, the ambassador of the United States of Israel, who I can't understand by, on which behalf did he speak? Does he represent your administration, your public opinion, your president, who exactly in the United States think that Israel should rule the entire Middle East,

because some God in ancient times promised it to the Jews. I mean, quite weird for me to see that such an ambassador continues to represent the United States and Israel. But look, Israel is doing as much as it can, and it can. As long as the American support is so massive, so blind and so automatic, this will go on. The moment that the United States will see it in a different way, this will stop. And it's very clear that the Knessa are not, almost I could say that I have more complaints down the United States, which enabled all this, rather than to Israel, which

tries as much as it can to conquer more, to govern more, and to launch more wars. Gidun Levy, you recently wrote a piece in Ha'ara. It's about the Abu alas family, who live in the town of Kabatia in the Janine district of the occupied West Bank. Two sons of the family were killed almost exactly 10 years apart by Israeli soldiers. Both were 17 years old at the time of their deaths. You write that in December, Ryan was walking down the street in his neighborhood when he was killed. The shooting caught on security footage that you published in your reporting. In the video, you can see two Israeli soldiers waiting behind a wall. Ryan enters the frame walking in their direction. The soldiers step out and show.

shoot him at close range less than six feet away. Yes. You know, I published this story, Amy, a few weeks ago. Already this week, I bring another story of two brothers, but at this time, they were both shot at the same time, not 10 years. Those brothers were killed in a gap of 10 years less than a week, by the way, to be very precise.

This week I was in another village. and there are some settlers in uniform shot two brothers on their private land, which is in area which is not being controlled by the PA, and still a settler shot them, one is dead and one is severely injured. The main question you should ask, Amy, was there any investigation? did one of those shooters, or may I call them, murderers was ever or will be ever brought to justice? And I think you know the answer. You know, I wanted to ask you about the press coverage, both by the Israeli press,

as well as by the international press, on the damage within Israel, because we're seeing U.S. reporters who are based in Tel Aviv, giving us great footage of the destruction. in the Gulf states and of the bombs in Iran, but very little of what is actually going on in Israel, in terms of the structural damage that the missiles and the drones from Iran are causing within Israel. Unfortunately, the Israeli media or the mainstream media stopped being a press or a journalistic organ a long time ago. You are talking about not showing the damages in Tel Aviv. What did Israeli TV show about what Israel has been doing for two and a half years in Gaza? Nothing.

Any potato grower in Idaho saw more of Gaza than someone in Tel Aviv who watches only Israeli TV. Now, when it comes to this war, they show here and there also the damaging in Israel. There are some censorship restrictions quite limited, so they will not direct. They are bombing according to the place that the missiles fall, but this is marginal. We don't have a free press. I mean, we have a free press.

This is much worse. But this free press puts itself under self-censorship and things that in times of war and also in other times, the press is just an agency of the government, of the military establishment. And this is very worrying. You know, it's accepted that Israel does not allow international journalists into Gaza, and it's not talked about.

CNN always prefaces their reporting from their journalist who is in Tehran Iran as saying it's controlled, though it's not controlled editorially, they say. They do not continually repeat the same thing for their reporters in Israel. It's critical to talk about Gaza. Your next book, Gidon Levy, is about Gaza. And also your continued coverage, which we hear very little about of the West Bank. You also talk about the communities of Sessia there. If you can talk about that as an example of what's happening and the terror Palestinians are facing there.

Under the cover of the war, the West Bank is changing dramatically and only for the bed. What the settlers together with the army did in the last two years is unprecedented and irreversible. They really change the life. You can just go in the roads and understand that this is not the occupied, oppressed West Bank that you knew before, because it's much worse now. Right now, almost all the villages and towns in the West Bank are locked. And when I say locked, I mean locked by metal gates like real prisons. The whole West Bank looks like a collection of concentration camps.

No other way to describe it. People are not allowed ever since the war started. People are not allowed to get in, people are not allowed to get out. in a few cases, the checkpoints are open for a few hours, but you never know if you'll be able to come back. Nothing is planned, and the whole attitude of the army dramatically changed ever since the war in Gaza. In the same time, the settlers saw the war in Gaza, now in Iran,

has a huge historical opportunity for them. They took over tens of thousands of acres all over the West Bank, by force, and they kicked out, and they are kicking out, the population, the farmers, the shepherds, one community after the other, after months and months of tyranny of violent settlers many times in uniforms, they have no other choice but to give up, to surrender, and to live their homes, their villages, and their fields. This is a process. It's not one incident here and one incident here. Programs are. I daily think now, nobody brings people to justice after those programs, and the West Bank is

changing dramatically. I know already about dozens of villages which were evacuated because the people cannot take it anymore, the Palestinians. Gidon Levy, I want to thank you for being with us. Award-winning Israeli journalist writes for the Israeli newspaper Aretz, and is a member of the editorial board there. His latest opinion pieces will link to. Everyone in this country has gone insane. And the Israeli media are first and foremost IDF soldiers. Gidon Levy's latest book is titled The Killing of Gaza, reports on a catastrophe.

