NOTE: Nobody reads this blog. But . . .

For now, links to at least FOURTEEN reports, analyses and commentaries (more like 24): from Consortium News, Middle East Monitor, Middle East Eye, National Public Radio, the Associated Press, the Cradle; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials as highlighted. (Scroll down for IRAN 3-4-26 and today’s LEBANON and CUBA so far.  Since Feb. 27 I’ve temporarily suspended entries for subjects other than the Iran war except for VENEZUELA and CUBA,.) — 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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FROM MARCH 4  Watch: CN Live! — ‘Mideast on Fire.’ Joe Lauria and Elizabeth Vos of Consortium News talk on CN Live! with jounalist and geopolitical analyst Patrick Henningsen about an array of topics domestic and foreign concerning the war. Henningsen was in Iran last month. The conversation was live-streamed by CN on Wednesday evening beginning around 9 EST. Click HERE for video and comments.

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Iran is pummeled by airstrikes as it launches a new wave of attacks against Israel and U.S. bases, by Jon Gambrell, David Rising, Elena Becatoros and Samy Magdy | AP  DUBAI — Iran today launched a new wave of attacks against Israel, American bases and countries around the region, while warning the U.S. would “bitterly regret” torpedoing an Iranian warship. Tehran’s expanding retaliatory strikes came even as Israel and the U.S. hammered Iran for a sixth day. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for same AP report in Spanish, and HERE for others. Plenty of photos from AP are HERE.

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Australia deploys military to Middle East as Canada does not rule out joining conflict. From Middle East Monitor. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said today he could not rule out his country taking part militarily in the ongoing Middle East conflict. Speaking alongside Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Canberra, he said: “One can never categorically rule out participation.” READ MORE . . .

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BULLETIN  Iran’s military says didn’t launch drones toward Azerbaijan. From Middle East Eye. Iran’s armed forces have rejected claims that they launched drones towards Azerbaijan after two unmanned aircraft reportedly crashed near the airport in Nakhchivan. READ MORE . . .

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U.S-Israeli strikes continue across Iran; Iranian drones hit Azerbaijan. From NPR.  The war with Iran continued to widen today as Azerbaijan, a key U.S. ally, said drones launched from Iran hit an airport in its Nakhchivan region, while U.S. and Israeli forces struck more targets inside Iran. Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry said it demanded an explanation. Click HERE to read.

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U.S.-Israel strikes continue as Iran war enters sixth day. Reported by Ruth Sherlock and Michel Martin | NPR  Middle East war enters 6th day with Israel and the U.S. continuing to hit Iran as the conflict continues to spread across the region. Click HERE to listen and, later, read, and HERE for all nine NPR reports, so far, on today’s  “Morning Edition” program.

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Iran launches new attacks and calls for ‘Trump’s blood’ while Israel attacks Iranian infrastructure, by Jon Gambrell, David Rising, Elena Becatoros and Samy Magdy | AP  DUBAI — Iran launched a new wave of attacks today at Israel, American bases and countries around the region, threatening that the United States would “bitterly regret” torpedoing an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean and calling for “Trump’s blood,” while Israel said it hit multiple targets in Iran. Israel announced . . .  READ MORE . . . Click HERE for same AP report in Spanish, and HERE for others.

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FROM MARCH 4  Iranian civilians are now fleeing the relentless bombing for neighboring Turkey. Reported by Ruth Sherlock | NPR  As the U.S. military broadens its strikes in Iran, traumatized Iranians are reaching the border with Turkey. Click HERE to listen and read, and HERE for links to all five NPR Iran war reports on “All Things Considered” for March 4.

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NATO intercepts alleged Iranian missile over Syria–Turkiye border. From the Cradle. NATO missile defenses intercepted a ballistic missile allegedly fired from Iran toward Turkish airspace, the Turkish Defense Ministry revealed on Wednesday. READ MORE . . .

