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Democracy Now! 2026-03-13 Friday

Democracy Now! Audio

Fri Mar 13 2026

Summary

Democracy Now! – March 13, 2026: Summary

Overview

This episode of Democracy Now!, hosted by Amy Goodman and Juan González, provides in-depth coverage of the rapidly escalating U.S. and Israeli war on Iran and its consequences across the Middle East. The program highlights regional destabilization, massive displacement, humanitarian crises, and sharply restricted dissent—both on the ground and in the media. Special segments with on-the-ground reporters and experts include updates from Lebanon and Israel, and a substantive critique of U.S. and Israeli military strategy from economist Jeffrey Sachs. The episode maintains Democracy Now!’s critical, urgent, and justice-focused tone.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Escalation of War in the Middle East

Israeli and U.S. Actions: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declares a "new Middle East," emphasizing that Israel is "initiating" and "attacking" with unprecedented force (00:23, 04:14, 26:30).
Wider Regional Impact: The U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran have destabilized the region, caused environmental fallout, disrupted global energy, and led to aggressive Israeli actions across Lebanon (00:48, 01:03).
International Response: The UN Security Council voted to condemn Iran's “military aggression,” but failed to pass a Russian-sponsored resolution demanding a halt to hostilities by all parties, exposing international divisions and U.S. influence (01:24, 41:40).

2. Humanitarian Crisis and Displacement

Scale of Displacement: Over 3.2 million Iranians and 800,000 Lebanese have been displaced in under two weeks; scenes described by Mashid, a Tehran resident who lost everything in airstrikes (02:18, 02:54, 15:44).
Conditions on the Ground: Reporter Leila Yunus (Lebanon) details expanding Israeli evacuation orders, targeting of civilian infrastructure, and lack of safe havens as airstrikes hit even tent encampments for displaced families (17:37–20:47).
Vulnerable Populations: Repeated massacres of both Lebanese civilians and Syrian refugees; Gulf nation civilian deaths mostly affect low-wage immigrant workers (05:43, 07:17).

“This is a very, very small country…there aren’t a lot of places for people to go…the massacres are multiplying.”
—Leila Yunus, Beirut (17:37–20:47)

3. Suppression, Media Bias, and Political Climate in Israel

Lack of Dissent: Haaretz journalist Gideon Levy describes a society and media "gone insane," with 93% of Jewish Israelis supporting the war and nearly total media alignment with government and military (27:33, 29:40).

“93% of the Israelis, Jews, according to a last survey...support this war. Those are North Korean figures.”
—Gideon Levy (29:40)

Palestinian, Arab Israeli Marginalization: Arab voices are ignored in Israeli public discourse, though a minority (23%) of Palestinian citizens of Israel support the war (31:10).
Settler Violence and West Bank: Levy provides firsthand accounts of extrajudicial killings, expansion of settler power, and the transformation of the West Bank into isolated “concentration camps” through roadblocks and expulsions (34:20–38:59).

4. International Law, UN Role, and U.S. Policy (w/ Jeffrey Sachs)

Flagrant Breach of the UN Charter: Economist Jeffrey Sachs condemns the U.S.-Israeli war as “blatant and brazen assault on the UN charter,” calling current U.S. policy fascistic and warning of a path to world war (47:48–51:00).

“We have a war of blatant aggression...in the most blatant frank violation of the UN Charter…This is the most brazen assault on the UN charter and international law since it was founded in 1945.”
—Jeffrey Sachs (47:48–49:30)

Historical Context of U.S.-Iran Relations: Sachs recounts U.S. and Israeli strategies of regime change, economic destruction, and assassination, as well as the U.S. withdrawal from nuclear agreements (51:44–56:00).

"Everything Trump says is a lie…He has ripped up the agreement [nuclear] that already existed…invaded or bombed the country with carpet bombing now.”
—Jeffrey Sachs (54:10–56:00)

Economic Consequences: Sachs argues that rising oil prices & war benefit “a few oil companies” but threaten global economic crisis and will impoverish ordinary people (57:31–57:47).

