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Israel & Hezbollah Renew Uneasy Ceasefire + Report: IRGC Cells in Iraq Launched Attacks Against Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, & UAE + US Renames Combatant Command: Indo-PACOM Out; PACOM Name Restored Jun 19, 2026

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For review:

1. A B-52 on a routine test mission crashed shortly after takeoff Monday (15 June) in Southern California, killing all eight crew members on board.

2. US Army aims to release proposal requests for its heavy variant of the ISV this fall, a senior service official told lawmakers, adding that the Army is attempting to field the capability as quickly as possible. The Army is seeking vehicles that can provide 60 kW of continuous high-voltage DC power, 15 kW of 28V DC power and 4.8 kW of 120V AC power.

3. After eight years as US Indo-Pacific Command, the Pentagon has announced it is restoring the original name to simply Pacific Command (PACOM).

4. KNDS, the French-German maker of the Leopard tank and the Caesar truck-mounted gun, pitched a new howitzer with a barrel longer than any NATO production artillery, which the company said gives the weapon a range of up to 60 kilometers (37 miles) with standard high-explosive shells.

The 155mm howitzer, named Loras for long-range artillery system, is equipped with a 58 caliber gun tube, about 12% longer than the 52 caliber barrels that equip most recent European cannons.

5. President Trump on Friday unveiled the Boeing 747-8 that will serve as the new Air Force One, that the U.S. accepted as a gift from the Qatari government last year.

6. US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is traveling to Switzerland for the first round of talks with Iran on a potential nuclear deal, Axios reports, citing a US official.

Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner is already in Switzerland, it adds.

7. Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire on Friday afternoon, a US official said, after another flare-up in southern Lebanon that saw four Israeli soldiers and dozens of Lebanese casualties.

8. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has set up secretive new cells in Iraq to carry out attacks on Gulf countries that host American forces, bypassing established militia networks to avoid detection, eight Iraqi sources told Reuters.

Text of MOU + US CENTCOM Lifts Blockade Entering/Exiting Iranian Ports + Pentagon to Review US Force Presence in Europe + USAF CCA Update Jun 18, 2026

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For review:

1. Cuban lawmakers unanimously approved sweeping reforms backed by the Communist Party and former leader Raul Castro that would privatize a vast swath of the country's socialist economy in a bid to survive punishing U.S. sanctions.

The ‌measures, if implemented as passed, would represent the single largest change to Cuba's socialist model since former leader Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution and a major shift towards a market economy.

2. President Trump on Wednesday signed the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the U.S. and Iran ending the war between the two countries.

3. Iran will invite the UN’s nuclear watchdog agency to inspect its nuclear sites and begin work on identifying and uncovering the locations of Tehran’s enriched material, US President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff tells US lawmakers in a private briefing.

4. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman warned Thursday that a continued IDF presence in southern Lebanon would mean the “annulment” of the memorandum of understanding it signed with the United States, as Israel doubled down on its plans to keep troops in the area amid its ongoing conflict with the Hezbollah terror group.

5. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told NATO Thursday the Pentagon will review its force presence in Europe within six months.

“This will be a real review. It will be designed to ensure that NATO is moving fast and irreversibly toward Europe leading, stepping up to take primary responsibility for the defense of Europe,” Hegseth told a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels.

6. USAF CCA Update.

US & Iran MOU (Reaction/Analysis) + Documents Show Hamas 07 October Attack Designed to Ruin Israel-Saudi Arabia Normaization + Somaliland President Visits Jerusalem; Opens Embassy Jun 16, 2026

Show notes

For review:

1. Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi and Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar opened Somaliland’s embassy in Jerusalem on Monday, the eighth top-level diplomatic mission in the capital.

The United States, Guatemala, Honduras, Kosovo, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, and Fiji also have embassies in Jerusalem, while other countries — including Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia — have embassy branches in Jerusalem.

2. The Hamas terror group carried out its October 7, 2023, attack on Israel partly in order to thwart the Jewish state’s rapprochement with Saudi Arabia, according to seized documents.

