President Trump On Iran's Denial of Talks: "Iranian Leadership is Duplicitous" + Ukraine Armed Forces New Commander in Chief

For review:1.  US President Donald Trump on Monday said that Washington and Tehran were currently engaged in talks, pushing back on Iranian claims to the contrary and accusing the Islamic Republic of being “unbelievably duplicitous.”  In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump lashed out at Iran and insisted that negotiations over reopening the Strait of Hormuz had already begun and that more were scheduled imminently. 2.  As Israel faced growing criticism from the Board of Peace for its continued strikes on Gaza, despite Hamas’s recent signing of a US-backed disarmament plan, a senior Israeli spokesman said Monday that the roadmap “does not reflect Israel’s positions,” and “stands in direct contrast to the current reality” in the Strip. 3.  Former Mossad chief David Barnea is joining Ondas Defense Ltd. as its global president and chairman, the NASDAQ-traded company announced on Monday. 4.  President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed Olha Stefanishyna from her post as Ukraine's ambassador to the U.S., according to a decree published on the presidential website on Aug. 3. 5.  Ukraine President Zelensky on Tuesday (21 July) fired Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi as commander-in-chief of the armed forces and named his replacement, following days of mass protests in Kyiv, the country’s capital, and other cities across the nation demanding his removal. President Zelenskyy appointed Mykhailo Drapatyi as the new commander according to a statement on social media. 6.  President Volodymyr Zelensky appointed National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov as head of Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service, according to a decree published on the presidential website on Aug. 3. 7.  Poland is preparing to host the first military drills for the so-called Coalition of the Willing with British and French forces. A spokesperson for the Polish Ministry of National Defence told Defense News that the military exercise, which is scheduled to be held this fall, is part of the group’s preparations for the post-war reality in Ukraine.8.   Anduril’s first Ohio-made unmanned, semi-autonomous aircraft rolled off the production line Monday, just four months after its beginning. In January 2026, Anduril declared that its first product would be the YFQ-44A, a missionized variant of the company’s FQ-44, or “Fury,” autonomous fighter jet, for the U.S. Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft program. The $1 billion, 5 million-square-foot facility is located near Rickenbacker International Airport.