Politics
Spanish football player escapes Iran via land
Amid the ongoing military conflict in Iran, Spanish-Moroccan player Munir El Haddadi found himself in an unusual situation. His flight to Tehran was canceled due to the closure of Iranian airspace following unprovoked attacks from the US and Israel.
El Haddadi, who plays for Esteghlal FC, was on a plane preparing to return to Spain when passengers were ordered to disembark immediately due to an emergency security situation. This forced him to quickly find an alternative way to leave amidst the chaos at the airport.
El Haddadi managed to secure a land route, embarking on a journey of approximately 16 hours towards the Turkish border. He arrived safely and is now awaiting the completion of procedures for his return to Spain, according to the newspaper Marca.
El Haddadi’s land travel was part of a broader effort by Spanish professionals in Iran to leave the country following recommendations from authorities in Madrid to do so as the conflict escalated.
This situation raises renewed questions about the potential impact on player contracts and their professional stability, particularly in leagues that rely on foreign investment and foreign professionals.
The war has also led to the postponement of sporting activities in some neighboring countries, in addition to the potential impact and absence of the Iranian national team from the 2026 World Cup due to its being held in the United States.
Featured image via the Canary
The Hunt Saboteur Association (HSA) is broadening its visual identity. Alongside its traditional running fox, a new logo now features a running hare. This isn’t just a snazzy design choice, this is a direct message to illegal hunters who think they can hide in the shadows of the countryside.
Brown hares are stunning creatures, but they’ve faced centuries of persecution. Despite a documented decline in their population, hunters continue chasing and killing them for leisure. Most of these hunts sit under the British Hound Sports Association. They use the same tired ‘trail hunting’ smokescreen they use for foxes. Or, in order to bypass the 2005 ban, they often hunt hares under the guise of hunting rabbits.
Stopping the cruelty, once and for all
Hare hunting is particularly vicious, as we have previously reported. And it involves three main types of hunt, all of which are incredibly cruel.
These are harriers in which the hares are hunted by staff on horseback. Then there’s hunts with beagles and basset hounds, where the canines will hunt them through scent and the huntsmen are on foot. Lastly, we have with greyhounds and lurchers where the dogs are used for illegal coursing and gambling.
The HSA has a long and bloody history of standing between these bloodthirsty huntsmen and their prey. The first sab of a hare hunt took place during the 1965/66 season against the Eton College Beagles. Since then, sabs have faced arrest and serious injury to shut down events like the Waterloo Cup.
The tide is turning on these illegal hare hunts. The HSA has already sabbed the Alston Hare Week and the Northumberland Beagling festival out of existence. Hunts are folding or merging in an attempt to save themselves from oblivion. They are an ever-shrinking group, driven underground by the tireless work of the HSA.
You guys really need to read more about what the HSA has done to save many lives. I suggest you get your hands on “Sabotage – The Story of the Hunt Saboteurs Association.”
The fight continues, for all
The HSA has worked tirelessly for foxes. We have seen them leading the fight against fox hunting, and this new logo sends a clear and concise message to hare hunter: We are coming for you next.
The HSA won’t stop until every single hunt is consigned to history. As long as there are hunters in the field, the sabs will be there to stop them.
The new logo symbolises a new pledge, that no species is forgotten, and no hunt will go unchallenged.
And if you want to help them achieve this, whether through donations or wildlife advocacy, visit their website.
Featured image via the Canary
US Marine veteran and Rhode Island congressional candidate Vic Mellor is celebrating America’s illegitimate response to protests outside the US consulate in Karachi, Pakistan.
In a social media post, he declared that “the days of America not defending itself are over,” invoking a flimsy ‘you asked for it’ justification.
Today, armed rioters tried to storm our U.S. Consulate in Karachi, Pakistan
They breached the perimeter. They set fires. They thought this was 1979.
It’s not.United States Marines met them at the door — and sent a message the entire world just heard:
The days of America not…
— Vic Mellor For Congress RI (@VicMellorForRI) March 2, 2026
He painted protesters as armed rioters who he said breached the security perimeter and set fire to the consulate. In the same breath, he framed the disproportionate response by US marines as heroic.
