Of Note: May 3, 2026

Dear Friends,

I originally started sending these posts out to share with you sources about the war in Iran that you might not otherwise see. Important as seeking out alternative perspectives is—and thank you to those of you who have let me know how much you value—it’s also important not to lose sight of the fact that what the United States and Israel are doing in Iran, Gaza, and Lebanon is part of the same rightwing strategy as the Trump administration’s deportation campaign, the battle over abortion, the evisceration of the Voting Rights Act, attacks on higher education, and more. For that reason, I am going to start including links to articles about those issues as well, not because I think you are unaware of them—if you’re one of my readers, you almost certainly are—but because I think it’s useful (and for me it is motivating) to gather together in one place as many different aspects of the whole picture as possible. I will keep sending these free posts out as long as it makes sense for me to do so. If you’d like to support the work that goes into making them and also have access to the paid tier of It All Connects, please consider becoming a paid subscriber.

Iran

Why Iran’s Oil Infrastructure Is Not Exploding Like Trump Said It Would, by Murtaza Hussain: “But numerous experts inside and outside of Iran strongly disputed the claim that causing a production shutdown on Iranian oil wells would trigger serious harm to the country’s infrastructure, with one expert calling the claim reported in the Times ‘egregiously false.’” I did not know Trump had predicted that Iran’s oil infrastructure would explode and be permanently damaged as a result of the of its blockade of Iranian ports or that the three-day timeline he asserted would pass without incident. This article reveals yet another example of the US underestimating Iran’s strategic acumen.

How Iranian monarchists have targeted anti-war activists, by Amara Sophia Elahi: “‘We’re going to find you, we’re going to rape you, we’re going to kill you.’ This is just one of hundreds of messages that Arjang Alidai, an Iranian-British engineer based in the UK, has received from monarchist compatriots in recent months. Alidai first became a target after he voted in the 2024 Iranian presidential election, which many anti-government Iranians boycotted. They viewed voters as complicit with the Islamic Republic, and many now see Iranians who oppose the US-Israeli war on Iran in the same light.” If you have not paid any attention to Reza Pahlavi, the son of the pre-Islamic-Revolution Shah of Iran, and the movement to restore Iran’s monarchy by bringing him back to power, it’s worth getting to know a little bit about them.

Why the Iranian Regime Owns the Streets, by Mohammad Ali Kadivar: “On the thirtieth night of the war, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Parliament, issued a formal message to the Iranian people placing street presence on precisely the same footing as military performance: ’Just as the soldiers are not abandoning the missiles and the Strait of Hormuz, you should not abandon the streets either.’ Missiles, the Strait, and the street — named together as the three fronts of Iran’s resistance.” This is a fascinating analysis of an overlooked aspect of the Islamic Republic’s organizational acumen: the deliberate cultivation of pro-government rallies and protests as infrastructure.

Music and Survival in Wartime Tehran, by Fateme Karimkhan: “As the devastation from the U.S.-Israeli air campaign became normalized, the political situation inside Iran, as well as in the large Iranian diaspora, only grew more tense and bitter...In such conditions, long dominated by division and suffering, a unifying voice for Iranians emerged from music.” I wish this article included links to some of the music that Kamrikhan talks about. Still, it’s worth reading to get a sense of how Iranians are coping on the ground not only with the devastation that the war has wrought, but with the political tensions that have arisen because of it.

Sentenced to Survive A voice from Tehran, by Mina Khanlarzadeh: “In recent months, state-produced videos, including rap performances presented as signs of resistance, have circulated widely. But those videos should not drown out the voices of young rappers inside Iran who have been punished, silenced, or destroyed.” If you haven’t seen the Iranian-propaganda rap videos, here is an example. Khanlarzadeh’s post includes a video of the rapper Saam, along with the lyrics in Persian and English.

On Anti-Forgiveness, by Naghmeh Sohrabi: “I’ve had so many conversations these past two months with Iranian friends and colleagues in the US about how heartbreaking the absence of an anti-war movement has felt...So many of us have noted, experienced, and even grieved the ways in which colleagues, people we have worked with for years, have not reached out to say “hey, you ok?” either out of discomfort or some other reason I can’t be bothered to fathom.” Sohrabi is painfully honest in this piece about her struggle to come to terms with what she calls the “axis of alienation” on which she says the war has left her.

Gaza & Lebanon

What exactly is white phosphorus and why is it controversial?, by Daniel Tester: “White phosphorus causes serious bodily harm, including suffocation, in closed spaces such as tunnels. Prolonged exposure to the airways can result in nausea, burning, fluid buildup in the lungs and extreme thirst. White phosphorus is also sticky, clinging to skin and clothes, generating temperatures of up to 2,500C and burning through flesh to the bone, causing excruciating injuries. Sometimes wounds will smoke or phosphoric acid will appear. White phosphorus can also poison organs if it gets into the bloodstream, causing death.” Israel has been using white phosphorus weapons in Gaza and Lebanon in violation of international law.

The dark side of Gaza’s new fancy cafes and restaurants,  Eman Abu Zayed: “The war made some people in Gaza rich, especially those who engaged in illicit activities like smuggling, looting, and hoarding during acute shortages. This wealth is now coming out in various forms, including luxury cafes and restaurants.” An on-the-ground opinion piece about a little-reported aspect of Israel’s genocide in Gaza. This article, Rise in caesarean section births in Gaza brings danger and infection risks, offers a look at another little-noted consequence of the war.

