I - On Defense Podcast

For review:1. Israel, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Iraq reported drone attacks in their territory Monday amid a lull in US air strikes against Iran.2. US President Donald Trump said Monday that he paused military strikes on Iran to give diplomacy another chance, amid a report of “significant” progress in talks to end the war. But he added that he is prepared to authorize another major attack on the Islamic Republic if the talks fail.3. Iran will top the agenda in his meeting with US President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday, minutes before taking off from an Israeli Air Force base for Washington, DC.PM is set to meet Trump on Tuesday at 11 a.m, local time, after more than five months since their last meeting.4. WSJ Report: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu talked the late Republican senator Lindsey Graham out of convincing US President Donald Trump to join Israel’s fight against Hezbollah in Lebanon.5. Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said in an interview aired Sunday that his country is working toward a security agreement with Israel, which he said could eventually pave the way for comprehensive peace between the two neighbors.6. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Sunday vowed to respond against Ukraine for a deadly attack in the Caspian Sea that the minister claimed was carried out “at Israel’s behest.”Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that Kyiv struck “vessels used in military cargo shipments involving Iran” in the Caspian Sea.7. The Kremlin ​said on Monday that it had ‌not seen any specific information regarding new proposals for a peace settlement in Ukraine ahead of a ​meeting in Washington between U.S. President Donald Trump ​and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.8. India has successfully tested a long-range surface-to-air interceptor missile. The project includes development of three variants with approximate ranges of 150 kilometers, 250 kilometers, and 350–400 kilometers. 

For review:1. The United States refrained from striking Iran overnight Friday-Saturday for the first day in two weeks.After the quiet night in Iran, there were also no reports on Saturday of attacks by Iran on its Gulf neighbors, which have been taking place daily as well.2. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet US President Donald Trump on Tuesday at the White House, the premier’s office announced Friday, in what will be the leaders’ first sit-down since the outbreak of the Iran war on February 28.3. The Israel Defense Forces has in recent days announced a series of strikes in the Gaza Strip targeting Hamas and Islamic Jihad members who it said were involved in the October 7 attack, or the subsequent holding of hostages.4. Khalil al-Hayya has been elected to be the new leader of Hamas, the terror group announced Monday.Al-Hayya, who previously served as the head of the group’s political bureau in Gaza, defeated former Hamas chief and veteran leader Khaled Mashaal.5. US President Donald Trump’s administration has maintained that Turkey does not currently meet the criteria necessary for purchasing F-35 fighter jets from the United States.To address US concerns, Turkey has been in talks with Washington about offloading the S-400 system.6. Ukraine and the U.S. are coordinating a new round of peace proposals to present to Moscow, hoping that changing war dynamics could create the opportunity to push Russia toward negotiations, Ukrainian and U.S. officials told the Kyiv Independent.7. Greece has approved the purchase of a multi-layer air defense system worth up to €3.5 billion ($4 billion) from Israel, its defense minister said on Thursday.Greece wants to build a multi-layer anti-ballistic, anti-aircraft and anti-drone system, called “Achilles Shield,” with Israeli radars and missiles from Rafael and IAI defense companies forming the core of the system.8. Australia successfully tested a “Frankenstein” medium-range air defense system last month, harnessing existing and new capabilities in a way nobody has tried before.This first-of-type integration, which successfully fired an SM-2 interceptor missile, offers an alternative to buying expensive air defense systems.

For review:1. Iran has reportedly rejected a ceasefire deal passed along from the United States by Iraqi mediators.According to The New York Times, citing Iranian and Iraqi officials, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi traveled to Iran today with a proposal formulated not long after he met with US President Donald Trump in the White House earlier this month.2. The US military says it completed its latest round of strikes on Iran that marked a 13th consecutive night of American attacks.The latest wave of strikes lasted more than two hours, according to the US Central Command.CENTCOM says the latest attacks concluded shortly before 5 a.m. local time.3. US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he is considering ordering the largest US attack on Iran yet, adding that Israel would join the strikes upon his request.4. US President Donald Trump threatened Wednesday to bomb one Iranian bridge or power plant in return for each attack on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, reiterating his longstanding threat to go after Iranian infrastructure as fighting has escalated in recent weeks and could reportedly further intensify in the coming days.According to a Wednesday report in Hebrew media, the US informed Israel that it will soon deploy heavy bombers for strikes on Iran, presumably targeting fortified nuclear sites, in what would be a major escalation.5. Iranian drone attacks on CIA facilities in the Gulf have prompted US intelligence analysts to investigate whether Russia assisted by providing targeting information or advanced drone technology, said four people familiar with US intelligence. 6. The Iran-backed Houthis struck two Saudi oil tankers on Thursday that they accused of violating a naval blockade imposed by the group, signaling a potential new front in the US-Iran conflict, Yemen’s Houthis said they targeted two Saudi oil tankers, identified as Encelia and Laylia, saying the vessels violated their naval blockade.7. US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the agreement reached with Saudi Arabia for a civilian nuclear program would require Riyadh to normalize relations with Israel, prompting praise from the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.8. Lebanon’s prime minister on Wednesday visited a battered southern village that was vacated by Israeli troops, planting a Lebanese flag at the scene and declaring that it marked the beginning of a complete Israeli withdrawal.9. The US House passed its version of a $1.15 trillion fiscal 2027 defense authorization bill on a 216-to-212 vote.

For review:1. US Central Command (CENTCOM) says it has completed its 11th consecutive evening of air strikes against Iran to further degrade the country’s “ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz”.2. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Monday that his country was in a “full-scale war” with the United States and that Tehran should accept the repercussions of the conflict, even as mediators reportedly proposed a 10-day truce to deescalate the fighting.3. US President Donald Trump claimed Tuesday that the US will be striking Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain “probably pretty soon,” amid reports that Tehran has moved nuclear centrifuges, and possibly even enriched uranium, to the secretive underground enrichment site.4. Houthi Rebels on Monday announced they are imposing a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia  in retaliation for a blockade on Yemen and a recent attack on the Sanaa Airport. 5. Israeli intelligence has reportedly assessed that Iran has moved thousands of nuclear centrifuges into a site in the Natanz area known as Pickaxe Mountain, burying them deep underground and making them harder to target in aerial strikes.6. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun met with US President Donald Trump in Washington on Tuesday, where he declared that his country will permanently end hostilities with Israel and asked for backing in his efforts to disarm Hezbollah. 7. Lebanese army troops began deploying in the southern Lebanese town of Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh Tuesday after Israeli forces withdrew from the area, the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) said in a statement, in line with a US-brokered plan for “pilot zones” in the south.8. Two Hamas terrorists, including a commander, who invaded Israel on October 7, 2023, and were responsible for the abduction of hostages, were killed in separate recent airstrikes, the Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet announced on Tuesday.9. Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman warned Bulgaria on Tuesday against allowing the U.S. to use its territory for operations against Iran.The Bulgarian government has said it will seek parliamentary approval to station up to eight U.S. tanker aircraft at an air base in the Balkan country, which is a member of NATO and the European Union.

For review:1. US President Donald Trump says the latest military strikes on Iran are being carried out in honor of US servicemembers killed in recent days.The US military launched a new wave of strikes targeting Iran early on Monday, the ninth consecutive night of attacks."The strikes will continue degrading Iranian military capabilities used to attack commercial vessels and civilian mariners transiting the Strait of Hormuz," the US military's Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a post on X.As the US sent dozens of refueling jets back to Israel in anticipation of a possible further escalation, Israel’s Kan public broadcaster reported, citing an unnamed American official, that the US was also sending dozens of warplanes to the Middle East, bolstering its F-16 and F-35 fleets there.2. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Sunday met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the start of his official visit to Washington, according to a US State Department readout.The meeting, held at the State Department, discussed the US-Israel-Lebanon Trilateral Framework, the readout said.3. Breaking Defense Interview with USAF Chief of Staff. In a one-on-one with Breaking Defense, Air Force Chief of Staff GEN Kenneth Wilsbach laid out his big concerns for the service.

For review:1. China on Thursday voiced strong opposition to any potential US military action against Cuba after reports that the Pentagon was examining contingency plans for possible operations against the island.2. The US military said it carried out the seventh night of strikes on Iran since President Donald Trump declared the temporary ceasefire agreement was "over".In a statement shared on X, US Central Command wrote that its forces "hit surveillance sites, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storage, and maritime capabilities".3. The US has reportedly notified Israel that it is sending dozens of additional refueling aircraft to Israel, as US President Donald Trump weighs launching another massive bombing offensive against Iran.4. Iran has reportedly told its regional allies, including Hezbollah, to prepare for the possibility of a broader conflict amid military escalations with the United States, raising the prospect of Israel becoming directly involved in the fighting.5. Iran has asked Yemen’s Houthi rebels to stand ready to close the Red Sea oil route if the United States strikes Iranian power infrastructure, three sources told Reuters on Thursday.6. A Hamas company commander who held hostages during the war and served as the “right-hand man” of senior leaders in the terror group was killed in an Israeli strike in the Gaza Strip yesterday, the IDF and Shin Bet announced.7. The Kremlin said on Thursday that there is no immediate prospect of resuming peace talks ​with Ukraine, though it said that Russia remains open to ‌the idea of negotiations.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia was appreciative of Turkey's willingness to help peace efforts, but no new talks were expected for now.8. Ukraine has agreed on a plan to acquire 16 Rafale fighter jets from France together with the accompanying weapon systems.9. The Pentagon doesn’t have a unified strategy for investing in a key hypersonic missile capability for the Navy and the Army — and failing to figure one out could result in additional program delays and inefficient use of funds, a new watchdog report warns.

