I - On Defense Podcast

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 for...

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...

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 Baalb...

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 prelimi...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 t...

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...

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...

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 mi...

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...

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 co...

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 n...

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. Ir...

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,...

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...

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 fur...

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 Netanya...

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 hostag...

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 Benj...

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 Don...

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 A...

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 officia...