His comments came amid clashes killing 23 protesters across Pakistan, including 10 involved in the consulate protest sparked by the assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a US-Israeli airstrike.
A video shared by DropSite News captures American soldiers firing at protesters.
American soldiers opening fire in Karachi: https://t.co/sLsz5I9pVo
— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) March 2, 2026
The triumphalist reaction of MAGA supporters – celebrating the shootings – has also been spilling out on social media.
MAGA commentator Gunther Eagleman posted on X that anyone who approaches a US consulate armed and attempts to kill marines should expect no negotiations, no warnings, and no mercy. Eagleman’s post was accompanied by a video of the protesters’ funeral procession.
🚨 If you come armed and try to storm a U.S. Consulate while attempting to KlLL U.S. Marines, it won’t end well.
No negotiations. No warnings. No mercy.
— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) March 2, 2026
CODEPINK question lack of international outrage
Anti-war group CODEPINK highlighted the glaring absence of international outcry. They condemned what they described as the slaughter of Pakistani protesters by US personnel on foreign soil.
US Marines shot and killed at least 12 people in Karachi, Pakistan. More than 30 are injured.
Where is the international outrage over these US soldiers slaughtering Pakistani protestors?
— CODEPINK (@codepink) March 1, 2026
The tweet features the following community-note:
News reports indicate the injured and dead protesters Code Pink is referring to were fired upon after attempting to storm the U.S. consulate in Karachi, Pakistan. No military action appears to have occurred until the protesters attempted to overrun the consulate.
UK commentators
Journalist and AJ+ host Sana Saeed expressed her shock and horror at the events.
This is horrifying – the Americans are now killing Pakistanis for protesting their illegal wars and assassinations. https://t.co/JCzNeNGGNw
— Sana Saeed (@SanaSaeed) March 1, 2026
Videos of Pakistani police seemingly firing at the protestors were also being shared.
Straight fires on Shia protesters in Pakistan by American puppets. 🇮🇷🇵🇰 pic.twitter.com/90JLwLZo1p
— Shahid Jafry-𓂆🇵🇸 (@iShahidJafry) March 2, 2026
Writer Fatima Bhutto described the situation as a “national tragedy” in a post on X.
A national tragedy https://t.co/AaH41J8TFm
— fatima bhutto 🇵🇸🇱🇧🇮🇷 (@fbhutto) March 2, 2026
In another tweet, Bhutto slammed the Pakistani government for participating in the bloodbath.
The killing of Pakistanis by the guards of the US Consulate in Karachi is a crime. Will the government even register the deaths of their own citizens or are they too busy fawning over the bloodthirsty maniacs they sit with on the “board of peace”?
And now 10 Pakistanis lie dead outside a US consulate – victims of the same military machine their government refuses to confront.
Featured image via the Canary
Let’s begin with what should not need saying: a white person calling a black person a ‘nigger’ is one of the most racist and offensive things they could possibly do. That word carries centuries of degradation and violence behind it, and when it is directed at two black actors standing on one of Britain’s most prestigious stages, it lands with the full force of that history.
When Tourette’s activist John Davidson compulsively shouted it at Michael B Jordan and Delroy Lindo, the stars of Sinners, at the BAFTAs last month, it was horrible. As a black Brit, I flinched. Reportedly, Davidson also shouted it at Hannah Beachler, the production designer for Sinners. The fact that Davidson was at the BAFTAs to celebrate a film about his life, I Swear, clearly didn’t soften the initial blow.
I don’t particularly like it when black people use the word, either. I understand the argument about reclamation. I understand the cultural nuance. I will even admit there is something electric about being at a party when only me and the other black guests shout ‘nigga’ during Jay-Z and Kanye West’s earworm, ‘Niggas in Paris’. There is a shared cultural energy there, a sense of ownership over language forged through history, that white people cannot participate in.