For review:1. US Military planners have in recent weeks examined a range of options for possible action against the island, including an Army-led air assault involving thousands of U.S. soldiers to be carried out by the 101st Airborne Division, the only unit trained for such a task, according to multiple U.S. officials with knowledge of the discussions. 2. US President Trump is leaning toward further expanding US military operations in Iran, according to reports Wednesday, after huddling with top aides in the White House Situation Room the previous night to discuss potentially launching a major offensive against Iran in the coming days.3. The United States launched fresh waves of strikes on Iran on Wednesday afternoon and evening after reimposing a naval blockade of Iranian ports, while Iran threatened to shut off more regional energy exports.4. Iran is signaling it could use Yemen’s Houthi allies to shut the Bab el-Mandeb gateway to the Red Sea.5. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will travel to the United States on Saturday night, a senior Israeli official told The Times of Israel on Wednesday.6. Russia said on Wednesday that any multinational ​force sent by Ukraine's allies to ‌deploy there in the event of a peace deal would be unacceptable to Moscow, which would view ​it as a threat and a legitimate ​military target.7. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed Mykhailo Fedorov as the country’s minister of defense after just six months in office.8. The Army could award contracts for its high-profile Common Autonomous Multi-Domain Launcher (CAML) program next month, according to Lt. Gen. Frank Lozano, the service’s portfolio acquisition executive for Fires.The CAML program is set to serve as a replacement for the Army’s Typhon — its Mid-Range Capability (MRC) long-range launcher — as the service discovered the Typhon was a bit too large to operate on the battlefield.

For review:1. United Nations Ambassador Mike Walz on Sunday said Cuba’s regime is “a national security threat,” as the Trump administration keeps its sights on the Caribbean island nation.2. Yemen’s internationally recognized government said it struck Sanaa airport Monday, as the Houthis blamed the government’s Saudi backers for the attack, in the biggest escalation in years between authorities and the Iran-backed rebels.3. US President Donald Trump said Monday he would probably soon order a strike on the Pickaxe Mountain nuclear site, as he declared American military forces would hit Iran hard over the coming two days.The President's remarks came as the US military confirmed launching strikes on Iran for a third consecutive night.4.  Israel engaged in a multi-year effort to recruit and re-install as leader Iran’s former hardline president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, The New York Times reported Monday.5. The U.S. will resume its blockade of Iranian ports, coasts and ships, according to a Monday announcement from U.S. Central Command, signaling an end to the 60-day ceasefire between Iran and Washington.6. US forces used unmanned surface vessels (USVs) for the first time in combat operations — striking a submarine and ship maintenance facility in Iran on Sunday, according to US Central Command (CENTCOM). 

For review:1. The US military is carrying out a new round of strikes on Iran, the third in recent days, in response to the Revolutionary Guards’ announcement that it has attacked a vessel there and closed the waterway until further notice, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) announces.2. US President Donald Trump said Saturday that he had ordered the military to be prepared to launch major strikes against Iran if the Iranian government carries out or attempts an assassination of the president.3. A US military delegation met with Lebanon’s army in Beirut to discuss the implementation of Israel’s withdrawal fro6. m a “pilot zone” in occupied territory, a Lebanese military official told AFP on Saturday.4. Board of Peace officials have briefed reporters in recent days about their plans to establish a pilot humanitarian zone in the Rafah area of south Gaza.5. China could ​play a decisive role in pressuring Russia towards peace talks, helping end its war in ‌Ukraine, U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham said on Friday.6. Canada announced this week that it will purchase up to 12 attack boats from Germany following an intense bidding competition between Seoul and Berlin for the next-generation of Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) submarines. 7. Germany will purchase Tomahawk cruise missiles from the United States and station them on German soil, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Thursday.According to German government sources, Washington committed to granting approval in August for Germany to procure Tomahawk missiles and corresponding ground-based Typhon launchers.8. The Pentagon is planning to reroute roughly $4.3 billion from fiscal 2026 coffers in order to pay for “higher priority items,” including increased personnel and operational costs around the globe, the department told lawmakers in a new reprogramming notification. 

For review:1.  Iran’s slain supreme leader ayatollah Ali Khamenei was buried in the country’s holiest shrine, state media said early on Friday. The burial in Mashhad in northeast Iran follows a week of mass funeral processions, rallies and mourning.2.  The United States is demanding that Iran publicly state it will stop attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz and that all lanes in the strait will be open to shipping with no tolls, senior US officials say.3. US President Donald Trump said Friday that the US has agreed to continue holding talks with Iran, but reiterated that the ceasefire with Tehran is over.4. Iran fired missiles into Jordan as it targeted US military infrastructure across the Middle East after the American military carried out another wave of strikes on Iran, including attacks that Iran said hit near the perimeter area of the Bushehr nuclear plant.5. A series of unclaimed airstrikes that hit Iran after the US said it finished its attacks have again raised questions of who else may be targeting the Islamic Republic.6. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz, and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir all declared on Thursday that Israel would be ready to return to war with Iran at a moment’s notice.7. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday dismissed objections from Israel and Greece concerning the possible US sale of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey.8. Lockheed Martin and Rheinmetall have signed an agreement to co-produce the U.S. Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) at Rheinmetall’s Unterlüß site in northern Germany, marking the first time the ballistic missile is set to be manufactured outside the United States.9. The United Kingdom announced today it planned to join the US Army’s Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) program after having set aside £190 million ($254 million) to buy the long-range munitions. 

For review:1. The United States launched fresh strikes on Iran late Wednesday and into early Thursday morning after striking Iranian targets a day earlier in response to attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.2. US President Donald Trump on Wednesday fumed at Iran following renewed military strikes overnight, saying he thought the US-Iran memorandum of understanding “is over,” calling Tehran’s leadership “scum” and adding: “We’re going to hit them hard tonight.”3. Funeral processions for Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei were held Wednesday in the holy Iraqi cities of Najaf and Karbala with masses of mourners present.4. Lebanon is demanding that Israel fulfill its pledge to withdraw from two “pilot zones” in the nation’s south and hand them over to the Lebanese military before it agrees to participate in the next round of direct talks, scheduled for next week in Rome, a Lebanese diplomatic source told AFP Wednesday.5. US President Donald Trump on Wednesday informed his Syrian counterpart Ahmed al-Sharaa that he had decided to remove the country from the US list of designated state sponsors of terrorism.6. President Trump said Wednesday he is undecided on whether to readmit Turkey into the U.S.’s F-35 fighter jet program after expelling the country during his first term. 7. President Trump at NATO Summit in Turkey.8. Cuba’s foreign minister accused the United States of committing an "act of war" by restricting fuel shipments to the island Tuesday, prompting U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz to deliver a forceful response blaming Cuba’s communist government for years of blackouts, repression and economic collapse.

For review:1. President Trump held separate calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday to discuss ending the war in Ukraine, which is now in its fifth year. 2. Norway wants China to use its ⁠ties to the Russian ⁠leadership to help bring about ⁠a negotiated settlement to the war in Ukraine, also for the sake of better relations with Europe, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said on Monday.3. NATO Summit in Turkey 07-08 July 2026.4. As US President Donald Trump heads to Turkey for a NATO summit, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday urged Washington not to sell advanced weaponry to Ankara, and in particular F-35 jets.5. Iran’s top officials and brothers of the country’s new supreme leader emerged into public view Sunday to attend the funeral prayers for the late ayatollah Ali Khamenei.6. The Hamas government in Gaza on Monday announced the resignation of the so-called “Emergency Committee” — the Hamas-led administration that governs the Strip — in preparation for the transfer of authority to the technocratic National Committee for the Administration of Gaza.7. Seoul and Jakarta are ironing out the transfer of a singular KF-21 fighter jet prototype, capping a decade-long back and forth over deal to manufacture the South Korean jets in Indonesia that once envisioned the handover as one of many.8. The People’s Liberation Army Navy test fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile from the South China Sea to the Pacific Ocean on Monday. 

For review:1. Iran’s ambassador to China insists that new fees will be charged to ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz — an idea rejected by Washington — while assuring that “friendly” nations would receive special treatment.2. Recent satellite imagery shows no signs that Iran has begun repairing key damage at its main nuclear facilities following US and Israeli strikes, though construction appears to be taking place at the Pickaxe Mountain tunnel complex adjacent to the Natanz Nuclear Facility, the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security says.3. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump agreed to meet in the US in the near future during a phone call Friday, according to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office.4. Iranian security officials have rejected Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei’s request to attend the burial of his slain father and predecessor, Ali Khamenei, because they fear Israel will kill the son or track him back to his hiding spot, NYT Report.5. US officials indirectly warned Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf during negotiations earlier this year that Israel might try to assassinate them.6. Massive crowds gathered as Iran began a days-long funeral Saturday for the late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with many calling for “revenge” and “death to Israel,” months after an airstrike killed him at the start of the war.7. The United States has withdrawn most of the forces it deployed for a recent operation against Islamic State militants in Nigeria and is now providing intelligence support at Abuja’s request, the head of U.S. Africa Command said.In May, U.S. and Nigerian forces conducted military operations in northeastern Nigeria that killed Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, the second-in-command of ISIS globally.

