First, links to THREE-plus reports (4): from the Associated Press and National Public Radio, and to an analysis from Indian Punchline; other published material is accessible by clicking on their names or initials. (Scroll down for IRAN 5-3-26.) — MCM

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FROM MAY 3. Trump says the U.S. will ‘guide’ stranded ships from the Strait of Hormuz, starting on Monday, by Adam Schreck, Melanie Lidman and Cara Anna | AP  DUBAI — The United States will launch an effort on Monday to “guide” stranded ships from the Iran-gripped Strait of Hormuz, President Donald Trump said, giving few details about what could be a sweeping attempt to help hundreds of vessels and some 20,000 seafarers. Iran quickly denounced it as a ceasefire violation. READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for same AP report in Spanish; and HERE for others.

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FROM MAY 3  How does diplomacy work during a military deadlock? Reported by Henry Larson, Emily Feng and Tinbete Ermyas | NPR  Suzanne DiMaggio, senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, explains the nuances of diplomatic moves at a time of military stalemate. Click HERE to listen and, later, read; and HERE for links to both Iran war-related reports Sunday on NPR’s “All Things Considered.”

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FROM MAY 3  Gas prices went up more than 30 cents a gallon last week. How high could they go? by Chandelis Duster | NPR  The Strait of Hormuz remains closed amid the Iran war. The cost for regular gas in the United States as of Sunday is an average $4.446 — a week ago it was $4.099, according to AAA’s fuel site. READ MORE . . .

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FROM MAY 3  Ceasefire served U.S.’s purpose in Iran war, by M.K. Bhadrakumar | Indian Punchline  The timing and regional act of the UAE’s exit from OPEC and the wider OPEC+ framework lends itself to various interpretations — a move to buttress its strategic autonomy; a challenge to the authority of Saudi Arabia; a masterly display of business savviness, etc. But in reality . . . READ MORE . . .

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TO BE CONTINUED

Links to FIVE reports and analyses: from or via Middle East Monitor and the Cradle; other published material is accessible by clicking on its name. (Scroll down for LEBANON 5-2-26 and GAZA, ENERGY and IRAN.) — MCM

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New Israeli attacks kill at least 7 in southern Lebanon. From Middle East Monitor  Fresh Israeli attacks today killed at least seven people in southern Lebanon despite an ongoing ceasefire, Lebanese media reported, Anadolu reports. READ MORE . . .

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Israel issues new displacement orders in south Lebanon amid deadly escalation. From the Cradle. The Israeli military escalated further against Lebanon today, issuing new forced displacement orders across south Lebanon while continuing violent and deadly attacks on the country. READ MORE . . .

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Israel approves multi-billion dollar Lockheed, Boeing fighter squadrons to ‘boost air superiority.’ From the Cradle. Israel has approved a plan to purchase two new squadrons of F-35 and F-15IA warplanes from ‌U.S. weapons makers Lockheed Martin and Boeing, in a deal worth tens of billions of dollars, the war ministry announced today. READ MORE . . .

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Iran sets one-month deadline for U.S. to end naval blockade, wars in Iran, Lebanon. From Middle East Monitor. Iran has set a one-month deadline for negotiations on a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, end a U.S. naval blockade and permanently end the war in Iran and Lebanon, according to a report Saturday by Axios, Anadolu reports. READ MORE . . .

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Israel’s inevitable failure to disarm Hezbollah, by Jasim Al-Azzawi | Middle East Monitor  Since the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon to expel the PLO, Hezbollah has been a thorn in Israel’s side. Born of that very invasion, the Party — as it is called — waged a relentless guerrilla war against Israeli troops occupying southern Lebanon, backed, financed, and trained by Iran. READ MORE . . .

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Links to a report from the Cradle and three analyses via Middle East Eye; other published material is accessible by clicking on its name. (Scroll down for GAZA 5-22-26, and up or down for LEBANON, ENERGY and IRAN.) — MCM

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Israel approves multi-billion dollar Lockheed, Boeing fighter squadrons to ‘boost air superiority.’ From the Cradle. Israel has approved a plan to purchase two new squadrons of F-35 and F-15IA warplanes from ‌U.S. weapons makers Lockheed Martin and Boeing, in a deal worth tens of billions of dollars, the war ministry announced today. READ MORE . . .

