Links to reports from the Associated Press and Reuters, and to an interview from the Glenn Diesen Show via ScheerPost; other published material is accessible by clicking on their names. (Scroll up or down for IRAN, LEBANON and GAZA, and down for UKRAINE 5-13-26.) — MCM

–   –   –

–   –   –

FROM MAY 12  A new European military bloc for war against Russia. Glenn Diesen of the Glen Diesen Show talks with economist and diplomat Jeffrey Sachs of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University about the history of European-Russian relations — especially since 1990 — and what seems to be in store. Click HERE for video and partial print outline by Joshua Scheer of SheerPost.

.

Links to reports from the Associated Press, the Cradle, and National Public Radio; others are accessible by clicking on its name or initials. (Scroll up or down for IRAN, UKRAINE and GAZA, and down for LEBANON 5-13-26.) — MCM

–   –   –

Israeli officials say Hezbollah drone wounds 3 civilians. From AP. JERUSALEM — A Hezbollah drone exploded inside Israel today, injuring three civilians, two of them severely, according to the Israeli military and hospitals. READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for report from the Cradle.

–   –   –

Israel and Lebanon meet in D.C. again for peace talks. Reported by Jane Arraf | NPR  Representatives for Israel and Lebanon meet in Washington, D.C., for a second time to end the war, as their ceasefire frays. Click HERE to listen and, later, read. 

.

A link to a report from Middle East Monitor; others are accessible by clicking on its name. (Scroll down for today’s IRAN, UKRAINE and LEBANON, and for GAZA 5-13-26.) — MCM

–   –   –

Israel’s Oct. 7 narrative under fresh scrutiny after army accused of deleting footage. From Middle East Monitor. The Israeli army secretly seized and deleted parts of the Oct. 7 security camera footage, according to a report published by Israel Hayom on May 13, in the latest revelation to deepen suspicion over the official Israeli account of the events of that day. READ MORE . . .

.

A link to an interview from Middle East Monitor; other published material is accessible by clicking on its name. (Scroll down for LEBANON, WEST BANK, IRAN, UKRAINE and ALL OF IT, and for GAZA 5-11-26.) — MCM

–   –   –

Israeli genocide and Palestinian statehood. Jasim Al-Azzawi of Al-Jazeera and Middle East Monitor talks with journalist Gideon Levi of Hararetz about aspects of some of Israel’s current wars. Click HERE for video.

.

Links to reports from the Associated Press and the Cradle; click on their names or initials for others. (Scroll up or down for GAZA, WEST  BANK, IRAN, UKRAINE and ALL OF IT, and down for LEBANON 5-11-26.) — MCM

–   –   –

Israeli drone strikes hit highway south of Beirut, killing 8 including 2 children. From AP. BEIRUT — Israeli drones struck three vehicles on the main highway south of Beirut today, killing eight people, including a woman and her two children, the Lebanese Health Ministry said. Click HERE for report including photos. Click HERE for same AP report in Spanish; and HERE for others.

A link to a report from the Associated Press; click HERE for links to others. (Scroll up or down for GAZA, LEBANON, IRAN, UKRAINE and ALL OF IT, and down for WEST BANK 5-6-26.) — MCM

–   –   –

FROM MAY 12  Israeli bulldozers raze Palestinian shops ahead of road project, by Sam Metz and Mahmoud Ilean | AP  AL-EIZARIYA, West Bank — Israeli bulldozers tore down dozens of Palestinian shops on the edge of a town southeast of Jerusalem this week, clearing land ahead of a settlement-linked road project in in the occupied West Bank. Click HERE for report including brief video and photos.

Links to NINE-plus reports (at least 12): from the Associated Press, National Public Radio, Middle East Monitor, Middle East Eye, the Cradle, and Reuters, and to a commentary from Real Scott Ritter; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials. (Scroll up or down for GAZA, LEBANON, WEST BANK, UKRAINE and ALL OF IT, and down for IRAN 5-12-26.) — MCM

–   –   – 

FROM MAY 12  Saudi Arabia launched covert attacks on Iran as regional war widened, sources say, by Timour Azhari and Parisa Hafezi | Reuters  RIYADH / DUBAI — Saudi Arabia launched numerous, unpublicized strikes on Iran in retaliation for attacks carried out in the kingdom during the Middle East war, two Western officials briefed on the matter and two Iranian officials said. READ MORE . . .