For review:1. US-Saudi relations have significantly deteriorated in recent months amid anger in Riyadh over Washington’s decision to launch a war against Iran that has caused massive blowback for the rest of the region, to the extent that the US is reportedly considering pulling troops from the Gulf kingdom.2. Funeral processions for Khamenei will begin on Saturday in Tehran and conclude on July 9 with his burial in his hometown of Mashhad, with additional ceremonies planned in Qom and Iraq in between. The ceremonies are expected to draw 15 to 20 million mourners, according to officials, which would make it the biggest state funeral in the country’s history.3. Syria’s foreign minister said during a visit to Beirut on Thursday that Syria was open to meeting the Iran-backed Lebanese terror group Hezbollah “if interests require it,” Lebanon’s state news agency reported.Asaad al-Shaibani met Lebanese government leaders, including President Joseph Aoun and parliament speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally. 4. Israel has successfully completed a series of tests on an upgraded version of its Iron Dome aerial defense system, demonstrating new joint operational capabilities with the Iron Beam laser system, the Israeli ministry of defense said on Tuesday. This integration is a prerequisite for future operational deployments allowing commanders to dynamically toggle between missile and laser interceptions based on the nature of the incoming threat, system availability and cost-benefit calculations.5. President Donald Trump will traveled for the first time on the new Air Force One aircraft Wednesday, according to the White House. 

For review:1. Talks between Cuba and the U.S. are at a standstill, despite the island recently approving a series of free-market reforms, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez announced Tuesday.2. Attackers shot dead two members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps at their home in the western city of Paveh, near the border with Iraq’s Kurdistan region, state media reported Tuesday.It was not immediately clear who was behind the shooting. 3. Top US envoys Steve Witkoff and ‌Jared Kushner were in Doha on Tuesday for meetings with Qatari mediators to discuss negotiations with Iran, but Qatar and Iran said there would be no high-level meeting between Washington and Tehran on Tuesday or in the coming days.4. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told IDF troops in the southern Lebanon security zone on Tuesday that the military would remain in the area for the foreseeable future, crediting the soldiers’ work for the recent agreement between Israel, Lebanon, and the US that demands Hezbollah’s disarmament to enable an Israeli withdrawal.5. The Israel Defense Forces’ Military Intelligence Directorate and Southern Command submitted a warning last week to Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir that Hamas’s military wing is preparing for renewed war with Israel, the Kan public broadcaster reported Sunday.6. Russian President Putin has admitted that there was no deal with President Trump to end the war in Ukraine, after Kremlin officials insisted such an agreement was made between the two leaders last August in Alaska.7. China called on Ukraine and Russia to resume peace talks “as soon as possible” and reiterated its support for an immediate ceasefire during a UN Security Council meeting on Monday, June 30.8. Outgoing UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced that British defense spending will reach close to £80 billion ($105 billion) annually by 2029.9. Based in Townsville in northern Queensland, the Australian Army’s 3rd Brigade is undergoing a massive transformation, as the heavy armored formation absorbs whole new fleets of vehicles.10. Russia and China conducted joint bomber patrol flights on Saturday for the first time this year, prompting Japan and South Korea to scramble fighter aircraft.

For review:1. US & Iran have agreed to halt attacks on each other and to meet again on Tuesday in Doha to discuss the issues of the Strait of Hormuz.2. The Israel-Lebanon framework agreement, signed last week, explicitly preserves the Israel Defense Force’s full freedom to act against threats in the southern Lebanon security zone, an official familiar with its contents told The Times of Israel on Sunday.3. Hezbollah’s leader on Saturday pilloried the Israel-Lebanon framework agreement signed in Washington as “null and void” and a surrender of Lebanon’s sovereignty, with the terror group’s top ally in Beirut’s parliament going as far as calling it an “incitement to civil war.”4. A top commander in Hamas’s naval police and a Hamas terrorist who invaded Israel during the October 7, 2023, onslaught were among four terrorists killed in recent strikes in the Gaza Strip, the Israel Defense Forces announced Sunday.5. Turkey Offers to Host Russia - Ukraine Peace Talks.6. The German Navy is moving two ships to the Red Sea in preparation for a possible mine-clearing mission in the Strait of Hormuz, the country’s defense minister confirmed on Thursday.7. During a meeting with his Japanese counterpart in Tokyo, Canada’s defense minister has said that Ottawa is “interested in learning more about” the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) next-generation fighter.The GCAP is a multinational effort between Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom that envisions a sixth-generation fighter jet as well as collaborative combat drones and high-tech data sharing.8. Japan’s government has confirmed it will rename its air force to reflect a broadened mission set to include outer space.The upper house of Japan’s parliament approved a bill today to rename the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) to the Japan Aerospace Self-Defense Force.9. North Korea commissioned its largest warship to date, the 5,000-ton destroyer Choe Hyon (51), in a ceremony Tuesday in the port city Nampho.Choe Hyon was domestically made, and was armed with indigenous weapons systems. 

For review:1. US Central Command (CENTCOM) says its forces conducted strikes against Iran earlier this evening in response to an attack on a commercial ship that was transiting the Strait of Hormuz.2. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says it attacked US sites in the Gulf region in retaliation to American strikes in Iran, according to state television.3. The United States is considering moving Middle East military installations westward, including to Israel, to reduce their exposure to Iran’s missiles and drones.4. Israel, Lebanon and the US reached an agreement Friday that will see the Israel Defense Forces begin to withdraw from small parts of southern Lebanon.5. Officers from the Moroccan military, whose deployment was announced in February, have arrived in Israel to join a nascent international force for Gaza, US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace said Tuesday.An official from the board separately told AFP on condition of anonymity that the contingent arrived on June 18 at the headquarters of the International Stabilization Force (ISF) in southern Israel.6. The Kremlin said Wednesday that contacts between Moscow and Washington on the Ukraine war will resume when the American envoys become available amid their occupation with other issues.

For review:1.  The U.S. government on Tuesday hit Cuban state companies with new sanctions.U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the sanctions target five Cuban entities, including three linked to Grupo de Administración Empresarial S.A., a business conglomerate operated by Cuba's Revolutionary Armed Forces. 2. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that Washington would not accept Iranian tolls or fees on the Strait of Hormuz, as disputes over the vital waterway, nuclear inspections, and missiles exposed early strains in negotiations to end the Middle East war. 3. Defense Minister Israel Katz vowed Wednesday that the IDF will not withdraw from its southern Lebanon security zone, “even if there is an American demand,” while adding there was no such demand at this time. 4. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that Israel needs to be “free” from military dependence on the United States and develop its own weapons-production capabilities, arguing that this is needed to support the ongoing fight with Iran and its terror proxies. 5.  A senior Islamic State leader was killed by an airstrike last week, Central Command announced on Wednesday,. Ali Husayn al-Ulaywi was killed in a precision airstrike on June 19.6.  U.S. President Donald Trump told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Group of Seven summit in France that he would consider letting Ukraine build its own Patriot interceptor missiles.7.  The Missile Defense Agency today awarded Lockheed Martin a $35 billion undefined contract action (UCA) to quadruple production of its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptors over a seven-year period, the company and the Defense Department announced. 

For review:1. The United States and Iran began talks in Switzerland on Sunday after signing a preliminary agreement to end their war.American and Iranian representatives gathered alongside delegations from mediators Pakistan and Qatar at the luxury Swiss resort of Burgenstock.2. Iran and the United States agree on a roadmap toward reaching a final deal to end the war within 60 days, mediators Pakistan and Qatar say in a joint statement on Monday.3. Iran and the United States agree to set up a “de-confliction cell” with Lebanon to stop military operations there, Pakistan and Qatar, which are mediating the US-Iran negotiations in Switzerland, say in a joint statement.4. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday vowed to keep Israeli troops in the south Lebanon security zone “for as long as necessary” to protect northern Israel from Hezbollah.5. IDF Captures Hezbollah Subterranean Drone Base / Factory in S. Lebanon. 6. Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Sunday ruled out intervening militarily in the Israel-Hezbollah conflict in Lebanon, after US President Donald Trump again suggested Damascus could get involved.7. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has given Belarus a one-week ultimatum to remove relay equipment on its territory that he says is helping Russia attack Ukraine, warning that Kyiv will otherwise intervene itself to halt the transmissions.8. The U.S. Department of Defense is open to Poland’s offer to host a permanent U.S. military presence in Poland, Polish Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said on Thursday after meeting U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in Brussels.9. The Pentagon’s Office of Strategic Capital (OSC) inked a pair of conditional loans totaling $1.2 billion this week within the rare earth elements sector, according to department announcements. 

