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US Sec of State: Security Guarantees to Ukraine After Ceasefire + Report: Iran Continuing to Fund Hezbollah in Lebanon + Poland to Procure Saab A26 Submarines + US Army Developing New 155mm Cluster Munition + More Nov 27, 2025

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For review:

1. US Sec of State: Security Guarantees to Ukraine After Ceasefire.

2. The body of Mr. Dror Or was returned to Israel from Gaza by Palestinian terror groups on Tuesday evening, Israeli authorities announced Wednesday morning.

The bodies of two slain hostages now remain held in Gaza.

3. Israel reportedly conveyed a proposal to Hamas last week that would allow the release of dozens of Hamas fighters believed to be trapped in tunnels in an IDF-controlled area of eastern Rafah, as long as they surrender.

4. Report: Iran Continuing to Fund Hezbollah in Lebanon.

In November, the US undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, John Hurley, stated that Iran had managed to funnel about $1 billion to Hezbollah in 2025.

5. The IDF confirmed launching a wave of strikes on southern Lebanon Thursday — the first anniversary of the ceasefire largely ending the cross-border fighting last year — saying it hit rocket-launching sites, weapon depots and military posts belonging to Hezbollah.

6. Poland to Procure Saab A26 Submarines.

7. BAE Systems has received a $390-million contract to produce additional Bradley A4 Infantry Fighting Vehicles.

The vehicle has been a core component of the military’s Armored Brigade Combat Teams since the early 1980s, with more than 6,500 currently in service.

8. US Army Developing New 155mm Cluster Munition.

US Official: Ukraine Agrees with Revised 19-Point Peace Deal; President Trump Dispatches Steve Witkoff to Meet With Russian President + IDF Military Drill Evaluates Readiness After Strike on Senior Hezbollah Official + More Nov 25, 2025

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For review:

1. US Official: Ukraine Agrees with Revised 19-Point Peace Deal; President Trump Dispatches Steve Witkoff to Meet With Russian President.

2. European Union lawmakers voted on Tuesday to deepen integration of the bloc’s defense industry with Ukraine. European Parliament legislators voted 457-148, with 33 abstentions, to approve a 1.5-billion euro ($1.7 billion) program, with 300 million euros ($345 million) slated for the Ukraine Support Instrument.

3. IDF Military Drill Evaluates Readiness After Strike on Senior Hezbollah Official.

4. Gazan terror groups handed over what they said was the body of one of the three remaining deceased hostages on Tuesday evening, with Israel saying the remains were brought to a forensic institute for identification.

5. Dozens of Hamas operatives remain trapped in an area of the southern Gaza Strip that is under Israeli control, military commanders told reporters on Sunday, vowing that they would hunt them all down.

Europe Preparing Counterproposal to President Trump's 28 Point Russia - Ukraine Peace Plan; Talks Occurring in Switzerland & Angola + Israel Eliminates Hezbollah's Second-in-Command in Beirut Missile Strike + More Nov 23, 2025

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For review:

1. Europe Preparing Counterproposal to President Trump's 28 Point Russia - Ukraine Peace Plan; Talks Occurring in Switzerland & Angola.

2. Estonia still wants to buy six additional M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) from the US, and possibly more, according to Minister of Defence Hanno Pevkur.

Estonia Minister of Defense statement: “This is why we are looking for additional systems for the deep strikes. It’s not only HIMARS and it’s not only Chunmoo,” he later added. “It’s also the cruise missiles. It’s loitering munitions. So different types of systems. What will give us more reach, because we don’t have the strategic depth.”

3. Israel Eliminates Hezbollah's Second-in-Command in Beirut Missile Strike.

Israel said on Sunday it had killed Hezbollah’s military chief of staff, Haytham Ali Tabatabai, in a targeted airstrike in the southern suburbs of Lebanon’s capital, Beirut. Mr. Tabatabai was considered second only to Secretary-General Naim Qassem, in the Iran-backed terror group’s command structure.

4. A Hamas delegation was in Cairo on Sunday to meet with Gaza mediators on the recent escalation of hostilities in the Strip, as both Israel and the Palestinian terror group continued to trade accusations of ceasefire violations.

