I - On Defense Podcast

For review: 1. US and Jordan Strike ISIS Targets in Syria. 2. Human Rights Group: More Than 500 Killed in Iran Protests; President Trump Weighing Military Options. 3. Hamas says it has instructed its government agencies to prepare to hand over their powers to the independent committee of Palestinian technocrats that is supposed to administer Gaza under US President Donald Trump’s ceasefire plan. 4...

For review: 1. Iranian Protests Continue for 13th Day; Spread Across Iran's 31 Provinces. 2. During visit to Beirut, Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi has said his country is seeking to open a new chapter in relations with Lebanon, at a time when Lebanon is continuing with plans to disarm Tehran's most potent proxy- Hezbollah. 3. Iran’s supreme leader signaled Friday that security forces...

For review: 1. US Seizes Oil Tanker in N. Atlantic Ocean. 2. President Trump's advisers Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met Wednesday in Paris with Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev to discuss the U.S. plan for peace in Ukraine. 3. Somaliland in Talks with Israel About Possible Military Base. 4. US Ready to Start Phase 2 of Gaza Peace Agreement. 5. The Lebanese army announced Thursday that it had...

For review: 1. At least seven U.S. service members were injured during Operation Absolute Resolve, according to a Pentagon official and a person familiar with the situation.  The Cuban government said this week that 32 of its officers died in the raid. 2. France, the United Kingdom and Ukraine signed a “Declaration of Intent” on Tuesday to send their forces to Ukraine in the event of a peace deal...

For review: 1. Former Venezuelan Vice-President (Delcy Rodriguez) sworn in as official President. 2. President Trump: US Not at War with Venezuela. 3. Britain and France on Sunday said they had carried out joint strikes on the Islamic State group in Syria to prevent the Islamist extremists from resurging. 4. A fifth round of talks between Israel and Syria started on Monday in Paris, the first meet...

1. US Raid Captures Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

For review: 1. The United Arab Emirates said on Tuesday it was pulling its remaining forces out of Yemen after Saudi Arabia backed a call for UAE forces to leave within 24 hours. 2. Somaliland FM: No Resettlement of Palestinians or Military Bases.  Somaliland on Thursday officially denied that it had agreed to accept Gazan refugees or allow Israel to establish military bases on its soil in exchang...

For Review: 1. Saudi Arabia bombed Yemen’s port city of Mukalla on Tuesday over what it described as a shipment of weapons for a separatist force there, which arrived from the United Arab Emirates.  2. US Drone Strike on Venezuelan Port. The drone strike targeted a remote dock on the Venezuelan coast that the US government believed was being used by the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua to store drug...

For review: 1. The United States hasn’t given up its pursuit of the massive, rusted oil tanker it chased into international waters near Venezuela last weekend,  Officials no longer expect the Bella 1 to return to the country to load up with oil as the US military and Coast Guard chase it. The ship is currently empty. 2.  Busy Week: President Trump to Meet with Ukraine President & Israeli PM. 3...

For review: 1. US Strikes ISIS Militants in Nigeria. 2. Venezuela’s ambassador to the United Nations on Tuesday accused the United States of committing the “greatest extortion known in our history” at an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council called over Washington’s seizures of Venezuelan oil tankers. 3. Russia's foreign ministry said on Thursday that the United States was reviving p...

For review: 1. US Continues Military Build-Up in Puerto Rico. The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that at least 10 CV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft, which are used to transport special forces, arrived in the Caribbean theater from Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico. The Journal also reported that C-17 cargo planes from Fort Stewart and Fort Campbell Army bases arrived in Puerto Rico on Mo...

For review: 1. Israel has reportedly warned the Trump administration that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps may be using an ongoing military exercise focusing on missiles as cover to launch an attack on Israel, amid fears that Jerusalem and Tehran are readying for another confrontation. 2. Finland's President (Alexander Stubb): Russia - Ukraine Peace Closer than Any Point in the War 3....

For review: 1. US Seizes Second Venezuelan Sanctioned Tanker. 2. US Strikes 70 ISIS Targets in Syria. The attack was conducted using F-15 Eagle jets, A-10 Thunderbolt ground attack aircraft and AH-64 Apache helicopters, the U.S. officials said. F-16 fighter jets from Jordan and HIMARS rocket artillery also were used. 3. NBC Report: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will present plans for a possibl...