For review:1. A B-52 on a routine test mission crashed shortly after takeoff Monday (15 June)  in Southern California, killing all eight crew members on board.2.  US Army aims to release proposal requests for its heavy variant of the ISV this fall, a senior service official told lawmakers, adding that the Army is attempting to field the capability as quickly as possible. The Army is seeking vehicles that can provide  60 kW of continuous high-voltage DC power, 15 kW of 28V DC power and 4.8 kW of 120V AC power. 3. After eight years as US Indo-Pacific Command, the Pentagon has announced it is restoring the original name to simply Pacific Command (PACOM).4. KNDS, the French-German maker of the Leopard tank and the Caesar truck-mounted gun, pitched a new howitzer with a barrel longer than any NATO production artillery, which the company said gives the weapon a range of up to 60 kilometers (37 miles) with standard high-explosive shells.The 155mm howitzer, named Loras for long-range artillery system, is equipped with a 58 caliber gun tube, about 12% longer than the 52 caliber barrels that equip most recent European cannons.5. President Trump on Friday unveiled the Boeing 747-8 that will serve as the new Air Force One, that the U.S. accepted as a gift from the Qatari government last year.6. US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is traveling to Switzerland for the first round of talks with Iran on a potential nuclear deal, Axios reports, citing a US official.Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner is already in Switzerland, it adds.7. Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire on Friday afternoon, a US official said, after another flare-up in southern Lebanon that saw four Israeli soldiers and dozens of Lebanese casualties.8. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has set up secretive new cells in Iraq to carry out attacks on Gulf countries that host American forces, bypassing established militia networks to avoid detection, eight Iraqi sources told Reuters. 

For review:1. Cuban lawmakers unanimously approved sweeping reforms backed by the Communist ​Party and former leader Raul Castro that would privatize a vast swath of the country's socialist economy in a bid to survive punishing U.S. sanctions.The ‌measures, if implemented as passed, would represent the single largest change to Cuba's socialist model since former leader Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution and a major shift towards a market economy.2. President Trump on Wednesday signed the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the U.S. and Iran ending the war between the two countries.3. Iran will invite the UN’s nuclear watchdog agency to inspect its nuclear sites and begin work on identifying and uncovering the locations of Tehran’s enriched material, US President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff tells US lawmakers in a private briefing.4. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman warned Thursday that a continued IDF presence in southern Lebanon would mean the “annulment” of the memorandum of understanding it signed with the United States, as Israel doubled down on its plans to keep troops in the area amid its ongoing conflict with the Hezbollah terror group.5. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told NATO Thursday the Pentagon will review its force presence in Europe within six months.“This will be a real review. It will be designed to ensure that NATO is moving fast and irreversibly toward Europe leading, stepping up to take primary responsibility for the defense of Europe,” Hegseth told a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels.6. USAF CCA Update.

For review:1. Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi and Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar opened Somaliland’s embassy in Jerusalem on Monday, the eighth top-level diplomatic mission in the capital.The United States, Guatemala, Honduras, Kosovo, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, and Fiji also have embassies in Jerusalem, while other countries — including Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia — have embassy branches in Jerusalem.2. The Hamas terror group carried out its October 7, 2023, attack on Israel partly in order to thwart the Jewish state’s rapprochement with Saudi Arabia, according to seized documents.3. US & Iran MOU (Reaction/Analysis).

For review:1. Senior Hezbollah commander Ali Mussa Daqduq, mastermind of a January 2007 attack that killed five US troops in Iraq, was killed in an Israeli strike in southern Lebanon over the weekend, the IDF announced Sunday.2. US & Iran Reach Deal; Ceasefire Extened 60 Days; Formal Signing in Switzerland Friday.3. Ahmad Vahidi, the commander in chief of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, emerged as a key player during negotiations between the US and Iran, according to a Saturday profile in the Wall Street Journal, which found that the senior paramilitary leader pushed for a hard line in talks, advocating against any concessions to Washington. According to the report: Vahidi has “frequently overruled” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. 4. Israel was bracing for Iranian missile fire on Sunday after Tehran vowed that an Israeli Air Force strike on a Hezbollah target in Beirut’s southern suburbs earlier in the day would “not go unanswered.”The strike in the Lebanese capital’s Dahiyeh district came shortly after Hezbollah fired drones into Israeli territory.It was Israel’s first strike in a week in the Hezbollah stronghold, with the previous strike also a response to rocket fire on northern Israel.“The IDF has just struck Hezbollah terror targets in the Dahiyeh district of Beirut, in response to Hezbollah’s firing at Israeli territory,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a joint statement after the strike on the Hezbollah stronghold.5. CNN Report: Iran has, in recent weeks, deliberately collapsed tunnels and mined entrances to its bombed Isfahan nuclear complex in a bid to stop the US from launching a raid to retrieve the Islamic Republic’s store of highly enriched uranium that is believed to be buried at the site.

For review:1. The U.S. imposed sanctions Thursday on Cuba’s state-owned oil company, part of a Trump administration effort to restrict fuel supplies and increase pressure on the island’s Communist government.2. US President Donald Trump called off strikes on Iran Thursday evening, claiming an agreement to end the war had been reached and would be signed shortly.He later said the document should “get done in the next few days,” possibly in time for a signing in Europe this weekend.3. A US official said Friday that the emerging memorandum of understanding with Iran “leads to” Washington getting Tehran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium.The official, who held a phone briefing with reporters on condition of anonymity, also said the draft agreement was “broad” and would include Lebanon, where Israel is fighting Iran’s proxy group Hezbollah. He added that Iran’s loosening grip on the Strait of Hormuz has cost it leverage in the talks, and that he was “80 to 85 percent” sure the deal would happen.

For review:1. US Defense Secretary on Wednesday said the future of Cuba is in the hands of President Trump and Havana’s leadership amid increased U.S. pressure on the communist-ruled island.“No matter what, the Department of War is going to be prepared and postured for any possible contingency,” Sec Hegseth told troops during a visit to the U.S. Naval Station at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.2. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said two U.S. Army aviators “got very lucky” after an AH-64 Apache attack helicopter was downed by Iran over the Strait of Hormuz, emphasizing that US retaliation is not over.Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, the president declared, “We hit them hard yesterday and we’re going to hit them hard again today.”3. US President Donald Trump said the US would be attacking Iran again on Wednesday, indicating that Tuesday night’s strikes against the regime were only the first part of Washington’s retaliation against the Islamic Republic for shooting down an American military helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz.4. US Central Command confirms it has launched fresh “self-defense strikes” on “multiple targets in Iran at the direction” of President Donald Trump.5. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says that it struck bases in Kuwait and Bahrain in response to the latest US strikes.6. The United States and Iran have honed in on four key points of negotiation during talks to permanently end the fighting that began with a joint US-Israeli offensive back in February, the New York Times reported on Tuesday.According to the newspaper, the deal will include agreements on an extended suspension of uranium enrichment by Iran; the dilution of Tehran’s existing stockpile of enriched uranium; the dismantling of Iranian nuclear sites; and the right for international nuclear watchdogs to conduct snap inspections in the Islamic Republic.7. Iraq and the United Arab Emirates are fast-tracking plans to expand oil pipelines to replace the capacity lost by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, as new data reveals their stark dependency on the Persian Gulf. 8. The Franco-German-Spanish Future Combat Air System (FCAS) has collapsed following the failure of industrial mediation between Dassault and Airbus on several issues, multiple reports said Monday.9. The House Appropriations Committee released its $1 trillion defense spending bill for FY27.

For review:1. Israel on Sunday carried out airstrikes in Beirut, with the military saying it targeted a Hezbollah headquarters in the group’s stronghold of Dahiyeh, a large suburb just south of the Lebanese capital.Iran threatened to retaliate, saying, “Watch the sky of the occupied territories tonight.”2. Iran fired a volley of missiles at northern Israel Sunday night, catapulting the region back to the cusp of all-out war after two months of a shaky ceasefireNo Israelis were hurt in the attack, which involved some 10 missiles fired in quick succession around 10 p.m. Iran said it launched the missiles in retaliation for an Israeli strike on Beirut’s southern Dahiyeh suburb earlier in the day targeting the headquarters of the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group.3. Israel launched strikes on Iranian military targets and a petrochemical plant on Monday morning in response to the Islamic Republic’s ballistic missile attacks on northern Israel hours earlier.4. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly called off a major strike on Iran with fighter jets on the runway. PM Netanyahu said he would halt attacks on Iran “for now,” but warned that Israel would strike Iran and Hezbollah if it is attacked again.5. The European Union said on Monday it had imposed sanctions on two Iranian individuals and a unit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for threatening the freedom of maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, through which around a fifth of the world’s oil flows.The move marked the first time the bloc has used new powers to sanction Iran for restricting freedom of navigation.

For review:1. Raúl Castro, Cuba’s low-profile former president and revolutionary guerrilla, appeared in public for the first time since being indicted by the United States for his alleged role in the 1996 downing of two civilian aircraft, official video released Saturday showed.2. The United States and Iran exchanged fire overnight Friday amid a fragile ceasefire as American officials stepped up preparations for potential nuclear negotiations, including consultations this week with experts who could help determine the fate of Tehran’s enriched uranium stockpile.The US military said it carried out strikes on Iranian radar sites in what it described as a defensive action after Iran launched four attack drones toward the Strait of Hormuz.3. The United States will make Iranian assets available to Gulf allies to support rebuilding and repairs for future damage caused by Iran, a source familiar with the matter says.The US will also consider using those assets to support repairs for past damages, the source says, adding that US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has directed a team to assess costs for damage already inflicted on Gulf allies by Iran.4. A plan developed by Israel and the Mossad intelligence agency to topple the Iranian regime could still succeed if given time, but it has not been carried out to completion due to the United States’ decision in April to halt the war against the Islamic Republic, a former senior Mossad official told Channel 12 on Saturday. In any event, he insisted, the regime will fall sooner or later.5. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun accused Iran Friday of using Lebanon as a “bargaining chip” in negotiations with the United States, and called on both Hezbollah and Israel to embrace diplomacy in a bid to end the fighting between them.6. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he does not see any point in meeting Volodymyr Zelensky after the Ukrainian leader requested face-to-face talks over ending the war between the two nations.7. In a rare moment of bipartisanship in the US Congress, the House tonight passed a package of Russian sanctions and military aid for Ukraine.House members voted 226-195 to pass the Ukraine Support Act, which authorizes $8 billion in military finance loans to Ukraine and extends the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative through 2027.8. Russia could attack a NATO country within four years according to western intelligence assessments, UK PM warned on Friday.9. The U.S. will sell Australia three in-service Virginia-class submarines, pivoting from the planned acquisition of one new and two in-service Virginias, the countries announced.

