Democracy Now! Audio - Democracy Now! 2026-05-04 Monday

Episode Date: May 4, 2026

Headlines for May 04, 2026; Abortion Rights Movement Shifts to “Plan C” as Court Restricts Mifepristone by Mail; Gaza Flotilla Participant Details “Cruelty” of Israeli Abduction at Sea; Two Activists Still Detained; Trita Parsi on Iran War: Trump Still “Looking for a Silver Bullet” Instead of Negotiating Seriously

From New York, this is Democracy Now. This is the biggest setback for abortion rights since the Supreme Court overturned Roby Wade almost four years ago. And yet the abortion rights movement was far more prepared this time around and had contingency plans in place for a court decision, restricting access to abortion. A federal appeals court Friday blocked the mailing of abortion pills, restricting access to abortion. one of the most common means of abortion in the United States. We'll speak with the nation's abortion access correspondent, Amy Littlefield. Then the latest on the Global Samud Flotilla. On April 29th, Israeli occupation forces kidnapped over 170 participants from the Global Samud Flotilla in international waters in Greece's search and rescue zone.

Two days ago, many of us were released, but two participants, two organizers from the flotilla remain on board. Tiago Avala and Saif Abukhashik. Two Samud activists who were not released, a Brazilian and a Palestinian with Spanish citizenship, say they were beaten and blindfolded. We'll speak to another two members of the flotilla. Then Iran says two missiles hit a U.S. Navy vessel in the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. is denying it. We'll get the latest. All that and more coming out. Welcome to Democracy Now. Democracy Now.org, the War and Peace Report. I'm Amy Goodman. Two missiles hit a U.S. Navy vessel in the Strait of Hormuz earlier today after it ignored warnings from Iran's Revolutionary Guard to halt.

That's according to Iranian state media. The U.S. is denying it. Ron says the strike came as President Trump announced the U.S. will begin guiding ships through the Strait of Hormuz starting today. deploying guided missile destroyers, more than 100 aircraft and 15,000 U.S. service members. Tehran immediately rejected the move, as senior Iranian official warned any U.S. interference in the strait would be considered a ceasefire violation. President Trump said he'd reviewed Iran's 14-point peace proposal, but warned the U.S. could resume strikes. Iran's foreign minister said a deal was just inches away. but accused U.S. negotiators of making maximalist demands. No further talks have been scheduled.

At least two other vessels were also struck in the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend, though all crew members were reported safe. Meanwhile, U.S. gas prices have now reached $4.45 a gallon up nearly 50 percent since the war began. According to Iran's Ministry of Health, U.S. Israeli strikes have killed at least 3,375 people, including 376 children. The U.S. militaries confirmed 13 combat deaths and 381 service members wounded. In Washington, D.C., an anti-war protester climbed the Frederick Douglas Bridge to protest the U.S. war in Iran, pitching a tent for three days. This is President Trump speaking in Florida Friday. We get the radical left to say, we're not winning. We're not winning. They don't have any

military left. It's unbelievable. It's actually, it's actually, I believe it's treasonous. Okay. You want to know that it's treasonous? Israel's military issued new force displacement orders this weekend for more than 10 towns and villages in southern Lebanon, including areas north of large of, Lutani River beyond its current zone of occupation. Israeli attacks killed at least 41 people Saturday despite a ceasefire that's been in place since mid-April. Israel claims it's a tax target Hezbollah, but many of the dead were civilians. According to the Lebanese health ministry, Israel's killed 2,659 people since March 2nd. More than 1 million people, roughly a fifth of

Lebanon's population have been displaced. Two members of a Gaza-bound humanitarian aid flotilla have appeared before an Israeli court. After they say they were abducted from their ships in international waters and brought to Israel for interrogation, on Sunday, the court extended the imprisonment of Spanish national Saif Abu Keshik and Brazilian national Tiago Avila, By two days, though authorities have not brought any charges against them. Avila told his lawyers he'd been subjected to extreme brutality after his abduction, including being, quote, dragged face down across the floor and beaten so severely he passed out twice, unquote. The beating left him with visible bruises on his face.

Both Avila and Keshek have begun a hunger strike. This is their lawyer, Hadil Abu Sae. Salle. It's important in the beginning to note that both of them were subjected to torture and violence since the moment they were abducted by the Israeli Navy. They were kept handcuffed and blindfolded since Thursday morning until they were moved to the authority of the Israeli prison authority. Today in the court hearing, the Shabak claimed that they are accusing them of of being affiliated with a terrorist organization, of helping enemy during wartime,

and giving services to a terrorist organization. Avila and Keshek were among about 175 activists forced off their ships at gunpoint following the Israeli raid on the flotilla as it sailed off the coast of Greece last Thursday. We'll have more on the Global Samud Floatilla and its efforts. to break Israel's siege of Gaza later in the broadcast.