But the symptoms of Tourette’s – which in Davidson’s case, include shouting racial slurs – do not recognise context. They do not adjust to the racial politics of the room. What Davidson shouted was a tic. It was not ideological, and it was not an act of hatred.
After the incident, Davidson apologised. I am glad he did, and I appreciate it. At the same time, we do not expect a man with a broken leg to apologise for using crutches, nor do we demand remorse from a deaf person for needing sign language. By that logic, Davidson should not have had to apologise at all.
If anyone has a case to answer here it is the BBC, which failed to cut the slur from the broadcast. Even though the BBC is perfectly capable of editorial intervention when it suits them. Filmmaker Akinola Davies Jr had his ‘Free Palestine’ comments cut from his acceptance speech, supposedly for time reasons. Political speech, when deemed inconvenient, can be surgically excised. Yet when an involuntary slur was shouted, it was left in.
The reaction to the slur has also been revealing. This week we had the NAACP Image Awards in the US, broadcast on BET. In a room full of black Hollywood elites, comedian Deon Cole addressed the Tourette’s incident directly. ‘If there are any white men in the room with Tourette’s’, he said, ‘tell them they can read the room… it might not go the way they thinketh’. He then suggested that any Tourette’s sufferers might want to ‘double up’ on medication. The audience laughed.
It may have been a joke, but it reflected a more widespread reaction to Davidson’s outburst, with various tweeters and stars claiming that he secretly meant what he said at the BAFTAs.
Telling someone with Tourette’s to ‘read the room’ assumes control; suggesting they should take extra medication implies blame. Isn’t this what these stars would otherwise call ‘ableism’? Cole’s ‘It might not go the way they thinketh’ line also suggested that if Davidson’s tics had got the better of him at the Image Awards, the consequences would not have been civil.
Imagine if the demographics were reversed: a room full of white Hollywood stars joking that a black disabled man should have medicated himself more carefully before attending, hinting that if he slipped up it might not go well for him. The backlash would be immediate and ferocious. But since the target here is a white disabled man, there’s no outrage. Hollywood millionaires laugh at a disabled working-class Scot and call it social justice.
Comedians are free to joke about what they want, but the double standards here are striking – and all from a Hollywood set that otherwise finds offence everywhere.
There is a hierarchy at work. Some identities are treated as sacrosanct; others are fair game. Disability commands reverence only when it aligns with the approved politics of the moment. If you are white, male and working class, your dignity becomes negotiable.
I do not minimise the weight of the n-word. It wounds. But principles that apply only when politically convenient are not principles at all. Disabled people constitute the largest minority group in the world, and many of us will, through age, illness or accident, eventually join it. To see Hollywood come together to pile in on a disabled man has made me more uneasy than hearing John Davidson involuntarily shout a racist slur at the BAFTAs.
The woke ideology that governs Hollywood operates on a hierarchy of oppression. Some groups are protected absolutely; others are protected selectively. Those who preach diversity and tolerance while excusing discrimination when it suits them are not moral leaders. They are hypocrites, and no better than the bigots they claim to oppose.
Albie Amankona is a broadcaster and financial analyst, best known for his work on Channel 5, BBC, ITV and Times Radio. Follow him on X: @albieamankona.
70% of folks in the UK want schools to teach personal financial education. Meanwhile, less than one in 10 young people passed a financial literacy test. Just 23% across all ages passed the quiz, down from 49% in 2024.
Mutual society Shepherds Friendly carried out the research. It surveyed 2,000 people on their knowledge of ISAs, investing, insurance, income protection and general personal finance.
It found that self confidence in finance topics is low. Investing, ISA saving and pension planning were the top three areas of struggle. It doesn’t help, of course, that long-term wage stagnation has left many people living hand-to-mouth.
Men were more likely to pass than women (29% vs 17%), while only 9% of 18- 24 year olds achieved a passing score. Young people were the least confident overall, with 51% saying they’re struggling to manage their finances. Among those 55 and over, 34% passed.
As financial literacy becomes increasingly crucial in navigating modern life, 70% of respondents said that financial education should be a mandatory part of the school curriculum.
You can read the full research here.
