The third round of nationwide No Kings Protests rocked the US on March 28, 2026, as demonstrators hit the streets of major cities across the country, condemning the joint US-Israeli war against Iran. It may be noted that the No Kings Movement has been going on since June 2025. As per the No Kings website, more than 3,300 events were organised across all 50 states, with large crowds attending the events in New York, Los Angeles and Washington DC. Parallel events took place internationally in Rome, Paris, Berlin and other European cities.

This time, protesters strongly criticised the President for waging a war against the Islamic Republic. A section of American citizens is against the joint military operation being conducted by the US and Israel against the West Asian nation. They argue that the ongoing armed conflict is futile as no country attacks the US. Protesters have called for an immediate halt to the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran, known as Operation Epic Fury, which began on February 28, 2026. They also opposed President Trump’s deportation policies and broader governance approach, with participants carrying anti-Trump signs and shouting pro-democracy slogans.

Leah Greenberg, the Co-founder of the progressive nonprofit Indivisible that started the No Kings Movement in 2025, stressed: “The defining story of this Saturday’s mobilisation is not just how many people are protesting, but where they are protesting.” In a pre-recorded address, actor Robert De Niro told the crowd in Minnesota: “It is your courage and your commitment that have inspired all of us. You have shown the power of nonviolent protest.” He said: “You have shown bravery in the face of armed attack by government thugs, and you stood together and ran them out of town.” Rock icon Bruce Springsteen and folk singer Joan Baez performed at the event.

Speaking at the No Kings rally in St Paul, progressive Senator Bernie Sanders highlighted Minnesota’s place in history books following the resistance to Operation Metro Surge. He honoured Renee Good and Alex Pretti as “two brave Americans who lost their lives in the struggle“. Sanders also railed against wealth inequality and the war in Iran. Reuters reported that the No Kings march was designed as a demonstration against what activists considered a swerve towards authoritarianism under President Donald John Trump.

“Trump is not only governing like an authoritarian, he is advancing a system where war, corporate power and political corruption are deeply intertwined,” stated Joseph Geevarghese, the Executive Director of Our Revolution, a political organisation that grew out of leftwing Senator Sanders’ 2016 Presidential Campaign. James Barnes, a retiree with two sons, said that the war against Iran was idiotic as there appeared to be no plan. “We wiped out 150 children on the first day of the war and blamed the Iranians. And that was a lie,” he added, referring to an attack on Shajerej Tayyebeh Girls School in Minab that claimed the lives of 175 pupils.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the Police arrested more than 70 protesters after shooting tear gas and pepper balls into the crowd in the Southern California city, leaving at least one teen with an eye injury and others with skin burns. The confrontation outside the Federal Metropolitan Detention Centre took place hours after the peaceful No Kings demonstrations. Authorities claimed that the crowd, which gathered at the federal building later in the afternoon, had ignored orders to disperse.

Although the White House dismissed the rallies, describing them as being the product of leftist funding networks that lack true public support; analysts are of the opinion that the US President is under tremendous pressure because of the deep political divide in the country. Nation-wide protests have exposed the real functioning of the Trump Administration… ruling by executive decree, use of the justice system to prosecute opponents, as well as the President’s repeated Climate Change denial and apparent obsession with fossil fuels.

Ceasefire: Iran Imposes New Condition

Iran has imposed a new condition to halt the ongoing armed conflict with Israel and the US, demanding full control over the Strait of Hormuz. On March 29, 2026, a top Iranian official stressed that the global community would have to recognise Iran’s sovereignty over the Strait in order to normalise the situation.

It may be noted that Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei announced that the leverage of blocking the waterway “must continue to be used” in his first purported address as the new Supreme Leader of Iran. Now, Tehran has signalled that the leverage could be formalised. Also, Iranian lawmakers are considering a bill that would require countries using the Strait for shipping fuel and goods to pay tolls, with an adviser to the Supreme Leader mentioning a new regime for the Strait of Hormuz after the war. This new system would allow the Islamic Republic to impose maritime restrictions on adversaries and effectively tie access to one of the world’s most critical shipping lanes to its geopolitical disputes.

Meanwhile, Sultan al-Jaber, the Head of state-run Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., has strongly criticised Tehran for placing such a demand, saying: “Weaponizing the Strait of Hormuz is not an act of aggression against one nation. It is economic terrorism against every consumer, every family that depends on affordable energy and food.” He stressed: “When Iran holds Hormuz hostage, every nation pays the ransom, at the gas pump, at the grocery store and at the pharmacy. No country can be allowed to destabilise the global economy in this way.”

Jasem Mohamed al-Budaiwi, the Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), too, has slammed Iran for using the choke point as a checkpoint. He insisted: “Iran’s collection of fees for passage is an aggression and a violation of the UN agreement on the law of the sea.”

Iran’s approach may violate international law as Article 19 of the UN’s Law of the Sea Treaty clearly states that countries must allow “innocent passage” of peaceful, law-abiding vessels in their territorial waters. Talking to the media, Sal Mercogliano, a maritime historian at Campbell University in North Carolina, has stated: “There is no provision in international law anywhere to set up a toll booth and shake down shipping. This is Iran using the element that they have right now, which is control of the Strait of Hormuz.”

Meanwhile,

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das