For review:1. The United States imposed sanctions Thursday on Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel in the latest move by the Trump administration.2. A statement attributed to Iran’s supreme leader on Thursday said that the United States and Israel had been dealt a “decisive blow” in their war with the Islamic Republic, as the US sent mixed signals about whether the fighting could resume.3. US President Donald Trump tells reporters that Washington does not need a deal with Iran to get enriched uranium from the country.“We could get it right now. I don’t think they could stop us if we wanted, but there’s no reason to. It’s entombed,” he says.4. Israel and Lebanon agreed on Wednesday to renew their fragile ceasefire and create a number of “pilot” security zones inside Lebanon from which Hezbollah terrorists would be banned.5. The Israeli Air Force and Israeli Navy carried out strikes in the Gaza Strip overnight into Thursday, killing top commanders in Hamas’s general security mechanism, the military announced.6. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for a face-to-face meeting between himself and Vladimir Putin in a renewed bid to end the war.In an open letter to the Russian president, the Ukrainian leader said it would be "wrong to simply wait" until the war in Europe becomes the focus of the US's attention once more, adding peace could only come "through direct engagement between" Ukraine and Russia.7. Republicans defeated an amendment to the FY27 Defense Policy Bill that would have stripped $1 billion in funds for the Trump-class Battleship during a House Armed Services Committee mark up of the bill today.8. US Army SP Howitzer Modernization.

For review:1.  Cuba on Tuesday defended a ​military-run conglomerate long the target of U.S. sanctions, saying the group of businesses known as GAESA has ‌contributed to the nation's economic and social development.2. US forces successfully defeated multiple Iranian ballistic missiles and drones, and conducted self-defense strikes on Qeshm Island in response to attempted attacks by Iran across the Middle East. Iran launched several ballistic missiles toward regional neighbors; however, all failed to hit their intended targets. 3. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers on Tuesday that Iran has signaled a willingness to negotiate elements of its nuclear program that weren’t previously on the table, as US President Donald Trump denied talks had been cut off.4. A new round of talks between the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors was held in Washington on Tuesday, a day after US President Donald Trump said he had received commitments of de-escalation from both Jerusalem and Hezbollah.5. Two of Iraq’s most powerful Iran-backed militias said on Tuesday they would begin handing in their weapons to the authorities, a major step in the new government’s effort to rein in militias that have long operated on their own even though they were nominally under state command.6. South China Morning Post Report: President Trump Asked Xi Jinping to Push Russia Back to Negotiating Table.7. U.S. officials are engaged in NATO-internal discussions about the possibility of deploying nuclear weapons to new countries within the alliance, a new report says, in what would be a remarkable proliferation in nuclear sharing.8. Norway has become the ninth European country to sign up for French nuclear protection. 

For review:1. US SOUTHCOM X: SOUTHCOMCommander Gen. Francis L. Donovan (USMC) personally inspected all aspects of Naval Station Guantanamo Bay’s security posture, leading a comprehensive perimeter security assessment and discussing force protection, operational readiness, and measures to ensure the safety and security of service members, their families, and the joint force stationed at the installation with base officials. 2. US President Donald Trump put off his decision on the memorandum of understanding with Iran after demanding his team secure more concessions on Iran’s nuclear program.3. The US military stopped a merchant vessel trying to break through its blockade of Iranian ports by firing a missile into its engine room, the US Central Command said on Saturday.The Gambia-flagged cargo ship Lian Star ignored more than 20 warnings from US forces overnight as it tried to enter an Iranian port, the military said. 4. Bloomberg: An Iranian ballistic missile strike has targeted a major US military hub in Kuwait on Saturday, May 30, wounding multiple personnel and destroying high-value aviation assets.According to intelligence and military sources, Iran deployed a Fateh-110 short-range ballistic missile targeting the Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait. 5. CNN: Iran has salvaged entrances to dozens of missile facilities struck by the US and Israel in the recent war, a Sunday report said, as the Islamic Republic continues to rebuild its military infrastructure amid ceasefire talks with the US.Citing satellite images, Iran has been able to dig out 50 of 69 tunnel entrances at 18 separate underground missile facilities across the country. It has also repaired other damaged areas of those bases, including key access roads that the US and Israel bombed during the war.6. Israel captured the historic Beaufort Castle and the surrounding strategic ridge as it pushed deeper into Lebanon, the IDF announced on Sunday.7. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth addresses the Shangri-La dialouge on May 30, 2026. The head of the Pentagon called on U.S. Western Pacific allies to maintain military strength and called on China not to disrupt the regional equilibrium while praising the current state of affairs between Washington and Beijing.8. Japan’s defense minister has pushed back against Chinese allegations that Japan’s push to broaden regional defense cooperation was “new militarism,” saying that Tokyo’s increased defense spending and broader regional footprint has been conducted in a transparent fashion with regional security in mind. 

For review:1. The head of the U.S. military's Southern Command met with top Cuban military officials Friday at the edge of the American naval base at Guantanamo Bay.2. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed Friday that troops of the IDF’s 36th Division have crossed Lebanon’s Litani River. PM Netanyahu:  “Our forces crossed the Litani, and they’ve advanced to the dominating terrain,” Netanyahu said on a visit to troops on the northern border. “We’re also operating in Beirut, and in the Beqaa, across the entire front, and hitting Hezbollah hard.”3. The International Stabilization Force for Gaza was announced with great aplomb at the inaugural meeting of US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace in February.Three months on, none of the five countries that pledged troops have made any significant contributions. Hamas has refused to disarm and Israel has seized more territory while continuing to strike terror targets.4. US President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he was entering the White House Situation Room to make a “final determination” on a MOU to extend the ceasefire with Iran and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.5. The proportion of vessels not linked to Iranian ownership that are transiting the Strait of Hormuz has risen, according to data from maritime firm Lloyd’s List Intelligence shared Thursday.6. The United Arab Emirates launched dozens of airstrikes in Iran in the first days of the US-Israeli war on Iran, and after the ceasefire in April was announced, according to a WSJ report published Friday.7. Norway’s Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said Thursday that Europe cannot combine its strong backing for Ukraine with a neutral mediator role in future peace talks, as EU foreign ministers met informally in Lemesos, Cyprus.8. NATO accused Moscow on Friday of reckless behavior and pledged to “defend every inch of Allied territory” after Romania said a Russian drone had crashed into an apartment block in the alliance member state during an attack on neighboring Ukraine.Russia’s TASS news agency cited Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying President Vladimir Putin had been informed about the incident.

For review:1.  The Pentagon has spent months positioning the troops and weapons needed for the U.S. to launch a military attack on Cuba — all it needs is a final go-ahead from the President.2. The US military carried out new strikes overnight Wednesday-Thursday in Iran, targeting a military site that officials believed posed a threat to US forces and commercial maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, a US official tells Reuters. US forces attacked missile sites in southern Iran and boats trying to lay mines on Monday, US Central Command said, as top Iranian negotiators arrived in Doha for talks to end the war. 3. US President Donald Trump indicated during a Wednesday cabinet meeting that progress in talks with Iran on a deal to end the war had slowed, departing from his assertion at the start of the week that an agreement was nearly finalized. 4. Hamas on Wednesday confirmed the death of Mohammed Odeh, the newly appointed head of the terror group’s military wing, who Israel killed in a strike in Gaza City.  5. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Tuesday that Israel is “intensifying operations” in Lebanon by taking strategic positions and reinforcing the security buffer zone as the IDF pushed past the lines it held as it seeks to counter the recent surge in drone attacks by Hezbollah. 6. Ukraine is urging the EU to help negotiate an end to the war with Russia, a topic that will be discussed in detail at an informal meeting of European foreign ministers in Cyprus. Ukraine's foreign minister has told the BBC that Kyiv is keen to introduce some "new dynamics" into the negotiation process. 7.  The U.S. intends to significantly reduce military contributions available to assist European allies in a crisis, including fighter jets, warships and mid-air refueling aircraft, German news outlet Spiegel reported. 8. North Korea test fired a newly-developed lightweight multi-purpose missile launching system and multiple tactical cruise missile weapons systems on Tuesday, state media Korean Central News Agency reported. North Korea’s state media did not disclose the exact nature of the special mission warhead, but imagery released shows the tactical ballistic missile being the Hwasong 11-D tactical ballistic missiles capable of carrying conventional explosive, fragmentation, submunition, chemical or nuclear warheads. 