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Gaza cannot be rebuilt until Palestinians control their own political future, by Alaa Tartir | Middle East Eye  After Israel and its international backers have destroyed the Gaza Strip over the past 30 months, their primary focus has shifted to shaping the intricate features of the next phase —aiming to ensure ultimate dominance and control by imposing macrostructures and conditions. READ MORE . . .

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Israel is making Palestinians disappear in more ways than one, by Belen Fernandez | Middle East Eye  On April 23, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that “dozens of children go missing each week” in the Gaza Strip “against the backdrop of the postwar chaos” — a curious euphemism, no doubt, for the ongoing U.S.-backed genocide in the Palestinian territory. READ MORE. . . .

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FROM MAY 2  Months into the U.S.-Israel ‘ceasefire’, Gaza remains a scene of chaos and terror, by Ghada Ageel | Middle East Eye  Al-Nafaq Street bisects the neighbourhoods of al-Tuffah (Apple) and al-Zeitoun (Olive) in the heart of Gaza City. On April 14 a bomb attack killed five — including three-year-old Yahya al-Malahi, who was leaving a relative’s home with his father, dressed in new clothes for a wedding they were about to attend. READ MORE . . .

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Links to SIX reports and analyses: from Agence France-Presse, the Cradle, ScheerPost, Geopolitical Economy Report, and Propublica; others are accessible by clicking on its name or initials. (Scroll down for ENERGY 5-1-26, and up or down for LEBANON, GAZA and IRAN.) — MCM

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OPEC+ hikes oil production quotas but stays mum on UAE pull-out. From AFP. Saudi Arabia, Russia and five other OPEC+ countries increased their oil production quota today in an expected move aimed at demonstrating continuity at the cartel after the shock withdrawal of the United Arab Emirates. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for a version of same AFP report in French, and HERE for headlines of others.  Click HERE to report from the Cradle.

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FROM MAY 2  Oil, empire, and the price of war, by Joshua Scheer  of ScheerPost and Ben Norton of Geopolitical Economy Report  This war isn’t just being fought with missiles — it’s being waged through oil markets, currencies, and corporate balance sheets. Meanwhile, a global energy system is being weaponized in real time. Click HERE for article by Scheer and video presentation by Norton.

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FROM MAY 1  Exxon, Chevron execs defy Trump’s ‘DRILL, BABY, DRILL’ policy: report. From the Cradle. U.S. oil majors ExxonMobil and Chevron have pushed back against White House pressure to raise production levels despite an ongoing energy crisis triggered by the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, the Financial Times reported on Friday. READ MORE . . .

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FROM MAY 2  Event with links to oil industry teaches judges ‘healthy skepticism’ of climate science, by Abrahm Lustgarten | Propublica / ScheerPost  For many months, conservative lawmakers and political operatives have been targeting the scientists and lawyers behind the Climate Judiciary Project, a program meant to educate the courts about climate science. READ MORE . . .

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Links to ELEVEN reports, analyses and discussions: from Anadolu Ajansi, the Associated Press, Reuters, National Public Radio, Middle East Monitor, the Cradle, ScheerPost, Geopolitical Economy Report, and Consortium News; other published material is accessible by clicking on their names or initials. (Scroll down for IRAN 5-2-26.  Scroll up for LEBANON, GAZA and ENERGY.) — MCM

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Trump must choose ‘impossible’ war or ‘bad deal’ with Iran, says IRGC, by Serdar Dincel | Anadolu  ISTANBUL — In a post today on the U.S. social media company X, the intelligence department of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said Tehran sent the U.S. military a deadline to end its blockade of Iranian ports. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for same Anadolu report in French, and HERE for others.

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NEWER  Cargo ship near Strait of Hormuz says it’s attacked as Iran makes new peace proposal, by Adam Schreck and Melanie Lidman | AP  DUBAI — A cargo ship near the Strait of Hormuz said it was attacked by multiple small craft, according to the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center today, marking at least two dozen attacks in and around the strait since the Iran war began. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for same AP report in Spanish; and HERE for others. Click HERE for report from Reuters.

