After US and Israel commenced unprovoked strikes on Iran — launched in the middle of what Washington described as “positive negotiations” — the an all-out war has exploded. The strikes across Iran targeted many residential neighbourhoods. An all-female school was hit, killing at least 85. A sports centre was struck, killing at least 20 volleyball players.

Iran responded by pounding Israeli positions and targeting US-linked military assets in Qatar, Bahrain, the UAE, Kuwait — and reportedly beyond.

And now, Tehran has moved to close the Strait of Hormuz.

This did not happen during last year’s 12-day war. Despite enduring heavy blows, Iran fell short of targeting the artery through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil flows. This time, it didn’t shy away.

The Strait of Hormuz is the narrow maritime passage through which Gulf oil reaches global markets. It is also one of the most militarised waterways on the planet, with the US Navy stationed primarily in Bahrain and along the western shore. The Iranian navy are stationed on the other side.

US empire runs on oil, and oil runs through Hormuz

Talk of Iran closing the Strait of Hormuz is back.

You’ve heard this before but this time feels different.

Here’s a fast, clear thread:
🔹 What the Strait is
🔹 Why it matters
🔹 Who controls what
🔹 How Iran could disrupt it
🔹 What happens if it spirals

1/24🧵👇. pic.twitter.com/MpVuncnNTG

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— GeoInsider (@InsiderGeo) June 22, 2025

To be clear: Iran is not a romantic anti-colonial liberation movement. It is a state actor pursuing its own survival and leverage. But structurally, this move exposes something the empire prefers to keep invisible — its prosperity always depends on compliance from the Global South.

The last time Hormuz was seriously threatened was during the “Tanker War” phase of the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, when shipping was attacked by both sides but the strait was never fully shut. In 2011–2012, Tehran threatened closure in response to sanctions. In 2019, it seized tankers amid rising tensions after the US withdrew from the nuclear deal. But it never fully closed the strait.

Even during last year’s short but intense 12 day war, Hormuz remained open. This time appears to be different.

The strait is the most significant oil chokepoint in the world, with around a fifth of global oil output passing through it, and a third of global liquified natural gas.

The economic consequences will be felt immediately, and that is the point. Oil prices will spike. Shipping insurance will surge. Inflation globally will rise. Western consumers will feel it almost instantly.

For the West, war has always been a far away, distant ordeal. Now it will be represented at your local supermarket and petrol station.

That is why this move matters for Iran

More than 2 years of genocide, the disruption in the West was only felt through mass protests on the streets and Palestinian flags hung from windows, and so on. But economic disruption is going to be much harder to ignore.

The straight of Hormuz is closed. Oil tankers are clogged up.

The price of everything is going to skyrocket. You can thank trump and Israel. pic.twitter.com/uMiX8r08vf

— Syrian Girl (@Partisangirl) February 28, 2026

Closing Hormuz hurts everyone — including countries in Asia and the Global South that rely on Gulf energy. That’s true. But it is likely going to shorten the lifespan of this war as the cost of war just became much more expensive.

Featured image via Twitter

At the Al-Anan Stadium in Deir al-Balah, the scene of a football player was anything but ordinary. A 43-year-old player ran with steady steps, confidently demanding the ball, his eyes, accustomed to watching the game since childhood, searching for the opponent’s goal. Mustafa Hassouna was returning to his natural place after more than 100 days spent in prison without charge.

His release from prison was not the end of the story, but rather a new beginning. His body emerged burdened, his memory laden with harsh details, but the desire to return to football remained. For him, the game was not a luxury, but an integral part of his identity, one he refused to relinquish.

Football carves space for return

In the Gaza Ramadan Tournament, organized by the Veterans Sports Association and sponsored by the Al-Fares Al-Shahm Association, Hassouna found his first opportunity to regain his rhythm. He donned the “Veterans of Jabalia” jersey and entered the field as if reliving years gone by, not just months of absence.