–   –   –

FROM MAY 12  Trump and Hegseth claim ‘control’ over Iran and the Strait of Hormuz as ceasefire talks are stalled, by Jon Gambrell and Melanie Lidman | AP  DUBAI — “We have Iran very much under control,” U.S. President Donald Trump said on his way to China. “We’re either going to make a deal or they’re going to be decimated. One way or the other, we win.” READ MORE . . . Click HERE for same AP report in Spanish; and HERE for others.

–   –   –

FROM MAY 12  Iran, Oman discuss legal rules on shared sovereignty of Hormuz. From the Cradle. Iranian and Omani delegations convened a legal-technical meeting in Muscat to discuss the Strait of Hormuz, arrangements for the secure passage of ships, and the sovereign rights of both nations over the waterway, Fars News Agency reported on Tuesday. READ MORE . . .

–   –   –

FROM MAY 12  UK to send drones, fighter jets, warship for future Hormuz security mission. From Middle East Monitor. The United Kingdom will deploy drones, Typhoon fighter jets and the Royal Navy warship HMS Dragon as part of a future multinational mission to secure the Strait of Hormuz, the UK Defence Ministry said on Tuesday, Anadolu reports. READ MORE . . .

–   –   –

FROM MAY 12  Mushroom clouds, by Scott Ritter | Real Scott Ritter  The former U.S. Marine Corps intelligence officer and former UN weapons inspector talks about Iran’s nuclear ambitions, actual and otherwise. “The U.S.,” he says, “has a tendency to create risks where they don’t exist to justify wars that shouldn’t be fought.” Click HERE for video of monologue.

–   –   – 

FROM MAY 10  U.S. heading for ‘checkmate’ and ‘total defeat’ in Iran war, says neocon Robert Kagan, by Elis Gjevori | Middle East Eye  Robert Kagan, one of the United States’ most prominent neoconservative voices and a long-time pro-Israel hawk, has warned that Washington is heading towards “total defeat” in its war on Iran — a setback he says “can neither be repaired nor ignored.” READ MORE . . .

.

A link to commentary from Edward Slavsquat via Substack; others are accessible by clicking on the author’s name. (Scroll up or down for GAZA, LEBANON, WEST BANK, IRAN and ALL OF IT, and down for UKRAINE 5-11-26.) — MCM

–   –   –

FROM MAY 12  Scott Ritter says Moscow faces strategic defeat in Ukraine, by Edward Slavsquat | Substack  On Feb. 20, 2026, a “Flamingo” long-range cruise missile hit the Votkinsk Machine Building Plant, a defense enterprise located in Russia’s Udmurt Republic — more than 1,300 km from the border with Ukraine. READ MORE . . .

.

A link to an essay from Pelle Neroth Taylor, introduced by Kit Klarenberg of Global Delinquents; others are accessible by clicking on names as highlighted. (Scroll up for GAZA, LEBANON, WEST BANK, IRAN and UKRAINE. Scroll down for ALL OF IT 5-11-26.) — MCM

–   –   –

FROM MAY 8  Finland did not win: The lost realism of the Winter War, by Pelle Taylor | Pelle Neroth Taylor  In the established Western imagination, the Winter War of 1939–1940 occupies an honoured place as a moral fable: the small, plucky democracy resisting a totalitarian colossus, vindicated by skis, sniper rifles, and superior pluck. READ MORE . . .  Click HERE and scroll down for an intro by Kit Klarenberg of Global Delinquents.

.

Links to SEVENTEEN-plus reports, commentaries and analyses (18 or more): from Reuters, Consortium News, the Associated Press, the Cradle, National Public Radio, Middle East Monitor, Middle East Eye, Geopolitical Economy Report, and ScheerPost; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials. (Scroll down for IRAN 5-11-26.) — MCM

–   –   – 

Iran now defines Strait of Hormuz as far larger zone. From Reuters. Iran has expanded its definition of the Strait of ​Hormuz into a “vast operational area” far wider than before the Iran war, ‌according to a senior officer in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy. READ MORE . . .

