NOTE: Nobody reads this blog. But . . .
For now, links to TWENTY-ONE-plus reports, analyses and commentaries (more like 29): from the Cradle, El País, the Jerusalem Post, National Public Radio, Middle East Monitor, the Associated Press, Middle East Eye, the Cradle, Michael-Hudson.com, and CraigMurray.org.uk via Consortium News; other published material is accessible by clicking on their names or initials as highlighted. (Scroll down for IRAN 3-3-26 and today’s VENEZUELA so far.) Entries for UKRAINE, WEST BANK, GAZA, SYRIA, LEBANON, CUBA, MEDIA, 9/11 TRUTH, etc., have been temporarily suspended since Feb. 27.) — MCM
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* Frequent war updates from the Associated Press, Middle East Eye and Middle East Monitor are HERE, HERE and HERE. AP reports in Spanish are HERE. *
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Spanish PM fires back at Trump over threats to cut trade. From the Cradle. Spain will “not be complicit in something that is bad for the world — and that is also contrary to our values and interests – simply out of fear of reprisals from someone,” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said in a speech today. “You can’t respond to one illegality with another because that’s how humanity’s great disasters begin.” READ MORE . . . Click HERE and HERE for report in English and Spanish from El País / El País.
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Hegseth: U.S., Israel about to have complete ‘uncontested’ control of Iranian airspace, by James Genn | The Jerusalem Post U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth asserted that the U.S. and Israel are about to have complete “uncontested” control of Iranian airspace during operations Epic Fury and Roaring Lion, during a statement at the Pentagon today. READ MORE . . .
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Pentagon says it has destroyed Iran’s Navy and killed all its senior leaders. Reported by Greg Myre and A Martínez | NPR The U.S. Department of War says it has destroyed Iran’s Navy, and that all Iran’s senior leaders have been killed. Questions remain about the strategic objectives of the U.S.- and Israeli-led military campaign. Click HERE to listen and, later, read. Click HERE for all 10 Iran war-related reports and interviews on NPR’s “Morning Edition” today.
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Iran reached out to CIA to discuss end of conflict, Trump is saying it’s too late: report. From the Jerusalem Post. Operatives from Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence quietly reached out indirectly to the CIA with an offer to discuss terms for ending the conflict, according to officials briefed on the outreach cited by The New York Times. READ MORE . . .
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NEWER Oman rescues 24 crew members after Strait of Hormuz. From Middle East Monitor. Oman’s navy today rescued the 24-person crew of a cargo ship after it came under attack by two missiles near the Strait of Hormuz, according to the Oman News Agency, Anadolu reports. READ MORE . . .
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Report of a container ship struck off Oman, by Samy Magdy | AP An agency of the U.K. military, United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, says the ship had a fire in its engine room. It says the vessel was heading east through the Strait of Hormuz when it was hit by an unknown projectile. READ MORE . . .
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Sri Lanka recovers bodies after Iranian frigate sinks. From Middle East Eye. Sri Lanka’s navy says it has recovered several bodies after an Iranian naval vessel sank off the country’s southern coast following a reported explosion. Navy spokesperson Buddhika Sampath said search teams located bodies near the area where the ship went down. READ MORE . . .
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Israel orders displacement of all Lebanese citizens below the Litani River. From the Cradle. The Israeli military released a statement today issuing forced displacement orders for the entire area south of the Litani River in southern Lebanon, marking a major escalation of the ground incursion launched a day earlier. READ MORE . . .
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FROM MARCH 3 Trump open to arming Kurdish separatist groups to serve as ‘boots on the round’ in Iran: report. From the Cradle. U.S. President Donald Trump is “open” to arming and backing Kurdish separatist organizations and anti-Iran Kurds based in Iraq, in order to “dislodge the regime,” the Wall Street Journal cited officials as saying today. READ MORE . . .
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FROM MARCH 3 Insurance companies cancel war coverage for Strait of Hormuz as shipping grinds to a halt. From the Cradle. Major insurance companies have canceled their war risk coverage for vessels attempting to transit in the Strait of Hormuz amid Iran’s ongoing military operations in the Persian Gulf, according to notices posted on their websites on Sunday, effective March 5. READ MORE . . .
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FROM MARCH 3 As war widens in Middle East, the U.S. struggles to explain rationale for attacks. Reported by Aya Batrawy and Franco Ordoñez | NPR President Trump took questions publicly on Tuesday for the first time since striking Iran as violence continues to unfold in the region. Click HERE to listen and, later, read. Click HERE for all six Iran war-related reports on Tuesday’s “All Things Considered.”
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The war in AP maps, graphics and images, by Phil Holm, Will Jarrett and Kevin Vineys | AP This collection of visuals from the Associated Press — interactive maps, satellite imagery, sliding before-and-after shots — is designed to offer an alternative, or at least a companion to, the words that describe what’s happening. Click HERE for further intro and to access.
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Brics missing in action as war on permanent member Iran spirals, by Azad Essa | Middle East Eye The way Brics responds to the U.S. and Israel’s war on Iran, a permanent member, will have repercussions for how the group is perceived and understood — not only by its own members, but the whole world going forward, some analysts say. READ MORE . . .
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FROM MARCH 2 Negotiation to detonation, by Michael Hudson | Michael-Hudson.com Last Friday the mediator of the U.S. and Iranian nuclear negotiations in Oman, that country’s foreign minister Badr Albusaidi, pulled the rug out from President Trump’s deceptive pretense for threatening war with Iran. READ MORE . . .
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FROM MARCH 1 The war for greater Israel, by Craig Murray | CraigMurray.org.uk / Consortium News There has scarcely been an attempt to pretend any justification in international law for the attack on Iran and murder of its leader. The response of the UK government takes the Keir Starmer dishonesty meter further off the scale. READ MORE . . .
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TO BE CONTINUED