3. US & Iran MOU (Reaction/Analysis).

US & Iran Reach Deal; Ceasefire Extended 60 Days; Formal Signing in Switzerland Planned for Friday Jun 14, 2026

Show notes

For review:

1. Senior Hezbollah commander Ali Mussa Daqduq, mastermind of a January 2007 attack that killed five US troops in Iraq, was killed in an Israeli strike in southern Lebanon over the weekend, the IDF announced Sunday.

2. US & Iran Reach Deal; Ceasefire Extened 60 Days; Formal Signing in Switzerland Friday.

3. Ahmad Vahidi, the commander in chief of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, emerged as a key player during negotiations between the US and Iran, according to a Saturday profile in the Wall Street Journal, which found that the senior paramilitary leader pushed for a hard line in talks, advocating against any concessions to Washington. According to the report: Vahidi has “frequently overruled” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

4. Israel was bracing for Iranian missile fire on Sunday after Tehran vowed that an Israeli Air Force strike on a Hezbollah target in Beirut’s southern suburbs earlier in the day would “not go unanswered.”

The strike in the Lebanese capital’s Dahiyeh district came shortly after Hezbollah fired drones into Israeli territory.

It was Israel’s first strike in a week in the Hezbollah stronghold, with the previous strike also a response to rocket fire on northern Israel.

“The IDF has just struck Hezbollah terror targets in the Dahiyeh district of Beirut, in response to Hezbollah’s firing at Israeli territory,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a joint statement after the strike on the Hezbollah stronghold.

5. CNN Report: Iran has, in recent weeks, deliberately collapsed tunnels and mined entrances to its bombed Isfahan nuclear complex in a bid to stop the US from launching a raid to retrieve the Islamic Republic’s store of highly enriched uranium that is believed to be buried at the site.

President Trump Halts Strikes on Iran; "Agreement Signing To Be Announced Shortly" + US Sanctions Cuba's State-Owned Oil Company Jun 12, 2026

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For review:

1. The U.S. imposed sanctions Thursday on Cuba’s state-owned oil company, part of a Trump administration effort to restrict fuel supplies and increase pressure on the island’s Communist government.

2. US President Donald Trump called off strikes on Iran Thursday evening, claiming an agreement to end the war had been reached and would be signed shortly.

He later said the document should “get done in the next few days,” possibly in time for a signing in Europe this weekend.

3. A US official said Friday that the emerging memorandum of understanding with Iran “leads to” Washington getting Tehran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

The official, who held a phone briefing with reporters on condition of anonymity, also said the draft agreement was “broad” and would include Lebanon, where Israel is fighting Iran’s proxy group Hezbollah.

He added that Iran’s loosening grip on the Strait of Hormuz has cost it leverage in the talks, and that he was “80 to 85 percent” sure the deal would happen.

US Sends Second Round of Retaliation Strikes Against Iran for AH-64 Apache Shootdown + Iran Claims Response Strikes Against US Bases in Kuwait & Bahrain + Sec of War Visits US Troops in Guantanamo Bay Jun 10, 2026

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For review:

1. US Defense Secretary on Wednesday said the future of Cuba is in the hands of President Trump and Havana’s leadership amid increased U.S. pressure on the communist-ruled island.

“No matter what, the Department of War is going to be prepared and postured for any possible contingency,” Sec Hegseth told troops during a visit to the U.S. Naval Station at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

2. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said two U.S. Army aviators “got very lucky” after an AH-64 Apache attack helicopter was downed by Iran over the Strait of Hormuz, emphasizing that US retaliation is not over.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, the president declared, “We hit them hard yesterday and we’re going to hit them hard again today.”

3. US President Donald Trump said the US would be attacking Iran again on Wednesday, indicating that Tuesday night’s strikes against the regime were only the first part of Washington’s retaliation against the Islamic Republic for shooting down an American military helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz.

4. US Central Command confirms it has launched fresh “self-defense strikes” on “multiple targets in Iran at the direction” of President Donald Trump.

5. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says that it struck bases in Kuwait and Bahrain in response to the latest US strikes.