5. Global Reactions, Protests, and Other Headlines

International Protests and Moves:
- Massive opposition to the war: Over 250 U.S. orgs urge Congress to halt war funding (04:32–05:25).
- Spain and other European countries intensify opposition to Israeli actions and join South Africa’s genocide case at The Hague (08:48–09:12).
- Greek protesters decry hosting U.S. military bases; highlight risks to their society (09:36).
Collateral Violence, Domestic Terrorism: Rising anti-Muslim/anti-Jewish violence in the U.S., including synagogue attacks and an ROTC classroom shooting linked to U.S.-Middle East policy repercussions (11:44–13:17).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

Netanyahu's uncompromising stance (00:23, 04:14, 26:30)
- "We are not waiting, we are initiating, we are attacking. And we are doing so with a force the like of which has not been seen before."
Leila Yunus on Lebanon’s devastation (17:37–20:47)
- “The massacres are multiplying…Even areas not covered by displacement orders are no longer safe.”
Gideon Levy on Israeli consensus (29:40)
- “93% of the Israelis, Jews, support this war. Those are North Korean figures…There is no room for any question marks or doubts about this war.”
Gideon Levy on West Bank oppression (38:59)
- “The whole West Bank looks like a collection of concentration camps. No other way to describe it...the settlers took over tens of thousands of acres all over the West Bank by force.”
Jeffrey Sachs on U.S.-Israeli aggression (47:48–49:30)
- “This is the most blatant and brazen assault on the UN charter and international law since it was founded in 1945…We have two malignant narcissists, Netanyahu and Trump, that are leading us to disaster.”
Jeffrey Sachs on U.S. oil profiteering (57:31–57:47)
- “He may put money into the hands of a few oil companies...but he’s going to impoverish Americans, and he's throwing the entire world into a profound economic crisis.”

Timestamps for Key Segments

US/Israeli assault and regional escalation – 00:23, 04:14, 26:30
Displacement and humanitarian crisis in Iran and Lebanon – 02:18–03:38, 15:44–17:37
Leila Yunus, Beirut (Lebanon war update) – 17:37–24:11
Gideon Levy, Tel Aviv (Israeli media, society, West Bank) – 26:59–41:13
Jeffrey Sachs on UN Charter & U.S. aggression – 46:28–58:11

Conclusion

This episode foregrounds the scope and consequences of the escalating conflict, exposes Western media and policy complicity, and gives airtime to critical, dissenting voices from within the region. Democracy Now! underscores both the immense human cost and the grave risk to international law and order, while bringing specificity and personal testimony to the scale of human suffering and political repression unfolding in real time.

For further details, referenced articles, and full interviews, visit Democracy Now!.

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Transcript

Amy Goodman (0:17)

From Los Angeles and Chicago. This is democracy now.

Benjamin Netanyahu (0:23)

Even now, it can be said with certainty this is no longer the same Iran. This is no longer the same Middle east. And this is also not the same Israel. We are not waiting, we are initiating, we are attacking. And we are doing so with a force the like of which has not been seen before.

Amy Goodman (0:41)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu proclaims a

Juan Gonzalez (0:46)

new Middle east as the Israeli U.

Amy Goodman (0:48)

S War on Iran continues to destabilize the region, disrupt global energy markets, expand

Juan Gonzalez (0:55)

environmental fallout and claim lives.

Amy Goodman (0:57)

Israel's expanded its assault on Lebanon beyond the south, striking central Beirut.

Juan Gonzalez (1:03)

Will go to Beirut for the latest

Amy Goodman (1:05)

and then to Tel Aviv to speak with Haaretz journalist Gidon Levy. He writes, quote, everyone in this country has gone insane. Calling attention to the lack of anti

Juan Gonzalez (1:17)

war voices in Israeli politics and media. Meanwhile, the United Nations Security Councils voted

Amy Goodman (1:24)

to condemn Iran for military aggression while failing to adopt a second resolution calling

Juan Gonzalez (1:28)

for hostilities by all parties to end, which would include the US And Israel. Russia sponsored that resolution.

Jeffrey Sachs (1:39)

They have just rejected the possibility of the Council sending an unequivocal demand to immediately stop hostilities and settle all disputes peacefully. And this shows very clearly yet again that all of the loud statements on the part of those countries about how committed they are to international law, the UN Charter and peace are nothing more than empty rhetoric.

Amy Goodman (2:01)

I want to speak to renowned economist Jeffrey Sachs who says the US And

Juan Gonzalez (2:06)

Israel are murdering the UN Charter. All that and more coming up.