It was clear that the hiatus had left its mark, but his experience had not failed him. Short passes, intelligent positioning, and a decisive touch inside the penalty area translated into the third goal against Al-Tarabot’s veterans, in a match that ended 3-0. The moment of scoring wasn’t just an addition to the scoreboard, but a profound personal moment; a restoration of confidence and reassurance for a heart that had been captivated by the green pitch.

The organizing committee chose him as the best player of the match, as if granting him symbolic recognition of his return, not only to the game, but also to the daily life that had been forcibly interrupted.

Sports in the Face of Reality

Hassouna’s story unfolds within a sporting landscape facing unprecedented challenges in Gaza. Stadiums have been damaged, facilities have been rendered unusable, and athletes have found themselves caught between arrest and forced absence from training and competition.

In this climate, football becomes a space for social cohesion and a tool for rebuilding what has been broken. The Ramadan tournament was more than just a sporting event; it was an attempt to keep the flame of sports burning in an environment suffocating with pressure.

Questions of Sports Justice

Amidst this reality, the paradox is stark between the global slogans of sports and the reality experienced by players on the ground. International organizations like FIFA raise the banners of fair play and protecting the game’s values, yet the daily experiences of many athletes in conflict zones raise questions about the effectiveness of these principles when it comes to protecting players and their fundamental rights to practice sports safely.

How can sport remain a bridge between peoples when a player is deprived of his right to train and compete due to detention? And how can the spirit of the game be preserved if the stadiums themselves are vulnerable to destruction?

After the Goal

When the match ended, the most important thing wasn’t the result, but the feeling Hassouna carried with him as he left the field. He had returned to what he loves, even if only through a local tournament, and even after a painful absence.

He wasn’t looking for the limelight or continental titles, but something simpler: to prove to himself that imprisonment hadn’t extinguished his passion, and that the football he’d loved since childhood could still give him meaning.

Thus, between the starting whistle and the final whistle, Mustafa Hassouna wrote a new chapter in his story; a chapter that says that stadiums, no matter how tight the circumstances, remain a space wider than restrictions

Featured image via the Canary

Hundreds of anti-war demonstrators gathered outside Parliament on Saturday, voicing opposition to the US and Israel-led unprovoked attacks on Iran.

The protest was organised by the Stop the War on Iran Coalition, supported by the Islamic Human Rights Commission,  Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Stop the War, Campaign Against Sanctions, Military and Imperialist Interventions (CASMII), and others.

Iran face unprovoked attack

Addressing the crowd, Professor Abbas Edalat from the CASMII pointed out that Iran’s historic solidarity with Palestine was one of the main reasons that the West was bombing Iran.

He stated that Iran had been the only country to fulfil its obligations under the Genocide Convention. Iran has refused to abandon Palestinians for 47 years, despite crippling sanctions and threats of regime change.

He also called on anti-war activists not to play into the hands of imperialist warmongers by attacking the Iranian government. He urged unity in defending Iran against the onslaught.

Chris Nineham from Stop the War told the Canary there was a “real sense that Trump and the Americans and the Israelis are taking us to the brink of absolutely disastrous events, and we have to stop them.”

Chris Nineham @ChrisNineham from @STWuk had some stark words for us outside the UK parliament as people came out to protest the US and Israeli assault on Iran. pic.twitter.com/pKBzoyKFh7

— Canary (@TheCanaryUK) February 28, 2026

The UK’s complicity in the colonial war was also condemned. A central message from demonstrators was that the Labour Party was “the war party.”

“Labour Party = War Party” – people have gathered at Parliament Square in the UK to protest the UK’s complicity in the US and Israeli assault on Iran pic.twitter.com/Oq2SA1CIfL

— Canary (@TheCanaryUK) February 28, 2026

Starmer about as useless as a chocolate teapot

UK PM Keir Starmer has done his usual limp dishrag performance in response to the new US andIsrael attacks on Iran. Iran has hit US bases and Israeli facilities in retaliation. He also confirmed that while the UK did not participate in the strikes, British planes were “in the sky today” in the Middle East as part of “coordinated regional defensive operations to protect our people, our interests and our allies.”