6. The United States and Iran have honed in on four key points of negotiation during talks to permanently end the fighting that began with a joint US-Israeli offensive back in February, the New York Times reported on Tuesday.

According to the newspaper, the deal will include agreements on an extended suspension of uranium enrichment by Iran; the dilution of Tehran’s existing stockpile of enriched uranium; the dismantling of Iranian nuclear sites; and the right for international nuclear watchdogs to conduct snap inspections in the Islamic Republic.

7. Iraq and the United Arab Emirates are fast-tracking plans to expand oil pipelines to replace the capacity lost by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, as new data reveals their stark dependency on the Persian Gulf.

8. The Franco-German-Spanish Future Combat Air System (FCAS) has collapsed following the failure of industrial mediation between Dassault and Airbus on several issues, multiple reports said Monday.

9. The House Appropriations Committee released its $1 trillion defense spending bill for FY27.

Israel Strikes Hezbollah Targets in Beirut + Iran Responds with Ballistic Missile Attacks + Israel Retalliates With Strikes on Iranian Military Targets & Petrochemical Plant; Israeli PM Cancels Planned Massive Attack "For Now" Jun 08, 2026

Show notes

For review:

1. Israel on Sunday carried out airstrikes in Beirut, with the military saying it targeted a Hezbollah headquarters in the group’s stronghold of Dahiyeh, a large suburb just south of the Lebanese capital.

Iran threatened to retaliate, saying, “Watch the sky of the occupied territories tonight.”

2. Iran fired a volley of missiles at northern Israel Sunday night, catapulting the region back to the cusp of all-out war after two months of a shaky ceasefire

No Israelis were hurt in the attack, which involved some 10 missiles fired in quick succession around 10 p.m.

Iran said it launched the missiles in retaliation for an Israeli strike on Beirut’s southern Dahiyeh suburb earlier in the day targeting the headquarters of the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group.

3. Israel launched strikes on Iranian military targets and a petrochemical plant on Monday morning in response to the Islamic Republic’s ballistic missile attacks on northern Israel hours earlier.

4. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly called off a major strike on Iran with fighter jets on the runway. PM Netanyahu said he would halt attacks on Iran “for now,” but warned that Israel would strike Iran and Hezbollah if it is attacked again.

5. The European Union said on Monday it had imposed sanctions on two Iranian individuals and a unit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for threatening the freedom of maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, through which around a fifth of the world’s oil flows.

The move marked the first time the bloc has used new powers to sanction Iran for restricting freedom of navigation.

US Targets Iranian Radar Sites on Qeshm & Goruk Islands + Iran Fires Ballistic Missiles at Kuwait & Bahrain + Russian President Putin Responds to Ukraine's Direct Negotiations Letter: "I don't see any point for now" Jun 06, 2026

Show notes

For review:

1. Raúl Castro, Cuba’s low-profile former president and revolutionary guerrilla, appeared in public for the first time since being indicted by the United States for his alleged role in the 1996 downing of two civilian aircraft, official video released Saturday showed.

2. The United States and Iran exchanged fire overnight Friday amid a fragile ceasefire as American officials stepped up preparations for potential nuclear negotiations, including consultations this week with experts who could help determine the fate of Tehran’s enriched uranium stockpile.

The US military said it carried out strikes on Iranian radar sites in what it described as a defensive action after Iran launched four attack drones toward the Strait of Hormuz.

3. The United States will make Iranian assets available to Gulf allies to support rebuilding and repairs for future damage caused by Iran, a source familiar with the matter says.

The US will also consider using those assets to support repairs for past damages, the source says, adding that US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has directed a team to assess costs for damage already inflicted on Gulf allies by Iran.

4. A plan developed by Israel and the Mossad intelligence agency to topple the Iranian regime could still succeed if given time, but it has not been carried out to completion due to the United States’ decision in April to halt the war against the Islamic Republic, a former senior Mossad official told Channel 12 on Saturday. In any event, he insisted, the regime will fall sooner or later.

5. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun accused Iran Friday of using Lebanon as a “bargaining chip” in negotiations with the United States, and called on both Hezbollah and Israel to embrace diplomacy in a bid to end the fighting between them.

6. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he does not see any point in meeting Volodymyr Zelensky after the Ukrainian leader requested face-to-face talks over ending the war between the two nations.

7. In a rare moment of bipartisanship in the US Congress, the House tonight passed a package of Russian sanctions and military aid for Ukraine.

House members voted 226-195 to pass the Ukraine Support Act, which authorizes $8 billion in military finance loans to Ukraine and extends the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative through 2027.

8. Russia could attack a NATO country within four years according to western intelligence assessments, UK PM warned on Friday.

9. The U.S. will sell Australia three in-service Virginia-class submarines, pivoting from the planned acquisition of one new and two in-service Virginias, the countries announced.

President Trump: Iran's Enriched Uranium is "Entombed" + US Sanctions Cuban President Diaz-Canel + Ukraine President Zelenskyy Calls for Face-to-Face Negotiations in Letter to Kremlin + US Army SP Howitzer Modernization Jun 04, 2026

Show notes

For review:

1. The United States imposed sanctions Thursday on Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel in the latest move by the Trump administration.

2. A statement attributed to Iran’s supreme leader on Thursday said that the United States and Israel had been dealt a “decisive blow” in their war with the Islamic Republic, as the US sent mixed signals about whether the fighting could resume.

3. US President Donald Trump tells reporters that Washington does not need a deal with Iran to get enriched uranium from the country.

“We could get it right now. I don’t think they could stop us if we wanted, but there’s no reason to. It’s entombed,” he says.

4. Israel and Lebanon agreed on Wednesday to renew their fragile ceasefire and create a number of “pilot” security zones inside Lebanon from which Hezbollah terrorists would be banned.

5. The Israeli Air Force and Israeli Navy carried out strikes in the Gaza Strip overnight into Thursday, killing top commanders in Hamas’s general security mechanism, the military announced.

6. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for a face-to-face meeting between himself and Vladimir Putin in a renewed bid to end the war.

In an open letter to the Russian president, the Ukrainian leader said it would be "wrong to simply wait" until the war in Europe becomes the focus of the US's attention once more, adding peace could only come "through direct engagement between" Ukraine and Russia.

7. Republicans defeated an amendment to the FY27 Defense Policy Bill that would have stripped $1 billion in funds for the Trump-class Battleship during a House Armed Services Committee mark up of the bill today.

8. US Army SP Howitzer Modernization.

US Forces Strike Qeshm Island in Response to Iranian Attacks on Kuwait and Bahrain + Report: President Trump Asked Xi Jinping to Push Russia Back to Negotiating Table + Europe's Emerging Nuclear Umbrella - France Jun 02, 2026

Show notes

For review:

1. Cuba on Tuesday defended a military-run conglomerate long the target of U.S. sanctions, saying the group of businesses known as GAESA has ‌contributed to the nation's economic and social development.

2. US forces successfully defeated multiple Iranian ballistic missiles and drones, and conducted self-defense strikes on Qeshm Island in response to attempted attacks by Iran across the Middle East.

Iran launched several ballistic missiles toward regional neighbors; however, all failed to hit their intended targets.

3. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers on Tuesday that Iran has signaled a willingness to negotiate elements of its nuclear program that weren’t previously on the table, as US President Donald Trump denied talks had been cut off.

4. A new round of talks between the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors was held in Washington on Tuesday, a day after US President Donald Trump said he had received commitments of de-escalation from both Jerusalem and Hezbollah.

5. Two of Iraq’s most powerful Iran-backed militias said on Tuesday they would begin handing in their weapons to the authorities, a major step in the new government’s effort to rein in militias that have long operated on their own even though they were nominally under state command.

6. South China Morning Post Report: President Trump Asked Xi Jinping to Push Russia Back to Negotiating Table.

7. U.S. officials are engaged in NATO-internal discussions about the possibility of deploying nuclear weapons to new countries within the alliance, a new report says, in what would be a remarkable proliferation in nuclear sharing.

8. Norway has become the ninth European country to sign up for French nuclear protection.

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