I - On Defense Podcast

For review:
1. American forces seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship after it tried to bypass a U.S. naval blockade in the Gulf of Oman, President Trump said Sunday.
“Guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance (DDG 111) intercepted M/V Touska as it transited the north Arabian Sea at 17 knots en route to Bandar Abbas, Iran. American forces issued multiple warnings and informed the Iranian-flagged vessel it was in violation of the U.S. blockade,” the US Central Command says in a statement.
 2. Vice President JD Vance will lead a U.S. delegation for another round of talks with Iran in Islamabad before the ceasefire is scheduled to end on Tuesday night, two U.S. officials tell Axios.
US President Donald Trump said Sunday that talks with Iran on extending the ceasefire would resume on Tuesday, while the Islamic Republic indicated it was not planning to send a delegation and was pessimistic about the prospects of the talks.
3. Iran swiftly reversed course on reopening the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, reimposing restrictions on the critical waterway after the US said it would not end its blockade of Iran-linked shipping.
4. The Israeli military on Saturday confirmed carrying out several strikes in southern Lebanon over the previous day against Hezbollah operatives who “violated the ceasefire understandings,” in the first such action since the truce took effect at midnight between Thursday and Friday.
5. French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday said Hezbollah was responsible for the death of a French soldier in an attack on UN peacekeepers in Lebanon, while the UN Interim Force in Lebanon blamed “non-state actors,” code for the Iran-backed terror group.
6. Australia has outlined plans to boost its defense spending to three percent of its Gross Domestic Product in the coming years, while reaffirming that the US remains its closest ally and principal strategic partner.
7. Aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) is now operating in U.S. Central Command, two defense officials confirmed to USNI News on Friday.
Ford joins the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group already in CENTCOM. 
The move to the Red Sea comes as a third carrier strike group is approaching U.S. Central Command. USS George H. W. Bush (CVN-77) is transiting around the southern tip of Africa, heading to the Middle East, USNI News reported last week.
8. If the US Army gets its way, it will not be buying additional M109A7 Paladin Integrated Management (PIM) howitzers next year as it looks at alternative options to fill the gap.

For review:
1. A 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah appeared to take effect at midnight Thursday-Friday after being declared hours earlier by US President Donald Trump, who also announced that he was inviting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Lebanese president for peace talks at the White House.
2. The Israeli military said Friday that it remains on high alert and ready to return to fighting in both Iran and Lebanon if the fragile ceasefires in both countries collapses or expire without an extension in the coming weeks.
3. US War Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday accused Iran of piracy and terrorism in the Strait of Hormuz, and said the US was ready to resume fighting “with more power than ever before” if the current ceasefire ends.
4. US President Donald Trump signaled growing optimism Friday about a potential deal with Iran to end the war amid a temporary ceasefire, saying negotiators could meet as soon as this weekend and that an agreement may be reached within days. 
5. Axios Report: US & Iran talks are expected to take place in Islamabad, likely on Sunday, according to a source familiar with the mediation efforts.
6. Pakistan’s air force escorted Iranian negotiators home from inconclusive peace talks with the US last weekend, launching a major operation after the Iranians said Israel might seek to kill them, three sources told Reuters.
Pakistan deployed some two dozen jets in the escort, as well as the force’s Airborne Warning and Control System for aerial surveillance to ensure the safety of the delegation back from Islamabad, said two Pakistani sources with knowledge of the operation.
7.  Iran used a Chinese spy satellite to target US bases in the Middle East for missile and drone strikes, according to a report by The Financial Times published on Wednesday. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Aerospace Force acquired the sophisticated spy satellite from China in late 2024, agreeing to pay roughly $36.6m for the system, the report said.
8. Australia this week announced three major shifts in military leadership, appointing a new Chief of Defence Force, as well as new leaders of the Navy and Army.
Vice Adm, Mark Hammond, the current navy chief, will take over as Australia’s top military officer.

For review:
1. Military planning for a possible Pentagon-led operation in Cuba is quietly ramping up, in case President Trump gives an order to intervene there, USA TODAY has learned.
Two sources familiar with the order spoke to USA TODAY on condition of anonymity because they're not authorized to speak to media.
2. US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he was not considering extending a ceasefire with Iran, predicting “an amazing two days ahead” amid renewed diplomatic efforts with Tehran for an agreement to end the war.
3. The US Navy prevented an Iranian-flagged cargo vessel from leaving Iran on Tuesday after it attempted to evade the maritime blockade that began Monday, US CENTCOM announced.
4. The military adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei warns that Iran will sink American ships in the Strait of Hormuz if the United States decides to “police” the key shipping bottleneck.
5. Iran could consider allowing ships to ​sail freely through the Omani side of the Strait of Hormuz without risk of attack as part of proposals it has ‌offered in negotiations with the United States, providing a deal is clinched to prevent renewed conflict, a source briefed by Tehran said.
The source, who declined to be ​identified due to the sensitivity of the matter, said Iran could be willing to let ships use the other side of the narrow strait ​in Omani waters without any hindrance from Tehran.
6. US Brokers Talks Between Israel and Lebanon. 
Before the meeting, Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun expressed his hope that “an agreement will be reached on a ceasefire in Lebanon, with the aim of initiating direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel, which will be handled by a Lebanese negotiating team to put an end to hostile actions.”
US Secretary of State Rubio: “The hope today is that we can outline the framework upon which a permanent, lasting peace can be developed so that the people of Israel can live in peace and the people of Lebanon can live, not just in peace but in the prosperity and security that they deserve."
7. The US Army has officially given a new name for its MV-75 tiltrotor, calling it the Cheyenne II, though the service is closely holding additional details about the rotorcraft’s timeline, including its expected first flight.

