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Iran weighs tactical shift in Persian Gulf strikes while intensifying attacks on Israel, by Jeremy Scahill | Dropsite News Iran is considering reducing its strikes in most Arab nations that house U.S. military bases while expanding attacks against Israel, a senior Iranian official told Drop Site. READ MORE . . .
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NEWER Oil prices rise and markets dip as Iran digs in with new leader, by Jon Gambrell, Jamey Keaten and Samy Magdy | AP DUBAI — Oil prices surged and stock markets slid today after hard-line Ayatollah was chosen to succeed his late father as Iran’s supreme leader. His appointment, and new strikes on regional oil infrastructure, signaled that Iran was digging in 10 days into the war launched by the United States and Israel. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for same AP report in Spanish, and HERE for others.
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Infrastructure that supplies the world with oil and gas is at risk due to Iran war, by David McHugh | AP FRANKFURT, Germany — The Iran war has put at risk some of the world’s most critical oil and gas infrastructure — the pipelines, refineries, and shipping terminals that keep energy flowing from the countries around the Persian Gulf to the global economy. READ MORE . . .
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Where things stand after another weekend of war, by Cara Anna | AP Iran has named a son of its late supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, as his successor — whom U.S. President Donald Trump had already disdained as “unacceptable.” The Islamic Republic’s war strategy now has a new commander, and The powerful paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has pledged allegiance to the new commander of the Islamic Republic. Oil prices shot above $100 a barrel. Both sides in the war . . . READ MORE . . .
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Israel needs weeks to destroy Iran’s military: defense official. Reported by Daniel Estrin and Steve Inskeep | NPR A senior Israeli defense official says Israel needs three more weeks to accomplish its goal of decimating Iran’s military forces. Click HERE to listen and, later, read, and HERE for all eight Iran war-related reports on today’s “Morning Edition” program.
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FROM MARCH 8 Gen. David Petraeus on Iran’s high-risk strategy, Russian support and U.S. military options. From Fox News. Ret. Gen. David Petraeus discusses Iran’s defense strategy, alleged Russian military cooperation and the U.S. response to escalating tensions on Sunday. Click HERE for video.
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FROM MARCH 8 U.S. orders embassy staff to leave Saudi Arabia due to Iran war. From Middle East Eye. The United States said late Sunday that it was ordering embassy staff to leave Saudi Arabia as Iran strikes the kingdom in retaliation for an attack by Washington and Israel. READ MORE . . .
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FROM MARCH 8 U.S. service member dies from injuries sustained in Iran’s attack on Saudi Arabia. From Middle East Monitor. A U.S. service member has succumbed to injuries sustained during an Iranian attack on U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia on March 1, bringing the death toll of US service members to seven, U.S. Central Command announced Sunday, Anadolu reports. READ MORE . . .
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FROM MARCH 8 Iran names Majtaba Khamenie to succeed his father as supreme leader, by Jon Gambrell, Sam Metz, Kareem Chehayeb and Samy Magdy | AP DUBAI — Mojtaba Khamenei, a son of Iran’s late supreme leader, has been named his successor, Iranian state TV announced early Monday, as the war that began a little over a week ago with his father’s killing took a dramatic turn. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for same AP report in Spanish, and HERE for others. Click HERE for report from NPR.
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FROM MARCH 8 Israel hits critical infrastructure in Iran war. Reported by Daniel Estrin and Adrian Masrael hits oil facilities in Tehran overnight, triggering huge explosions, as Iran targets infrastructure in Bahrain and Kuwait and the Middle East conflict enters day nine. Click HERE soon to listen and, later, read, and HERE for all three of NPR’s “All Things Considered” program on March 8.
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FROM MARCH 8 U.S., Israel planning seizure of Iran’s Kharg oil terminal, threatening to ‘bring down’ world economies: report. From the Cradle. White House officials have discussed seizing Kharg Island, a strategic terminal responsible for roughly 90 percent of Iran’s crude oil exports, as well as sending US special forces to seize Iran’s enriched uranium, Axios reported on Sunday. READ MORE . . .
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Israel’s descent Into madness: MJ Rosenberg on Gideon Levy’s warning. From ScheerPost. In his latest Substack column, longtime analyst and former Hill staffer MJ Rosenberg turns his attention to a chilling new reality inside Israel — one captured with brutal clarity by Gideon Levy in Haaretz. Rosenberg argues that the crisis now gripping Israel is not simply a matter of extremist leadership but of a society that has embraced war, vengeance, and ultranationalism as a collective identity. READ MORE . . .
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Israel’s goal in Iran is not just regime change, but complete collapse, b | Mondoweiss For Israel, a failed Iranian state fractured by civil war is preferable to any other outcome. They don’t want to just change the regime in Iran, they want to collapse the state itself. READ MORE . . .
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FROM MARCH 8 The war on Iran — and Washington’s missing exit strategy, by Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies | ScheerPost The U.S. and Israel are gambling that they can destroy enough of Iran’s missiles before they themselves run out of air defense interceptors needed to stop them. Recent experience suggests this gamble is likely to fail. READ MORE . . .
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FROM MARCH 8 U.S. makes India perform in a circus tent, by M. K. Bhadrakumar | Indian Punchline Exceptionally rude statements and remarks poured out of Trump administration officials demanding that India should fall in line with the American diktat to terminate its oil imports from Russia. The alibi was that India’s oil trade generated additional income for Russia, which helped finance the Kremlin’s ongoing war in Ukraine. READ MORE . . .
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TO BE CONTINUED