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The war on Iran has ignited rare civil unrest in Bahrain, by Rayhan Uddin | Middle East Eye  Hours after the U.S. and Israeli assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Iran was confirmed, protests spread across the Gulf island nation of Bahrain, a close western ally. READ MORE . . .

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White House denies reports Trump approved arming Kurdish groups against Iran. From Middle East Monitor. A White House spokesperson has described as “completely false” reports that U.S. President Donald Trump approved a plan to arm Kurdish groups in the region with the aim of triggering an uprising inside Iran. READ MORE . . .

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Iranian warship hit by U.S. torpedo did not carry ammunition, say Indian sources, by Peter McNamara | Middle East Eye  An Iranian warship destroyed in a U.S. torpedo strike on Wednesday was “defenceless” and participating in an international naval exercise as a guest of the Indian navy, according to reports. READ MORE . . .

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FROM MARCH 4  U.S. kills dozens of Iranian sailors returning from India in ‘first torpedo strike since WW2.’ From the Cradle. A U.S. military submarine attacked an Iranian naval vessel in the Indian Ocean on Tuesday, killing at least 80 as the ship was returning from a maritime exercise in India. U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine commented. READ MORE . . .

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A deal was on the table. They bombed it. by Zarqa Parvez | Middle East Monitor   On Feb. 27, Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr Al Busaidi gave a remarkable interview on CBS News’ Face the Nation, describing what diplomats had achieved after three rounds of indirect talks in Geneva as a historic breakthrough: Iran had agreed to zero stockpiling and zero accumulation of enriched nuclear material, with full verification. READ MORE . . .

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TO BE CONTINUED

First, a link to a report from Common Dreams; others are accessible by clicking on its name as highlighted. (Scroll down for LEBANON 2-22-26, and up or down for today’s IRAN and CUBA so far.  Since Feb. 27 I’ve temporarily suspended entries for subjects other than the Iran war except for VENEZUELA and, today, CUBA and LEBANON.) — MCM

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‘Total panic’ across Beirut as Israel issues ‘unprecedented’ mass evacuation warning, by Brad Reed | Common Dreams / ScheerPost  The Israeli military today issued what the Times of Israel described as an “unprecedented” evacuation warning to residents in Beirut’s southern suburbs ahead of planned strikes against Hezbollah. READ MORE . . .

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MAY BE CONTINUED

NOTE: Nobody reads this blog. But . . .

First, a link to a report from CodePink; other reports and news are accessible by clicking on its name as highlighted above and below. (Scroll down for CUBA 2-26-26. Scroll up for today’s IRAN and LEBANON so far.  Since Feb. 27 I’ve temporarily suspended entries on subjects other than the Iran war except for VENEZUELA and, today, CUBA and LEBANON.) — MCM

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Ramadan under the blockade: The women of Havana’s only mosque, by Danaka Katovich | CodePink  International Women’s Day is coming up on Sunday. Around the world, women and families are bearing the brunt of brutal U.S. sanctions and militarism, and Cuba is no different. Since leaving Cuba in 2022 I’ve kept in touch with the women of the Havana mosque through a collection of WhatsApp messages, phone calls, and voice notes. READ MORE . . .

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MAY BE CONTINUED

NOTE: Nobody reads this blog. But . . .

For March 4. 2026, 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 VENEZUELA.) 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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NOTE: Nobody reads this blog. But . . .

For March 4, 2026, one link: to commentary from Peoples Dispatch; other articles are accessible by clicking on its name as highlighted. (Scroll down for VENEZUELA 2-26-26.  Scroll up for IRAN.) — MCM

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FROM MARCH 3  Tactical retreats: Why Venezuela’s revolution still stands, by Manolo De Los Santos | Peoples Dispatch  The early morning hours of Jan. 3, 2026, marked an inflection point in Venezuela and Latin America’s centuries-long struggle for self-determination and independence. READ MORE . . .