The Trump administration announced Friday it's withdrawing 5,000 troops from its bases in Germany. The withdrawal will reduce the number of U.S. troops stationed there by about 14 percent, reversing a buildup that began under President Biden following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine four years ago. This comes after President Trump insulted German Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, as a totally ineffective leader who, quote, doesn't know what he's talking about, following the Chancellor's comment that the United States had no exit plan from its war against Iran and had been humiliated by Iran's leaders. Sunday, Mark, World Press Freedom Day. Reporters Without Borders released its 2026 World Press Freedom Index,

calling it the bleakest in the organization's 25-year history. For the first time, more than half the world's countries fall into the difficult or very serious categories for press freedom. More than 220 journalists have been killed in Gaza by the Israeli Army since October 2023, including at least 70 killed while actively carrying out their journalistic work, making the Israeli Army the biggest killer of journalists in the world. The United States has fallen seven places to 64th, as Reporters Without Borders says President Trump has turned his hostility toward the press into a systematic policy. The report cites the Trump administration's detention and deportation of journalists and sweeping cuts to the U.S. agency for global media. So far this year, 13 journalists have been killed worldwide, while 471 are killed worldwide.

currently detained and at least 21 are held hostage. President Trump signed an executive order Friday, broadening U.S. sanctions against the Cuban government. The new sanctions target officials, entities, and anyone complicit in corruption or human rights violations, as well as people operating in Cuba's energy, defense mining, and financial sectors. Foreign banks and companies that do business with sanctioned Cuban entities could also be cut off from U.S. markets. The new measures come after the Trump administration halted Venezuelan oil exports to Cuba earlier this year and pressured Mexico to shop stop shipments contributing to major blackouts in Cuba and prompting foreign airlines to suspend flights to the island. This is Cuba's president, Miguel

Diaz-Canel. When we say we are an extraordinary and unusual, when we say we are an extraordinary and unusual threat to the United States, states. And we are sure that is not how the American people feel, but rather how the U.S. government feels or the pretext that the U.S. government uses to attack us. One has to ask, what is the threat? What is extraordinary about that threat? What is unusual about that threat? When Cuba is a country of peace? The Trump administration reports another person has died in ICE custody. The 13th such deaths so far this year. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says 33-year-old Cuban immigrant, Danny Adan Gonzalez, was found unresponsive in a cell at the for-profit Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia last Tuesday.

ICE claimed the cause of death is a suspected suicide. In California, a federal grand jury has indicted a Salvadoran man who is shot by ICE agents in Patterson, California, in April. Carlos Ivan Mendoza Anandes underwent several. surgeries from multiple gunshot wounds, including to the jaw, after ICE agents surrounded his car during a traffic stop, drew their weapons, and fired on him as he attempted to drive away. Prosecutors accused Hernandez of hitting federal agents with his vehicle as they tried to arrest him. Hernandez says he feared the officers were going to shoot him.

Here in New York, police officers arrested eight people's six. Sunday as they protested the violent arrest by federal agents of a Nigerian man accused of overstaying a tourist visa. About 200 protesters gathered outside the Wyckoff Heights Medical Center in Brooklyn's Bushwick neighborhood to confront ICE officers who were filmed dragging the man handcuffed out of a hospital to a waiting car. He'd been hospitalized after his violent arrest by ice earlier in the evening. Activists were arrested as they tried to block the ice vehicle from leaving the ambulance bay.

In Arizona, construction crews building President Trump's expanded border wall have raised a portion of a Native American archaeological site in the Sonaran desert estimated to be at least a thousand years old. The Washington Post reports bold. causers caused extensive damage to the 280 by 50-foot etching in the desert sand known as Nintaglio, which holds special significance for the Hecchard-Oldom people. In a statement, Arizona Congress member Adelita Grachalva said, quote, unfortunately, this is not the first time a sacred site has been desecrated by border wall construction, and it will not be the last

until the federal government takes its legal obligation to tribal consultation and following environmental laws seriously. The FBI multiplied the number of employees assigned to immigration enforcement by a factor of 23 in the first nine months of the second Trump administration, with over a quarter of staff assigned to assist on immigration-related matters. That's according to the Intercept, which reports more than 6,500 FBI agents were diverted to immigration enforcement cases between Trump's inauguration and last September. The shift has taken agents away from criminal probes, including investigations of child sexual exploitation, sex trafficking, counterterrorism, corporate fraud, and white-collar crimes. A federal appeals court Friday blocked the mailing of the abortion pill Mepipristone, restricting access to one of the most common means of abortion in the U.S. Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, mail-order prescriptions have become the major way abortions are provided,

including in states where bans are in place. The two manufacturers Mepa-Pristone rushed to the Supreme Court Saturday asking the just to immediately block the ruling. In a statement, Planned Parenthood Action Fund President and CEO Alexis McGill Johnson said, quote, the fight is on. Planned Parenthood will continue to make clear that Mepa Pryston should be accessible because it's safe, effective, full stop. We'll have more on this story after headlines. The Republican governors of Tennessee and Alabama called state lawmakers into special sessions on