For review:
1.  The U.S. proposed that Iran accept a 20-year moratorium on uranium enrichment during talks over the weekend, according to a U.S. official and a source with knowledge..  The Iranians countered with a shorter "single digit" period, according to the sources.
2.  US Aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) is operating off the coast of Namibia, as it sails around the African continent and is set to join a growing naval force in the Arabian Sea amid a U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, USNI News has learned. 
3.  The US military on Monday detailed the boundaries of its Strait of Hormuz blockade, saying it would extend east to the Gulf of Oman and Arabian Sea, while ship-tracking data showed two ships turned around in the strait as the blockade went into effect. 
The blockade began at 10 a.m. US Eastern Time on Monday. 
4.  Responding to the US blockade announcement, Iran said the move was illegal and “amounts to piracy,” and threatened a “forceful response” to any renewed military action amid a fragile 14-day ceasefire that was reached last week. 
5.  France and Britain will co-host a summit this week to discuss a “coordinated, independent, multinational plan” to safeguard shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Monday. 
6.  All three major Hebrew TV networks reported that the IDF is gearing up for renewed conflict with Iran after the ceasefire talks between the United States and the Islamic Republic collapsed, in what appeared to be a coordinated leak by defense officials on Sunday. 
7.   The Israeli military has nearly completed the capture of the Hezbollah stronghold of Bint Jbeil in southern Lebanon, killing more than 100 members of the terror group in the area in the process, the Israel Defense Forces said Monday. 
8. Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem on Monday urged Lebanon to cancel a planned meeting with Israel in Washington the following day, reiterating his group’s rejection of direct negotiations with its sworn enemy. 
9.  Israeli PM Netanyahu castigated Europe on Monday, as Israel ushered in Holocaust Remembrance Day in a pre-recorded ceremony, amid ongoing hostilities with Iran and the Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon. 
10.  European allies must wean themselves off an “addiction” to US defense capabilities and step up regional military planning and rearmament, Swedish defense minister Jonson told Breaking Defense in an exclusive interview.

For review:
1. The talks in Islamabad stretched into the early hours of Sunday morning following hours of marathon negotiations, even as Iran warned that Washington was making “excessive demands” over the Strait of Hormuz that could undermine Pakistan’s peacemaking efforts.
2. The US military said on Saturday that it had begun a mine-clearing operation in the Strait of Hormuz, with two US warships passing through the key waterway.
Admiral Brad Cooper, the head of Central Command, said in a statement: “Today, we began the process of establishing a new passage and we will share this safe pathway with the maritime industry soon to encourage the free flow of commerce.”
3. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warns that any attempt by military vessels to transit the Strait of Hormuz will be met with “a strong response,” saying only non-military vessels would be allowed to pass under specific regulations, the IRGC declares in a statement carried by Iranian media after the US Central Command announced two US Navy warships transited the strategic waterway to clear mines laid by Tehran.
4. Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is still recovering from severe facial and leg injuries suffered in the airstrike that killed his father at the beginning of the war, three people close to his inner circle told Reuters.
5. Israel and Hezbollah traded fire throughout Saturday, with the Israel Defense Forces striking hundreds of targets in Lebanon and the Iran-backed terror group launching dozens of rockets and drones at northern Israel.
6. The first in-person meeting in the expected negotiations between Israel and Lebanon will take place on Tuesday in Washington, a US official familiar with the details told The Times of Israel on Friday.
7. China is preparing to deliver new air defense systems to Iran within the next few weeks, according to three people familiar with recent intelligence assessments.
8. The Board of Peace does not expect to receive a final approval from Hamas to its disarmament proposal by the Saturday deadline set by the international body overseeing the postwar management of Gaza, three sources familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel.
9. Finland has signed a €547 million ($642 million) contract with South Korea’s Hanwha Aerospace to procure 112 additional K9 self-propelled howitzers, accelerating its artillery expansion.
Finnish authorities announced the government-to-government deal on Thursday, expected to bring its total K9 inventory to over 200 systems, making Finland the second-largest European operator behind Poland.