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Iran submits 14-point response to U.S. proposal to end war. From NPR. Iran has submitted a 14-point response to the U.S. proposal to end the conflict that began with U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran on February 28, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency and the state-owned media organization Press TV. READ MORE . . .

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Iran sets one-month deadline for U.S. to end naval blockade, wars in Iran, Lebanon. From Middle East Monitor. Iran has set a one-month deadline for negotiations on a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, end a U.S. naval blockade and permanently end the war in Iran and Lebanon, according to a report Saturday by Axios, Anadolu reports. READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for report from the Cradle.

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Israel approves multi-billion dollar Lockheed, Boeing fighter squadrons to ‘boost air superiority.’ From the Cradle. Israel has approved a plan to purchase two new squadrons of F-35 and F-15IA warplanes from ‌U.S. weapons makers Lockheed Martin and Boeing, in a deal worth tens of billions of dollars, the war ministry announced today. READ MORE . . .

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FROM MAY 2  Oil, empire, and the price of war, by Joshua Scheer of ScheerPost and Ben Norton of Geopolitical Economy Report  This war isn’t just being fought with missiles — it’s being waged through oil markets, currencies, and corporate balance sheets. Meanwhile, a global energy system is being weaponized in real time. Click HERE for article by Scheer and video presentation by Norton.

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FROM MAY 2  Trump’s trap, Trump’s sanity, by Patrick Lawrence | Special to CN  The Trumpster’s mental instability — indeed, his relationship with reality — is much remarked upon these days. Threatening to destroy one of humanity’s oldest civilizations, blowing his cool so badly his adjutants recently locked him out of the Situation Room so they could coherently discuss . . . the situation . . . READ MORE . . .

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Watch: The World This Week: ‘Economic war or bombs?’ Joe Lauria of Consortium News, former CIA analyst Ray McGovern, and former U.S. Marine Corps intelligence officer Scott Ritter talk about a range of topics related to the Iran war, among them Israeli pressure to restart military acts, the economic war, Russia’s role as a mediator, President Trump’s mental condition, and King Charles III’s speech before  Congress. Click HERE for video. 

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ADVISORY  Watch: The World This Week: ‘Economic war or bombs?’ at 8 p.m. EDT tonight. Joe Lauria of Consortium News, former CIA analyst Ray McGovern, and former U.S. Marine Corps intelligence officer Scott Ritter discuss, among other things: U.S. holds off Israeli pressure to restart shooting war on Iran, turning to economic warfare. How long can that last? U.S. President Trump called Russian President Putin. King Charles III of the United Kingdom mentions war with Russia to Congress. Click HERE at 8 p.m. EDT to livestream, and later for video. 

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For now, links to TEN-plus reports (11): from Middle East Monitor, the Associated Press, the Cradle, Middle East Eye, and National Public Radio; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials. (Scroll down for IRAN 5-1-26 and today’s YEMEN, LEBANON and GAZA so far.) — MCM

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Iran military official warns renewed conflict with U.S. ‘likely’: report. From Middle East Monitor. “A renewed conflict between Iran and the United States is likely, and evidence has also shown that the United States does not adhere to any commitments or agreement,” Mohammad Jafar Asadi, deputy inspector of the military headquarters, said in a statement carried by the semi-official Fars news agency today. READ MORE . . .

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Iranian strikes heavily damage majority of U.S. military bases in West Asia: report. From the Cradle. Iranian missile and drone strikes heavily damaged the majority of U.S. bases in the Persian Gulf region since the U.S.-Israeli war against the country began two months ago, according to an investigation by CNN published today. READ MORE . . .

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U.S. says it redirected 48th vessel from Iranian ports. From Middle East Monitor. The U.S. said today that the 48th vessel attempting to enter or exit Iranian ports had been redirected under its blockade. READ MORE . . .

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FROM MAY 1  Trump says he’s ‘not satisfied’ with Iran’s proposal to end the war, by Toqa Ezzidid, Munir Ahmed and Collin Binkley | AP  ISLAMABAD — U.S. President Donald Trump rejected Iran’s latest proposal to end the war between the countries, saying Friday he still was not satisfied while blaming Iran’s “fractured” leadership. He turned back the latest proposal almost as soon as it was delivered. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for same AP report in Spanish; and HERE for others.

