April 10, 2026
The past few days have witnessed many ups and downs — first and foremost for the people of Iran and Lebanon but also for peace-loving people everywhere. On April 5 Trump had threatened to bomb Iran “back to the Stone Ages.” On April 7 he delivered an extreme ultimatum on social media: “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again” if the Strait of Hormuz was not reopened to any and all traffic. (pbs.org, April 7)
The movement must continue to demonstrate in defense of Iran, Lebanon and Palestine. New York City, April 8, 2026. Photo: John Catalinotto
Then came the about-face as Iran remained firm in the face of these imperialist threats — as it has since the current U.S.-Israeli assault started on Feb. 28. On the evening of April 7 the U.S. and Iran announced that they had both agreed to a two-week ceasefire proposed by Pakistani officials. Trump said that Iran’s ten-point proposal constituted a “workable basis on which to negotiate.” (aljazeera.com, April 9)
The ten points of Iran’s peace proposal, posted on the Iran in India X account, are:
- Non-aggression
- Continuation of Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz
- Acceptance of [Iran’s nuclear] enrichment
- Lifting all primary sanctions
- Lifting all secondary sanctions
- Termination of all United Nations Security Council resolutions [against Iran]
- Termination of all [International Atomic Energy Agency] Board of Governors resolutions [against Iran]
- Payment of compensation [reparations] to Iran
- Withdrawal of U.S. combat forces from the region
- Cessation of war on all fronts, including against the heroic Islamic Resistance of Lebanon.
Iran’s demands are more than reasonable.
But less than 24 hours later, Israel blatantly violated the ceasefire, intensifying its bombing of Lebanon and killing over 300 civilians and injuring 1,150 on April 8 alone. So Trump and Israel tried to say the ceasefire didn’t apply to Lebanon, where the Israeli offensive has killed 1,800 people and displaced 1.2 million. Despite Israel’s genocidal war in Lebanon, Hezbollah fighters are heroically defending the country’s sovereignty.
Iran disagreed, saying yes the ceasefire must include Lebanon and made sure the bottleneck at the Strait of Hormuz reappeared.
It’s not clear what will happen in the next two weeks or beyond. But one thing should be certain in the minds of solidarity activists: Remain vigilant! Stay in the streets and keep demanding that the U.S. and its proxy, Zionist, apartheid state end their wars in Iran, Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen and all of West Asia.
Many demonstrations called before the ceasefire announcement went ahead as planned. That’s a good thing. With so many uncertainties and so much in flux, the antiwar movement can’t afford to rest.
Imperialist hands off Iran and Lebanon! Stop the U.S.-Israeli wars now!
Defend the Axis of Resistance against imperialism!