Friday to redraw congressional maps in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision gutting the Voting Rights Act. In Tennessee, President Trump personally urged Republican Governor Bill Lee to redraw the state's map to give Republicans one extra seat. In Alabama, Governor K. Ivey is moving to restore a map that would eliminate one of the state's two Democratic-held districts. Meanwhile, legislators in Mississippi are also planning a special session to redraw districts. Florida's already moved to redraw its maps to give Republicans up to four more seats. Louisiana has also suspended its primary elections as it prepares to draw a new congressional map. And hundreds of labor groups across the United States organized an economic blackout Friday

calling for no school, no work, no shopping on International Workers' Day. The May Day Strong Coalition says millions of workers, students, and families joined over 5,000 actions May 1st. Here in New York, protesters took to the streets demanding union rights, higher wages, progressive taxation, and the protection of immigrant rights. Joining the protest was Zoran Mamdani, who became the first New York City mayor to address a May Day rally since Fiorlla LaGuardia, almost a seven. century ago. This is Justin Lashley Maloney, an overnight concierge, and a member of SCIU Local 32BJ.

We just won our contract last month, the residential contract, and it's proof that solidarity is power. So today we're out with our immigrant family, because most of our union personally, most of our union of 32BJ, we're on majority immigrants. So we're here to support them and tell the world that we're not going to take the abuse from ICE. and all workers today on May Day standing together. And those are some of the headlines. This is Democracy Now, Democracy Now.org, the Warren Peace Report. I'm Amy Goodman. The biggest attack on abortion since the end of row.

That's what reproductive rights activists are calling Friday's federal appeals court decision ordering the Food and Drug Administration, the FDA, to impose a nationwide restriction on the highly prescribed. abortion pill Mepiphypristone, which is used in roughly two-thirds of all abortions in the United States. The decision came after Louisiana officials sued the FDA to restrict access to the safe and effective drug, saying its availability by mail had allowed abortions to continue unabated despite the state's near total abortion ban. A three judge panel sided with Louisiana, saying the health care providers may only prescribe Mephipristone after seeing patients in person.

The decision immediately disrupts delivery access to Mephipristone, restricting abortion providers nationwide from prescribing the pills by telemedicine and sending them to patients by mail, even in states where abortion remains legal. On Saturday, two Mepapristone manufacturers petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to immediately restore full access to the medication, putting the issue of reproductive rights in front of the conservative majority court in a midterm election year. Well, for more, we go to Boston, where we're joined by Amy Littlefield, the Nation magazine's abortion access correspondent, a journalist who focuses on reproductive rights, health care, and religion. Her new book titled Killers of Row, My Investors,

into the mysterious death of abortion rights. Amy Littlefield, welcome back to democracy now. Can you talk about the significance of the court decision on Friday? So this court decision takes aim at what has become a lifeline for abortion access, especially in states like Louisiana, where abortion is banned. The huge surge in unplanned pregnancies resulting in bursts that we had anticipated after the Dobbs decision, after the reversal of Roe v. Wade four years ago, has been much lower than people predicted. And that's largely because of innovative ways of sending medication abortion through the mail that have really been a lifesaver for people in these states like Louisiana who need to get their hands on medication abortion.

So what you have here is three conservative justices on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. This is one of the most notoriously conservative courts in the country, taking aim at a Biden-era regulation that allowed Miphypristone, which is one of two drugs used in the typical medication abortion protocol, to be sent through the mail. This means that people will have to go in person to get Miphypristone instead of getting it in their mailbox, as has been happening for years. I also want to mention what this court ruling does not do, however, Amy. What this court ruling does not do. It does not restrict mesoprostol, which is the second drug that's used in a typical medication abortion protocol, and which is a powerful abortion drug that can be taken on its own,

and in fact is taken on its own all around the world in countries where Mithepristone is not available. It does not affect clinics that we're dispensing Mithopristone in person, so people can still go to a clinic and get the regular medication abortion protocol. It also does not affect the wide swaths of the abortion access infrastructure in this country that are completely beyond the reach of U.S. courts. And this, I think, is the critical difference with this court decision versus where we were four years ago when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. The abortion rights movement is far more prepared for a catastrophic decision like this. And as a result, what we're seeing is telehealth providers that have been shipping medication abortion all around the country,

including in states where it's banned. They're pivoting to a misoastal-only product. which might not be ideal. It can be slightly less effective. It can be more uncomfortable, produce more side effects, but it does work. And there is a World Health Organization recommended protocol for it. So we're seeing telehealth providers pivoting to that. And we're also seeing community support activists that have been circulating these pills by the thousands, stepping up and saying, we knew that the courts were never responsible for our liberation. We were never going to look to the Supreme Court or the circuit court of appeals to decide what happens with our abortion access. And so we're seeing these networks and international providers as

well that are beyond the reach of U.S. law and the courts that are going to be going about business as usual this morning. And so the message I want to send to people who might need an abortion in this country is that these options are still available because the abortion rights movement this time around had what we could call a plan C. Plancypills.org is the most popular website for information about these methods of getting a medication abortion, no matter what the court do. In March, Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri posted this video on social media. 70% of abortions in the United States, 70% are caused by Mephyr-Prestone. And that number goes up every year. There are more abortions now than there were when Roe versus Wade was still the law of the