Nottingham had the highest pass overall pass rate at 33%, followed by Bristol (30%) and Brighton (29%). Meanwhile, Leeds had the lowest pass rate at just 15%.
Financial education could boost confidence
Young people face the biggest knowledge and confidence gaps
Confidence is also low across key financial topics. Nearly half (48%) said they don’t feel confident investing, 43% aren’t sure which ISA suits their goals, and 39% lack confidence with pension planning.
However, younger generations were consistently found to have the lowest levels of both understanding and confidence across almost every financial topic. Over half (56%) of 18-24 year olds said they don’t understand pension planning, while 55% said they aren’t confident in choosing the right ISA.
This lack of financial confidence appears to be having wider effects on wellbeing. 51% of 25-34 year olds said they struggle to manage their finances amidst rising costs, and almost half (46%) said financial worries have caused them to lose sleep. A further 55% said money concerns have negatively affected their mental health.
The findings suggest that the absence of financial education earlier in life is leaving younger adults ill-equipped to manage their money and plan for the future. Seven in ten (70%) believe personal finance should be part of the school curriculum. And 72% said lessons should focus on practical skills such as how to save and invest.
A lack of financial understanding may also be preventing people from preparing for emergencies or achieving their long-term goals. Around half (54%) of the respondents said they regularly review their financial progress. But just three in 10 (34%) feel confident they’ll reach their financial goals.
Experts warn that without improved access to financial education and advice, many people risk falling further behind in their financial wellbeing.
Derence Lee, chief finance officer at Shepherds Friendly, said:
Our survey showed that many people feel unsure about different areas of personal finance, from investing to insurance. But understanding key financial topics and the products that can help plan for the future is essential for feeling confident when making decisions about your money.
Improving financial literacy can benefit everyone, whether you’re just starting out or already thinking about retirement.
There’s plenty you can do to build your money skills. Even small steps, like exploring online learning tools, using budgeting apps, or reading trusted resources, can make a real difference. For those who feel unsure where to start, speaking to a qualified financial adviser can help turn confusion into clarity.
By improving financial knowledge, we can all make smarter decisions, feel more confident, and build a stronger financial future for ourselves and our families.
Featured image via the Canary
The US assault on Iran highlights Donald Trump’s commitment to an ‘Israel First‘ foreign policy. However, the sacrifice of US soldiers’ in the process could deliver a fatal blow to Trump’s ‘America First‘ campaign slogan.
Trump’s ‘Israel First’ assault on Iran
The latest illegal, unprovoked coordinated US-Israeli strikes on Iran have killed 555 people so far, including around 180 children. Meanwhile, Iran’s retaliatory counter-strikes against US targets in the Arabian Gulf have so far claimed the lives of four US soldiers. And Iranian foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi has responded by insisting that:
Trump has turned ‘America First’ into ‘Israel First’—which always means ‘America Last’.
Netanyahu and Trump’s war on Iran is wholly unprovoked, illegal, and illegitimate.
Trump has turned ‘America First’ into ‘Israel First’—which always means ‘America Last’.
Our Powerful Armed Forces are prepared for this day and will teach the aggressors the lesson they deserve pic.twitter.com/xhiWydMyXy
— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) February 28, 2026
Araghchi asserted that “a deal was within reach” but:
it was Mr. Trump, yet again, who ultimately ordered bombing of the negotiating table.
He suggested the possibility that Israel had “dragged” the US into war in the “middle of talks,” effectively aborting any chance of a deal. While lamenting the escalation of hostilities, he reminds us of the litany of US failures in Iraq and Afghanistan, saying:
We’ve had two decades to study defeats of the U.S. military to our immediate east and west. We’ve incorporated lessons accordingly.
Supreme National Security Council secretary Ali Larijani, meanwhile, referred to Trump’s “Israel First” actions, insisting the US president had:
turned his self-made ‘America First’ slogan into ‘Israel First’ and sacrificed American soldiers for Israel’s power-hungry ambitions
🚨Just In: Ali Larijani accuses Trump of turning “America First” into “Israel First”
Iran’s top security official Ali Larijani said President Trump “plunged the region into chaos with his delusional fantasies” and now fears more American troop casualties.