Leila Yunus (17:37)

Yes, Amy, so the people of Lebanon got another displacement order from the Israelis to now evacuate the region between the Litany river and the Zahrani River. So this is practically the vast majority of southern Lebanon is now under displacement orders, that is approximately 15% of the country. I think it's important for listeners who are not familiar with Lebanon to understand this is a very, very small country and one with densely populated urban areas. There aren't a lot of places for people to go. The government has opened a number of shelters across Beirut, but many people there have told me that they don't feel safe. I visited a shelter in Bir Hasan, which is a neighborhood on the outskirts of the southern suburbs of Dahi, which has actually also been targeted during this war, this escalation, I should say. And people there told me that they have been struggling to sleep the nights from the bombing, which is very close by, and that sometimes they'll get the read. The area will get a warning for the nearby neighborhood of Jnah or even Bir Hassan or an area close by, and then they'll pick up their things and they'll get in their car and they'll drive to the waterfront and they'll spend the night sleeping in their car or in a tent on the sand. But Amy, even there is no longer safe. I, two nights ago was at Ramlit Al Bayda, which is a beach on the end of the Beirut promenade, on the southern end of the promenade. I was there, I kind of watched the sunset. I was observing. There were many displays place people. They had pitched tents. The sunset people took out their hookahs, had their iftars. I go home a few hours later, massive massacre right there where I was at. A drone fired several bombs on these displaced people in their tents and on the sidewalk and killing eight, injuring at least 30 others. And again, this is an area in central Beirut, not an area where there is a displacement order. And while Israel has been issued issuing warnings for some buildings like or areas like the neighborhood of Bashura, which is actually very close to where I am right now, there are these other drone attacks where people are being killed, where there are no warnings issued in advance. We saw that happened as well last night in another area of Beirut, in Burjamud, in a JNA as well. So, you know, despite these absolutely sweeping displacement orders, we are seeing people actually being targeted, mostly displaced people outside of those areas. And the massacres are multiplying. A massacre just today in Saida killing eight. We saw Syrian refugees displaced, already killed, seven killed in a massacre in Tamin in the Biqa Valley, a massive massacre in Nabi Sheet also in the Bika Valley when the Israelis tried to do a nighttime incursion by helicopter. So the death toll, as you read in your news updates, it's mounting. We are at almost 700 people in under two weeks. That's approximately 50 people a know. We're reaching numbers that we saw during certain periods of the Gaza genocide here in Lebanon.

Gideon Levy (27:33)

First of all, going to the shelter is always a very strange experience. We kind of got used and we never get used and it kind of became routine and it will never be a normal routine. Day and night we are going quite often now, also at night. I can't foresee how this can last for many weeks or months, God forbid. But you know, in Ukraine they hardly have shelters. So at least in part of Israel, not all over Israel, but at least in part of Israel, we get this privilege of being protected. Now to your other questions. There is a strange phenomena in which this war is so highly popular in Israeli public opinion or in Jewish Israeli public opinion. I never saw such a thing. 93% of the Israelis, Jews, according to a last survey by the Israeli Democracy Institute, 93% of the Israelis support this war. Those are North Korean figures. In all democracy there is such a figure in a survey about any kind of question, 93% support the war. And this comes after two and a half years of another war which didn't conclude with big success. I mean, the war in Gaza, 70,000 victims, 1,000 babies killed. What for? What did Israel gain? Exactly. But let's put it aside. Where are we aiming now? Where does this lead us? Nobody knows. I mean, all kind of slogans and cliches in the air, changing regimes. And meanwhile there are 6 million I just made now they count when you mentioned it, Amy. Six million human beings are now homeless because of Israel. Can you imagine yourself 3.2 in Lebanon, 800,000 in Lebanon, 3.2 in Iran and another 2 millions in Gaza. This should shake us. This should really lead us to some questions. Do we have the right to do all those things? Do we achieve anything? Where are we aiming? What will be the morning after? But unfortunately, Israel discourse and the Israeli media as a whole are not ready even to discuss those questions. When you speak about 93% of the population which supports this war, you have to understand that they are exposed to 100% of agreeing with the war in the media, mainly in the tv. There's no room for any question marks or doubts about this war. And the more it develops, the more suspicious it seems. So here we are. Amy.