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Links to SIXTEEN-plus reports, analyses and commentaries (more than 25 at this point), with frequent updates from the Cradle, the Associated Press, Middle East Eye and Middle East Monitor, and links to reports and articles of opinion from Middle East Eye, National Public Radio, WBUR, the Cradle, Middle East Monitor, Agence France-Presse, Common Dreams, ScheerPost, BreakThrough News, Consortium News, and the Floutist; others or at least headlines are accessible by clicking on their names or initials as highlighted. (Scroll down for IRAN 3-2-26.) Entries for UKRAINE, WEST BANK, GAZA, SYRIA, LEBANON, CUBA, VENEZUELA, MEDIA, 9/11 TRUTH, etc., have been temporarily suspended since Feb. 27.) — MCM

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* 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 Sanchez Sanchez 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 . . .

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Blasts rock Mideast for fourth day as conflict widens. Edited by Bridget Brown, Lorian Belanger and Brian P.D. Hannon | AP  Iran struck the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia’s capital with a drone early today, as it continued to target areas around the region. Across Iran’s capital, Tehran, explosions rang out overnight as the U.S. and Israel pounded Iran with airstrikes. Iran and its allies have hit back against Israel, neighboring Gulf states and targets critical to the world’s oil and natural gas production. Click HERE for AP coverage including photos.

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U.S. embassy in Saudi Arabia hit as Israeli troops enter Lebanon. From Middle East Eye. Saudi authorities said two drones struck the U.S. embassy in Riyadh early today, causing a limited fire and minor damage to the building. READ MORE . . .

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U.S. urges Americans across the Middle East to evacuate as war with Iran intensifies. Reported by Daniel Estrin and A Martínez | NPR  The United States evacuated diplomats across the Middle East and shut down some embassies as the war with Iran intensified today. Click HERE to listen and, later, read, and HERE for seven other reports from today’s “Morning Edition.”

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Oil and gas facilities shut across Gulf as Iran conflict escalates. From Middle East Monitor. Oil and gas facilities across the Gulf have been shut down or suspended following U.S. and Israeli strikes on Tehran, fueling concerns over energy security and pushing global crude prices higher. READ MORE . . .

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Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen on Iran war. Indira Lakshmanan of WBUR speaks with U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., who was at a classified briefing Monday with Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Shaheen is the ranking member of the Foreign Relations Committee and a senior member of the Armed Services Committee. Click HERE to listen to interview, and HERE for WBUR’s “Here & Now” livestream.

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FROM MARCH 2  Trump claims ‘big wave’ coming against Iran, as Pentagon says more troops deployed to defend Israel. From the Cradle. U.S. President Donald Trump told the New York Post on Monday that he is not ruling out putting U.S. boots on the ground in Iran. READ MORE . . .

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FROM MARCH 2 and TODAY  Global energy prices spike after Iran shuts down Strait of Hormuz. From the Cradle. The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has pushed commercial transit through the Strait of Hormuz into “de facto closure,” according to data published by market intelligence firm Kpler on Sunday, with Brent crude prices jumping as much as 13 percent to above $82 per barrel. READ MORE . . .  Click HERE and HERE for report this morning from AFP / AFP in English and French. 

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Netanyahu insists Iran assault is ‘not an endless war’ as U.S. sends more forces to Middle East, by Jake Johnson | Common Dreams  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted in a Fox News appearance late Monday that the intensifying assault on Iran “is not an endless war” . . . READ MORE . . .

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U.S. troops were told Iran war ‘anointed by Jesus’ to bring on Armageddon, watchdog says, by Oscar Rickett | Middle East Eye  U.S. commanders from every arm of the military have told their units that the war on Iran is “anointed by Jesus” and would bring about his return to Earth as part of the Armageddon, resulting in scores of complaints from serving members of the military. READ MORE . . .

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Netanyahu equates Iranian regime to ancient biblical foe. From Middle East Eye. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referenced a Torah command equating the Iranian regime to an ancient biblical foe on Sunday, Anadolu reports. READ MORE . . .