This is Democracy now. Coming up, the renowned journalist Jeffrey Sachs, he says the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran is also an assault on the United Nations. Stay with us. Dear Heard's come down here and say that, Come down here and say that. Dear Huff's, come down here and say that. Dear Huff's, come down here and say that. This is Democracy Now. Democracy Now.org, the War and Peace Report. I'm Amy Goodman in Los Angeles, headed to Mexico City, to Cineatown.

National tonight where they're showing the film about Democracy Now, steal this story, please. I hope to see folks there. And tomorrow, also part of the Ambulante Film Festival, check our website at DemocracyNow.org. And we're joined by Democracy Now's Juan Gonzalez in Chicago. Earlier this week, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution condemning Iran for its, quote, egregious attacks against its Gulf neighbors, calling out specifically attacks on residential areas and civilians as well as its closure of the Strait of Hormuz, threatening global energy supplies. Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan are specifically mentioned in the resolution, which had 140 co-sponsors.

Of the 15 Security Council members, 13 voted in favor with none against China and Russia abstained. Bahrain's UN ambassador, Jamal Farras, Arawai, said the vote reflected the collective conscience of the world. This overwhelming support from the international community reflects a collective awareness of the danger posed by the unjust Iranian attack against our countries. the Kingdom of Bahrain, the GCC, and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan over the past 12 days. The adoption by the Council of this resolution today confirms that the international community is united in addressing and confronting these hostile acts. The stability and safety of the region is part and parcel of the security and peace architecture. Russia's representative to the UN called the past resolution biased for not acknowledging Israel

and the United States as instigators of the war, Russia introduced a second resolution that called for an immediate halt to all hostilities in the Middle East without naming any parties involved, that resolution failed to pass. This is the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Walts. Once again, Russia is acting here at the Security Council to protect its partner Iran. We reject Russia's attempt to conflate lawful U.S. actions taken in line with Article 51, of the UN Charter to conflate those actions with Iran's pattern of bloodshed and brutality to its own people and around the world. And with its recent deliberate and at scale targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure

across the Gulf and the Middle East, the United States will continue to work here at this council and beyond to hold the Iranian regime to account. And to bring to light its destabilizing and unlawful actions, Russia's attempts to prevent this counsel from acting in line with its core principles will not deter us. For more, we're joined by the economist Jeffrey Sachs. He's the director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University and president of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. He's also serves advisor to three UN secretaries general.

He recently wrote an article headline, This illegal U.S. Israeli attack on Iran is also an assault on the United Nations, unquote. In an open letter to the UN Security Council on February, Professor Sachs said it was the U.S. and not Iran that had walked away from negotiations and that U.S. threats against Iran violated international law. He said, quote, the issue facing the UN Security Council in these people, perilous days is whether any member state by force or threat of force may place itself above the United Nations charter that governs us all. At stake is the integrity of the UN-based

international system, unquote. Professor Sacks today joins us from Rome, Italy. Thanks so much for being with us, Professor Sacks. Why don't you elaborate on this letter and your statements about the UN international order and what is happening today with the U.S. Israeli attack on Iran and Iran's retaliatory attacks. Thank you very much, Amy. And what a chilling show to hear Gideon Levy to hear your report from Beirut. We have a war of blatant aggression that is going to put the entire world into, a disaster. This is a war of aggression and a war of choice by Israel and the United States.

It is in the most blatant, frank violation of the UN Charter and the core of the UN Charter, its purpose, which says that nations shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, period. That is Article 2, Paragraph 4 of the UN Charter. Walsz, the U.S. ambassador, says, oh, we're acting under Article 51. That is the article on self-defense. The United States is not acting in self-defense. Israel is not acting in self-defense. These two countries are committing flagrant aggression, and they've done it twice. now in the context of negotiations, which makes it all the more pernicious. Twice the United States

claimed it was negotiating with Iran, and twice it killed Iranian leaders in the midst of the so-called negotiations. This is the most blatant and brazen assault on the UN Charter and International law since it was founded in 1945. Even in the Iraq War and other U.S. war and Israeli wars of choice, they faked it at least. Here they don't even fake it. They just are blatant aggressors with no justification at all. Our UN ambassador is Green Beret.

They have militarized everything about our society. Amy and Juan. We are in a security state, not a constitutional order. No one asks the American people about whether to go to war or not. And our Congress doesn't want to have anything to do with this. So when they're asked, they say, don't ask us. This is, we give it to Mr. Trump and to Mr. Netanyahu. So I think this is the most brazen fascism that we have seen since the fascist era.

