I - On Defense Podcast

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.