I - On Defense Podcast

Operation Epic Fury / Roaring Lion for review:

1. France plans to send anti-missile and anti-drone systems to Cyprus after a British air base on the island was attacked by drones, the semi-official Cyprus News Agency (CNA) said on Tuesday.

2. US President Donald Trump threatened Tuesday to sever all trade with Spain after it refused to let US planes use its bases to attack Iran, while also lashing out at Britain for not cooperating more.

3. An Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps senior official said on Monday that the Strait of Hormuz is closed, threatening that if...

Operation Epic Fury & Roaring Lion update for review:

1. US CJCS: “Our military objectives are clear,” Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine told reporters. “Our mission is to protect and defend ourselves, and together with our regional partners, prevent Iran from the ability to project power outside of its borders and be ready for follow on actions as appropriate.”

2. Three US F-15 fighter jets crashed over Kuwait on Monday after they were mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti air defenses in a so-called friendly fire incident, the American military confirmed.

3. On Monday...

For review:

Operation Epic Fury / Roaring Lion Continues.

1. Three American soldiers have been killed, and five have been seriously wounded in the ongoing conflict with Iran, the US Central Command said Sunday, announcing the first US casualties in the conflict.

2. The United States and Israel clashed with Iran at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Saturday as the United Nations chief led calls for a halt to attacks by either side and a return to negotiations to prevent the conflict from spreading further.

3. China, Russia and North Korea...

For review:

US & Israel Strike Iran.

US: Operation Epic Fury

Israel: Operation Roaring Lion

1. US & Israel Strike Iran; Iran's Supreme Leader Dead; IRGC Commander Dead.

2. Iran Hits Back at Israel and Six Arab Regional Neighbors.

3. World Reaction

For review:

1. US President Donald Trump said Friday that he was “not happy” with Iran’s conduct in nuclear negotiations after the sides held a third round of talks in Geneva but that he hadn’t made a decision on whether to authorize a military strike on the Islamic Republic.

2. The United States and Iran made significant progress in talks on Thursday aimed at resolving a longstanding nuclear dispute and averting new US strikes, said mediator Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi.

3. At least nine American refueling tankers arrived at Israel’s Ben Gurion Air...

For review:

1. The United States sees evidence that Iran is trying to rebuild its nuclear program after US-led strikes against Iranian nuclear sites in June, US Vice President JD Vance says.

2. US Secretary of State Rubio warns that Iran must negotiate on its missile program, a day after US President Donald Trump alleged Tehran was working on rockets that could hit the United States.

3. Iran’s foreign minister arrived in Geneva ahead of a third round of crucial negotiations with the US, as American envoy Steve Witkoff demanded that any deal over Tehran’s nu...

For review:

1. The next round of talks between the United States and Iran will be Thursday in Geneva, Oman’s foreign minister said.

2. American refueler and cargo planes were spotted at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv on Monday, amid a massive US buildup of military forces ahead of a potential attack on Iran.

There was no comment from Israeli authorities regarding the American military deployment at Israel’s main civilian airport.

3. Bulgaria’s Sofia International Airport briefly suspended civilian air operations twice over the weekend while a fleet of American milita...

For review:

1. Iran and the United States continued to slide rapidly toward military conflict at the weekend, as hopes faded for a diplomatic solution. Israel and Iran’s Gulf neighbors now consider a conflict to be more likely than a settlement.

2. The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement that it struck three Hezbollah command centers belonging to the terror group’s missile force in the Baalbek area, in eastern Lebanon’s Beqaa Valley.

3. Officers from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have effectively taken charge of Hezbollah in anticipation of a war with the...

For review:

1. Iran on Thursday repeated its assertion that no country can “deprive” it of its “right” to nuclear enrichment, as US President Donald Trump continued to send US military assets into the Middle East in what a report called the biggest build-up of American air power in the region since the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

2. WSJ Report: US President Donald Trump is considering launching preliminary limited strikes on Iran with the aim of forcing the Islamic Republic to agree to his demands for a nuclear deal.

3. US President Donald Trump warned Iran on Thursday...

For review:

1. US & Iran Talk in Geneva While More US Warplanes Move to Region. 

The aircraft included F-22, F-35, and F-16 jets. Several refuelers were also spotted on the move, according to social media accounts dedicated to tracking military flights.

A US official also confirmed to the Axios news site that more than 50 fighter jets were moved to the region in the past 24 hours.

2. Iran says it temporarily closed parts of the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf. 

The move came as semiofficial Iranian news ag...

For review:

1. The U.S. Air Force on Tuesday awarded Boeing a sole-source contract for newvGBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator bombs , to replace the munitions used in last June’s strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.