Fiona Lali of the Revolutionary Communist Party replied to Starmer’s statement, saying:

Do not bother watching this vile statement. He condemns Iran. Not the US/Israeli strikes that have MURDERED school girls in Minab. This is the servile position of British capitalism, following its US master. He confirms British planes are in the sky. HANDS OFF IRAN!

Do not bother watching this vile statement.

He condemns Iran. Not the US/Israeli strikes that have MURDERED school girls in Minab.

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This is the servile position of British capitalism, following its US master. He confirms British planes are in the sky.

HANDS OFF IRAN! https://t.co/TGMMZC7tZY

— Fiona Lali (@fiona_lali) February 28, 2026

Trump and Netanyahu were using the deliberate tactic of killing children, which the South Africans called “reproductive” genocide, as Global Women’s Strike told the Canary.

The caucasity of Trump and Netanyahu is on full display for all to see – now with Iran. But for the sake of people and planet, we must fight back says Cristel from Global Women’s Strike pic.twitter.com/lN9PrNmy7u

— Canary (@TheCanaryUK) February 28, 2026

Bombing Iran — including children, is in the typical US and Israeli imperial playbook. We’re once again seeing their pattern of colonial conquest play out in real time. Professor Edalat’s words remind us that Iran is being targeted precisely because it has stood by Palestinians for nearly five decades – now is the time to stand in solidarity with Iran.

Featured image via the Canary

A highly anticipated match between Al-Sadaqa and Gaza Sports Club, and the seventh week of the season, which held the hallmarks of an early title race. The match was scheduled for October 10, 2023.

Mohamed Balah was ready. He had two goals to his name, the ambition to score a third, and confident steps toward a season of renewed brilliance.

But the morning of October 7th was anything but ordinary.

Balah told the Canary:

We woke up to the sounds of rockets… and in an instant, there was no more league, no more season, no more plans.

Gaza talent struck by geography

Balah is one of the most prominent stars of Palestinian football in recent years. He shone in the Al-Sadaqa jersey, winning both the league and cup titles in the southern governorates, and finishing as runner-up in the competition’s top scorer race, behind the martyred captain Suleiman Al-Obeid. His early talent led to his call-up to the Olympic team in 2014 and 2015, but the Israeli occupation prevented him from traveling to the northern West Bank, thus thwarting his dream of representing his country.

This wasn’t the first time the borders had been closed to him, but it was the first harsh lesson that Palestinian players compete not only on the field, but also for their right to freedom of movement.

In 2017, Balah had a new window of hope when he joined the Jordanian club Al-Ahli. From there, despite the restrictions, the Palestinian Football Association succeeded in securing his participation with the national team, “Al-Fida’i,” allowing him to play his first international match. It was a small victory against a reality of widespread restrictions.

Professionalism expands… then falters

Balah moved between professional experiences in the Sultanate of Oman with Al-Suwaiq, Saham, and Al-Oruba clubs, where he scored crucial goals and accumulated significant experience. He received an offer to move to the UAE league, but the COVID-19 pandemic closed the stadiums and temporarily halted his dream.

He returned to Gaza in 2021 and signed a short-term contract with Al-Sadaqa, scoring seven goals in nine matches. During that time, he got married and began dreaming of a double stability: family life and football.

But a torn cruciate ligament in early 2022 plunged him into the longest test of his career. A year and a half of treatment and rehabilitation before he returned to the pitch in the 2023-2024 season, scoring two goals… before life itself came to a standstill.

From the pitch to the tents

With the outbreak of war, the player’s journey transformed into a harrowing series of displacements: from Gaza to Khan Younis, then to Al-Maghraqa, then back to the besieged Khan Younis, and finally to dilapidated tents in Rafah.