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FROM MARCH 2  The assassination that lit the fuse. Posted by Joshua Scheer | ScheerPost  The second day of the U.S.–Israeli assault on Iran has made one reality impossible to ignore. Click HERE for commentary, and for video of BreakThrough News interview in which Rania Khalek of BT talks with Ali Abunimah of Electronic Intifada.  

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FROM MARCH 2  Attack on Iran also an assault on UN, by Jeffrey D. Sachs and Sybil Fares | Common Dreams / Consortium News  On Feb. 16, one of us (Jeffrey Sachs) sent a letter to the U.N. Security Council warning that the United States was on the verge of tearing up the United Nations Charter. That warning has now come to pass. READ MORE . . .

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FROM FEB. 28  ‘A war in the Zionist cause, nothing more,’ by Patrick Lawrence | The Floutist  This is where Zionism, after all the decades agents of this pernicious ideology have spent infesting the republic’s institutions, social fabric, intellectual life, and public discourse, has led America. READ MORE . . .

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Links to FOURTEEN-plus reports, analyses and commentaries (about 25): from the Associated Press, the Cradle, Middle East Eye, National Public Radio, Legitimate Targets, India Today, and ScheerPost; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials as highlighted. (Scroll down for IRAN 3-1-26.) NOTE: For the time being, visitors may want to scroll down to UKRAINE, WEST BANK, GAZA, SYRIA, LEBANON, MEDIA, 9/11 TRUTH, etc., and click on sources directly for related news and commentary about those subjects.) — MCM

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* Frequent Iran war updates from the Associated Press and Middle East Eye are HERE and HERE. *

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NEWER  Trump says Iran operations likely to last 4 to 5 weeks, but he’s prepared ‘to go far longer.’ Edited by Bridget Brown, Lorian Belanger, Hrvoje Hrandski, Luena Rodríguez-Feo Vileira, Drew Callister and Lisa Marie Pane | AP  As the war in the Middle East spirals further, U.S. President Donald Trump said today that the U.S. has “the capability to go far longer” than its projected four-to-five-week time frame for its military operations against Iran. Click HERE for report including a map.

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Iran security chief says ‘no negotiations with U.S.’ confirms readiness for ‘long war.’ From the Cradle. The Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, said today the Islamic Republic “will not negotiate with the United States” as the regional war rages on for a third straight day. READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for report from Middle East Eye.

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Qatar halts gas production after Iran strikes energy facilities. From Middle East Eye. Gas prices have surged as Qatar halted natural gas production at the world’s largest export facility after it was targeted by Iranian drone strikes. QatarEnergy’s Raf Laffan plant supplies about a fifth of global liquefied natural gas supplies. Click HERE and scroll down for report and frequent war Iran war updates, and HERE for others from Middle East Eye. Click HERE for report from the Cradle.

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Pentagon confirms ‘no intelligence’ Iran planned to attack U.S. forces first: report. From the Cradle. The Pentagon acknowledged there was no intelligence suggesting Iran planned to preemptively attack US forces before President Donald Trump initiated a major bombing campaign against the Islamic Republic, Reuters reported today. READ MORE . . .

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War widens as Israeli and U.S. planes pound Iran and Tehran and its proxies hit back, by Jon Gambrell, Melanie Lidman and Samy Magdy | AP  DUBAI — Iran and allied armed groups fired missiles at Israel, Arab states and U.S. military targets around the region today, while Israel and the United States pounded Iran as the war expanded to several fronts. Kuwait mistakenly shot down three American warplanes over its skies. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for same AP report in Spanish, and HERE for others.   Click HERE for AP’s continuing Iran war updates.

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Trump says more American troops will ‘likely’ die in war against Iran. Reported by Franco Ordoñez and A Martínez | NPR  President Trump in a video address posted online lays out few details about U.S. objectives in its war with Iran, but says more U.S. service members may die before the conflict is over. Click HERE to listen and, later, read. Click HERE for 10 other reports today from “Morning Edition.”

