I - On Defense Podcast

Epizodai

• President Trump: "No Hurry" to Make Deal with Iran + Report: Iranian Missile Strike on US Base in Kuwait Wounds Five Americans; Two MQ-9 Reaper Drones Destroyed or Badly Damaged + IDF Captures Beaufort Castle in S. Lebanon 31.05.2026 23min

  For review: 1. US SOUTHCOM X: SOUTHCOMCommander Gen. Francis L. Donovan (USMC) personally inspected all aspects of Naval Station Guantanamo Bay’s security posture, leading a comprehensive perimeter security assessment and discussing force protection, operational readiness, and measures to ensure the safety and security of service members, their families, and the joint force stationed at the installation with base officials. 2. US President Donald Trump put off his decision on the memora...
• No Final Determination on US - Iran MOU + Israel Continues Air and Ground Operations North of Litani River + US SOUTHCOM Commander Meets with Cuban Military Officials 29.05.2026 27min

  For review: 1. The head of the U.S. military's Southern Command met with top Cuban military officials Friday at the edge of the American naval base at Guantanamo Bay. 2. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed Friday that troops of the IDF’s 36th Division have crossed Lebanon’s Litani River. PM Netanyahu: “Our forces crossed the Litani, and they’ve advanced to the dominating terrain,” Netanyahu said on a visit to troops on the northern border. “We’re also operating in ...
• New US Strikes Against Iran; Second Attack This Week + Israel Kills Newly Appointed Hamas Military Chief in Gaza City + IDF Combat Operations North of Litani River 27.05.2026 26min

  For review: 1. The Pentagon has spent months positioning the troops and weapons needed for the U.S. to launch a military attack on Cuba — all it needs is a final go-ahead from the President. 2. The US military carried out new strikes overnight Wednesday-Thursday in Iran, targeting a military site that officials believed posed a threat to US forces and commercial maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, a US official tells Reuters. US forces attacked missile sites in southern Iran...
• Latest on US - Iran Negotiations and Deal + Israel Ramping Up Strikes Against Hezbollah 25.05.2026 29min

  For review: 1. Latest on US - Iran Negotiations and Deal. 2. Israel Ramping Up Strikes Against Hezbollah
• President Trump: Iran Deal To Be Released Soon + President Trump Announces Deployment of 5000 Troops to Poland + US Aircraft Carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) Operating in SOUTHCOM AOR 23.05.2026 28min

  For review: 1. The U.S deployed the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz and its accompanying strike group into Caribbean waters this week. 2. US President Donald Trump declared on Saturday that the US and Iran were finalizing a deal to end the war. Iran has agreed to give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium as part of an agreement with the US to end the war, two US officials tell the New York Times. 3. The Israel Defense Forces on Saturday said it hit Hezbollah sites in the terror group’s str...
• Secretary of State Rubio: Iran's Plan to Toll Ships in Strait "Unfeasible" + US Navy CNO: Escorting Ships in the Strait Exceeds Navy Capacity + Russia Launches Unannounced Three-Day Nuclear Exercise; 200 Missile Launchers; 140 Aircraft; 8 Nuclear Subs 21.05.2026 20min

  For review: 1. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday that there were “good signs” for a deal to end the war with Iran, but that an agreement would be “unfeasible” if Tehran pursues its plan to toll ships in the Strait of Hormuz. 2. WSJ Report: Israel has created a list of all Palestinians who took part in the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks and is working to kill or arrest each one. 3. The Navy doesn’t have the bandwidth to escort commercial ships through the Strait of Horm...
• President Trump Postpones Attack on Iran + NATO Supreme Allied Commander: Expect Additional US Troop Withdrawals + Report: Cuba Has Acquired Hundreds of Military Drones 19.05.2026 20min

  For review: 1. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez insisted Cuba "poses no threat" to the United States and doesn't have "aggressive plans or intentions against any country," after Axios reported that the island nation has hundreds of military drones and has been allegedly discussing plans to strike the U.S. military base in Guantanamo Bay and potentially Florida's Key West. 2. The Republic of Somaliland will open an embassy in Jerusalem, its first anywhere in the world, the state’s am...
• US & Israel Preparing to Renew Attacks on Iran + IDF Confirms Top Hamas Chief Killed in Gaza City Airstrike + Cuba Publishes Online Family Guide to Survive Potential Enemy Attacks 17.05.2026 22min