–   –   – 

Epic desperation, by Patrick Lawrence | Special to Consortium News  History, so often a reliable guide to what is out our windows, is clear. This is a war between a strong nation and another that, even with a vicious client in the region, is merely powerful. In contests between the strong and the powerful, the former is bound to prevail. READ MORE . . .

–   –   –

–   –   –

Washington ‘seriously considering’ renewing war on Iran: report. From the Cradle. U.S. President Donald Trump is “frustrated” with negotiations between Tehran and Washington, and is close to ordering the resumption of full-scale attacks against the Islamic Republic, sources told CNN today. READ MORE . . . 

–   –   –

Washington slaps new sanctions on China-Iran oil network ahead of Trump’s visit to Beijing. From the Cradle. The U.S. Treasury Department imposed new sanctions on 12 individuals and companies on Monday, accusing them of facilitating the movement of Iranian oil to China ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s scheduled summit with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping. READ MORE . . .

–   –   –

UAE secretly bombed Iranian oil refinery in April: report. From the Cradle. The UAE carried out its own military strikes against Iran in direct support of the U.S.-Israeli war against the Islamic Republic, the Wall Street Journal revealed in a report today. READ MORE . . .

–   –   – 

Global oil market in ‘race against time as Asian nations brace for new energy shocks: report. From the Cradle. The oil market is in “a race against time” as oil prices threaten to reach catastrophic levels amid the Iran war if the Strait of Hormuz stays closed into June, Bloomberg reported on 11 May, citing analysts at the US investment bank Morgan Stanley. READ MORE . . .

–   –   – 

Trump goes to China as Iran war smolders. Reported by Tamara Keith | NPR  Initially delayed by the war with Iran, President Trump leaves today for a state visit to China. Click HERE to listen and read; and HERE for links to both Iran war-related reports to from NPR‘s “Morning Edition.”

–   –   –

U.S. consumer prices rise further on oil price surge. From Reuters. WASHINGTON — U.S. consumer prices rose at a brisk clip for a second straight month in April, resulting in the largest annual increase in inflation in nearly three years and further bolstering expectations the Federal Reserve would keep interest rates unchanged for a while. READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for report from NPR.

–   –   –

FROM MAY 11 Trump says Iran ceasefire is on ‘life support’ and proposes gas tax pause as strait stays closed, by Jon Gambrell, Samy Magdy and Seung Min Kim | AP  DUBAI — U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that the Iran ceasefire is on “life support” after he rejected Tehran’s latest proposal, which officials said included some nuclear concessions. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for same AP report in Spanish; and HERE for others. Click HERE for report from Reuters.

–   –   –

FROM MAY 11  Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport becomes ‘U.S. military base,’ official says: report. From Middle East Monitor. Israel’s civil aviation chief warned Monday that Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv has effectively become a “US military base,” disrupting civilian flights and threatening Israeli airlines, according to a report by the daily Yedioth Ahronoth. READ MORE . . .

–   –   –

Iranian military engineers using unexploded U.S. Tomahawks to develop missile technology : report, by Heba Nasser | Middle East Eye  Iranian armed forces are reverse-engineering U.S.-made Tomahawk missiles recovered during the U.S.-Israeli war to replicate their technology, according to Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency. READ MORE . . .

–   –   – 

FROM MAY 11  Gulf turns to Turkey for air defence systems amid Iran threats, by Ragip Soylu | Middle East Eye  ANKARA — As the United States government and defence companies face long backlogs in delivering weapons to their clients, Gulf and Arab states are increasingly signing deals to buy or invest in Turkish arms. READ MORE . . .

–   –   –

FROM MAY 11  Trade and Iran war are on the agenda for Trump’s state visit to China. Reported by Tamara Keith | NPR  President Trump meets with China’s President Xi Jinping in Beijing with a trade truce and the Iran war on the agenda. Click HERE to listen and read.