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FROM MARCH 1  U.S.-Israeli war with Iran continues as 3 American troops are killed. Reported by Carrie Kahn and Emily Kwong | NPR  Three U.S. service members have been killed in ongoing operations in the Middle East, as U.S. and Israeli strikes continue to hit Iran and Iran responds with waves of missiles and drones across the region. Click HERE to listen and, later, read, and HERE for other reports from Sunday’s “All Things Considered” program. Click HERE for report from AP,  HERE for AP’s continuing Iran war updates, and HERE for AP in Spanish.

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FROM MARCH 1  Who will lead Iran now and what happens next? From Middle East Eye. The death of Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, raises urgent questions about what happens next to Iran’s political system, which is built around the concept of a Marja al-Taqlid. In Shia Islam, this refers to a senior cleric whom followers turn to for religious guidance and legal rulings. READ MORE . . .

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FROM MARCH 1  Iranians flood streets in mourning as Tehran confirms assassination of supreme leader. From the Cradle. Iranians flooded the streets of Tehran and other cities across the country on Sunday, hours after state television confirmed the assassination of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in the U.S.-Israeli strikes on the Islamic Republic. Video footage showed . . .  READ MORE . . .

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FROM MARCH 1  B2 bombers, F-35 fighters, Nuke carriers: What U.S. deployed in 24 hours in Iran. From India Today.  The United States deployed advanced military assets, including B-2 stealth bombers, fighter jets and naval strike groups, to target Iran’s leadership and critical military infrastructure. (Article features an interactive Q&A format.) READ MORE . . .

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FROM MARCH 1  ‘This is the ultimate escalation.’ Jackson Hinkle of Legitimate Targets speaks with former CIA analyst Ray McGovern about a range of Iran war topics including the closing of the Strait of Hormuz and the extent to which the contents of some of the Epstein files may have been a factor the launching of the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran. Click HERE for video and an intro from ScheerPost.

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FROM MARCH 1  Is Iran satisfying their ego by retaliation? Rajdeep Sardesai of India Today and Foad Izadi, an associate professor at the University of Tehran, talk about the political, cultural, military, diplomatic, and historical forces at play in the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran and India’s pro-Israel position in the conflict. Click HERE for video (scroll down quite a bit) and an intro from ScheerPost.

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For now, links to FIFTEEN-plus reports and analyses (so far about 30): from the Associated Press, the Electronic Intifada, ScheerPost, Middle East Eye, the Cradle, National Public Radio, and Indian Punchline; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials as highlighted. (Scroll down for IRAN 2-28-26, which includes link to Saturday evening discussion from Consortium News.) — MCM

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NEWER  Iran’s ‘potential new leadership’ open to U.S. talks, Trump is ‘eventually’ willing, AP source says. Edited by Bridget Brown, Lorian Belanger, Ricardo Benassi and Hrvoje Hranjski | AP  A senior White House official says that “new potential leadership” in Iran has suggested they are open to talks with the United States after U.S. and Israeli forces launched a major attack on Iran, killing its supreme leader and other high-ranking officials. READ MORE . . .

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An enormous crime against Iran, by Ali Abunimah | The Electronic Intifada / ScheerPost  By early today, Iran announced that the United States and Israel had killed Khamenei as well as several members of his family. They join hundreds of Iranians already slain in the American-Israeli war, including scores of schoolgirls massacred at an elementary school in Minab, southern Iran. READ MORE . . . (This link includes video of a discussion in which Jeremy Scahill and Ryan Grim of Drop Site News are joined by Iranian-American commentator Hooman Majd.)

