I - On Defense Podcast

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 Tu...

For review:

1. American forces seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship after it tried to bypass a U.S. naval blockade in the Gulf of Oman, President Trump said Sunday.

“Guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance (DDG 111) intercepted M/V Touska as it transited the north Arabian Sea at 17 knots en route to Bandar Abbas, Iran. American forces issued multiple warnings and informed the Iranian-flagged vessel it was in violation of the U.S. blockade,” the US Central Command says in a statement.

 2. Vice President JD Vance will lead a U.S. delegation for another round of talks...

For review:

1. A 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah appeared to take effect at midnight Thursday-Friday after being declared hours earlier by US President Donald Trump, who also announced that he was inviting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Lebanese president for peace talks at the White House.

2. The Israeli military said Friday that it remains on high alert and ready to return to fighting in both Iran and Lebanon if the fragile ceasefires in both countries collapses or expire without an extension in the coming weeks.

3. US War Secretary Pete Hegseth on...

For review:

1. Military planning for a possible Pentagon-led operation in Cuba is quietly ramping up, in case President Trump gives an order to intervene there, USA TODAY has learned.

Two sources familiar with the order spoke to USA TODAY on condition of anonymity because they're not authorized to speak to media.

2. US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he was not considering extending a ceasefire with Iran, predicting “an amazing two days ahead” amid renewed diplomatic efforts with Tehran for an agreement to end the war.

3. The US Navy prevented an I...

For review:

1.  The U.S. proposed that Iran accept a 20-year moratorium on uranium enrichment during talks over the weekend, according to a U.S. official and a source with knowledge..  The Iranians countered with a shorter "single digit" period, according to the sources.

2.  US Aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) is operating off the coast of Namibia, as it sails around the African continent and is set to join a growing naval force in the Arabian Sea amid a U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, USNI News has learned. 

3...

For review:

1. The talks in Islamabad stretched into the early hours of Sunday morning following hours of marathon negotiations, even as Iran warned that Washington was making “excessive demands” over the Strait of Hormuz that could undermine Pakistan’s peacemaking efforts.

2. The US military said on Saturday that it had begun a mine-clearing operation in the Strait of Hormuz, with two US warships passing through the key waterway.

Admiral Brad Cooper, the head of Central Command, said in a statement: “Today, we began the process of establishing a new passage and we will share th...

For review:

1. Items from the 10-Point Ceasefire Plan.

2. US President Donald Trump on Wednesday night renewed his threat to use unprecedented force against Iran if it doesn’t comply with the terms of the ceasefire, ahead of scheduled peace talks between Washington and Tehran.

3. The Isr...

For review:

1. The White House asserts that the announcement of a two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran is a victory for Washington.

The U.S. has agreed to a two-week ceasefire with Iran proposed by Pakistan, President Trump said Tuesday night.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi confirmed Tehran's acceptance and said Iran would allow "safe passage" of the Strait of Hormuz during those two weeks "via coordination with Iran's armed forces."

2. Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is unconscious and being treated for a “severe” medical issue, rendering him unable to gov...

For review:

1. US special forces conducted a daring raid deep into enemy territory to safely rescue a wounded US airman who was shot down over southwest Iran, with US President Donald Trump triumphantly declaring “WE GOT HIM,” on Sunday, ending a 36-hour race to find the aviator before he could be captured by pursuing Iranian forces. 

2. In an expletive-laden post on his Truth Social account on Sunday, US President Donald Trump warned that the US would attack power plants and bridges in Iran starting Tuesday — when his latest ultimatum for Tehran to make a deal ends —...

For review:

1. A U.S. F-15E fighter jet was shot down over Iran on Friday, and one crew member from the plane was later rescued by American forces, U.S. officials confirmed to CBS News.  

The F-15E is flown by a two-member crew, and the search for the second crew member, a weapons system officer, is continuing, two U.S. officials said. 

An A-10 Warthog was part of the search and rescue mission when it took fire and was damaged. The Warthog pilot ejected over the Persian Gulf and was successfully re...

For review:

1. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has asked Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George to step down and take immediate retirement, sources familiar with the decision told CBS News. 

2. The U.S. military is poised to double its A-10 presence in the Middle East, as the  close air support plane plays a key role in combating Iranian boats and Iranian-backed militias in Iraq as part of Operation Epic Fury against Iran.

3. US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Israel and the United States were close to completing their key objectives in the wa...

For review:

1. The US Central Command confirms that CENTCOM chief Adm. Brad Cooper visited Israel this week and met with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir.