For review:1. Latest on US - Iran Negotiations and Deal.2. Israel Ramping Up Strikes Against Hezbollah

For review:1. The U.S deployed the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz and its accompanying strike group into Caribbean waters this week.2. US President Donald Trump declared on Saturday that the US and Iran were finalizing a deal to end the war.Iran has agreed to give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium as part of an agreement with the US to end the war, two US officials tell the New York Times.3. The Israel Defense Forces on Saturday said it hit Hezbollah sites in the terror group’s strongholds in south and east Lebanon overnight following evacuation warnings.4. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated on May 22, that peace negotiations regarding Ukraine are currently suspended, though Washington remains ready to resume its mediating role if future discussions prove constructive.5. Poland will receive its first batch of F-35 stealth fighter jets under a deal signed with the United States.6. On Thursday, President Trump said in a Truth Social post he was "pleased to announce that the United States will be sending an additional 5,000 Troops to Poland."It wasn't clear whether the troops would be based in the country permanently or on a rotational basis.7. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is casting new doubt on NATO's relevance to the United States after key allies recoiled from backing Washington’s “Operation Epic Fury.”8. A drone wingman built by General Atomics has resumed flying roughly one month after crashing in the California desert shortly after takeoff. In a press release Thursday, the company said its YFQ-44A aircraft “returned to flight testing following a round of safety reviews and software enhancements.” The drone is being developed for the Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) Program. 

For review:1. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday that there were “good signs” for a deal to end the war with Iran, but that an agreement would be “unfeasible” if Tehran pursues its plan to toll ships in the Strait of Hormuz. 2. WSJ Report: Israel has created a list of all Palestinians who took part in the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks and is working to kill or arrest each one.3. The Navy doesn’t have the bandwidth to escort commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz, according to the Navy’s top officer- Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle.4. Russia launched its largest nuclear exercises in years on Tuesday, mobilizing nearly 65,000 troops, over 200 missile launchers, 140 aircraft, 73 surface vessels and 13 submarines, including eight strategic nuclear submarines, in a three-day drill that runs through Thursday.The exercises involve the Strategic Missile Forces, the Northern and Pacific Fleets, Long-Range Aviation Command, and units from the Leningrad and Central Military Districts, according to the ministry statement. Live launches of ballistic and cruise missiles at ranges inside Russia are planned as part of the drills.5. The remotely piloted MQ-9 Reaper was the workhorse in the U.S. air campaign against Iran, Air Force leaders told Congress on May 20.6. The carrier-based MQ-25A Stingray reached the milestone C authorization that the Pentagon requires for a program to enter the low-rate initial production stage of acquisition.

For review:1. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez insisted Cuba "poses no threat" to the United States and doesn't have "aggressive plans or intentions against any country," after Axios reported that the island nation has hundreds of military drones and has been allegedly discussing plans to strike the U.S. military base in Guantanamo Bay and potentially Florida's Key West.2. The Republic of Somaliland will open an embassy in Jerusalem, its first anywhere in the world, the state’s ambassador to Israel said Tuesday.Currently, seven countries have embassies in Jerusalem — the US, Guatemala, Honduras, Kosovo, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, and Fiji. 3. US President Donald Trump announced on Monday that he had called off a major attack against Iran, which he claimed was slated to take place on Tuesday after Gulf allies assured him that a deal with Tehran was now possible thanks to the renewal of “serious negotiations.”4. The US State Department has cleared potential military support deals worth a combined $428.2 million for India’s Apache rotary-wing aircraft and M777A2 155mm howitzers.5. The Trump administration is planning to tell NATO allies this week that it will shrink the pool of military capabilities that the U.S. would have available to assist the alliance’s European nations in a major crisis.6.  NATO Supreme Allied Commander: Europe should “absolutely” expect additional United States troop withdrawals in the future as European NATO allies strengthen their capability to provide more of their own  conventional defense. 

For review:1. Cuba has posted a “family guide” on provincial websites on how to survive “potential enemy attacks,” as the communist-run island reels from US pressure and energy shortages.The release of the document– comes days after the head of the CIA visited Cuba, an extraordinary step in contact between Washington and Havana. 2. The Israel Defense Forces on Saturday confirmed killing Hamas military chief Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the terror group’s leader in Gaza, in a “precise strike” on Gaza City in the Strip’s north the previous day.3. NYT Report:  Israel built two covert bases in Iraq to aid in its wars with Iran.4. President Trump told Axios in a phone call that "the clock is ticking" for Iran and warned that if the Iranian regime doesn't come with a better offer for a deal "they are going to get hit much harder."5. NYT Report: Israel and the United States are carrying out their most intense preparations yet to renew attacks on Iran, possibly as soon as next week.6. Iranian state television said on Saturday that European countries were in talks with Tehran over transit of ships through the Strait of Hormuz.7. The UK has down-selected a group of four competitors to develop drone wingman aircraft capable of teaming with British Army Apache attack helicopters.8. Four Navy pilots are safe after their EA-18G Growlers crashed during the Gunfighter Skies air show at the Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho on Sunday. The crash is under investigation.  

For review:1. CIA Director Ratcliffe met with counterparts from Cuba's Ministry of the Interior on Thursday during a high-level visit to the island nation amid "complex bilateral relations" between the long-time adversaries.2. President Donald Trump says he has not yet decided whether a major sale of US arms to Taiwan can move forward following his three-day visit to China. 3. Israel said that it had targeted Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip and the head of the terror group’s military wing, in an airstrike in Gaza City on Friday.  A senior Israeli security official told reporters that were “initial indications” that Haddad was killed.  The IDF has not yet officially commented on the strike.4. US President Donald Trump counted “the military decimation of Iran” among his administration’s accomplishments in a social media post on Thursday, adding, “to be continued!”The phrase, included in a lengthy Truth Social Post suggested he may resume the war against Iran after he returns from his trip to China on Friday. 5. US President Donald Trump said Friday that he would accept a 20-year suspension of the uranium enrichment at the heart of Iran’s rogue nuclear program if Tehran gave a “real” guarantee, in an apparent shift from his previous demand that Iran permanently halt its program and his pledge to ensure Iran can never attain nuclear weapons.6. US CENTCOM CDR Admiral Brad Cooper appears at SASC Hearing. Admiral Cooper:- US has the military power to permanently reopen the Strait of Hormuz.- Iran’s ability to threaten its neighbors and US interests has been dramatically reduced by US bombings, and Tehran’s defense industry has been set back by 90%.- Iran was no longer able to transfer arms and other resources to its main allies in the region: Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and Hamas in Gaza. “Those transfer paths and methods have been cut off.”7. The United States on Friday announced a 45-day extension of a porous ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, even as the Iran-backed terror group continued to clash with IDF soldiers and launch missiles and drones into Israeli territory.8. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah party on Thursday began a three-day conference to elect its highest leadership body for the first time in 10 years.

For review:1. US President Donald Trump arrived in Beijing on Wednesday for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the Iran war, trade, and US arms sales to Taiwan. 2. If Iran does not accept US terms for a deal to end the war and address its nuclear program, the United States will “finish the job,” US President Donald Trump declared on Tuesday.3. Iran’s chief negotiator in talks with the US said on Monday the Islamic Republic is “ready to deliver a well-deserved response to any aggression,” as US President Donald Trump reportedly considered restarting the war after negotiations with Tehran reached a dead end.4. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed on Wednesday that he made a secretive visit to the United Arab Emirates and met with its leader, President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, during the US-Israeli war with Iran earlier this year.5. The heads of Israel’s two main intelligence agencies separately visited the United Arab Emirates in recent months, including during the war with Iran, according to Wednesday reports.The reported visits are the latest reported signs of increased cooperation between the two countries during the war.6. Saudi Arabia launched numerous, unpublicized strikes on Iran in retaliation for attacks carried out in the kingdom during the war, two Western officials briefed on the matter and two Iranian officials said.7. Russia will deploy its new Sarmat strategic nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile at the end of this year, Russian President Vladimir Putin said after his forces tested it on Tuesday, describing the missile as “the most powerful in the world.” 8. US Army has canceled the deployment of the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division — more than 4,000 soldiers and associated equipment — to Poland.

For review:1. US military intelligence-gathering flights are surging off the coast of Cuba, a CNN analysis of publicly available aviation data shows.Since February 4, the US Navy and Air Force have conducted at least 25 such flights using manned aircraft and drones, most of them near the country’s two biggest cities, Havana and Santiago de Cuba, and some coming within 40 miles of the coast, according to FlightRadar24.2. US President Donald Trump on Monday said the ceasefire with Iran was “on life support,” a day after he rejected the proposal submitted by Iran over the weekend for a permanent truce.3. The United Arab Emirates carried out military strikes on Iran, making it the only other country to join the United States and Israel in its war against the Islamic Republic, according to a report on Monday.During the US-Israel war on Iran, Tehran launched sustained attacks on the UAE, firing some 550 ballistic and cruise missiles and more than 2,200 drones, according to the Emirati defense ministry, making it the most targeted country in the region, including Israel.4. The UK and France will on Tuesday host a multinational meeting of defense ministers on military plans to restore trade flows through the Strait of Hormuz, the British government said.The announcement came hours after Iran warned London and Paris against sending warships to the region.5. The EU has dismissed Vladimir Putin’s suggestion that the Kremlin-friendly former German chancellor Gerhard Schröder could serve as a European mediator in peace talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.6. A 10-ship Russian convoy transited Japan’s Tsushima Strait to enter the East China Sea over the weekend, according to Japan’s Joint Staff Office.The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) spotted two Russian corvettes, a fleet oiler, a tugboat and six cargo ships around 5 p.m. Saturday sailing southwest 140 kilometers northeast of Tsushima.7. Taiwan’s parliament has approved a proposed government boost to defense spending after a protracted standoff — although it pared back the proposed supplementary budget by a third, and limited spending to US defense systems. 8. United States, Philippine, Japanese and Canadian forces combined land, sea and air platforms to sink two decommissioned ships off the western Northern Luzon coast during Balikitan 2026 last week, according to a Defense Department release.