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Iran kills nine Israelis and three U.S. soldiers as Pezeshkian vows revenge. From Middle East Eye. The U.S. said three of its soldiers had been killed as a result of its invasion of Iran. In Israel, six people have been confirmed dead following an Iranian strike on a city west of Jerusalem, Beit Shemesh. READ MORE . . . (This item links to other reports, including photos, frequently added by Middle East Eye.) Click HERE for report from the Cradle.

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Israeli strikes rock Tehran as Iran’s counterattacks widen after the killing of its supreme leader, by Jon Gambrell,  Melanie Lidman, Josh Boak and Eric Tucker | AP  DUBAI — Israel and Iran traded strikes today as part of a widening war after the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a surprise U.S. and Israeli bombardment a day earlier. Blasts in Tehran sent a huge plume of smoke into the sky in an area where there are government buildings. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for same AP report in Spanish, and HERE for others.   AP’s “live updates” are HERE.

FROM FEB. 28  Iranian state media confirms death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Edited by Curtis Yemen, Frank Griffiths, Luena Rodríguez-Feo Vileira, David Bryan, Brian P.D. Hannon and Lorian Belanger | AP  Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack by Israel and the United States, Iranian state media confirmed early today, throwing the future of the Islamic Republic into doubt and raising the risk of regional instability. Click HERE for report including photos.

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FROM FEB. 28  President Trump says Iran’s Supreme Leader is dead. What happens now? Mary Louise Kelly, Daniel Estrin and Greg Myre of NPR talk about the military strikes the United States and Israel launched against Iran. Click HERE to listen and, later read, and HERE for links to five other NPR reports on Saturday’s “All Things Considered.”

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FROM FEB. 28  U.S. and Israel clash with Iran at emergency Security Council meeting. UN chief condemns attacks, by Edith M. Lederer and Farnoush Amiri | AP  UNITED NATIONS — The United States and Israel clashed with Iran at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Saturday where the UN chief and many countries urged a halt to their attacks and a return to negotiations to prevent the conflict from spreading further. READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for same AP report in Spanish, and HERE for others. Click HERE for video of  the Saturday emergency session of the U.N. Security Council, via Consortium News.

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FROM FEB. 28  Iran launches Operation True Promise 4, targets U.S. bases across Persian Gulf. From the Cradle. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced the start of Operation True Promise 4, targeting Israel and U.S. bases in the Persian Gulf region Friday, following a wave of unprovoked strikes across the Islamic Republic. READ MORE . . .

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FROM FEB. 28  Iran establishes Temporary Leadership Council to govern following supreme leader’s assassination. From the Cradle The unprovoked U.S.-Israeli war against Iran launched on 28 February had “been planned for months, and the ⁠launch date ⁠decided ⁠weeks ago,” even as the US and Iran carried out indirect nuclear negotiations, an Israeli defense official told Reuters. READ MORE . . .

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With Khamenei’s killing, U.S.-Iran relations have crossed a threshold. What next? by Elijah J Magnier | Middle East Eye  The assassination of Ali Hosseini Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, marks a shift from pressure tactics to deep structural destabilisation. READ MORE . . .

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FROM FEB. 28 [Completed before missiles started flying and bombs began dropping on Friday night]  The folly of India’s dalliance with Israel stands exposed, by M.K. Bhadrakumar | Indian Punchline  Any longtime observer of the U.S.-Iran hostility would know that appearances can be deceptive diplomacy. Over time, one gets to read the tea leaves with reasonable success with the help of intuitive cognition that gets sharpened out of experience. READ MORE . . .

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TO BE CONTINUED

NOTE: Scott Ritter joined The World This Week at Consortium News to discuss with CN editor-in chief Joe Lauria military, political and historical aspects of the U.S. and Israel’s war of aggression to overthrow the Iranian government.”  Ritter is a former U.S. Marine Corps intelligence officer, former United Nations Special Commission weapons inspector, author, and commentator. Click HERE for video.