And it is absolutely extraordinary. And it's going to put us, I think, probably into World War III. And if it doesn't do that, it's going to put us into an economic calamity worldwide. And Jeffrey Sachs, I wanted to ask you this narrative. now that the Trump administration has been pushing in all of their pronouncements, that this is actually attempting to end the war that Iran launched against the United States decades ago. And they make it seem like everything that's happened that has been Iran aggressing against the United States, forgetting, obviously, that the role of our country in goading and supplying

Iraq and its war against Iran in the 1980s and the various other attacks by Israel and the United States against Iran in the past. Look, every word that Donald Trump says is vile and ignorant. So we can almost say for sure that every word he posts every day is a vile lie. But when it comes to the United States and Iran, yes, this does go back a long way. In 1953, when Iran had a fully functioning democracy, the CIA and MI6 overthrew the government of Mossadegh, Prime Minister Mossadegh. We installed a police state.

We installed a police state that lasted from 1953 to 1979. when the Iranian people took back their country, we immediately armed Iraq, as you said, Juan, to go to war with Iran and to kill hundreds of thousands of people. When that war ended in 1988, the United States continued through the CIA and other means to do everything possible to destabilize the Iranian government, to crush the economy, to impose U.S. measures, sanctions, and so on, to destroy the well-being of the population. When the Iranians said, we want to negotiate with you, the United States rejected at almost every stage,

with one exception, which is that in the Obama presidency, the United States together with Britain, France, China, Russia, Germany. The permanent five members of the UN Security Council plus Germany, the P5 plus one, as it was called, negotiated an agreement with Iran that put Iran under strict U.N. supervision, the International Atomic Energy Agency, to ensure that what Iran said was actually carried out, which is that Iran did not want a nuclear weapon and the IAEA would inspect. And for three years, the IAEA inspected hundreds and hundreds of times. And Iran was in full compliance. And then what happened? Netanyahu and Trump ripped up the agreement. and went back to war, a hybrid war, with Iran. Everything Trump says, which is despicable,

because he is absolutely leading us to ruin and leading the world to World War III. Everything he says is a lie because he says, I'm stopping Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. what he has done is rip up the agreement that already existed to ensure that kill, assassinate Iranian leaders repeatedly, kill the Iranian religious leader who for decades had said that a nuclear weapon would be against Islamic law, kill that person, invade or bomb the country, with carpet bombing now

and is presiding over what is now already a regional war with Israel behaving as usual in its completely fascistic way of genocide in Gaza, locking up the West Bank as Gideon

Levy just told us, and invading Lebanon and displacing already a million people bombing the universities, bombing the hospitals, bombing the schools. This This is so out of control without any logic, any rationality, even not any humane, moral, legal justification whatsoever.

We have not seen anything like this since the fascists of World War II. And it is extraordinarily dangerous what's happening. It will lead to World War the way we're going. because we have two malignant narcissists, Netanyahu and Trump, that are leading us to disaster. And you listen to Netanyahu's words. He explains this has nothing to do with the UN Charter. He says, we're not waiting. We are initiating.

Well, that, Mr. Netanyahu is against the UN Charter. You're not allowed to initiate war under the UN Charter. You've explained it very clearly. You are making a war of aggression. And you, too, Mr. Trump, you are making a war of aggression and you're threatening the entire world. It's really as simple as that. Professor Sachs, we have less than a minute.

President Trump yesterday suggested skyrocketing fuel costs are a good thing. You're an economist. Trump wrote, the United States is the largest oil producer in the world by far. so when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money. This contradicted what he said at the State of the Union, saying oil prices were lower than under President Biden, and he was very proud of that. 30 seconds, your response.

He may put money into the hands of a few oil companies which pay his bills, which are corrupt, which pay his campaigns, but he's going to impoverish Americans, and he's throwing the entire world into a profound, economic crisis. And the world's going to remember, and it's going to know very soon, Israel and the United States, have put the entire world into a profound economic crisis. Again, the first thing you know, anything Trump writes is a combination of ignorance, malevolence, and lies, including that statement, Amy. Jeffrey Sachs, we want to thank you so much for being with us,

world-renowned economics professor, director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, president of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, has served as advisor to three UN Secretaries General, now as Sustainable Development Solutions Advocate under Secretary General Antonio Guterres. We'll link to your articles at DemocracyNow.org. As we end this show, a very fond farewell to our video fellow, Safwat Nasal. You will forever be in our DNA, Democracy Now alum, and thank you for your creativity, your humor, and your intelligence. Tonight I'm heading to Mexico City for two screenings of Steel the Story, please, at the Ambulante Film Festival. Tonight it's in a teca, national. Check out DemocracyNow.orgia.org. I'm Amy Goodman, with Waganza.