2. The aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush deployed Tuesday and is slated to go to the Middle East along with three destroyers, two U.S. officials said. The carrier strike group consists of more than 6,000 Sailors.

3. US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said Iran does not have to agree to a deal to end the ongoing US-Israeli war with the Islamic Republic, as he...

For review:

1. Hundreds of U.S. Special Operations Forces, including Navy SEALs and Army Rangers, are now in the Middle East, as well as thousands of Marines and Army paratroopers, according to sources familiar with the deployments.

The NYT first reported the forces had arrived in the region. 

2. US President Donald Trump said on Monday that progress was being made in “serious discussions” with Tehran about ending the war, but warned that the US would destroy Iranian energy sites and infrastructure if a deal is not reached in the near future.

3. Israe...

For review:

1. US President Trump said Friday “Cuba is next. President Trump did not specify what he planned to do with Cuba, telling the media to “disregard that statement” before repeating “Cuba’s next.”

2.  US Tripoli Amphibious Ready Group & USMC 31st MEU Arrives CENTCOM AOR.

3. Pakistan’s prime minister said he had a “detailed” call with Iran’s president on Saturday, as foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey prepared to meet in Islamabad for talks on the war in the Middle East. The US and Iran are not expected to be present.

Top di...

For review:

1. Ten U.S. service members were wounded Friday in an Iranian missile strike on Prince Sultan Airbase in Saudi Arabia, the Wall Street Journal reported. Friday’s strike reportedly damaged multiple U.S. refueling aircraft and involved Iranian drones.

2. The Pentagon is considering sending up to 10,000 more ground troops to the Middle East to potentially support operations in Iran in a move aimed at giving President Donald Trump more military options,  The Wall Street Journal reported Friday. 

3. US President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he was postponing his deadline for Iran...

For review:

1. The U.S. military is preparing to deploy at least 1,000 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East in the coming days, according to three people with knowledge of the plans.

2. Chief of the US Central Command, Adm. Brad Cooper, says the American military has struck over 10,000 targets in Iran since the start of the war, as part of which it destroyed two-thirds of the regime’s military production facilities.

3. Iran has been laying traps and moving additional military personnel and air defenses to Kharg Island in recent weeks in...

For review:

1. The United States is reportedly planning a weeks-long operation to force Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, an Israeli report claimed Sunday

2. In a bombshell announcement, US President Donald Trump revealed early Monday that his administration was engaged in productive talks with Iran regarding a “complete and total resolution” of the US-Israeli war with the Islamic Republic.

Trump’s initial statement, made on social media, came nearly two days after he had threatened to bomb Iran’s power plants unless it opened the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours. 

On Monday...

For review:

1. The United States struck Iran’s Natanz uranium enrichment facility on Saturday, several media reports claimed, 

Iranian media said US-Israeli forces attacked the Shahid Ahmadi-Roshan Natanz enrichment complex on Saturday morning. Technical experts found that no radioactive leaks had occurred, and nearby residents were not at risk.

2. US President Donald Trump on Friday ruled out a ceasefire with Iran, as American officials said more US Marines were headed to the Middle East in a possible sign of a coming ground operation three weeks into the war.

3.  US President Donald Trum...

For review:

1. The Israeli Air Force struck Iranian gas infrastructure in the country’s south on Wednesday. The strikes targeted Iran’s massive offshore South Pars natural gas field. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the strikes on the gas facility, but an Israeli official confirmed the strike was carried out by the IAF.

2. US President Donald Trump said early Thursday that he would not allow another Israeli attack on Iran’s South Pars natural gas field.

3. US War Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday said the US would again launch “the largest...

For review:

1. Top Iranian official Ali Larijani was killed in an Israeli airstrike overnight Monday-Tuesday, Israel’s military and top leaders announced on Tuesday.

The Israel Defense Forces said that the commander of Iran’s oppressive Basij force had been killed in a separate overnight strike as well.

2. US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the US would not be fighting Iran for “much longer,” but declined to give a clear timeline, as he disparaged NATO for not doing more to help.

President Trump reiterated his disappointment with NATO over its members’...

For review:

1. A missile strike on a house in Baghdad on Tuesday killed two people, with initial reports suggesting they are “Iranian advisers” to Tehran-backed groups, a security official tells AFP.

2. Rockets and at least five drones were launched at the US embassy in Baghdad early Tuesday from areas around the city, Iraqi security sources say, describing the attack as the most intense since the start of the US-Israel war with Iran.

3. Amid the latest Iranian missile attack on Israel, the military announces that it has launched “extensive” strikes against targets in both Tehran a...