  For review: 1. Cuba has posted a “family guide” on provincial websites on how to survive “potential enemy attacks,” as the communist-run island reels from US pressure and energy shortages. The release of the document– comes days after the head of the CIA visited Cuba, an extraordinary step in contact between Washington and Havana. 2. The Israel Defense Forces on Saturday confirmed killing Hamas military chief Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the terror group’s leader in Gaza, in a “precise strike”...
• CIA Director Visits Cuba + Israel Targets Top Hamas Leader in Gaza Strike; Fate Unknown; Initial Indications - Dead + US CENTCOM Commander Appears Before Senate Armed Services Committee 15.05.2026 30min

  For review: 1. CIA Director Ratcliffe met with counterparts from Cuba's Ministry of the Interior on Thursday during a high-level visit to the island nation amid "complex bilateral relations" between the long-time adversaries. 2. President Donald Trump says he has not yet decided whether a major sale of US arms to Taiwan can move forward following his three-day visit to China. 3. Israel said that it had targeted Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip and the head of the...
• President Trump Arrives in China + Israeli PM Visited UAE in March + Saudi Arabia Conducted Retaliation Strikes Against Iran + Russia to Deploy New Sarmat ICBM in late 2026; Reported Range of 35,000 km 13.05.2026 19min

  For review: 1. US President Donald Trump arrived in Beijing on Wednesday for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the Iran war, trade, and US arms sales to Taiwan. 2. If Iran does not accept US terms for a deal to end the war and address its nuclear program, the United States will “finish the job,” US President Donald Trump declared on Tuesday. 3. Iran’s chief negotiator in talks with the US said on Monday the Islamic Republic is “ready to deliver a well-deserved response to any a...
• President Trump: Ceasefire With Iran "On Life Support" + Israeli PM: War "Not Over" + US Conducts Surveillance Flights Around Cuba 11.05.2026 24min

  For review: 1. US military intelligence-gathering flights are surging off the coast of Cuba, a CNN analysis of publicly available aviation data shows. Since February 4, the US Navy and Air Force have conducted at least 25 such flights using manned aircraft and drones, most of them near the country’s two biggest cities, Havana and Santiago de Cuba, and some coming within 40 miles of the coast, according to FlightRadar24. 2. US President Donald Trump on Monday said the ceasefire with Iran was “...
• President Trump Announces Russia - Ukraine Ceasefire & Prisoner Exchange + Report: Russia Supplying Iran With Drone Parts Using Caspian Sea + France & UK Posture Warships for Strait of Hormuz Escort Mission 09.05.2026 17min

  For review: 1. President Trump Announces Russia & Ukraine Ceasefire and Priosner Exchange. The ceasefire will begin on Saturday and run through Monday, President Trump wrote on Truth Social. "This ceasefire will include a suspension of all kinetic activity, and also a prisoner swap of 1,000 prisoners from each country." 2. NYT Report: Russia is sending drone components to Iran via Caspian Sea shipping, US officials told the NYT in a report published Saturday, turning the world’s largest l...
• US CENTCOM Confirmed Self-Defense Strikes Against Iran in Strait of Hormuz + IDF Kills Hezbollah Radwan Force Commander in Beirut Strike + EU Council President Considers "Potential" Talks with Moscow 07.05.2026 19min

  For review: 1. US Secretary of State Rubio announced new sanctions Thursday on Cuba's military-industrial enterprise, its leader and a state-owned natural resources company. 2. US President Donald Trump says three US Navy destroyers transited out of the Strait of Hormuz under fire, adding that the American destroyers were not damaged but “great damage was done to Iranian attackers.” 3. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Thursday that he had met with the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatolla...
• President Trump: Operation Project Freedom Will Be Paused; Blockade Remains in Full Force & Effect + CENTCOM CDR: US Helicopters Sank Six Iranian Small Boats in Strait + US Army Typhon System (Tomahawk) Test Fired in Philippines Exercise 05.05.2026 27min