Balah told me:

I lost my home and everything I owned. We sold the car to buy food. We were living without electricity or water, under relentless bombardment.

He made the decision to travel to Egypt in search of temporary safety, hoping his wife would join him within days. But the crossing was closed, and the Rafah invasion preempted all promises. His wife remained stranded in Gaza, where she gave birth to their first child, whom he has yet to see.

Between a father deprived of the moment his son was born and a player robbed of his season, personal tragedy intertwines with collective tragedy.

A comeback from the ashes

In Egypt, Balah refused to let his setback become the end. He embarked on a rigorous physical program and then joined Al Mokawloon Al Arab. In his first official appearance, he scored two goals and contributed to leading the team to the Egyptian Premier League title after scoring several crucial goals.

This wasn’t just a football comeback; it was a declaration of survival.

Later, he moved to the Qatari league with Al Shahaniya, a new professional chapter that revived his old dream: to wear the national team jersey again, but this time with a heavier heart and deeper experience.

A Player… and a Cause

The story of Mohamed Balah is not just about a striker searching for the net, but the biography of a Palestinian athlete battling siege, restrictions, and war, striving to keep his footing on the grass while the land around him crumbles.

He is a player who lost his home, was forcibly separated from his wife and child, and buried entire seasons of his sporting career, but he never buried his dream.

Between a goal in the opponents’ net and a tear held back of a child he never saw born, Mohamed Balah continues on a path not measured by the number of goals scored, but by his ability to run, despite everything.

Featured image via the Canary

Starmeroid front-bencher Josh Simons has resigned as digital government minister over the scandal of Labour Together spying on journalists. These were journalists who were investigating its shady activities and undeclared funding.

Buh-Bye

From 2022 to 2024, Simons ran the sabotage outfit, Labour Togther. He took over after disgraced Morgan McSweeney moved on to become Keir Starmer’s (now former) chief of staff. However, Simons has not resigned his parliamentary seat.

All too typically, the resignation letter is full of self-exoneration and excuses. Instead of taking responsibility, the letter leans on Simons’s supposed vindication by Sir Laurie Magnus. Magnus is the supposedly ‘independent’ adviser on ministerial standards. This is farcical, when Simons’s own leaked WhatsApp messages revealed that Starmer had told Magnus to conduct only a fast (i.e cursory) investigation.

With a complete failure of self-awareness, Simons frames his departure in terms of the public’s justified low trust in politicians. And, like any good Israel apologist, he had to slip in a spurious reference to so-called ‘Labour antisemitism’ to smear the diligent, professional, independent authors, and journalists who exposed Labour Together.

Excuses, excuses

This exercise in self-justifying bullshit reads:

Dear Prime Minister,

I welcome that Sir Laurie Magnus has cleared me of breaching the Ministerial Code. It was important to 1ne to complete this process to prove that I behaved with integrity and that my public statements have been truthful and honest.

Nonetheless, it is clear that my remaining in office has now become a distraction from this Govermnent’s important work. For that reason, and with sadness and regret, I offer my resignation. It has been an honour to serve this great country.

The work of reporters like Gabriel Pogrund, Hany Yorke, and Henry Dyer sustains our democracy. With rigour and objectivity, they hold those in positions of power to account. In an age when trust in politics is low, anything perceived to be an attack on their integrity and independence deserves thorough investigation.

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As I have said many times, I never sought to smear these newspaper reporters. I have not been able to go into detail on these claims while this investigation has been ongoing.

During my time as Chief Executive of Labour Together, I sought to investigate how confidential material had been disclosed, and if it was the result of publicly confirmed hacks, including that of the Electoral Comission. I talked to my board, hired expert lawyers, and commissioned a firm – APCO – who said they had relevant cyber-security expertise. I also filed an official case with the National Cybersecurity Centre so they could establish the facts, who met with Labour Together and thanked us for filing the case. Given the concerns I had, it would have been irresponsible not to do these things.