land. The fight for life is the fight to stop Miffraestone from turning every mailbox in America into a Planned Parenthood. From turning every mailbox in America into a Planned Parenthood. Amy Littlefield, your response. I think a lot of people will be surprised to know that abortion is up since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Yes, and I have to say, Holly is right about that, right? He is right that abortion has gone up every year since the Dobbs decision overturned the constitutional right to abortion. That's true, even though 13 states today ban abortion outright, even though four more states have bans at about six weeks of pregnancy, And the reason that that's true is that you have brave clinicians in states like New York who are mailing medication abortion by the thousands into states where abortion is banned.

They're operating under so-called shield laws that have been passed by states like New York and Massachusetts that protect clinicians in those states from extradition when they're mailing these pills into states like Texas and Louisiana. Now, that has made abortion opponents like Josh Hawley really mad because their bans are not working. They are not driving down the number of abortions. And so they're pulling out all the stops to try to stop the unstoppable, to try to stop the flow of abortion pills through the mail, to try to stop these pills that can be pressed into one person's hand from another that can be dropped off in someone's mailbox by a community support activists, right? That can be ordered online from international pharmacies that are well beyond the reach of U.S. law. They're trying to stop the unstoppable. And as a result, these restrictions are pretty draconian and increasingly absurd, right? I want to note Josh Hawley is, you know, part of a power couple from, you know, the abortion rights movement's nightmares here.

He is introducing legislation in the Senate in Congress to try to roll back the allowance of abortion pills by mail. Meanwhile, his wife, Aaron Hawley, who works for Alliance Defending Freedom, the Christian Right law firm that's largely responsible for the Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade, she's working with Louisiana to bring this court case that's resists. resulted in this Fifth Circuit decision, restricting access to Mipapristone. So I would love to be, you know, at their dinner table overhearing their conversations about the abortion pill every night. It seems that the best messaging they could come up with was a Planned Parenthood in every mailbox, which, I mean, honestly, I think isn't the worst tagline if the abortion rights movement wanted to run with that. That's the future that progressives want, a Planned Parenthood in every mailbox, a taco truck on every corner. Why not?

But, you know, on a more serious note, I think what we've seen is there has been an increase in people bringing pregnancies to term that are unwanted after the Dobbs decision. I don't want to discount that, right? There has been an increase in maternal mortality, right? A study that just came out from Johns Hopkins researchers that found a 9% rise in pregnancy-related deaths in states that ban abortion. So what we're seeing is that abortion bans do not seem to be very effective at driving down the number of abortions because the number of abortions has gone up. In fact, what they seem to be effective at doing is killing women, right? And so, you know, I want to note that. And, and we should pause just for a second and reflect on the 68 additional deaths that this study found that resulted by the end of

2023, that's 68 people who might be alive today, if not for these restrictions on abortion, that are killing people, you know, who are going to the hospital because they're having a miscarriage or who are going to the hospital because they have a rare complication from an abortion and need treatment. And they're not getting it in time because of, these abortion restrictions. Amy. So that's where our focus needs to be close to four years after Dobbs. I want to turn to Katie Glenn Daniel, the Director of

Legal Affairs for Susan B. Anthony, pro-life America. This is Daniels speaking to the Catholic news outlet EWTN earlier this year. Well, it's so clear that these pills are deadly for unborn children. They're also extremely dangerous for mothers. The FDA, today,

right now, could take these drugs out of the mail. We hope they do. They've said that they're going to do a safety review, and we're confident that if that review is done, honestly, they will find that these drugs have no business being on shelves are available in the United States. They are so harmful. They've killed millions of children. But we hope that they see the urgency that we see, and they act at least at a minimum, get

these drugs out of the mail so that predators and abusers cannot get access to them as we frequently see. So, Amy, if you can respond and also talk about what is next, as the Mephypristone companies, the makers have also appealed the decision. So abortion rights supporters will, of course, point out there have been more than 100 studies demonstrating that Mithopristone is safe and effective. It's been on the market in the United States for more than 20 years. During that time, by the FDA's own numbers, with about 6 million uses of this drug,

they have counted only 32 deaths, of which only about half were actually attributable to the abortion. So it's just simply not true that this is a dangerous pill for people to take. In fact, the reason that we're seeing attempts to restrict it, including from, you know, Republican appointees on the Conservative Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, the reasons are political, right? The reasons have to do with ideological opposition to abortion. They have nothing to do with women's health. Importantly, of course, the Trump FDA could have restricted access to Mitha Pristone and has not done so. Instead, the FDA is conducting the safety review.

of Mitha Pristone. Anti-abortion operatives like Josh Hawley are very frustrated with the pace of that review. And it's widely understood that the Trump administration had been trying to wait until after the midterm elections to restrict Miphristone. That will tell you everything that you need to know about how popular abortion rights are in this country. However, this court decision sort of forces the Trump administration's hand and will put the issue of abortion access back before voters and make it top of mind once again in a midterm election year. Amy Littlefield, I want to thank you for being with us, the nation's abortion access correspondent,

focusing on reproductive rights, health care, and religion. Her new book is Killers of Row, My Investigation into the Mysterious Death of Abortion Rights. To see our interview on the book, go to DemocracyNow.org. Up next, the latest on the global, mood, flotilla. Stay with us. Al-Ras Ali heads held high, performed in New York by the NYC-Palestinian Youth Choir.