For review:1. President Trump Announces Russia & Ukraine Ceasefire and Priosner Exchange.The ceasefire will begin on Saturday and run through Monday, President Trump wrote on Truth Social. "This ceasefire will include a suspension of all kinetic activity, and also a prisoner swap of 1,000 prisoners from each country."2. NYT Report: Russia is sending drone components to Iran via Caspian Sea shipping, US officials told the NYT in a report published Saturday, turning the world’s largest lake into a key conduit for both covert and overt trade.3. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff met today in Miami with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, as Doha assists in efforts to mediate a permanent ceasefire deal between Washington and Iran, a source familiar with the matter tells The Times of Israel.Qatar has been quietly operating as a go-between, while allowing Pakistan to play the main mediating role, the source says, confirming an earlier report.4. Fresh “sporadic clashes” broke out Friday between Iranian and US naval forces in the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iranian state media, marking the latest flare-up despite a monthlong ceasefire between Washington and Tehran.The fighting came as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington expected a response from Tehran on Friday to its latest proposal.5. Iran’s foreign ministry issued an unusual warning on Wednesday to the “rulers of Abu Dhabi,” the capital of the United Arab Emirates.It accused the tiny oil-rich state of conspiring with the United States and Israel against Iran, and threatened “dangerous consequences” unless the Emirates pulled away from those countries.6. Israel reportedly set up a secret military base in the Iraqi desert in February in order to support its aerial campaign against Iran.7. The UK will deploy one of its warships to the Middle East as part of planning for a European-led mission to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz once there’s a stable ceasefire. France recently announced it had moved its Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier to the Red Sea in a move aimed at signaling that the coalition stood ready to secure the strait. 

For review:1. US Secretary of State Rubio announced new sanctions Thursday on Cuba's military-industrial enterprise, its leader and a state-owned natural resources company.2. US President Donald Trump says three US Navy destroyers transited out of the Strait of Hormuz under fire, adding that the American destroyers were not damaged but “great damage was done to Iranian attackers.”3. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Thursday that he had met with the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not been seen in public since his appointment in early March.President Pezeshkian did not say when their meeting took place.4. The US will host the third round of ambassador-level talks between representatives from Israel and Lebanon on May 14 and 15, a State Department official and an Israeli official confirmed to The Times of Israel on Wednesday.Joining diplomats from each side will, for the first time, be military representatives, an Israeli official said, adding that the sides would discuss more concrete measures that can be taken to disarm Hezbollah.5. Israel on Wednesday evening carried out its first airstrike in Beirut since before the ceasefire in Lebanon entered into effect last month, killing the commander of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force, who the military said had advanced plans to invade the Galilee.6. The 23-year-old son of Hamas’s chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya succumbed Thursday to wounds sustained in an Israeli strike on Gaza City on Wednesday, a hospital and senior Hamas official said.Reports of Azzam al-Hayya’s death came as Hamas leaders were in Cairo to discuss the future of the ceasefire agreement.7. The United Arab Emirates transferred $100 million to the Board of Peace in recent days to fund a contract for the training of a new Palestinian police force for Gaza, a US official and a Middle Eastern diplomat told The Times of Israel this week.8. Israel said Thursday that it was working to help counter rat infestations in Gaza, helping move hundreds of cartons of rat poison into the territory as the warmer weather sees a surge in pests spreading through the tents of displaced Palestinians.9. European Council President Costa said on Thursday that he believed there was “potential” for the bloc to negotiate directly with Moscow, adding that it had the backing of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to do so.   

For review:1.  A high-level Trump administration official informed Iran on Sunday of the impending US operation to "guide" ships through the Strait of Hormuz and warned Tehran not to interfere, according to a U.S. official and a source with knowledge.2.  US President Donald Trump says the US will be pausing the operation it launched just one day earlier to assist vessels stuck in the Strait of Hormuz due to progress made in talks toward a permanent ceasefire with Iran. 3.  The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned on Tuesday it would respond firmly to any ships that diverge from Iran’s approved route through the Strait of Hormuz, as Israeli television reported US President Donald Trump came close to ordering renewed strikes over the weekend before calling them off. 4.  Iran fired over a dozen missiles and several drones at the United Arab Emirates on Monday, renewing attacks on the Gulf state for the first time since a fragile ceasefire took hold last month. The UAE Defense Ministry said its air defenses had engaged 15 missiles and four drones fired by Iran. 5.  The United Arab Emirates’ contracting authority has inked a deal with Brazilian firm Embraer to procure 10 C-390 Millennium military transport aircraft with an option to procure 10 more in the future. With this deal, the UAE is the first country in the Middle East to be on contract with the C-390 aircraft. 6.  Germany’s ambitions to close a long-range strike capability gap are facing a fresh setback after the Trump administration moved to withdraw thousands of U.S. troops from German soil and effectively shelved a Biden-era plan to temporarily deploy Tomahawk cruise missiles and SM-6 missiles there. 7.  The U.S. Army Pacific’s 1st Multi-Domain Task Force and the Philippine Army Artillery Regiment have test-fired a Tomahawk cruise missile from the Typhon Launcher in the central Philippines — and successfully hit a target around 600 kilometers away. 8.  USMC Commandant Gen. Eric Smith told audience members in Washington on Thursday that the demand for ARG-MEUs has exceeded the 3.0 presence he previously called for. Calls for ARG-MEUs are coming from the U.S. military’s Southern Command, European Command, U.S. Central Command and U.S. Africa Command. A 3.0 presence indicates a three-ship ARG-MEU deployed at all times: one out of the East Coast, one out of the West Coast and the 31st MEU delivering periodic deployments out of Okinawa, Japan.  

For review:1. President Trump said the U.S. Navy will start guiding ships from foreign countries through the Strait of Hormuz from Monday and warned that if Iran tries to disrupt the process the American military will use force.2. US President Donald Trump on Sunday rejected Iran’s latest proposal to end its war with the US and Israel, calling it unacceptable.The 14-point proposal reportedly includes multiple stages of negotiations, with the sides first bringing the fighting to a close and opening the Strait of Hormuz within 30 days. The US and Iran would only later begin talks on Tehran’s nuclear program, according to reports on the Iranian terms. 3. Amid a spike in Hezbollah drone strikes against Israeli troops stationed in southern Lebanon, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that he has initiated a counter-drone project.4. Israel will procure two more squadrons of F-35I and F-15IA fighter jets from the United States, following lessons learned from the recent Iran war, the Defense Ministry announced on Sunday.5. NATO said on Saturday it was working with the United States to understand Washington’s decision to withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany as a rift in transatlantic ties deepens over the Middle East war.Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said on Friday the withdrawal of around 5,000 troops from Germany was expected “to be completed over the next six to twelve months.”6. Naval aviators will no longer command amphibious warships, according to a directive issued last week by Chief of Naval Operations Daryl Caudle.Citing poor amphibious ship readiness and operational availability, Caudle said that surface warfare officers would become the only officers authorized to command amphibs starting in Fiscal Year 2028, according to the April 24 memo reviewed by USNI News.7. The Defense Department’s unfunded priority lists have hit Capitol Hill. Two of the military services and several combatant commands said they have no unfunded requirements due to the size of the $1.5 trillion defense budget request for fiscal 2027.In the UPL letters, leaders of the Marine Corps, Space Force, Strategic Command, Space Command, Africa Command and Central Command,  told Congress that they had no unfunded requirements for the year. 

For review:1. The White House asserts to US Congress in a letter that hostilities with Iran have “terminated” despite the continued presence of US armed forces in the region.The message from President Donald Trump effectively skirts a May 1 legal deadline to gain approval from members of Congress to continue the war with Iran. 2. Axios Report: The Pentagon estimates Iran has lost $4.8 billion in oil revenue due to the US Navy’s blockade of its ports.3. US President Donald Trump on Friday said he was dissatisfied with a new ceasefire offer from Tehran and confirmed he had been briefed on ways to “blast the hell out of them” if no deal were reached.4. Any shippers paying tolls to Iran for passage through the Strait of Hormuz, including charitable donations to organizations such as the Iranian Red Crescent Society, are at risk of punitive sanctions, the US Treasury warned on Friday.5. Israel is on heightened alert, ramping up preparations for a possible return to fighting with Iran, amid indications that US President Donald Trump may be nearing a decision on renewed military action, Israeli television reported Thursday.6. Iran’s supreme leader purportedly said Thursday that the only place Americans belong in the Persian Gulf is “at the bottom of its waters” and that a “new chapter” was being written in the region’s history.7. Israel dispatched a version of the Iron Beam laser-based air defense system to the United Arab Emirates during the recent fighting with Iran to help protect the Gulf nation from missile and drone attacks, according to a report on Thursday, in a significant step for the defense ties between the two countries.8. The US State Department said on Friday it was approving military sales totaling over $8.6 billion to Middle Eastern allies Israel, Qatar, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates.9. The United States is withdrawing 5,000 troops from NATO ally Germany, the Pentagon announced on Friday.

