ADVISORY Watch: The World This Week, at 8 tonight EDT: ‘An uncertain war.’ Joe Lauria of Consortium News talks with former CIA analyst Ray McGovern and former U.S. Marine Corps intelligence officer Scott Ritter as shaky truces are in place in Lebanon and Iran, with belligerents plotting their next moves. Can an uncertain war become a certain peace? Click HERE at 8 p.m. EDT to livestream, or for subsequent video — and before then for print introduction.
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For now, links to ELEVEN-plus reports, analyses, interviews and commentaries (15): from or via the Associated Press, the Cradle, National Public Radio, Anadolu Ajansi, Indian Punchline, Consortium News, and Tricontinental; other published material is accessible by clicking on its name as highlighted. (Scroll down for IRAN 4-17-26 and GAZA and LEBANON.) — MCM
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Iran Revolutionary Guard closes Strait of Hormuz again and fires on ships trying to pass through, by Sam Metz and Samy Magdy | AP CAIRO — The standoff over the Strait of Hormuz quickly escalated again today as Iran reversed its reopening of the crucial waterway and fired on ships attempting to pass, in retaliation after the United States pressed ahead with its blockade choking off Iranian ports. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for same AP report in Spanish. Click HERE and HERE for reports from NPR and the Cradle.
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Iranian official says U.S. ‘maximalist’ demands stall face-to-face talks, by Suzan Fraser | AP ANTALYA, Turkey — Iran is not yet ready to hold a new round of face-to-face talks with U.S. officials, a senior Iranian official said today, citing Washington’s refusal to abandon “maximalist” demands on key issues. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from the Cradle.
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International maritime law expert explains legality of U.S. blockade of Iranian ports. Scott Simon
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Iran announces partial reopening of airspace. From Anadolu. ISTANBUL — Iran announced the partial reopening of its airspace, along with the reopening of several airports, as of 0330GMT today. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for same Anadolu report in French, and HERE for others.
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U.S.-Iran detente is inching closer, by M. K. Bhadrakumar | Indian Punchline U.S. President Donald Trump’s initiative to calm down the Lebanon conflict has brought results as he announced a 10-day truce between Israel and Hezbollah that took effect on Friday. The ceasefire may be extended by mutual agreement if negotiations progress, the State Department reported with the concurrence of Beirut and Tel Aviv. READ MORE . . .
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FROM APRIL 17 India imports millions of barrels of Iranian oil paid for in yuan. From the Cradle. Indian refiners are currently paying for limited Iranian oil shipments in Chinese yuan under a temporary U.S. sanctions waiver that is set to expire within days, according to a Reuters report on Friday. The arrangement covers . . . READ MORE . . .
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FROM APRIL 15 Watch: CN Live! ‘War & deception’ w/ Alastair Crooke. Joe Lauria of Consortium News speaks with former British diplomat and intelligence officer Alastair Crooke about the wars in the Middle East, Iran’s readiness evolved over decades, Israel’s domestic culture and politics evolved over years, Chinese and U.S. economic trajectories as causal factors in U.S. actions, unseen and little-understood supranational actors, likely Israeli Epstein-related blackmail, and how Western governments deceive their publics. Click HERE for interview.
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FROM APRIL 17 The petrodollar & and the war on Iran, by Vijay Prashad | Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research / Consortium News For the past fifty years, the relative stability of the U.S. dollar — above all as embodied in U.S. Treasury securities — has rested in part on what is called the “petrodollar” system. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for same essay in Spanish.
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