This is Democracy Now. Democracy Now.org, the Warren Peace Report. I'm Amy Goodman. Two members of Gaza-bound humanitarian aid flotilla have appeared before an Israeli court. after they were abducted from their ships in international waters and brought to Israel for interrogation. On Sunday, the court extended the imprisonment of Spanish national Seif Abu Keshik and Brazilian national Tiago Avala by two days, though authorities have not brought any charges against them.

Avila told his lawyers he'd been subjected to brutality after his abduction, including being, quote, dragged face down across the floor and beaten so seriously. severely that he passed out twice, unquote. The beating left him with visible bruises on his face. Both Avila and Keshek have begun a hunger strike. Just before the broadcast, Democracy now spoke to Keshek's wife, Sally Issa. She's in Barcelona, Spain. Keshek is both a Spanish and Swedish citizen. So my name is Sally. I am Saif Abu Keshik's wife. Saif Abou Keshik's wife. Saif Abkhashai Bukeshik was on board the global smooth flotilla, who is a mission with the aim to break the illegal siege on the Gaza Strip and deliver humanitarian aid to the people in Gaza. The Israeli military marine attacked the flotilla outside of the Greek island, Crete, in international water.

and they kidnapped more than 175 activists, civilians, with nationalities from all over the world, and they kept them hostages and then later freed them to the Greek police. They held, on the other hand, my husband, Saif and his comrade Tiago as hostages. later they took them to Israel against their will. We have got many testimonies about the interception and how it went. We have got to hear that it was very violent and the activists were not treated very well. We could see images and pictures from the activists who were freed in Greece, where they had broken noses and broken ribs and more than 30 people had to go to seek medical help.

They also told us how it went to my husband safe when they were kidnapped on the flotilla. So it has been very violent and safe was put in an isolated cell on the boat. He started a hunger strike and he was treated very bad, so bad that all the activists on the vote could hear him screaming during the ride to Greece. Now my husband is in Israel. They are questioning him and Tiago. Yesterday they went to the court and they got an extension of two days interrogation. and yeah, we are demanding all the governments around the world to interfere and free both Saif and Tiago and to put a stop on the ongoing genocide and blockade, illegal blockade of the Gaza Strip.

That was Salihisa, the wife of the detained Palestinian activist Saif Abu Keshek. He and Tiago Avila were among an estimated 700, 100,000. 175 activists forced off their humanitarian aid ships at gunpoint during Israel's raid on the flotilla as it sailed off the coast of Greece Thursday. All the other activists were taken to a port on the Greek island of Crete. In a joint statement, the governments of Spain and Brazil wrote, quote, this flagrantly illegal action by the Israeli authorities outside their jurisdiction constitutes a violation of international law. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez spoke Sunday. Now the Netanyahu has done this, abducting foreign citizens, one of them is Spanish, and taking him to Israel, I say several things to Prime Minister Netanyahu.

The first is that Spain will always protect its citizens. The second is that we will always defend international law, and this is a new violation of international law. And the third is we want the release of the Spanish citizen, who has been illegally abducted by Netanyahu's government. Meanwhile, Middle East Eye reports prosecutors in Italy have opened an investigation into the kidnapping and detention of Tiago Avila and Seif Abu Keshek, who were on board the humanitarian boat that was flying the Italian flag. For more, we're joined by two guests here in New York. Rania Batrice is with us, a Palestinian-American activist, part of the communications team for the Global Samud Flotilla. And in Creek, Greece, we're joined by Hannah Smith, a representative of the global. Samud Flotilla Public Affairs team who was on the flotilla when Israeli forces raided the ships.

Hannah, let's begin with you. So you have these two Samud activists who have been detained by Israel and we heard the description of what happened to them. What happened to you? So we were completely shocked by this. On Thursday night, our communications went down. We lost Internet. Most of us thought it was just a technical issue. but soon we were surrounded by speedboats with turning their lights on and off. We were very confused. We didn't know if people were just messing with us. Then we were approached by one of these boats and they self-identified as Israeli Navy.

They pointed guns at us. They had lasers pointed at us. We had our hands in the air. They threatened lethal force and they told us to get to the front of the boat. They left us for a few hours and then they came back and they boarded the boat. They took us very aggressively to an Israeli naval vessel where they held us for nearly two days. We were held in a makeshift prison with shipping containers and barbed wire. Many people were subject to aggressive physical force.

