The U.S. Israeli war on Iran, and the Islamic Republic’s response by closing the Strait of Hormuz has sent the world into crisis over the interruption of oil and gas supplies from Gulf states. But beyond the skyrocketing price of fossil fuels, the disruption of shipping traffic through the Strait is having a devastating impact on global food security.
(“India is Going to Face a Food Crisis: Farmers Panic Over Fertilizer Shortages Amid Iran War,” Guardian, April 3, 2026)
Across the U.S. local battles are being fought over how states and cities can compensate for the loss of funds resulting from deep federal cuts to Medicaid and food assistance by President Trump and the Republican Congress, imposed to pay for huge tax cuts to the nation’s wealthiest families and profitable corporations. Although Chicago’s progressive Mayor Brendon Johnson, proposed a payroll tax on large corporations, opposition in the City Council forced the Mayor to adopt regressive taxes and other measures to fill a $1.2 billion dollar deficit last December.
(“More Than a Slogan: Labor’s New Gambit to Tax the Rich,” In These Times, March 31, 2026)
The youth-led Sunrise Movement founded to advocate for the Green New Deal, and address the climate crisis, is seizing on the U.S.–Israel war in Iran to boost challengers to sitting Democrats, joining a coalition of progressive groups arguing that lawmakers who take money from defense contractors and AIPAC, the Israel lobby group, cannot meaningfully oppose the war.
(“Sunrise Movement Pushes Anti-War Candidates, Endorsing Melat Kiros in Denver,” Intercept, March 27, 2026; “Diana DeGette Narrowly Made the Primary Ballot,” Colorado Sun, March 27, 2026)
