Author’s note: This article was written in mid-April and may not accurately reflect the status of the war when published.
Over the past month, the war with Iran has significantly intensified with at least three thousand people dead. Between Iran and the United States, destruction has grown on both sides, with critical infrastructure destroyed in Iran, and key American military assets shot down by the Iranian airforce. The war between Israel and Hezbollah (an Iranian-backed militant group in southern Lebanon) has drastically expanded with Israel occupying ten percent of the land in Lebanon. Israeli defense minister Israel Katz stated that Israel plans on controlling all Lebanese land south of the Litani River.
On Wednesday, April 8, a ceasefire deal was reached between Iran and the United States under the condition that Iran was to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to all shipping traffic. This was the first glimpse of peace in Iran after over five weeks. Later, on Saturday, April 12, face-to-face peace talks were held in Islamabad, Pakistan with the goal of ending the conflict in Iran. Vice President JD Vance returned to the United States unsuccessful in negotiating a peace deal between the two nations. As a result of a deal not being reached, President Trump initiated a “total and complete” naval blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, which was scaled back to only ships “entering and departing Iranian ports” just a few hours later. The blockade went into effect on Monday, April 13, at 10:00 AM ET.
For Ithacans, it looked like local gas prices were stabilizing briefly when the truce was initiated. However, gas prices have risen, and are expected to continue to rise with the announcement and implementation of Trump’s naval blockade. Analysts expect average prices to rise above 4.30 to 4.40 dollars a gallon by May, with a possibility of 5 dollars in the future. A recent inflation report indicated inflation shot up to 3.3 percent in March alone. This means prices across multiple economic sectors have been rising, not just gas and crude oil. Inflation is expected to rise even higher in April, and Ithacans can expect rising prices in their energy and medical bills, car purchases and regular repairs, and groceries on top of gas.
Ithaca College (IC) and Cornell University have both paused their study abroad programs in many Middle Eastern locations as a result of these conflicts and have opted for remote classes instead. On March 13, an announcement was also posted to IC’s Intercom system informing the campus community of the possibility of flight disruptions and travel safety risks because of the war in Iran.
Ithacans have been protesting the conflict since day one. Most recently, the No Kings protest on March 28 demonstrated widespread resentment to the war, with Indivisible Tompkins reporting three thousand protesters in Ithaca alone.
Be First to Comment