We were denied access to adequate water. We were denied access to sanitary supplies. We were also, the day after our interception, Saif was taken into solitary confinement, something that we were all very concerned would happen. We anticipated that this genocidal regime would target him because he's Palestinian. And we were held there. The nights were extremely cold. People's jackets were stolen.

When I advocated for one of the participants who's a doctor who was pacing for two hours trying to stay warm, She had a short-sleeved shirt in like 50-degree weather that was cold and damp. When I advocated for blankets, they flooded the sleeping area. And then we had a dozen people pacing, trying to stay warm, trying not to get hypothermia. The cruelty increased when we started to mobilize for the release of six people who were in solitary confinement. Saif was one of these people. We mobilized, and then we mobilized in the sense that we refused to leave the vessel without them. We started to bang on the walls and say, free our comrades.

You know, we were so concerned about their safety. When we were told that we were going to be transported to another vessel, we weren't told what vessels they were going to be, but we knew that we didn't want to leave without them. And so when we said, we're not going to leave without them, when we non-violently resisted, many people were beat, many people were dragged. I was held in the stress position for many hours. I refused to be on the first boat. I negotiated to get back on the Israeli vessel from the,

Greek Coast Guard boat. And I heard people being beat. I heard people screaming. I heard people being dragged around. And it was absolutely horrifying. We know that this cruelty that is directed at us is because of the hatred that they have for the Palestinian people. We also know that this flagrant violation of international law that happened over 600 notical miles from Gaza, it has happened because we have allowed so many violations to happen in Gaza, because we have allowed the genocide to continue. So what we have what we experienced was very cruel, but it was a fraction of what Palestinians in Gaza experience. Then at the end of this, I was on the last vote to disembark, and we realized that Tiago, it was also

still on board and that they had not released sight. We negotiated with the Greek Coast Guard. We tried to get them and urge them to intervene to do anything to stop that vessel from leaving Greek territorial waters. These people were kidnapped, brought into Greek territorial waters. the Greek government had an obligation to intervene, but they did not. And then we were brought to the Greek court where many people waited hospitalization and medical treatment. Several people broke ribs. Two people were beat unconscious.

Many people had concussions. People were aggressively kicked in the genitals. We saw a level of violence that I genuinely didn't anticipate. Many of us were not even planning to go all the way to Gaza on the. this on this Latila. We had other stops along the way. So this was an utter shock, a complete violation of international law and something that I think we should all, not only condemn, but do concrete actions to stop and to hold the government, the Israeli occupation government, and all of its enablers accountable. Some of your colleagues had to be rescued from a ship

that was sinking, Hannah? Yes. So there was one vessel that was, that was attacked by the Israeli occupation Navy. That vessel was called Tam Tam. And I haven't even been able to talk to the people on board, so I can't share their full experiences. But yes, they were left on a vessel that was sinking. Open arms, one of our support vessels here in Crete that is supporting the fleet with medical and mechanical support,

was able to find them and rescue them. But, yes, I mean, this is utterly herific. We're talking about this is European waters that this happened. So how many ships were there and are some still headed to Gaza? So there were 56 vessels before the Israeli attack. They intercepted 21. They left one sinking. And so now we have 34 vessels here in Crete.

So the plan right now is that we want to regroup. We want to assess the situation. We want to assess our strategies and the risks. We want to come together as a movement and start to work towards the next steps. So right now we are not planning an immediate departure to Gaza, but we are planning on convening and discussing what we feel as a movement is going to be the most effective way to continue to work towards breaking Israel's illegal siege on Gaza and stopping the genocide and then also to free our comrades life and Tiago.

So, Patrice, Rania Batrice, if you can talk about the significant of the two activists, one Spanish, Swedish, safe, and the other Brazilian. You can't help but think when it comes to Spain and Brazil, they've been among the countries who are most critical of Israel if they are being used as an example. And what exactly is happening to them now in Israel, what you understand? Yeah, so I definitely think that's at least in part, part of what's going on here, but also SAFE and Tiago have been very vocal advocates and activists themselves. Tiago has been on several flotilla missions for many years.

Safe, obviously, is also part of the leadership of the Global Smooth Flotilla, as is Tiago. So I think it's multiple things at play here. It is a favorite tactic of the Israeli regime to try to bully people into silence and submission, to threaten people. and they've gotten away with it for decades. So here they are doing it again, this time in international waters, as Hannah mentioned, over 600 nautical miles away from the coast of Gaza. We did talk to Seif Abu Keshek in April as the global Samud Falutila began its journey to Gaza. He spoke to us from aboard one of the humanitarian aid ships in the Mediterranean Sea.

It's very important to address how this genocide and how this siege being enabled. When countries like Spain decides to vote on an embargo, military embargo, to prevent this kind of ships to go through the Mediterranean, and they try to find other ports when they don't declare the content of what they have on the cargo, and they just sail to maintain and enable the Israeli government by providing them with the needed materials to continue committing genocide and maintain the illegal siege on Gaza. People need to react. Governments are allowing this to happen.