  For review: 1. A high-level Trump administration official informed Iran on Sunday of the impending US operation to "guide" ships through the Strait of Hormuz and warned Tehran not to interfere, according to a U.S. official and a source with knowledge. 2. US President Donald Trump says the US will be pausing the operation it launched just one day earlier to assist vessels stuck in the Strait of Hormuz due to progress made in talks toward a permanent ceasefire with Iran. 3.&nb...
• President Trump: Iran's Latest Proposal Unacceptable + President Trump: Starting Monday US Navy Will Start Guiding Ships Through Strait + Israel to Procure More F-35s & F-15s 03.05.2026 26min

  For review: 1. President Trump said the U.S. Navy will start guiding ships from foreign countries through the Strait of Hormuz from Monday and warned that if Iran tries to disrupt the process the American military will use force. 2. US President Donald Trump on Sunday rejected Iran’s latest proposal to end its war with the US and Israel, calling it unacceptable. The 14-point proposal reportedly includes multiple stages of negotiations, with the sides first bringing the fighting to a close and...
• Pentagon Estimate: US Navy Blockade Has Cost Iran $4.8 Billion + Israel Provided Iron Beam Air Defense System to UAE + US Announces Withdrawal of 5000 Troops from Germany 01.05.2026 20min

  For review: 1. The White House asserts to US Congress in a letter that hostilities with Iran have “terminated” despite the continued presence of US armed forces in the region. The message from President Donald Trump effectively skirts a May 1 legal deadline to gain approval from members of Congress to continue the war with Iran. 2. Axios Report: The Pentagon estimates Iran has lost $4.8 billion in oil revenue due to the US Navy’s blockade of its ports. 3. US President Donald Trump on Fr...
• US CENTCOM Forces Preparing for "Short & Powerful" Wave of Strikes + IDF Destroys Two Major Hezbollah Tunnels in S. Lebanon + Australia Procures More HIMARS and Precision Strike Missiles + First Columbia-Class Ballistic Missile Submarine Delivery in 2028 29.04.2026 25min

  For review: 1. US CENTCOM Commander: CENTCOM Forces have redirected 42 x commercial vessels attemtiong to violate the Strait of Hormuz blockage. 2. President Trump told Axios he's going to keep Iran under a naval blockade until the regime agrees to a deal that addresses U.S. concerns about its nuclear program. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) has prepared a plan for a "short and powerful" wave of strikes on Iran in hopes of breaking the negotiating deadlock, three sources with knowledge said. 3...
• US Rejects Iran Offer to Open Strait & Delay Nuclear Talks in Return for Ending War + Israel Strikes Hezbollah Targets in Beqaa Valley After Deadly FPV Attack + IDF Iron Dome System Employed in UAE 27.04.2026 21min

  For review: 1. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday that a reported offer from Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz under strict conditions is not acceptable to the United States or other countries. Secretary of State Rubio: “What they mean by opening the straits is, yes, the straits are open, as long as you coordinate with Iran, get our permission, or we’ll blow you up, and you pay us.” 2. The IDF said it launched a wave of airstrikes Monday against Hezbollah infrastructure in the Be...
• President Trump Cancels Envoys' Trip to Islamabad for Iran Talks + Israel & Hezobllah Continue Trading Fire Under Tenuous Ceasefire + 3 x US Aircraft Carriers Operating in CENTCOM AOR 25.04.2026 24min

  For review: 1. US President Donald Trump canceled a trip to Islamabad by two envoys to meet Iran war mediator Pakistan on Saturday after Iran’s foreign minister flew out of the Pakistani capital following talks, dealing a new setback to peace prospects. Presidnet Trump said in a social media post that he had called off the planned visit by his special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner, citing what he said was tremendous confusion in the Iranian leadership. 2. Prime Minister Ben...
• Israel - Lebanon Ceasefire Extended Three Weeks + President Trump Orders US Navy to Shoot & Kill Any Boat Mining the Strait of Hormuz + Secretary of Navy Out; Undersecretary Assumes Role 23.04.2026 21min

  For review: 1. Iranian forces seized two container ships on Wednesday, according to global security monitors and the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. They also attacked but didn’t seize a third. 2. US President Donald Trump on Thursday said the US Navy would “shoot and kill” any boat mining the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israel was ready to renew the fighting with Iran and was awaiting a “green light” from the US to target Iranian energy sites a...