For review:1. US CENTCOM Commander: CENTCOM Forces have redirected 42 x commercial vessels attemtiong to violate the Strait of Hormuz blockage.2. President Trump told Axios he's going to keep Iran under a naval blockade until the regime agrees to a deal that addresses U.S. concerns about its nuclear program.U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) has prepared a plan for a "short and powerful" wave of strikes on Iran in hopes of breaking the negotiating deadlock, three sources with knowledge said.3. The Israel Defense Forces on Tuesday announced it had located and destroyed two major Hezbollah tunnels in the southern Lebanon town of Qantara, which it said were constructed by the terror group with “direct guidance” from Iran.The tunnels were built over a decade, reaching depths of some 25 meters.4. US Secretary of War appears in hearing before the US House Armed Services Committee.5. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he discussed a possible ceasefire in the four-year war in Ukraine in a phone call with Russian President Putin.He spoke after the Kremlin reported the two leaders discussed a temporary Ukraine ceasefire to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II next month.6. The UK Ministry of Defence will resume tests and acceptance of Ajax fighting vehicles after a safety review cleared the program to move forward. 7. Australia has announced further boosts for its army with the acquisition of more Lockheed Martin High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) for long-range strike and Thales Bushmaster wheeled armored vehicles.8. The first of the new Columbia-class of ballistic missile submarine is tracking for a 2028 delivery due to improvements in workforce efficiency and the supplier base, General Dynamics officials said Wednesday (District of Columbia - SSBN-826).

For review:1. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday that a reported offer from Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz under strict conditions is not acceptable to the United States or other countries.Secretary of State Rubio: “What they mean by opening the straits is, yes, the straits are open, as long as you coordinate with Iran, get our permission, or we’ll blow you up, and you pay us.”2. The IDF said it launched a wave of airstrikes Monday against Hezbollah infrastructure in the Beqaa Valley and several areas of southern Lebanon as a fragile ceasefire appeared to be rapidly unraveling just days after it was extended.The strikes came following repeated recent attacks by the Hezbollah on IDF troops and Israel during the truce, including a deadly FPV drone attack in Lebanon the previous day that killed an IDF soldier and wounded six.3. Battered but still breathing, Hamas is set to hold a long-delayed internal election to choose a new chief and political bureau in the coming weeks.Hamas generally holds leadership elections every four years, but the latest vote, initially scheduled for 2025, was delayed by the war sparked by the terror group’s October 7, 2023, massacre. 4. Israel sent the United Arab Emirates an Iron Dome air defense system with troops to operate it early in the war with Iran, two Israeli officials and one U.S. official tell Axios.5. A 14 percent increase in European defense spending contributed significantly to global military expenditure increasing for the 11th consecutive year, reaching $2.89 trillion in 2025, according to a new report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) think tank.6. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg, with the Russian president telling the Iranian diplomat that he hoped for peace soon.7. Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov held talks in Kyrgyzstan on Monday with Iran’s Deputy Defense Minister Reza Talaei-Nik, state-run TASS news agency reports.8. Under Project Sea 3000, Australia and Japan inked a deal to buy three upgraded Mogami-class frigates for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The contract was signed by the two countries’ defense ministers aboard JS Kumano in Melbourne earlier this month.

For review:1. US President Donald Trump canceled a trip to Islamabad by two envoys to meet Iran war mediator Pakistan on Saturday after Iran’s foreign minister flew out of the Pakistani capital following talks, dealing a new setback to peace prospects.Presidnet Trump said in a social media post that he had called off the planned visit by his special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner, citing what he said was tremendous confusion in the Iranian leadership.2. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed the IDF to go after Hezbollah targets “with force” on Saturday, as the terror group and the Israeli military continued to trade fire in northern Israel and southern Lebanon, despite the extension of the tenuous ceasefire between the warring sides by several more weeks.3. East Coast carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) is now operating in the Middle East after a sailing around the southern tip of Africa, U.S. Central Command announced on Thursday. Bush’s entrance into CENTCOM marks the first time three carriers have been in the Middle East since the height of the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) has been operating in the Arabian Sea since January while USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) has been operating in the Red Sea since last week, USNI News reported.4. North Korea recently launched five short range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) armed with cluster munitions against an island target in the Sea of Japan for the second time this month, further trialing the warhead’s capabilities, state media reported Monday.5. USAF plans to more than double its F-15EX Eagle II fleet to 267 aircraft, up from the previously planned 129, as part of the fiscal 2027 budget request rolled out this week. The revised plan calls for 24 additional Eagle IIs next year at a cost of roughly $3 billion, according to the service’s fiscal 2027 budget request.6. The Pentagon’s Munitions Acceleration Council (MAC) is homing in on 14 legacy and “emerging” munitions as part of its ambitious plan to ramp up the production and ink a series of multi-year deals, according to fiscal 2027 budget documents.The Legacy Weapons: ·        Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) Missile Segment Enhancement interceptors·        Terminal High Altitude Air Defense (THAAD) interceptors ·        Standard Missile-3 IIA ·        SM-6·        SM-3 Block IB·        Tomahawk Land Attack Missile ·        Joint Advanced Tactical Missile  ·        Low-Cost Cruise Missile ·        Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile ·        Maritime Strike Tomahawk ·        Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile-Extended Range·        Long Range Anti-Ship MissileEmerging Capabilities: ·        Low-Cost Hypersonic Strike Weapon ·        Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) Increment 1 7. US Army has unveiled plans for the future of its ground vehicle fleet, as well as what it refers to as its biggest modernization priority: Next Generation Command & Control (NGC2). The newly released budget documents reveal, that the service is looking to procure over 100 XM30 vehicles in the coming years, provide hundreds of millions of dollars for the Mobile Tactical Cannon (MTC) program, and invest almost $4 billion across consolidated NGC2 budget lines.

For review:1. Iranian forces seized two container ships on Wednesday, according to global security monitors and the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. They also attacked but didn’t seize a third.2. US President Donald Trump on Thursday said the US Navy would “shoot and kill” any boat mining the Strait of Hormuz.Meanwhile, Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israel was ready to renew the fighting with Iran and was awaiting a “green light” from the US to target Iranian energy sites and Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.3. The ceasefire between Israel & Lebanon will be extended by another three weeks, President Trump said after hosting the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors in the Oval Office on Thursday.4. French President Macron said Thursday he will not continue in politics after leaving in 2027, after serving two terms, the maximum number allowed.5. The Kremlin said Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but only if such a meeting is to sign peace agreements.6. France is moving closer to a decision on its future rocket artillery system, with the country testing domestically developed weapons this month that will allow for a comparison with foreign systems in a few weeks’ time, the head of the country’s armaments agency said.7. Estonia’s government has decided to put on hold its planned acquisition of new infantry fighting vehicles.The Baltic nation will instead direct the funds toward drones, counter-drone measures and air defense systems, while squeezing more service life out of the country’s existing fleet of second-hand CV90 vehicles.8. John Phelan is out as the Secretary of the Navy, the Pentagon announced Wednesday. 

For review:1. The Board of Peace’s lead envoy for Gaza admitted Monday that talks with Hamas on disarmament were going to take more time, even though the deadline he gave for the terror group to accept his proposal on handing over its weapons expired nine days earlier.“We’ve had some very serious discussions with Hamas over the last few weeks. They’re not easy,” Nickolay Mladenov told Reuters in an interview during a visit to Brussels. “2. Hours before a two-week ceasefire with Iran was set to expire, US President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he was extending the truce for the time being and that the US will hold off on attacking Iran.Israel and the US have been preparing for a resumption of the war since the ceasefire began, sources familiar with the matter told the network, including conducting exercises involving fighter jets and refueling tankers across the Middle East.3. The Hezbollah terror group violated a ceasefire in Lebanon on Tuesday by firing several rockets at Israeli troops stationed in the south of the country, as well as launching a drone at Israel, the military said.Hezbollah took responsibility for the attacks, which it claimed were in response to Israeli violations of the ceasefire.The IDF said that it struck the launcher used in the attack within a few minutes.4. A second round of direct talks between Israel and Lebanon will take place on Thursday, an Israeli and a US official tell The Times of Israel.5. The head of the U.S. command for the Indo-Pacific region on Tuesday stressed the importance of Taiwan passing its stalled defense budget, saying the United States “can’t want Taiwan’s defense more than they want it itself.”Taiwan’s President last year proposed $40 billion in extra defense spending to counter China.6. US Department of War Releases FY27 Defense Budget Request of $1.5 Trillion.7. The U.S. medium-sized USV fleet could jump from roughly four to 30 vessels by 2030 in the Indo-Pacific, according to officials.8. US SOUTHCOM is standing up a new unit aimed at connecting tactical missions to long-term outcomes with unmanned systems.The development of the Autonomous Warfare Command was mandated by the SOUTHCOM CDR, GEN Francis Donovan (USMC).9. The Air force’s Experimental Operations Unit conducted hands-on testing with the Anduril YFQ-44A aircraft at Edwards Air Force Base, California.