For review: 1. President Donald Trump said Thursday that he is leaving the possibility of a war with Venezuela on the table. 2. US Secretary of State: We Need to Clarify (ISF) Mandate Before We Can Expect Countries to Contribute Troops. 3. Report: Turkey to Return S400 System to Russia to Allow F-35 Purchase. 4. European leaders on Dec. 19 approved a $105 billion interest-free loan for Ukraine. 5....

For review: 1. President Trump Orders Blockade of Sanctioned Venezuelan Oil Tankers. 2. Speaking at an annual meeting with top military officers, Russian President Putin said Moscow would prefer to achieve its goals and “eliminate the root causes of the conflict” by diplomatic means, but he added that “if the opposing side and its foreign patrons refuse to engage in substantive dialogue, Russia wi...

For review: 1. US Agrees to Unspecified Security Guarantees for Ukraine; Talks to Continue. 2.  Estonia Begins Installing Concrete Bunkers on Border with Russia. The initial batch represents the first phase of the Estonian 600-bunker network as part of the Baltic Defense Line project- coordinated with Lithuania and Latvia. 3. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday met with the US Ambassador t...

For review: 1. Joint US-Syrian Patrol Ambushed; Two US Soldiers Killed; President Trump Vows Serious Retaliation. 2. WSJ Report: A US special operations team in the Indian Ocean raided a ship headed to Iran from China last month and seized military-related articles. 3.  The Israel Defense Forces on Saturday issued a warning to residents of the southern Lebanon town of Yanouh ahead of planned airst...

For review: 1. US President Donald Trump’s administration is reportedly planning to appoint an American two-star general to command the International Stabilization Force (ISF) in Gaza. 2. Taiwan’s high-profile Deputy Foreign Minister Francois Wu made a previously unpublicized visit to Israel recently, three sources familiar with the trip told Reuters, at a time when Taiwan is looking to Jerusalem...

For review: 1. Latest in Ukraine/US/European negotiations to end war. 2. A Hamas source told The Times of Israel on Sunday that the group will only agree to give up its weapons through negotiations that result in the establishment of a Palestinian state. 3. Armor Not Dead: Australian Army's 3d Brigade (Armored) Transformation. The first tranche of the new AS9 Huntsman SP 155mm howitzers is se...

For review: 1. Ukrainian President to Meet with E3 Leaders in London to discuss last week's US Negotiations (Miami). 2. US Envoy Kellogg Says Deal Close; Sticking Points include Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant. 3. The Russian and Chinese militaries conducted joint anti-missile drills in on Russian territory in early December as part of scheduled military exercises, China's Defense...

For review: 1. Remains of Thai Hostage Sudthisak Rinthalak Returned From Gaza Strip. 2. Israel has told mediators in Cairo that Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad know how to reach the remains of Master Sergeant Ran Gvili, the last hostage held in the Gaza Strip, Israeli television reported Friday.  3. The Israel Defense Forces carried out a wave of airstrikes against what it said were Hezbollah...

For review: 1. President Trump: US is Preparing for Land Operations Against Narcotics Manufacturers in Venezuela. 2. US - Russian Talks in Moscow "Useful & Constructive" -  But No Concrete Deal. 3. The Israel Ministry of Defense delivered the first operational Arrow 3 Air Defense System to Germany in a formal ceremony at a German Air Force base near Berlin, Israel’s Ministry of Defen...

For review: 1. President Trump Discusses Venezuela with Key Advisors. 2. Pope Leo XIV arrived Sunday in Lebanon from Turkey, where he opened his first trip as Pope. He is set to wrap up his visit on Tuesday with a prayer at the site of the 2020 Beirut port blast and a Mass on the waterfront. 3. US Cautions Iraq Against Support to Hezbollah.  4. Negotiations between the U.S. and Ukraine on Sunday f...

For review: 1. President Trump: Airspace Above Venezuela Considered To Be Closed In Its Entirety.  “To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY,” President Trump said in a post on Truth Social. 2. President Zelensky's Chief of Staff Resigns From Corruption Scandal. Andriy Yermak resigne...

For review: 1. US Sec of State: Security Guarantees to Ukraine After Ceasefire. 2. The body of Mr. Dror Or was returned to Israel from Gaza by Palestinian terror groups on Tuesday evening, Israeli authorities announced Wednesday morning. The bodies of two slain hostages now remain held in Gaza. 3. Israel reportedly conveyed a proposal to Hamas last week that would allow the release of dozens of Ha...