When they don't take action. So that is Seif Abukeshik. We want to turn now to Brazilian activist Tiago Avila, speaking last June on board another humanitarian aid flotilla settling to Gaza. The Votilla was also violently raided by Israeli forces. I come from a place where imperialism always plays a decisive role. My country suffered two military coups and both of them had the support of the United States. And so it's important that we understand that imperialism and Zionism, they are the greatest evils of our generation. And we need to defeat them wherever we can. And Palestine is now the strategic place for all peoples to unite and fight against oppression, exploitation, and the destruction of nature. But they have been threatening us for many, many years. For 17 years, any flotilla mission that tried to reach Gaza has been threatened by them.

But we will not bow to their threats. We do not need their permission. So as we wrap up, Rania Batrice, that is Tiago Avila. We also heard from Seif Abu Keshek. If you can talk about what's happening now, apparently they're going to be brought back into court. You've been with the global smooth flotilla and the flotillas before representing them here. So they have had one hearing where they extended their detention to. days, I think, as you mentioned, still no charges have been placed on either one of them. They are continuing. I did get an update from Tiago's wife that he was finally able to actually see a doctor. He is feeling better. They're both still on hunger strike. So we're playing this waiting game where Israel is control of everything, including their access to their legal

representation. Let me end with Hannah Smith. Why did you go on this flotella? I think the reason I went is the same reason a lot of us went. And that's because we were done standing by watching such injustice continue, watching such impunity continue, because we want to do the right thing, because we want to stand up for justice and humanity, and because we love the Palestinian people, and because we see that Palestine and Gaza as a front line in the global fight against oppression and injustice and domination. And I would go again, I think a lot of us would, because this is something that every citizen, everyone all around the world, whether you're on land or sea, should be doing, that we should be standing for justice and standing for Palestine. I should also say, when we spoke to Seif Abu Keshek, he was on a green peace ship known as the Arctic sunrise, providing technical support, accompanying the flotilla for part of the voyage and a show of solidarity.

I want to thank you both for being with us, Rania Batrice, of Vaux. the global Samud flotilla, and Hannah Smith was on that flotilla. She's speaking to us from Crete. Up next, the latest on the Strait of Hormuz and the war in Iran. We'll speak with Trita Parsi. It isn't right for too many foreign lands. They say it's in the name of the great good. We've long side. The world happened to the worst. For which we once do. I would stand for you.

Would you stand for me? I would lend a hand to you. Would you lend a bird? Everybody deserves to be free by the resistance. Revival chorus performed at Town Hall in September for the voices of Gaza. This is Democracy Now. Democracy Now.org, the war and peace report. I'm Amy Goodman.

Two missiles hit a U.S. Navy vessel in the Strait of Hormuz earlier today, after it ignored warnings from Iran's Revolutionary Guard to halt. That's according to the Iranian state media. But the U.S. says no vessel was struck. This comes, as President Trump announced, the U.S. will begin guiding ships through the Strait of Hormuz starting today, deploying guided missile destroyers, more than 100 aircraft. and 15,000 U.S. service members. Tehran immediately rejected the move. A senior Iranian official warned any U.S. interference in the strait would be considered a ceasefire violation. President Trump said he'd reviewed Iran's 14-point peace proposal, but warned the U.S. could resume strikes. Iran's foreign minister said a deal is just inches away, but accused U.S. negotiators of making

maximalist demands. No further talks have been scheduled. at least two other vessels, apparently, were also struck in the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend, though all crew members were reported safe. Meanwhile, U.S. gas prices have now reached $4.45 a gallon up nearly 50 percent since the war began. According to Iran's Ministry of Health, U.S. Israeli strikes have killed close to 3,400 people, including 376 children. The U.S. military has confirmed 13 combat deaths and 381 service members wounded.

This is President Trump speaking in Florida Friday. We get the radical left to say, we're not winning. We're not winning. They don't have any military left. It's unbelievable. It's actually, I believe it's treasonous. Okay. You want to know that it's treasonous?

President Trump saying it's treasonous to say that the U.S. is not winning the war on Iran. For more, we go to Washington, D.C., where we're joined by Trita Parsi, Executive Vice President of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. His latest article headline, Trump's Iran blockade snatches defeat from the jaws of victory. Trita is the author of several books, including losing an enemy, Obama, Iran, and the triumph of diplomacy. Treata, Parsi, thanks for joining us again. Talk about this latest news, right up to when we're broadcasting where Iran says they struck a U.S. naval vessel

and the U.S. is denying it. And then President Trump saying that it's treasonous to criticize what the U.S. is doing. Thank you for having me, Amy. Let me first start off by saying because I think it's important context that according to the plan

of those who sold this blockade idea to the Trump administration, Iran should have crumbled about 10 days ago. And it clearly has not happened. And I think that's part of the reason why you see the president increasingly using desperate language and even considering desperate moves, such as moving U.S. warships through the Persian Gulf in order to protect other ships. It's important to understand the U.S. Navy has kept itself roughly 3,000 kilometers from Iran's shorelines throughout the entire war in order to avoid getting hit by any of Iran's missiles that potentially could sink a major American warship. So if the U.S. during the war was unwilling to get that close to the Iranian waters, I find it very unlikely that the U.S. will do so under the current circumstances,

knowing very well that that could lead to a major confrontation, restarting of the war, but perhaps more importantly, it could lead to American servicemen getting killed in a manner and on a scale that we did not see during the war that Trump started. And he was very careful to avoid those type of casualties knowing very well what that would do to the degree of support that this war has within his own base. So the idea that he now would go down that path, I find very unlikely. Rather, it is more of a sign of his desperation because this blockade has backfired on him.