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FROM MAY 1  Iran told Saudi Arabia it planned to ‘crush the UAE’: report. From Middle East Eye. Iran told Saudi Arabia and Oman that it planned to “heavily target” the UAE in response to the U.S.-Israeli war on the Islamic Republic, in an apparent move to drive a wedge between Abu Dhabi and its Gulf neighbours, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal published on Thursday. READ MORE . . .

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A look at the status of Iran’s economy. Reported by Scott Simon | NPR  Iran’s economy was fragile before the war. NPR’s Scott Simon speaks with Djavad Salehi-Isfahani, a professor of economics at Virginia Tech, about the current state of the country’s economy. Click HERE later to listen and, still later, read; and HERE for links to both Iran war-related reports today from NPR‘s “Weekend Edition Saturday.”

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FROM MAY 1  Iran war shakes global economy as energy costs surge and recession fears grow. Reported by Lauren Frayer, Eyder Peralta, Diaa Hadid and Jewel Bright | NPR  From energy markets to everyday prices, the fallout from the Iran war is reshaping the global economy. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

First, links to reports from Middle East Monitor and the Associated Press; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (Click HERE for YEMEN 1-22-26.  Scroll up or down for today’s IRAN, LEBANON and GAZA so far.) — MCM

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Oil tanker hijacked off Yemen coast, taken toward Somalia: coast guard. From Middle East Monitor. An oil tanker was hijacked today off the coast of Yemen in an armed attack by unidentified assailants, with authorities working to track and recover the vessel, the Yemeni coast guard said, Anadolu Agency reports. READ MORE . . .

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FROM APRIL 2  U.S. airstrikes kill at least 6 people in Yemen, Houthi rebels say, by Jon Gambrell | AP  DUBAI — Suspected U.S. airstrikes battered rebel-controlled areas of Yemen into Wednesday, with the Houthis saying the attacks killed at least six people across the country. READ MORE . . .

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First, a link to a report from Middle East Monitor; others are accessible by clicking on its name. (Scroll down for LEBANON 4-30-26, and up or down for IRAN, YEMEN and GAZA.) — MCM

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Lebanon death toll in Israel’s latest offensive reaches 2,659. From Middle East Monitor. The death toll in Israeli attacks on Lebanon since March 2 has reached 2,659, with 8,183 others injured, the Lebanese Health Ministry said today. The ministry said 41 people were killed and 11 others injured in Israeli raids over the past 24 hours. READ MORE . . .

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TO BE CONTINUED

For now, links to reports from the Cradle and Middle East Eye, and to an analysis from Al-Shabaka via Consortium News; others are accessible by clicking on their names. (Scroll down for GAZA 5-1-26, and up or down for IRAN, YEMEN and LEBANON.) — MCM

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FROM MAY 1  Washington to shutter U.S. command center overseeing Gaza ‘ceasefire’: report. From the Cradle. The White House is closing the Civil-Military Coordination Center near Gaza in the “latest blow” to U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan for the devastated strip, Reuters reported on Friday. READ MORE . . .  Click a HERE for report from Middle East Eye.

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FROM APRIL 21  Israel’s Yellow Line annexation in Gaza, by Ahmad Ibsais | Al-Shabaka / Consortium News  The so-called Yellow Line in Gaza functions as a de facto military demarcation associated with ceasefire arrangements and enforced through Israeli operational control. READ MORE . . .

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Links to reports and commentary from Middle East Monitor and Middle East Eye; other published material is accessible by clicking on their names. (Scroll down for GAZA 4-29-26 and IRAN, ENERGY and FORESTS.) — MCM

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Gaza media office reports 377 Israeli ceasefire violations in April. From Middle East Monitor. The Government Media Office in Gaza said Israeli forces committed 377 violations of the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip during April 2026, resulting in 111 people killed and 376 injured. READ MORE . . .

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U.S. criticises allies over failure to stop GAZA aid flotilla, by Shraddha Joshi | Middle East Eye  U.S. Department of State spokesperson Tommy Pigott on Thursday described a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, which was raided and seized by Israeli naval forces this week, as a “baseless, counterproductive stunt.” READ MORE . . .

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