NOTE: Nobody reads this blog. But . . .
For now, links to THIRTEEN-plus reports, analyses, commentaries, interviews and summaries (about 20): from the Associated Press, National Public Radio, Middle East Eye, Reuters, the Cradle, Reuters, Indian Punchline, the Floutist, and Consortium News; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials as highlighted. (Scroll down for IRAN 3-26-26.) — MCM
* Among the news organizations with frequent war updates, photos and occasionally maps are Al Jazeera, the Associated Press, Middle East Eye, the Cradle, and Middle East Monitor: HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE. AP and El País reports in Spanish are HERE and HERE. *
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Israel hits Tehran with wave of strikes and warns attacks on Iran ‘will escalate and expand,’ by Jon Gambrell and Davd Rising | AP DUBAI — Israel threatened to “escalate and expand” its attacks on Iran today even as U.S. President Donald Trump claimed that talks on ending the war were going well and gave Tehran more time to open the Strait of Hormuz. Iran, meanwhile, gave no signs of backing down. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for same AP report in Spanish, and HERE for others.
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Trump grants Iran another extension on a deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Reported by Tamara Keith and Steve Inskeep
FROM MARCH 26 Iran plans escalation against UAE over ‘active role’ in U.S.-Israeli war. From the Cradle. The Islamic Republic is preparing a “strong response” against the UAE due to the “active role” it has played in the ongoing US-Israeli war against it; a senior Iranian intelligence official told the Cradle on Thursday. READ MORE . . .
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FROM MARCH 26. Trump extends ‘pause’ on strikes on energy facilities and says talks going ‘very well,’ by Alisha Rahaman Sarkar, Dan Haygarth and Bryony Gooch | Reuters Donald Trump has extended his pause on the threat to strike energy plants in Iran to ten days after claiming talks with Tehran are going “very well.” The U.S.president had given Tehran a deadline of Friday to enter negotiations to end the war or face the “total destruction” of its energy facilities. READ MORE . . . Click HERE and HERE for reports from NPR and Middle East Eye.
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FROM MARCH 25 The U.S. and Iran can’t even agree on whether they’re talking. Mary Louise Kelly of NPR talks with colleagues Tom Bowman and Aya Batrawy about prospects for an off-ramp for the war. President Trump says Iran is “begging” for a deal. Iran says it has no intention of negotiating. Click HERE to listen and, later, read; and HERE for at least three other Iran war-related reports Thursday on NPR’s “All Things Considered” program.
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FROM MARCH 26 Trump hopes to de-escalate and find a way out of the protracted conflict with Iran, by M.K. Bhadrakumar | Indian Punchline The profound significance of the two successive Iranian missile strikes on Dimona nuclear research centre, the most heavily guarded site in the whole of Israel, is sinking in, and it inevitably shifts the trajectory of the U.S. war in Iran. READ MORE . . .
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FROM MARCH 26 Where are Iran’s allies and friends? Where Cuba’s? by Patrick Lawrence | The Floutist Consider these following passages in a text that is now entered officially in the record of United Nations proceedings. I draw from Security Council Resolution 2817, which the 15–member Council passed on March 11. READ MORE . . .
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FROM MARCH 26 Iran war exposes cracks in BRICS wall, by Betwa Sharma | Special to Consortium News NEW DELHI — U.S. economic pressure and geopolitical shocks, especially the attack on Iran, have revealed BRICS less as a unified bloc with a common strategic goal, than a collection of countries with overlapping interests that diverge sharply under pressure. READ MORE . . .
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TO BE CONTNUED