And he's trying to do just something in order to be able to turn the tables on the Iranians. So talk about exactly what President Trump is saying will start happening today. this guiding of ships that he said countries are calling for that the U.S. military will do through the Strait of Hormuz. Well, we don't know because all we have is that tweet is very unclear, grammatically incorrect in places, etc. But bottom line is it's not clear whether the ships, American warships actually would escort these other ships out of the straits or whether it would be simply providing them with instructions on how to navigate different areas in which mines. have been planted. So it's still unclear, and to me it looks more like what we have seen in the past in which Trump makes these big declarations, pretends as if there's going to be a dramatic

shift, but then he backs down, knowing very well that if he actually follows through on it, it will lead to an escalation that he cannot control and that likely will backfire. And talk about Iran's demands, and then Iran saying that the U.S. is making maximalist demand. and who exactly is doing this negotiating? Well, if we take a look at what has been publicly circulated and may not be accurate information, clearly both sides are making maximalist demands. The Iranians are demanding reparations for the war. Now, under other circumstances, perhaps one would say that that is not unreasonable,

mindful of the fact that they were attacked, but nevertheless, vis-à-vis the superpower of the United States, that is a very unlikely demand to be heated. So there's plenty of demands the Iranians are making that likely will never be accepted by the United States. But then there are other things that I think could be part of a workable deal between the two sides. The question, though, is as long as Trump insists on demands such as zero enrichment, demands that were sold to him by the Israelis with the design of making sure that any deal would be impossible to reach and that it would force Trump into a military confrontation,

As long as Trump continues to listen to those forces, the very same forces that also sold in this blockade that has backfired, we're not going to see a diplomatic breakthrough. It requires a far more disciplined and flexible approach to the negotiations. And right now, we're not seeing that from either side. This is the deputy speaker of the Iranian parliament speaking Sunday about the fate of the Strait of Hormuz. to the Zionist regime will under no circumstances be allowed to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Hostile countries headed by the United States will also not have the right of passage. Other vessels wishing to transit will do so under the law. We enact and with authorization obtained from the commander-in-chief and placed at the disposal of our armed forces. So the deputy speaker of the Iranian parliament is talking about a new law they want to pass,

banning Israeli and U.S. ships through the Strait of Hormuz, Treaty of Parsi. Yes. So again, I think this is part of the maximalist approach that the Iranians are also pursuing. I don't think that that is going to be what the end result of all of this will be. I do think the Iranians are going to retain control and there's going to be some sort of in a mechanism in which they will receive payment. It may not be framed as a toll, and may be framed as something else, potentially together with other GCC states, particularly Oman. But I don't think it's going to look in such a manner that the Iranians are going to prevent

U.S. ships indefinitely from being able to pass through the straits. And I think, again, in some ways, the Iranian maximalist goals or their strategy is just mirror imaging what Trump is doing. This is Trump's style. He always throws out maximalist demands publicly tries to embarrass and humiliate the other side and the Iranians are essentially mirror imaging his strategy. Ultimately, however, that is not how you get to a deal. Okay. The U.S. has also threatened more strikes.

Treat of Parsi in this last 30 seconds. Where do you see this going this week? As in the U.S. population, the U.S. attacks on Iran are fiercely unpopular. Yes, and Trump knows this, and he knows that his members of Congress from the Republican side are privately making more and more phone calls, complaining about this work. complaining about how it is destroying their chances in the November elections. Many of them are going to lose their seats as a result of this. Trump is under a lot of pressure, but he's still looking for a silver bullet that will make him

a winner instead of engaging in serious diplomacy. Trita Parcy, thanks so much for being with us, Executive Vice President of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. Thanks for joining us. That does it for today's show. A very happy birthday to Dennis Moynihan. I'm traveling to Toronto today to speak of the. the Radio Days North America Conference, then will appear at screenings of the new documentary

about Democracy Now, steal this story, please. I will be Thursday night and Friday morning at the main cinema in Minneapolis, then in Chicago Friday night, and for two screenings on Saturday at the Music Box Theater and at the historic Oriental Theater in Milwaukee on Sunday for information on all these screenings, and as well as our travel through. the country, go to Democracy Now.org and stealthustory.org. I'm Amy Goodman in New York today. Thanks so much for joining us.