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Links to FORTEEN-plus reports: from the Jerusalem Post, Haaretz, Al Jazeera, the Associated Press, National Public Radio, Common Dreams, Middle East Eye, the Cradle, and Agence France-Presse, and to an article of commentary from Middle East Eye; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials as highlighted. NOTE: The NPR link links to eleven other reports from the service. L’Orient Today / L’Orient-Le Jour is another source of ongoing coverage in English and French. Le Devoir and Le Journal de Montréal carry mostly ongoing coverage from AFP. (Scroll down for IRAN 2-27-26.) — MCM

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NEWER  Ali Khamenei assassinated in Iran, Israeli officials told. From the Jerusalem Post. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was assassinated in an Israeli strike on Tehran, with his body found under the rubble caused by an Israeli airstrike, senior Israeli officials were informed on Saturday evening. READ MORE . . . Click HERE and HERE for report from Haaretz and Al Jazeera.

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Iran launches heavy retaliation after Israel, U.S. attack. From the Jerusalem Post. Sirens sounded across central Israel on Saturday during an Iranian missile attack on the country, launched in response to the joint Israeli, US preemptive strike earlier that morning. READ MORE . . .

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U.S. and Israel launch a major attack on Iran and Trump urges Iranians to ‘take over your government,’ by Jon Gambrell, Konstantin Toropin, Josh Boak and Aamer Madhani | AP  DUBAI — The U.S. and Israel launched a major attack on Iran today, and President Donald Trump called on the Iranian public to “seize control of your destiny” by rising up against the Islamic leadership that has ruled the nation since 1979. Iran retaliated by firing missiles and drones toward Israel and U.S. military bases in the region. Click HERE for report including photos and video, and HERE for text of same AP report in Spanish, and HERE for others. Click HERE for the first of twelve reports from NPR related to the war — links to several other reports are at NPR.

NOTE: AP’s “live updates” are HERE.

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Iran demands emergency United Nations action amid ‘criminal aggression’ by Iran, Israel, by Jake Johnson | Common Dreams / ScheerPost  As U.S. and Israeli bombs fell on Tehran, the Iranian Foreign Ministry on Saturday vowed that the country would defend itself against “criminal aggression” and implored the United Nations Security Council to take emergency action. READ MORE . . .

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At least 85 killed, mostly girls, in strike on elementary school: Iranian judiciary. From Middle East Eye. TEHRAN — At least 85 people, almost all of them young girls, have been killed in an air strike on a primary school in southern Iran, the Iranian judiciary said. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from the Cradle. 

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What to know about the strikes, by Brian Melley | AP   The U.S. and Israel attacked Iran today in what President Donald Trump said was a massive operation to destroy the country’s military capabilities and eliminate the threat of it creating a nuclear weapon. Iran’s Foreign Ministry said it would defend its homeland and its Revolutionary Guard said it launched counterattacks, firing . . . READ MORE . . .

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‘I just hope for a miracle,‘ by correspondent in Tehran and Alex MacDonald | Middle East Eye  TEHRAN / LONDON — As attacks rained down on Tehran and cities across the country, Iran’s National Security Council urged the public to leave the capital and other major targets. Roads have been choked with vehicles trying to make their way out of Tehran, a city of 9.5 million people. READ MORE . . .

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FROM FEB. 27  Dozens of U.S. support aircraft spotted at Saudi Arabia’s Prince Sultan Air Base amid Iran war preparations. From the Cradle. Satellite imagery shows an increase in U.S. military support aircraft, including refueling tankers and surveillance planes, at a Saudi airbase, Reuters reported on Friday, amid Washington’s threats to launch a new war on Iran. READ MORE . . .

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Israel engaged in ‘decisive, unprecedented’ operation in Iran: army chief. From AFP. 

HEADLINE ONLY IN ENGLISH.

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Israel says intercepted multiple ‘hostile aircraft’ from Iran. From AFP.

HEADLINE ONLY. Click HERE for AFP report in French, and HERE for headlines of others.