2. Iran launched live-fire naval exercises in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday.

The drill, called "Smart Control of the Strait of Hormuz," was led by the naval forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) under the supervision of IRGC Commander in Chief Maj. Gen. Mohammad Pakpour.

3.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had told U.S...

For review:

1. Aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), its escorts and embarked Carrier Air Wing 8 have been tasked from their current position in the Caribbean to the Middle East to support a U.S. naval buildup in the region.

2. Asked Friday about potential regime change in Iran, US President Donald Trump said, “it seems like that would be the best thing that could happen,” as he confirmed sending a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East “in case we don’t make a deal” with the Islamic Republic.

3. US President Donald Trump and Prime...

For review:

1. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that US President Donald Trump believes the Iranians could be forced to accept “a good deal,” though the premier clarified that he is skeptical of the possibility.

2. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Wednesday derided a report by the Israel Hayom newspaper that the Islamic Republic had secretly executed thousands of people who participated in protests after telling Washington it would not do so.

3. An Iranian state-run TV channel on Thursday broadcast a hit list of seven Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, appear...

For review:

1. On the eve of his meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US President Donald Trump said that the Israeli premier “wants a deal” with Iran, and that the current talks on Tehran’s nuclear program show promise.

2. Entrances to Iran's Isfahan Nuclear Site Purposely Buried in Preparation of US/Israeli Attack.

3. IDF Preparing for Gaza Offensive to Disarm Hamas.

Hinting at the military’s offensive plans, Defense Minister Israel Katz this month said that Israel was "determined to disarm Hamas, threatening to “dismantle” the terror group if it doesn’t agree to lay...

For review:

1. Iran: Dilution of Enriched Uranium for Sanctions Relief.

2. Israeli PM Netanyahu to Visit Washington D.C. on Wednesday. 

3. Ukraine and Sweden are discussing the prospect of arming Kyiv with Europe’s top air-to-air missile- the Meteor.

4. Ukraine and France took a step toward joint arms production on Feb. 9, as Ukrainian Defense Minister Fedorov and his French counterpart Catherine Vautrin signed a letter of intent in Kyiv, Ukraine's Defense Ministry announced.

During the meeting, the ministers discussed accelerating the delivery of French Mirage 2000 fighter jets, as well as a r...

For review:

1. Iran rejected calls by the United States to halt uranium enrichment on its territory during talks in Oman on Friday.

A regional diplomat briefed by Tehran told Reuters Friday that while the Islamic Republic would not budge on its right to enrich uranium inside Iran, it was willing to discuss the “level and purity” of enrichment or a regional consortium.

2. The Israel Defense Forces said it struck a Hamas arms depot in Gaza City on Friday in response to an attack on troops a day earlier, after issuing an evacuation warning for...

For review:

1. US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei “should be very worried” in the wake of reports that suggested that planned nuclear talks set for the end of the week were unravelling.

A White House official confirmed to The Times of Israel that nuclear talks with Iran would be held Friday in Muscat.

2. Iran’s army spokesperson said Thursday that the military is ready for a conflict, if that is what the US wants, 

Commenting on the addition of 1,000 drones to the Iranian military, Iranian B...

For review:

1. President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed into law a massive funding package to end the US government shutdown that began Saturday.

2.  A Marine F-35C Lighting II fighter shot down an Iranian military drone that approached a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea.

The fighter shot down the Iranian Shahed-139 drone on Tuesday after it approached aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72), according to a statement from U.S. Central Command.

3. Iran and the United States will resume nuclear talks on Friday, Iranian and US officials told R...

For review:

1. According to an Axios report, Turkey, Egypt and Qatar are working to organize a meeting this week between White House special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian officials in Ankara, Turkey’s capital.

2. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Sunday that if the US attacks Iran, the hostilities will broaden into a regional conflict.

3. An Iranian official on Sunday denied that the country had any plans to carry out live-fire exercises in the Strait of Hormuz this week, amid sky-high tensions in the region.

On Friday, the US military issued a...

For review:

1. President Volodymyr Zelensky on Jan. 30 rejected the Kremlin's proposal for holding talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow but signaled readiness for a meeting in a more appropriate format.

2. It was Vladimir Zelensky who insisted on a personal meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, not the other way around, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov recalled at a news briefing, commenting on statements from Kiev about its desire to host a Russia-Ukraine summit.

3. Speaking at the White House on Thursday, President Trump said he asked Russian President Putin not to fire on...

For review:

1. US President Donald Trump threatened Wednesday that time was running out for Iran, and that the next potential US attack on the Islamic Republic — if Tehran doesn’t make a nuclear deal — would be far worse than the June 2025 strikes. 

