I - On Defense Podcast

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.