I - On Defense Podcast

For review:
1. US Sec of State Rubio raised concerns about Cuba’s ability to infiltrate and influence top-level U.S. institutions, detailing what he described as a dangerous Cuban spy network that is undermining American interests. 
2. Secretary of State Rubio: Diplomatic Efforts in the Coming Weeks to Restart Moscow - Kiev Negotiations.
3.  The Pentagon is giving up leadership of a U.S.-led NATO command in Germany that coordinates military aid to Ukraine. Another NATO member will eventually take over running the Security Assistance Group, according to a U.S official.
4.  A deal is being mediated to return the United States and Iran to the memorandum of understanding the two countries signed last month, sources aware of the details told Israeli-outlet Channel 12 on Sunday. 
The deal would ensure that the Strait of Hormuz remains open for 60 days without fees and renew a ceasefire between the two sides, according to the report. 
5.  Israeli airstrikes overnight Saturday and into Sunday killed at least 17 people, according to local health officials, and a senior Israeli minister vowed that strikes in the territory will not stop despite Hamas signing a US-backed disarmament plan and earlier reports that Israel agreed to halt attacks. 
The strikes followed similar heavy attacks on Saturday, which the IDF said targeted several Hamas weapon depots.
6.  The U.S. Air Force’s F-47 program has begun its engineering and manufacturing development phase and will fly in the coming years, a service official said.  
The first Boeing F-47 is on track for its first flight in 2028. The Air Force plans to buy at least 185 F-47s, matching the size of the F-22 Raptor fleet it intends to replace. 
7.  US Navy announced that it is awarding contracts for another round of ballistic missile and fast-attack submarines. 
The Defense Department is granting a collective $76.6 billion to General Dynamics Electric Boat for five Columbia-class submarines and to both General Dynamics Electric Boat and Huntington Ingalls Industries-Newport News Shipbuilding for nine Virginia-class submarines to be built in the coming years.

For review:
1. Saudi Arabia is gearing up for a major offensive against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, by sea and possibly including a ground operation, The Guardian reported Thursday. 
2.  The United States and Israel are planning what would be one of the harshest bombing campaigns to date against energy infrastructure in Iran, multiple sources told CBS News, with strikes possible throughout the weekend. 
3.  The Israeli military blew up a Hezbollah tunnel system beneath the Beaufort Ridge in southern Lebanon, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz announced late Thursday night in a joint statement. 
They said the Israel Defense Forces used 700 tons of explosives to demolish the subterranean facility.  
4. US President Donald Trump announced Thursday that his Board of Peace had reached an agreement on the “complete disarmament of Hamas and all other armed groups in Gaza.” 
5. USMC F-35B crasheded today  in California, according to the service. 
The pilot ejected and is in stable condition at a local medical facility, the service said in a statement. The pilot is being treated and evaluated for non-life-threatening injuries, the statement added. 
No additional details were immediately available.

For review:
1. Iran fired multiple ballistic missiles at a U.S. base in the Middle East on Tuesday evening, in what U.S. Central Command called an attempted surprise attack.
2. US Central Command announces that it has renewed airstrikes in Iran, in what it calls “a powerful response to yesterday’s attempted Iranian attacks on US forces based in the Middle East.”
3. A drone hit a US-owned gas storage tanker at Egypt’s Mediterranean port of Damietta, British maritime security firm Ambrey said on Wednesday, citing an initial assessment of the incident.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the incident.
4. Iran is expected to receive within weeks a first shipment of up to 400 Chinese-made shoulder-fired air-defense missile launchers, as it rebuilds its defenses amid ongoing fighting with the United States, three sources told Reuters.
5. Yemen’s Houthis are considering imposing fees on commercial ships sailing through the southern Red Sea, a week after declaring a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, regional sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
6. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not push any one particular strategy regarding Iran during his Oval Office meeting with US President Donald Trump on Tuesday, according to a senior Israeli official, who characterized the sit-down as an “exchange of ideas.” 
7. The Israel Defense Forces on Tuesday struck a mosque in Gaza City, saying Wednesday that it was one of several Hamas weapons depots in the central and northern Gaza Strip that it destroyed this week.
8. The Pentagon has formally launched the Europe force posture review Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced last month, beginning a process to examine U.S. military troop presence, force posture and basing across Europe.

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.