2. The United States announced on Tuesday that it was conducting an aerial military exercise in the Middle East amid ongoing tensions with Iran.

3. Iranian officials issued stark warnings Wednesday against any US strike on the country, with a top adviser to Iran’s supreme leader threatening that Tehran would attack Israel in any su...

For review:

1. The body of the final hostage held in Gaza was identified and brought back to Israel on Monday, 843 days after Hamas terrorists attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.

Master Sergeant Ran Gvili, 24, a police officer killed fighting the Hamas invaders, had been the last of 251 people kidnapped that day to remain captive, following the return of the rest of the hostages, living and dead, under the current ceasefire. 

2. President Trump told Axios in an interview on Monday that the situation with Iran is "in flux" because he sent a "big armada" to the r...

For review:

1. The Israel Defense Forces confirmed on Sunday evening that it was searching for the remains of Master Sergeant Gvili, the last remaining hostage held in the Gaza Strip, on the Israeli side of the ceasefire line in the enclave’s north.

2. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced on Sunday that Israel will reopen the Rafah Crossing between Gaza and Egypt after it completes a military operation launched Sunday to recover the body of the last deceased hostage, Master Sgt. Ran Gvili.

3. Commander of the United States Central Command Admiral Brad Coop...

For review:

1. Commander of the United States Central Command Adm. Brad Cooper is expected to arrive in Israel on Saturday for meetings with senior officials.

2. Air France and Dutch airline KLM have canceled flights to Israel, Dubai and Saudi Arabia until at least Sunday, citing “security tensions in the region” amid concern of renewed conflict with Iran.

3. Iran’s foreign minister launched a furious tirade on Friday against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after the latter commented in Davos that the deadly crackdown on protests in the Islamic Republic showed that if authorities “kill enough p...

For review:

1. Eight prominent Muslim countries jointly announced their decisions to join US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace on Wednesday

Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates will each appoint a representative to sit on the panel of world leaders, their foreign ministers announced in a joint statement.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accepted US President Donald Trump’s invitation to join the Board of Peace, the premier’s office announced Wednesday.

2. A meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to take place...

For review:

1. The Syrian government and the Kurdish SDF announced a new four-day truce after a previous ceasefire between government forces broke down. The two sides have been clashing for two weeks, amid a breakdown in negotiations over the implementation of a deal to merge their forces together.

2. US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that “we think we know” where the body of the final hostage, slain Israel Police Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, is being held in the Gaza Strip

MSG Gvili, a member of the Yasam police unit, was killed battling terrorists at K...

For review:

1. A U.S. military strike in northwest Syria resulted in the death of a leader affiliated with Al-Qaeda who was linked to the ISIS attack that resulted in the death of two U.S. Army soldiers and a U.S. civilian interpreter, the U.S. Central Command announced Saturday.

2. President Trump's Board of Peace Invitations Sent: 60 Countries Invited; France Says No.

3. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged Monday that Turkish and Qatari forces would not set foot in Gaza, days after the White House announced that officials from the countries would sit...

For review:

1. US Announces (Gaza) Board of Peace Executive Committee; Includes Turkey & Qatar.

2. Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday said authorities “must break the back of the seditionists” and blamed US President Donald Trump for “casualties” after the Islamic Republic’s bloody crackdown on a protest wave against the country’s clerical authorities.

3. US President Donald Trump, for the first time, appeared to call on Saturday for the end of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s rule in Iran.

“It’s time to look for new leadership in Iran,” the President told Pol...

For review:

1. US Forces seize 6th sanctioned tanker in Caribbean Sea.

2. Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado said she presented her Nobel Peace Prize medal to President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday.

3. US President Donald Trump reportedly informed Iran that he won’t be ordering a strike on the country over its deadly crackdown on protesters after the leaders of four Arab countries convinced him to hold off.

4. US special envoy Steve Witkoff on Wednesday announced the launch of phase two of President Donald Trump’s plan for e...

For review:

1. Latest on Iran Protests.

- Iranian Officials: More Than 2000 Killed in Protests: Iran Blames US and Israel.

- Appearing to depart from the notion of negotiating with the Iranian government, US President Donald Trump told protesters in Iran on Tuesday that “help is on its way” and urged them to keep protesting and take control of the country’s institutions.

- Israeli and Arab officials have suggested the Trump administration hold off on striking Iran for now, believing that the Islamic Republic may not be sufficiently weakened in order for an...