“With his delusional… https://t.co/DfC9RkntTH
— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) March 2, 2026
He added that the US was:
once again imposing the cost of assassinating its own character on American soldiers and families.
Iran’s government has said it will continue retaliating until US-Israeli attacks stop.
Putting Israel first is alienating Trump supporters
It’s not just critics of Trump who say he’s putting Israel first by attacking Iran. It’s also former Trump allies on the right, such as retired Army colonel and Trump ally” Douglas MacGregor. Hostilities with Iran, MacGregor said recently, have little to do with the US. Instead, he asserted, it’s “Israel First in action”.
US allies in the Middle East and further afield don’t want regional war or a massive refugee crisis that would come from intensifying conflict with Iran, MacGregor argued. But Israel doesn’t care about that, and the US seems to be prioritising Israel’s interests over the safety of its regional allies.
Trump’s position has long been clear. And at the start of his second term in office, amid Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza, he quickly surrounded himself with pro-Israel billionaires and cheerleaders. However, the increasing shamelessness of his actions is attracting growing opposition from former allies.
As support for Israel plummets in the US in general, prominent right-wing figures like congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, media influencer Tucker Carlson, former Trump aide Steve Bannon, and religious advocate Carrie Prejean Boller have spoken out against the war.
These former Trump backers think Israeli interests are dictating too much of what the US does. And they’re not happy with that.
And just like that we are no longer a nation divided by left and right, we are now a nation divided be those who want to fight wars for Israel and those who just want peace and to be able to afford their bills and health insurance.
— Marjorie Taylor Greene 🇺🇸 (@mtgreenee) March 2, 2026
However, rather than listening, Trump seems to have turned against many of these figures.
US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, meanwhile, caused a ruckus with his own pro-Israel comments. But he is facing a backlash even from people on the right as a result. As Al Jazeera said, he:
appears to put Israel first and America second is no longer an asset, but a liability, for American politicians.
Why? Because Israel’s genocide has changed US public opinion. And ongoing unconditional support for Israeli crimes is an increasingly unpopular stance.
We know Trump doesn’t care about human life or suffering. But if he cares about keeping his support base loyal, he will need to start toning down his ‘Israel first’ extremism.
The more US lives he sacrifices in service of Israeli interests, the harder it will be for even his own supporters to defend his actions.
Featured image via the Canary
The US and Israel have launched an illegal war of aggression against oil-rich Iran. As a result, petro-dictatorships across the Arabian Gulf, including the UAE, which hosts US military facilities, have become a target for Iranian retaliation.
With foreign billionaires fleeing the tax haven of Dubai, the UAE is clearly upset about US-Israeli terror painting a target on its back but unwilling to atone for its imperialist sins.
UAE’s betrayal of Arab states
The UAE is a playground for air warfare training. The tiny emirate hosts the US 380th Air Expeditionary Wing, made up of 10 aircraft squadrons who operate MQ-9 Reapers drones.
Emirati misadventures in Sudan haven’t gone unnoticed either, with it backing genocidal actors and in doing so fuelling Sudan’s genocide – as the UN recently conceded. Since Iran began retaliating, the authoritarian state is apparently trying to distance itself from the US-Israeli operation which has already killed 555 people in Iran, including “about 180 young children,” and emphasising its:
categorical rejection of the use of the territories of regional states as arenas for settling disputes or expanding the scope of the conflict.
UAE Condemns in Strongest Terms Iran’s Blatant Missile Attacks Targeting the Country and Brotherly Nationshttps://t.co/hqiwhZijBM pic.twitter.com/wOS2BKkkro
— MoFA وزارة الخارجية (@mofauae) February 28, 2026
Reading between the lines, the UAE has made its refusal to enter a regionalised conflict clear – selfishly prioritising its economic interests over regional collectivity and solidarity with its Arab neighbours.