London police refuse to investigate British nationals accused of war crimes in Gaza, by MEE staff: “[T]he report detailed the alleged involvement of the 10 British nationals, including dual citizens, in the “targeted killings of civilians and aid workers, indiscriminate attacks on civilian areas, attacks on hospitals and protected sites, and the forced transfer and displacement of civilians.” The police said they would not pursue the matter further because, according to them, there is “no realistic prospect of conviction and that an effective investigation could not be conducted.” A bit of context: An office charged with tracking possible violations of international law by Israel in Lebanon and Gaza has been closed because its funds were cut, while at the same time officials are considering banning upcoming pro-Palestinian marches because two Jewish men were stabbed in northwest London.

Lebanon’s Beekeepers Are at Breaking Point, by Amelia Dhuga: “‘Bees are responsible for most of the pollination of wild plants and fruited trees,’ says Mohamed Ibrahim Moneim, one of ByBee’s founders. This makes them central to sustaining local food systems and biodiversity.” Another little-noted consequence of war: Israel’s bombardment of Lebanon has exasperated a problem rooted first in climate change and other environmental factors.

Israel

The Treason of the Rabbis, by Avrum Berg: “The rabbinate as an institution has become the handmaid of the government. Dependent on its funds, on the machinations of politicians who manipulate its institutions, and on family dynasties that have nothing whatsoever to do with greatness. And the result is not only silence. It is a Torah-sanctioned worship of power and admiration of violence.” This full-throated condemnation of the Israeli rabbinate by a former Speaker of the Knesset is a welcome example of speaking truth to power. Here’s an example of what he’s talking about.

“Kippah and Punishment,” sans Dostoevsky, by Daniel Gordis: “Yes, the story is fairly disgusting (to put matters mildly), but even in the midst of the sadness about what we’re in danger of becoming, there are rays of light that might not reach beyond the Hebrew-speaking world.” The story Gordis is talking about, which was covered here in The Times of Israel, concerns a man who was detained by Israeli police for wearing, as a personal symbol of peace, a yarmulke with both the Israeli and Palestinian flags on it. The police returned the yarmulke to him after they had cut out the portion that contained the Palestinian flag. The ray of hope Gordis is talking about, which you have to scroll down in his post to read, is a social media post by an Israeli attorney who thinks that man with the yarmulke is “living in a fantasy,” but who nonetheless sees the police who arrested him as agents of “suppression.” It’s good to be reminded that Israeli society is not as monolithic as the country’s critics can sometimes make it seem. There’s also more coverage of this incident here.

The United States

Letters From An American, April 29, 2026, by Heather Cox Richardson: “I want to make sure that yesterday’s speeches by President Donald J. Trump and King Charles III of the United Kingdom don’t get lost in the tidal wave of news. They presented a very clear picture of what is at stake in the United States today.” Richardson lays out in very stark terms the difference between the two speeches. Trump “redefined the United States from a nation based on the principles of the Enlightenment, as it has historically been understood, to one based in the white nationalist ideas of blood and soil,” while King Charles focused his speech, broadly speaking, on democratic values and the importance of diversity. This is an analysis worth reading.

Pentagon announces deal with seven AI companies for classified systems, by Joseph Stepansky: “[The announcement] comes amid wider scrutiny over involvement by companies with the US military, which has gained renewed attention amid a public fallout with the AI company Anthropic and questions over how AI has been used in the US-Israeli war with Iran.” As I read this, I could not help but think about Person of Interest, a TV series in which two super-AI’s, one good and one evil, do battle. The evil AI, called Samaritan (note the ironic absence of good as a modifier), is in pursuit of a society in which government surveillance is total and complete. The good AI, called The Machine, wants not just to stop Samaritan, but to make itself invisible so that humans are no longer tempted to use it. We are, of course, nowhere near that kind of scenario, and we may never be, but this article made me queasy nonetheless about how the military use of AI will shape our future.

Abortion meds still available through telehealth in NY after court restricts mifepristone, by Ryan Kost: “A federal appeals court ruling that prohibits mailing the most common abortion pill nationwide will not immediately disrupt medication abortion access in New York City, providers say.” If you haven’t been keeping up with the ongoing battle over abortion, this article points in a direction you should be paying attention to.

Palantir Is Helping Trump’s IRS Conduct “Massive-Scale” Data Mining, by Sam Biddle: “The IRS use of the software, launched under Trump’s first term and expanded under Biden, is now in the hands of an IRS Criminal Investigations office that has drastically scaled back its pursuit of tax cheats and pivoted, under Trump’s direction, toward investigating ‘left-leaning groups,’ the Wall Street Journal reported in October.” I think that sentence speaks for itself. This is an issue well worth following.

“We Knew They Were Paying Informants:” SPLC Donors Reject Trump DOJ Fraud Claims, by Noah Horowitz: “The Trump administration is taking aim at SPLC’s image by accusing the group of lying to its donor base and propping up the very groups it claims to fight in order to stay in business.” If you know anything about the Southern Poverty Law Center, you know this is bullshit, but it is a frightening example of how the Trump administration is using very 1984-ish logic to go after organizations on the left.

Justice Dept. Targets Hundreds of Citizens in New Push for Denaturalization, Ernesto Londoño and Hamed Aleaziz: “The message it sends is that naturalized citizens don’t have the same rights and stability as native-born citizens,” said Amanda Frost, a law professor at the University of Virginia. “The government has used this power in the past to target people it views as political opponents.”

Ghana ‘rejects’ US health deal over data concerns, by Alexis Akwagyiram: “Washington’s pursuit of deals comes after last year’s shuttering of the US Agency for International Development, which had disbursed $40 billion a year across 130 countries.” The Trump administration closed USAID and now wants to use aid as leverage to get personal data on people in Africa, or at least African governments are concerned that the condition set by the US for that aid—that it receive in return information about potential epidemic-causing pathogens—could result in serious privacy violations. Given the concerns that have been raised here about the Trump administration’s data collection and privacy, those African governments are probably right to be concerned.