I - On Defense Podcast

For review:
1. US officials met representatives of Yemen’s Houthis in Oman over the weekend, five sources familiar with the matter said Wednesday, days after the Iran-backed militia seized a strategic stretch of the Red Sea coast in a sweeping offensive that routed Saudi-backed forces.
2. China has privately asked Tehran to help rein in Yemen’s Houthis after an appeal to Beijing by Saudi Arabia following the Iran-backed group’s military blitz in the past week, according to three Iranian sources familiar with the matter.
3. Saudi Arabia is running low on missile interceptors and has turned to regional and Western allies for assistance as its standoff with Houthi rebels in Yemen drags on, two regional officials said Wednesday.
The regional officials said the Saudis have asked France, Britain, Pakistan and Egypt to deploy air-defense support to the region to help defend against missiles and drones fired by Houthis and other Iran-backed groups.
4. Democratic and Republican US senators asked President Donald Trump’s administration on Wednesday to declassify and release all information about a proposed agreement with Saudi Arabia on civil nuclear energy, including two classified “side letters” reached with Riyadh.
5. The US State Department has cleared the potential sale of F-35s to Saudi Arabia, fulfilling a commitment of President Donald Trump despite security concerns over transferring the highly advanced stealth jet to the Gulf kingdom. 
6. Iran is rapidly advancing the reconstruction of a nuclear facility that was previously bombed by Israel, according to satellite images cited in a report Thursday by the Institute for Science and International Security.
7. US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he was approaching a major decision on whether to resume large-scale attacks on Iran, as Washington weighs how to bring the months-long war to an end.
8. Fourteen Russian spy satellites flew above a US military base in Saudi Arabia in March, just days before a major Iranian strike during the US-Israeli war with the Islamic Republic, according to CNN.
9. The US has approved visas for an Iranian delegation headed by its President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi to attend next week’s UN General Assembly in New York, an official familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel on Thursday.
10. The Board of Peace will hold a briefing for representatives from dozens of countries on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly next week to update them on efforts to implement US President Donald Trump’s plan for rebuilding the Gaza Strip.
11. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy says a Togo-flagged oil tanker was struck while attempting to make an “illegal passage” through the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state media says.

For review:
1. The leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland called Monday for the British government to "prepare for, plan and facilitate" constitutional change that could lead to the breakup of the United Kingdom, with the remarks coming days after President Trump said he would "love to see" Irish reunification.
2. Apparent Houthi attacks early Tuesday morning triggered warnings in six Saudi cities, including Yanbu, the kingdom’s main Red Sea oil port, and Riyadh warned it would react “firmly” to the Iran-backed rebels’ ongoing missile and drone attacks.
3. The military chiefs of Israel, the US, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan and Egypt held a meeting in Germany last week about the war with Iran and regional tensions, two Israeli officials told the Axios news site.
The private meeting at a secluded ski resort, organized by US CENTCOM commander Brad Cooper and confirmed by CENTCOM to Axios, was the first such gathering since the US and Israel launched their joint campaign against Iran in February, according to the report.
4. US President Donald Trump’s administration is planning to sell to Israel a munitions package worth $2.8 billion, which will include tens of thousands of highly destructive 2,000-pound bombs, according to a US official familiar with the sale.
5. The IDF and Shin Bet confirm killing the commander of Hamas’s Rafah Brigade in an airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip this evening.
6. Israeli firm Rafael Advanced Defense Systems announced today that for the first time it is “integrating its SPICE 1000 air-to-surface munition on the F-35 fighter aircraft,” a move it sees as a “significant step” in allowing other F-35 users to use the munition.
SPICE stands for Smart, Precise Impact and Cost-Effective and refers to a line of munitions meant to provide a stand-off strike capability of more than 75 miles (120km). 
7. According to a CBO report, combat operations in Iran have cost the Defense Department around $38 billion as of August 1.