For review:

1. US and Jordan Strike ISIS Targets in Syria.

2. Human Rights Group: More Than 500 Killed in Iran Protests; President Trump Weighing Military Options.

3. Hamas says it has instructed its government agencies to prepare to hand over their powers to the independent committee of Palestinian technocrats that is supposed to administer Gaza under US President Donald Trump’s ceasefire plan.

4. Israel on Sunday carried out major airstrikes against seven Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, using more than 30 munitions in two waves of strikes, the military said.

5. A group of Eu...

For review:

1. Iranian Protests Continue for 13th Day; Spread Across Iran's 31 Provinces.

2. During visit to Beirut, Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi has said his country is seeking to open a new chapter in relations with Lebanon, at a time when Lebanon is continuing with plans to disarm Tehran's most potent proxy- Hezbollah.

3. Iran’s supreme leader signaled Friday that security forces would crack down on protesters after they screamed from windows and marched through the streets overnight, directly challenging US President Donald Trump’s pledge to support those peacefully demonstrating.

4. Report: Iran’s Supr...

For review:

1. US Seizes Oil Tanker in N. Atlantic Ocean.

2. President Trump's advisers Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met Wednesday in Paris with Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev to discuss the U.S. plan for peace in Ukraine.

3. Somaliland in Talks with Israel About Possible Military Base.

4. US Ready to Start Phase 2 of Gaza Peace Agreement.

5. The Lebanese army announced Thursday that it had completed the first phase of its plan to disarm Hezbollah, covering the area in the country’s south between the Israeli border and the Litani River.

For review:

1. At least seven U.S. service members were injured during Operation Absolute Resolve, according to a Pentagon official and a person familiar with the situation. 

The Cuban government said this week that 32 of its officers died in the raid.

2. France, the United Kingdom and Ukraine signed a “Declaration of Intent” on Tuesday to send their forces to Ukraine in the event of a peace deal with Russia.

3. Israel and Syria on Tuesday agreed during the second day of talks in Paris to create a mechanism that will facilitate de-escalation, diplo...

For review:

1. Former Venezuelan Vice-President (Delcy Rodriguez) sworn in as official President.

2. President Trump: US Not at War with Venezuela.

3. Britain and France on Sunday said they had carried out joint strikes on the Islamic State group in Syria to prevent the Islamist extremists from resurging.

4. A fifth round of talks between Israel and Syria started on Monday in Paris, the first meetings in nearly two months, after progress toward a security arrangement between the two countries stalled.

5. Israel launched a series of airstrikes deep inside eastern and southern...

1. US Raid Captures Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

For review:

1. The United Arab Emirates said on Tuesday it was pulling its remaining forces out of Yemen after Saudi Arabia backed a call for UAE forces to leave within 24 hours.

2. Somaliland FM: No Resettlement of Palestinians or Military Bases. 

Somaliland on Thursday officially denied that it had agreed to accept Gazan refugees or allow Israel to establish military bases on its soil in exchange for Israeli recognition.

3. The Iranian foreign ministry designated the Royal Canadian Navy a terrorist organization on Tuesday in what it said was retaliation for Canada’s 2024 bla...

For Review:

1. Saudi Arabia bombed Yemen’s port city of Mukalla on Tuesday over what it described as a shipment of weapons for a separatist force there, which arrived from the United Arab Emirates. 

2. US Drone Strike on Venezuelan Port.

The drone strike targeted a remote dock on the Venezuelan coast that the US government believed was being used by the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua to store drugs and move them onto boats for shipping. There were no casualties, according to the sources.

3. The United States is offering Ukraine security gua...

For review:

1. The United States hasn’t given up its pursuit of the massive, rusted oil tanker it chased into international waters near Venezuela last weekend, 

Officials no longer expect the Bella 1 to return to the country to load up with oil as the US military and Coast Guard chase it. The ship is currently empty.

2.  Busy Week: President Trump to Meet with Ukraine President & Israeli PM.

3. Israel on Friday became the first country to recognize Somaliland, a former British protectorate that unilaterally declared independence from formerly Italian-ruled Somalia in 1991.

4...

For review:

1. US Strikes ISIS Militants in Nigeria.

2. Venezuela’s ambassador to the United Nations on Tuesday accused the United States of committing the “greatest extortion known in our history” at an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council called over Washington’s seizures of Venezuelan oil tankers.

3. Russia's foreign ministry said on Thursday that the United States was reviving piracy and banditry in the Caribbean Sea by blockading Venezuela and said it hoped that U.S. President Donald Trump's pragmatism would help avoid a disaster.

4. US Coast Guard Still Pursuing...