I should explain why I was so concerned. I feared the narratives that this confidential material would be used to push ahead of an election campaign. After the EHRC investigation into antisemitism in the Labour Party, you said “those who seek to blame others or downplay what happened in our party are, themselves, part of the problem.”
I was particularly concerned about the upcoming publication of a book by Paul Holden, who had obtained this confidential material. I believe those concerns were justified. The book diminishes the antisemitism that infected Labour under its previous leadership. It refers constantly to the ‘antisemitism crisis’ in quotation marks, implying it was confected. Its front cover featured an endorsement from [Jewish former Mandela minister] Andrew Feinstein, a man who appeared at an event called “How Jeremy Corbyn was destroyed by a smear campaign led by Israel.” The Labour Party must always be vigilant against denialism and as a Jewish Labour MP, I make no apologies for that vigilance.

What happened subsequently was wrong. Until a few weeks ago, I did not know that the journalists Harry Yorke and Henry Dyer had been labelled as ‘persons of interest’. I did not expect APCO’s report to include reprehensible material on [Jewish journalist] Gabriel Pogrund, and nor did I welcome it. I took immediate action and removed it. What happened to Gabriel was a disgrace.

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Some have sought to use this matter to discredit Labour Together. While CEO, I had the privilege of working with talented people who are now ministers, MPs, and advisers. My team was an energetic and curious group, doing om· best to help get a Labour government elected and prepare for government.

I will continue serving the people I am proud to represent in Makerfield, and I will continue to support your Government in pursuit of the radical change our politics and our country needs.

Dirty tricks

Just in case readers are unfamiliar with the case, or are tempted to take anything Simons says at face value, Labour Together were caught paying tens of thousands to a firm run by a fellow Labour right-winger’s wife to spy on independent journalists.

This has been known for months, but the ‘mainstream’ media only started to pay attention when two of MSM-aligned journalists were targeted.

Labour Together is exposed and disgraced. Good riddance to bad rubbish, but Simons’s departure is nowhere near enough.

The country needs them all gone.

Featured image via the Canary

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Pep Guardiola has made it clear that Muslim Manchester City players will have Ramadan incorporated into the team’s schedule. The remarks come as the Premier League allows for temporary pauses in play so Muslim players can open their fast. These adaptations are a far cry from the attitude in French football. As Morocco World News reports:

The French Football Federation (FFF) is under fire after banning Muslim players from fasting during Ramadan while training with the national squad — sparking accusations of discrimination and dividing the team.

Guardiola and Ramadan

Among the team’s players are Egyptian Omar Marmoush, Algerian Rayan Aït-Nouri, French Rayan Cherki, and Uzbek Abdulkadir Khusanov, who are permitted to stop for fluids and food during matches.

In an interview with the BBC, manager Pep Guardiola said:

The players adhere to their religious traditions. We have specialized nutritionists to tailor programs to the team’s needs, and we cannot change match times, but they have been accustomed to this for years; it’s not a new situation for them.

The club has a long history with prominent Muslim players; German midfielder Ilkay Gündoğan led the team to a historic treble in 2013, with Algerian winger Riyad Mahrez also in the squad. Ivorian midfielder Yaya Touré scored the winning goal in the 2011 FA Cup final against Stoke City, ending the club’s 35-year wait for a major trophy. Touré declined the champagne bottle out of respect for his beliefs, prompting the league to later present him with a commemorative trophy instead.

The “Superdry 0.0%” logo on the team’s training kit, printed by Japanese sponsor Asahi, also reflects the club’s commitment to religious compatibility with its products.

Religious Awareness and Support

The “Muslim Chaplains in Sport” team has been working with the club since the 2016-17 season, from the youth teams up to the first team. The organization’s founder, Imam Ismail Bhamaj, says:

We visit clubs, lead prayers, and sit down to discuss specific topics. We are available to players and staff to offer guidance on personal and family matters, while maintaining complete confidentiality.