This isn’t just a message to Iran, author Shanaka Anslem Perera has insisted. Perera argues that:
The question the UAE is now asking itself, and that every Gulf capital is asking alongside it, is whether the grand bargain still holds. Whether hosting American bases provides net security or net risk. Whether the umbrella protects you or paints a target on you…
Dubai did not build itself into the crossroads of global commerce by taking sides. It built itself by being the place where all sides could do business. That positioning is now incompatible with hosting the infrastructure of someone else’s war.
Iran has insisted that it sees all US assets in Western Asia as legitimate military targets for retaliation, and will:
continue to exercise its right of self-defence decisively and without hesitation until the aggression ceases fully and unequivocally.
The UAE ministry of defence, cited by Gulf news, confirmed the death of three civilians as a result of Iran’s counter strikes which have placed the country on red alert.
It’s about oil, but also Israeli colonialism
Iran holds massive oil reserves and is surrounded by a terrain littered with least 19 US military facilities. As the USA’s Energy Information Administration has explained, Iran has:
some of the world’s largest deposits of proven oil and natural gas reserves, ranking as the world’s third-largest oil and second-largest natural gas reserve holder in 2023
The problem is that Iranian people got sick of foreign meddling as far back as 1979, when they toppled the Western-endorsed Pahlavi dynasty. This resulted in the exit of Western oil companies. And while an ultra-conservative theocratic regime eventually took control in Iran, it wasn’t the kind that would submit to Western interests in the region – especially Israel.
Through either punishments or rewards, the US empire has sought to ensure submission in Western Asia, which is “home to almost half the world’s oil reserves“.
In exchange for Western backing and protection, authoritarian states in the Gulf like the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait have long hosted US military facilities. Iran, meanwhile, has consistently been slapped with crippling sanctions and – amid the ongoing US-Israeli decimation of international law – military attacks too.
Considering the US’s recent illegal actions to control Venezuela’s oil exports, it’s impossible to argue that oil is not a factor in its latest assault on Iran.
Neither controlling Iran’s oil nor overthrowing Iran’s clerical class seem like realistic prospects.
A risky US gamble in service of Israel
For decades, Israel has demonised Iran and yearned to topple its leadership. And with the US enabling Israel’s genocide in Gaza since 2023, it has felt untouchable enough to push for regime change in Iran. But experts agree that the aimless war is unlikely to succeed in that endeavour, and, if it does, it will unleash more chaos and conflict.
If the US and Israel do keep pushing for full regime change, Gulf dictatorships will find themselves in an impossible bind. I
f they continue to stand by idly in the face of US-Israeli terror, they will:
As Al Jazeera asserts:
The Gulf states did not want this confrontation.
Oman had been mediating talks and Iran had shown it was prepared to make a number of concessions. It is the only Gulf state that doesn’t host US military assets and materiel. But war criminals Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu chose terror instead, in a region considered to be one of the world’s most critical geopolitical energy hub.
Iran may not be able to hit the US itself. But through these counter-strikes, it could shut down US-backed Gulf regimes with “strikes on power grids, water desalination plants and energy infrastructure,” according to Middle East politics professor Monica Marks. With this in mind, these states will do their best to stay out of the conflict as much as possible.
Petro-dictators might not be kicking US bases out of the region any time soon. But US-Israeli recklessness and lawlessness in the region won’t exactly be convincing them that these facilities are worth having, either.
Featured image via the Canary
Americans broadly disapprove of the Trump administration’s military strikes on Iran, according to several polls conducted after the U.S. attacked Tehran early Saturday morning.
Nearly six in 10 Americans said they oppose the decision to take military action against the Middle Eastern country, according to a text poll conducted by SSRS for CNN on Saturday and Sunday. A separate SSRS poll, conducted via text message for The Washington Post, found that more than half of Americans disapprove of the strikes, with 52 percent opposing and 39 percent supporting.
The lack of public support for President Donald Trump’s decision to move forward with airstrikes comes as White House allies worry the move could throw the GOP’s fragile coalition into jeopardy ahead of this fall’s midterm elections. A POLITICO poll conducted in January, when the president was still weighing diplomatic and military options, found that nearly half of Americans opposed the possibility of military action in Iran.