For review:
1. Report: The Trump administration secretly explored an energy deal with Cuba earlier this year that would have provided US oil and investment to the island in exchange for major economic and political changes, according to media reports.
Miami Herald: "The deal with Cuba, while much smaller in its scale would have sent shockwaves throughout the Cuban government establishment, as it was also tied to a demand that the country's handpicked president, Miguel Diaz-Canel, seen as an incompetent figurehead by Trump administration officials, leave power."
2. Houthi fighters on Sunday said they used drones and missiles to attack a military base in southern Saudi Arabia.
The attack at the southern Sharurah base targeted “weapons depots and command and control centers that are managing the aggression against our nation and people,” Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree wrote on X.
The date of the operation was not specified. 
3. Chinese entities supplied Iran with high-quality satellite imagery of a US Air Force base in Jordan both before and after Tehran launched a deadly ballistic missile attack on the facility on July 17, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday, citing US officials familiar with the matter.
4. Moscow is now striking targets indiscriminately across Ukraine in response to Kyiv's intensified attacks on Russian territory, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Sept. 13.
Peskov claimed Russia had previously avoided indiscriminate strikes but changed its approach after Ukraine began targeting Russian economic and strategic infrastructure.
5. Canada and Ukraine have signed a long-term defense agreement to jointly produce uncrewed technologies, counter-drone systems, and munitions.
During a visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Calgary, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on Thursday a series of deals to support the war-torn country as part of a “100-year partnership.” 
6. Finnish space company ICEYE and Poland’s state-run defense giant PGZ have signed a letter of intent to jointly develop a military satellite communications system.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the project will pave the way for the launch of a Starlink-like system for the nation.
In a statement, PGZ said that the program is to be implemented from 2026 to 2030.

For review:
1. Using 1,100 tons of explosives, the Israeli military said on Thursday that it had demolished a “strategic” underground facility belonging to the Hezbollah terror group beneath a mountainous ridge in southern Lebanon.
2. An airstrike late Thursday in the southern Gaza Strip killed the commander of Hamas’s Khan Younis Brigade, the Israeli military and the terror group said on Friday morning.
3. Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis seized several strategic Red Sea islands on Friday after capturing territory along the coast, sealing their takeover of a vital shipping corridor linking Europe and Asia.
4. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman reportedly called US President Trump twice Thursday and urged him to launch strikes against the Houthi rebels in Yemen, the Axios outlet reported, citing two US officials.
5. The Saudi Foreign Ministry offers additional details on what led it to temporarily halt operations of its East-West oil pipeline, saying it was attacked by drones that originated from Iraq.
6. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan discussed regional developments and recent attacks targeting Saudi Arabia in a call with his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, a Turkish diplomatic source says.
Last month, NATO member Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed a joint defense agreement that includes a mutual defense clause similar to NATO’s Article 5.
7. The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog said Thursday that the agency has observed construction activity at Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain, which Western intelligence has flagged as a site likely used to store nuclear material.
8. US Vice President JD Vance reportedly sought direct insight from American generals on the war against Iran, seeking to bypass the Pentagon amid his skepticism of the extended military conflict.

For review:
1. A group of eight Muslim-majority countries, including Israel’s ally the United Arab Emirates, praised the United Kingdom on Wednesday for announcing that it will impose sanctions on Israeli settlements in the West Bank, and called on other countries to do the same.
2. Iran’s Guards said on Wednesday that a new “prohibited zone” outside the Strait of Hormuz would cover parts of the Gulf of Oman and beyond, adding that they would announce the exact coordinates later.
3. Iran Claims Capture of US Navy Underwater Drone.
4. The US military on Tuesday said it destroyed five oil tankers in Iran’s so-called shadow fleet following a pair of attempted Iranian ballistic missile attacks targeting an American warship the previous day. 
5. IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir announced on Tuesday that the military would soon inaugurate a new “unmanned systems and artificial intelligence” branch.
Currently, the Israel Defense Forces has three branches — the Ground Forces, Air Force, and Navy. The existing branches are each headed by a major general. A new fourth branch would be an unprecedented move for the military.
6. Presidnet Trump told Russian President Putin that a swift resolution to the Ukraine war could pave the way for the countries to fully restore trade and economic ties, according to a Kremlin readout of a call between the two leaders.