Imam Bahamaj added, regarding the role of Ramadan workshops:

Some players ask about how to deal with conflicts in the world, such as the war in Gaza, and how to control their emotions and avoid letting social media posts affect their careers.

Beyond the competition, clubs organize public Ramadan events. Manchester United hosted a communal iftar at Old Trafford, attended by fans, and the call to prayer was broadcast inside the stadium. Meanwhile, Manchester City organises religious guidance and awareness workshops on halal food during Ramadan to promote a balance between religious observance and sporting competition.

Featured image via the Canary

On 26 February, the Undercover Policing Inquiry, taking place in London, heard further testimony from Lois Austin. She was speaking about her experience during a mass police kettle in central London in 2001. Among details the inquiry heard were further accounts of the involvement of undercover officers (spycops) in protests.

Austin described how police contained her and 3,000 other May Day anti-capitalist protesters and bystanders for approximately seven hours at Oxford Circus. Police held protesters in tightly cramped conditions with no access to food, water, shelter or toilet facilities.

At the time, Austin was a breastfeeding mother. Despite repeated requests, she said officers refused to allow her to leave to collect her baby from a nursery, causing significant distress.

Cop in the kettle

Austin also referred to recent revelations that undercover police officer Carlo Soracchi was present inside the kettle alongside Socialist Party members. She told the Inquiry it is inconceivable that he was not reporting to his handlers throughout the events and would therefore have known she had a baby outside the kettle which needed to be collected.

It has further been revealed that on the night before Austin testified in a legal case brought in 2005 by her and around 150 other claimants in relation to the kettle, Soracchi attended a secret meeting with a barrister representing the Metropolitan Police and leading the cross examination of Austin at the High Court. He was identified as John Beggs. It has been reported that during that meeting, discussion included what “winds Lois up”.

The following day, during Austin’s court testimony, hostile questioning raised the fact that her partner was Irish and had been an active socialist in Belfast. It was asserted that there were many Irish people on the May Day demonstration, with the clear implication that Irish participants were likely to be violent or linked to paramilitarism.

Austin was also questioned about individuals among the 150 claimants and witnesses, with the implication that they were secretly Socialist Party members.

Austin rejected these insinuations. In reality, there were not large numbers of Irish people participating nor were there any Socialist Party members disguising their affiliation to act as claimants or witnesses in the original civil cases against the Metropolitan Police.

Of the approximately 150 claimants and witnesses, only four to five were Socialist Party members, including Austin. The suggestion otherwise, she said, was an attempt to undermine the credibility of the protesters’ case.

Both Soracchi and another former undercover officer who gave evidence to the Inquiry on 26 February stated that they witnessed no violence among those kettled.

Undercover provocateurs

Recent revelations have also indicated that, at previous anti-capitalist protests in June 1999 and May Day 2000, instances of criminal damage were instigated by police agent provocateurs. They supplied lorry loads of scaffolding and breeze blocks for the June 1999 protest. A reflective article from after the event thought that these materials had just been “lying around”.

During the May Day 2000 protests an undercover police officer supplied turf and manure from a lorry for ‘guerilla gardening’ action at Parliament Square.

None of this was disclosed in court at the 2005 civil proceedings brought by Lois and other claimants against the Met Police. Indeed, these incidents were cited by the Metropolitan Police as justification for kettling tactics during the 2005 and subsequent civil proceedings brought by Lois and other claimants in the 2000s. Surely the May Day 2001 judgement is now unsafe and that case needs to be re-opened.

The 26 February Undercover Policing Inquiry hearing once again raises serious concerns about the conduct of the Metropolitan Police, the use of undercover officers within political movements, and the broader question of the protection of the democratic right to organise, rally and protest, and the role of the capitalist state.

Featured image via Urban 75