Support for the attacks was largely split along partisan lines, with Democrats far more likely than Republicans to say they opposed Trump’s decision.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted over the weekend, which closed before the U.S. military announced the first American casualties in the war, found that 55 percent of Republicans approved of the strikes — but 42 percent said they would be less likely to support the attacks if they resulted in American troops being harmed or killed.
The Washington Post poll also found that Americans varied widely in their impressions of the Trump administration’s primary goal in the conflict, with some respondents citing regime change and others pointing to oil or regional stability.
The administration has repeatedly said that the strikes were motivated by the goal to destroy Iran’s conventional and nuclear weapons programs — despite Trump’s insistence that the country’s nuclear capabilities were “totally obliterated” in limited airstrikes last year.
A majority of the people surveyed by CNN said they anticipate that a long-term military conflict between the U.S. and Iran is likely, a possibility Democrats are raising alarm about as they push for a vote on congressional war powers resolutions. Trump said Monday his administration had initially “projected four to five weeks” of conflict but had the capability to fight for longer, if necessary.
Support for the war also plummeted when Americans were posed with the possibility of gas prices rising due to the conflict. More than a third of Republicans polled by Reuters said they would be less likely to support continued attacks if oil or gas prices increased in the U.S., and 38 percent of registered voters polled by Morning Consult on Saturday said the U.S. should seek a diplomatic solution if the conflict leads to “significantly higher gas prices.”
That comes after oil prices jumped more than 10 percent Sunday after Tehran launched retaliatory attacks on several oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, which facilitates more than a fifth of the world’s waterborne crude oil transportation.
Hillel Fuld is a notorious and fanatical American Israel propagandist who, in 2025, was denied entry to Australia over his Islamophobic comments. In August 2025, as Israel continued to bomb and murder Palestinians in an already-flattened Gaza, he crowed that this was a case of ‘FAFO’. FAFO stands for ‘fuck around, find out’ – and Fuld was sick of ‘sob stories’ empathising with Israel’s victims:
It’s July 4th in Gaza city.
Spare me the sob stories. It’s called FAFO. pic.twitter.com/7AOjzDVkbf
— Hillel Fuld (@HilzFuld) August 14, 2025
While such sociopathy is certainly abherrant in human terms, it isn’t for Zionism. And it wasn’t some kind of one-off for Fuld, who responded to the occupation military’s ‘regret’ for killing civilians when it bombed a hospital by saying “People die in war. I don’t understand why we have to apologize”:
A statement no other army would make in the middle of an existential war. People die in war. I don’t understand why we have to apologize. But that’s just me. https://t.co/ivU5zgLAVk
— Hillel Fuld (@HilzFuld) August 25, 2025
Israel fanatic celebrates murder of kids
And Fuld is perfectly happy to extend that murderousness to kids – though he appears to have later deleted the second post:
And he’s certainly very, very happy to celebrate the US and Israel’s murder of Iranian leader Ali Khamenei and his family. This was just one of many nauseating posts on that topic:
Trump and Bibi after taking out Khamenei and yes, it’s AI, no need to point that out. 🤣 pic.twitter.com/59nk8l2Lmw
— Hillel Fuld (@HilzFuld) March 2, 2026
So far, so expected.
But Fuld, like is always the victim and he appears to have no more shame than any Zionist. So when Iran retaliated – how dare they – and an Iranian missile hit an Israeli town housing military personnel, Fuld was quick to express his ‘heartbreak’ and say it made him “sick to my stomach”.
The IDF is believed to have shot down the missile and caused it to hit the suburb, but it later denied trying to shoot it down. So either the IDF caused the strike, or didn’t try to stop it. Neither is a good look, but Fuld ignored both possibilities:
And my heart is officially broken. Again.
Iran fired a ballistic missile into Beit Shemesh (where I live) and murdered an entire family. Two parents. Four children.
I am sick to my stomach.
And yet, somehow there will be lunatics who will justify this atrocity.
