NOTE: Nobody reads this blog. But . . .

Here are links to reports from Middle East Eye and the Associated Press; others are accessible by clicking on its name or initials. (Scroll up or down for today’s WEST BANK, UKRAINE, SYRIA and GAZA, and down for IRAN 8-17–26.) — MCM

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Trump posts map labeling Strait of Hormuz as ‘NEW U.S. territory.’ From Middle East Eye. US President Donald Trump has posted an image on social media labelling the Strait of Hormuz as “NEW U.S. Territory.” Click HERE for report including illustration.

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Trump says U.S. has no planned talks with Iran and other news from the Middle East. From AP. A projectile hit a ship as it sailed out of the Strait of Hormuz early today, according to the British military’s UK Maritime Trade Operations center, and an Iranian official said the waterway would not be reopened until the United States meets Iran’s conditions. Click HERE for report with a photo and two locator maps. Click HERE for most of same AP report in Spanish, and HERE for others.