For review:

1. On Sunday, citing “a senior source close to the new Iranian leader,” Kuwait’s Al-Jarida news outlet reported that Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei had been smuggled out of Iran in a secretive Russian operation on Thursday to receive medical treatment in Moscow for injuries sustained in the same airstrikes that killed his father and wife on the first day of the ongoing US-Israeli offensive.

2. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday that Tehran had neither requested a ceasefire nor sought negotiations with Washington.

3. Iran’s relations with Arab Gulf states will require...

For review:

1. US President Donald Trump’s administration has rebuffed efforts by Middle Eastern allies to start diplomatic negotiations aimed at ending the Iran war. Iran, for its part, has rejected talk of a ceasefire until US and Israeli strikes end, two senior Iranian sources told Reuters, 

2. US President Donald Trump says that the United States may carry out more strikes on Iran’s Kharg Island oil export hub, saying that while Tehran appears ready to make a deal to end the conflict, “the terms aren’t good enough yet.”

3. President Trump on the Strait...

For review:

1. Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is “wounded and likely disfigured,” US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in a briefing Friday.

2. US President Donald Trump announces that American forces “totally obliterated every MILITARY target in Iran’s crown jewel, Kharg Island.

3. Five US Air Force refueling planes were struck and damaged on the ground at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing two US officials.

The planes, which were hit during an Iranian missile strike on the Saudi base in recent days, were damag...

For review:

1.Two oil tankers were struck in the Gulf, killing one person, as Iran continued its attacks on targets across the region and the IDF reported hitting a “critical” nuclear site near Tehran, amid ongoing US-Israeli strikes on the Islamic Republic.

2. Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who has yet to appear in public, ostensibly vowed on Thursday to avenge the deaths since the start of the war with the US and Israel, in a statement read out by a presenter on state TV.

3. UN Security Council on Wednesday adopted a Bahrai...

For review:

1.The Swedish Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, published its global arms export and import report on Monday, comparing the arms exports of various countries in the years 2016–2020 to 2021–2025.

2. Kurdish rebels say they are ready to fight the Islamic Republic, but hope for an uprising before they intervene, with or without US support.

3. In a press conference at the Pentagon, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that Tuesday would be “the most intense day of strikes” on Iran. “The most fighters, the most bombers, the most intelligence, more defined and better than ever.”

For review:

1. Turkey said on Monday that NATO air defenses shot down a second ballistic missile that was fired from Iran and had entered Turkish airspace, warning it will take any necessary steps against threats.

2. Turkey deployed six F-16C fighter aircraft to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus on Monday, defense officials here said.

The warplanes were sent as part of a phased approach to enhancing security in light of recent developments in the region, the Ministry of Defense wrote in an announcement.

3. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian spoke by phone...

For review:

1. Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of Iran’s late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was chosen Sunday to succeed him, despite never having been elected or appointed to a government position.

A secretive figure within the Islamic Republic, Mojtaba Khamenei has not been seen publicly since the start of the war.

2.  US President Donald Trump told The Times of Israel on Sunday that a decision on when to end the war with Iran will be a “mutual” one that he’ll make together with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

3. Israel Defense Forces ch...

For review:

1. Six top defense contractors have agreed to quadruple production of what President Donald Trump has termed “Exquisite Class Weaponry” following a meeting at the White House on munitions production.

Meeting attended by:

RTX, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrup Grumman, BAE, L3 Harris, & Honeywell.

2. US President Donald Trump said Saturday he ruled out Kurdish involvement in the war with Iran, saying Washington does not want the conflict to become “more complex.”

3. The United States has started using British bases for certain operations against Iran during the Middle East war, the UK’s...

For review:

1. Italy, Spain, France and the Netherlands will send naval assets to protect Cyprus in the coming days, Rome’s Defense Minister Guido Crosetto told parliament on Thursday. Crosetto said the deployment would occur in the coming days.

2. The Washington Post reported Friday that Russia has been assisting Iran in its war with the US and Israel by providing intelligence on the locations of American military assets in the Middle East. The report cited US officials familiar with the details.

3. A massive Israeli strike Friday morning destroyed the underground Tehran bunker of Ir...

Operation Epic Fury & Roaring Lion for review:

1. Concerning Iran's New Supreme Leader: Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Wednesday that Israel would target whoever leads the Islamic Republic. “

Any leader appointed by the Iranian terror regime to continue leading the plan to destroy Israel, threaten the US and the free world and the countries of the region, and oppress the Iranian people, will be an unequivocal target for elimination,” Katz said in a statement.

 “It does not matter what his name is or where he hides,” he said.

2. An American submarine sank an I...

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...