I - On Defense Podcast

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 a military operation launched Sunday...

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 furious tirade on Friday against Ukrainia...

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 Netanyahu has accepted US President Donald Tr...

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 hostage, slain Israel Police Master Sgt. Ra...

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 Benjamin Netanyahu pledged Monday that Tur...

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 Donald Trump, for the first time, appeare...

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 Arab countries convinced him to hold of...

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 officials have suggested the Trump administrat...

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. Israel on Sunday carried out major ai...

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 would crack down on protesters after ...

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 completed the first phase of its plan t...

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 with Russia.

3. Israel and Syria on Tue...

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 meetings in nearly two months, after progre...

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 exchange for Israeli recognition.

3. The Irani...

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 drugs and move them onto boats for shippin...

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. Israel on Friday became the first cou...

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 piracy and banditry in the Caribbean Se...

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 Monday.

2. Israel reportedly started ship...