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Trump-Netanyahu war aims to entrap Iranians into unconditional submission, by Hamid Dabashi | Middle East Eye  Today, as President Donald Trump announced that the United States had launched a major attack on Iran, the Israeli military declared that the joint US-Israeli attack had targeted “dozens of military targets” in Iran. READ MORE . . .

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NOTE:  This is the only entry for this date. Visitors may scroll down for previous entries on GAZA, WEST BANK, LEBANON, SYRIA, UKRAINE, CUBA, VENEZUELA, MEDIA, 9/11 TRUTH and other subjects, and go directly to other websites for related news and commentary. // Some items below were posted this morning later than desired, and a bit at a time, owing to rather extreme computer weirdness.

For today, links to ELEVEN items: reports from the Associated Press, Middle East Eye, Agence France-Presse, and Reuters; a Thursday afternoon discussion from Redacted w/ Clayton Morris via Rumble*; reports from National Public Radio, and the Cradle; and commentary from Middle East Eye. For other published material (including just headlines), click on their names or initials as highlighted. (Scroll down for IRAN 2-26-26.) — MCM

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U.S. advises embassy employees in Israel to leave now if they want, as risk of war hangs over Middle East, by Sam Mednick and Sam Metz | AP  TEL AVIV — The U.S. Embassy in Israel today told its staff that it could leave the country and urged anyone considering departure to do so immediately, as the threat of an American strike on Iran looms. READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for a report from Middle East Eye.

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UN nuclear watchdog to hold ‘technical’ discussions on Iran’s programme. From AFP. The International Atomic Energy Agency today confirmed technical discussions to try to reach a deal between Iran and the U.S. will take place in Vienna next week, according to a confidential report. Click HERE and HERE for report in English and French, and HERE and HERE for later report from AFP in English and French. Click HERE soon for an even later report from Reuters (the presentation of which by Newsmax at one point included a video clip from President Trump’s remarks on Iran in State of the Union address and audio of applause at the Capitol).

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FROM FEB. 26  High Alert! Americans will die for Israel’s evil war with Iran. From Redacted w/ Clayton Morris. He and Natali Morris talk with former CIA officer John Kiriakou and retired U.S. Army Col. Douglas Macgregor about what appears to be a U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran by early March. Click HERE for video.

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As U.S. and Iran wrap latest round of nuclear talks, Trump weighs his options. Reported by Franco Ordoñez and A Martínez | NPR  President Trump weighs his military options in Iran as his administration continues negotiating over Tehran’s nuclear program. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.  Click HERE for Feb. 26 report from the Cradle.

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Tehran urges Washington to drop ‘excessive demands’ as USS Ford approaches Israel. From the Cradle. “Success in this path requires seriousness and realism from the other side and avoidance of any miscalculation and excessive demands,” Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said today in a call with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty as the U.S. military buildup in the region continued. READ MORE . . .

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Iran continues crackdown on anti-government protesters despite Trump’s threat. Reported by Durrie Bouscaren | NPR  President Trump set a red line for Iran not to execute protesters, but dozens are being sentenced to death. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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How U.S. allies are bracing for Trump’s potential military action against Iran. Michel Martin of NPR asks former Ambassador and Middle East Special Envoy Dennis Ross about how U.S. allies are bracing for the possibility of U.S. military action against Iran. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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FROM FEB. 26  What happens next with Iran? Reported by Mary Louise Kelly and Greg Myre | NPR  Indirect talks between the U.S. and Iran have wrapped, and a deal was not reached on Tehran’s nuclear program. NPR’s weekly national security podcast Sources & Methods explores what’s next. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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‘Trump logic,’ by Sean Mathews | Middle East Eye  The U.S. “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear programme in June, President Donald Trump boasted on Tuesday during his State of the Union address, just before adding that the Islamic Republic is now on the verge of starting it “all over again.” READ MORE . . .

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* Fast-forward to about 20 minutes in for intro and discussion.