— Hillel Fuld (@HilzFuld) March 1, 2026
The post triggered approaching seven thousand replies reminding him that it’s ‘FAFO’ and pointing out his (and all Zionists’) hypocrisy. Here are just a few of them:
People die in war. pic.twitter.com/bykYrabFg4
— Laura Blum (@laura8blum) March 1, 2026
Isn’t this called FAFO? pic.twitter.com/seKp5XfQWg
— Ashok Kumar | 🇵🇸 (@broseph_stalin) March 1, 2026
People die in wars, Iran should not have to apologise pic.twitter.com/0oTX3vDYMU
— TLTM (@TLTM32) March 1, 2026
Maybe this chap can help you make sense of it pic.twitter.com/ygesSUnOET
— Just Dan (@DanVMaul) March 1, 2026
— MisterBobDobolina (@dobolina_mister) March 1, 2026
Just yesterday you killed more than 100 girls in Tehran, now crying for getting a response? pic.twitter.com/CHrGgeOdvy
— Abd (@AwaamiLens) March 2, 2026
Just yesterday you killed more than 100 girls in Tehran, now crying for getting a response? pic.twitter.com/CHrGgeOdvy
— Abd (@AwaamiLens) March 2, 2026
You were loud and proud when you justified the genocide of Palestinians don’t expect anyone to spare you that same energy now. Save the fake sympathy; nobody’s buying it.
— Elham Ishmael ✍︎ (@EIshmael_) March 1, 2026
Shut the fuck up, evil fucking Zionist. You’ve spent the last two or three years cheerleading the murder of children and their parents in Gaza. Go to hell, you evil kkkunt
— Serkan Öztürk | Back From The Dead (@SerkanTheWriter) March 1, 2026
Israel has FA’d. It is now FO. Any civilian death is appalling, but after two-plus years of genocide there isn’t a violin tiny enough to play the lament Israel deserves.
Featured image via the Canary
It took FIFA only hours to condemn Russia in 2022 and just four days to impose a ban on its teams. But it would be foolish, given their rampant hypocrisy, to expect any such thing after the US and Israel’s unprovoked attack on Iran.
Iran reconsider FIFA tournament participation
Iran’s participation in the 2026 World Cup remains uncertain, according to statements by the head of the Iranian Football Federation, Mehdi Taj, who confirmed in statements to Iranian television that the escalating military tensions make participation “unlikely,” and that the final decision rests with the country’s sports leadership.
Taj said:
It’s not possible to say exactly, but there will certainly be a response. This will surely be studied by the country’s high-ranking sports officials and there will be a decision on what’s going to happen.
But what we can say now is that due to this attack and its viciousness, it is far from our expectations that we can look at the World Cup with hope.
In a move that increases the uncertainty, the Iranian Football Federation announced the suspension of all domestic sporting activities until further notice, leaving open the possibility that the national team will not be sent to the World Cup.
The draw placed Iran in Group G, alongside Belgium, Egypt, and New Zealand. The matches will be held in the United States.
FIFA regulations stipulate that if Iran withdraws, the team can be replaced by another, most likely Iraq or the UAE, to ensure the tournament is completed with a balanced schedule.
FIFA’s Stance and official reactions
Despite the unfolding situation, FIFA has not issued any official condemnation of the attacks or taken a clear political stance. The FIFA Council Secretary General stated that the federation is monitoring events “closely,” emphasizing that the primary objective is to organize a safe tournament for all teams.
This delay in condemnation has drawn criticism from sports observers and analysts, particularly in comparison to FIFA’s swift response in 2022 when it imposed sanctions on Russia just days after the invasion of Ukraine.
The Iranian crisis extends beyond the realm of sports, encompassing global political and security implications.
Tensions between Iran, the United States, and Israel are casting a shadow over all aspects of sporting activity. While the United Nations and international organizations have expressed concern about the escalating violence and called for peace, there has been no direct pressure on FIFA to impose sporting sanctions, unlike in previous cases.
No guesses needed as to why.
Featured image via the Canary
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