Jeffrey Sachs (47:48)

Thank you very much Amy. And what a chilling show to hear. Gideon Levy to hear your report from Beirut. We have a war of blatant aggression that is going to put the entire world into a disaster. This is a war of aggression and a war of choice by Israel and the United States. It is in the most blatant frank violation of the UN Charter and the core of the UN Charter, its purpose, which says that nations shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state. Period. That is article two, paragraph four of the UN Charter Waltz. The US ambassador says oh we're acting under article 51. That is the article on self defense. The United States is not acting in in self defense. Israel is not acting in self defense. These two countries are committing flagrant aggression and they've done it twice now in the context of negotiations which makes it all the more pernicious. Twice the United States claimed it was negotiating with Iran and twice it killed Iranian leaders leaders in the midst of the so called negotiations. This is the most blatant and brazen assault on the UN charter and international law since it was founded in 1945. Even in the Iraq war and other US war and Israeli wars of choice, they faked it. At least here they don't even fake it. They just are blatant aggressors with no justification at all. Our UN Ambassador is Green Beret. They have militarized everything about our society. Amy and Juan, we are in a security state, not a constitutional order. No one asked the American people, people about whether to go to war or not. And our Congress doesn't want to have anything to do with this. So when they're asked, they say, don't ask us. This is we give it to Mr. Trump and to Mr. Netanyahu. So I think this is the most brazen fascism that we have seen since the fascist era. And it is absolutely extraordinary. And it's going to put us, I think, probably into World War Three. And if it doesn't do that, it's going to put us into an economic calamity worldwide.

Jeffrey Sachs (51:44)

Look, every word that Donald Trump says is vile and ignorant. So we can almost say for sure that every word he posts every day is a vile lie. But when it comes to the United States and Iran, yes, this does go back a long way, way. In 1953, when Iran had a fully functioning democracy, the CIA and MI6 overthrew the government of Mosaddegh. Prime Minister Mosaddegh we installed a police state. We installed a police state that lasted from 1953 to 1979. When the Iranian people took back their country, we immediately armed Iraq, as you said, Juan, to go to war with Iran and to kill hundreds of thousands of people. When that war ended in 1988, the United States continued, through the CIA and other means, to do everything possible, possible to destabilize the Iranian government, to crush the economy, to impose US measures, sanctions and so on, to destroy the well being of the population. When the Iranians said, we want to negotiate with you, the United States rejected at almost every state stage, with one exception, which is that in the Obama presidency, the United States, together with Britain, France, China, Russia, Germany, the permanent five members of the UN Security Council, plus Germany, the P5 1, as it was called, negotiated an agreement with Iran that put Iran under strict UN supervision, the International Atomic Energy Agency, to ensure that what Iran said was actually carried out, which is that Iran did not want a nuclear weapon and the IAEA would inspect. And for three years the IAEA inspected hundreds and hundreds of times and Iran was in full compliance alliance. And then what happened? Netanyahu and Trump ripped up the agreement and went back to war A hybrid war with Iran. Everything Trump says, which is despicable because he is absolutely leading us to ruin and leading the world to World War iii. Everything he says is a lie because he says, I'm stopping Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. What he has done is rip up the agreement that already existed to ensure that. Kill, assassinate Iranian leaders, repeatedly kill the Iranian religious leader who for decades had said that a nuclear weapon would be against Islamic law. Kill that person, invade or bomb the country with carpet bombing now. And is presiding over what is now already a regional war with Israel behaving as usual in its completely fascistic way of genocide in Gaza, locking up the west bank, as Gideon Levy just told us, and invaded, invading Lebanon and displacing already a million people, bombing the universities, bombing the hospitals, bombing the schools. This is so out of control, without any logic, any rationality, even, not any humane, moral, legal justification whatsoever. We have not seen anything like this since the fascists of World War II. And it is extraordinarily dangerous. What's happening. It will lead to world war the way we're going, because we have two malignant narcissists, Netanyahu and Trump, that are leading us to disaster. And you listen to Netanyahu's words. He explains, this has nothing to do with the UN Charter. He says, we're not waiting, we are initiating. Well, that Mr. Netanyahu is against the UN Charter. You're not allowed to initiate war under the UN Charter. You've explained it very clearly. You are making a war of aggression. And you, too, Mr. Trump, you are making a war of aggression and you're threatening the entire world. It's really as simple as that.