President Trump 28 Point Peace Plan for Russia & Ukraine Released + Initial Reaction Nov 22, 2025

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For review:

1. President Trump 28 Point Peace Plan for Russia & Ukraine Released.

2. Initial Reaction

US Draft 28-Point Plan to End Russia-Ukraine War + IDF-Hamas Combat Along Gaza Strip Yellow Line + Armor Not Dead: New Leopard 2A8 Main Battle Tank + More Nov 20, 2025

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For review:

1. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted that there will not be a Palestinian state, even at the cost of normalization with Saudi Arabia.

2. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio guaranteed him that Israel’s “qualitative military edge” will remain intact in a phone call following US President Donald Trump’s announcement this week that he would sell F-35 warplanes to Saudi Arabia.

3. IDF-Hamas Combat Along Gaza Strip Yellow Line.

4. US Draft 28-Point Plan to End Russia-Ukraine War.

A senior White House official confirmed to CBS News on Thursday that President Trump was backing a 28-point plan drafted by envoy Steve Witkoff and an adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has received a draft plan, his office confirmed Thursday.

5. U.S. President Donald Trump's Special Envoy for Ukraine, Retired LTG Keith Kellogg, will step down from his role in January, the White House confirmed on Nov. 19.

6. Russian Su-57 (NATO - Felon) at the Dubai Airshow. The warplane is billed as Moscow’s answer to the F-35.

7. Armor Not Dead: New Leopard 2A8 Main Battle Tank.

The German army is slated to get 123 tanks, with deliveries beginning in 2027 and to be finalized in 2030.

Saudi Arabia to Procure F-35 Fighters & M1 Tanks from US + UN Security Council Passes US-Sponsored Gaza Resolution + Ukraine to Purchase French Rafale Warplanes + More Nov 18, 2025

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For review:

1. UN Security Council Passes US-Sponsored Gaza Resolution.

(Russia & China Abstain)

2. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said Tuesday during his White House meeting with US President Donald Trump that Riyadh wants to join the Abraham Accords, but calls for the need to secure a path towards a two-state solution.

3. Saudi Arabia to Procure F-35 Fighters & M1 Tanks from US.

4. The Israeli Air Force presented an explicit objection to the US’s potential sale of F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia in a formal position paper submitted to Israel's political leaders on Sunday.

5. The Israel Defense Forces carried out an airstrike Tuesday, on a Hamas training facility, near the Lebanese coastal city of Sidon.

6. Russian troops have been spotted outside the northern outskirts of the Pokrovsk, the Ukrainian military has reported, as intense battles for the city continue.

7. President Volodymyr Zelensky will visit Turkey on Nov. 19 to "reinvigorate negotiations" with Russia, the Ukrainian president announced on Nov. 18.

US special envoy Steve Witkoff will also visit Turkey and join possible talks with the Ukrainian president, Reuters reported on Nov. 18, citing an unnamed Turkish source.

8. A blast that destroyed a train track in a village south of the country’s capital Warsaw was an act of sabotage, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Nov. 17, one day after the resulting damage was detected on the rail link used to connect Poland with Ukraine.

9. Ukraine signed a letter of intent to buy up to 100 Rafale warplanes from France, the Ukrainian Embassy and the French president’s office said.

UNSC Vote Expected Monday on Gaza Peace Plan Resolution + Aircraft Carrier USS Gerald Ford (CVN-78) Enters Caribbean Sea + Russia & Ukraine Negotiating Prisoner Exchange + More Nov 16, 2025

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For review:

1. US Defense Secretary Hegseth announced a new military and surveillance campaign in the Western Hemisphere on Thursday, dubbed “Operation Southern Spear,” to pummel “narco-terrorists.”

2. US SOUTHCOM Release: On Nov. 15, at the direction of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization.

3. CNN Report: The UK has stopped sharing intelligence with the US for its campaign against suspected drug-trafficking vessels in the Caribbean.

4. The U.S. will not be sending military forces to Mexico or undertaking any unilateral actions in the fight against drug trafficking, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday.

5. UNSC Vote Expected Monday on Gaza Peace Plan Resolution.

6. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday vowed Hamas will be disarmed, following reports that the United States is considering moving ahead with rebuilding parts of Gaza even as the terror group retains its weapons.

7. Russia & Ukraine Negotiating Prisoner Exchange.

8. Aircraft Carrier USS Gerald Ford (CVN-78) Enters Caribbean Sea.

President Trump Considers F-35 Warplanes for Saudi Arabia + US Secretary of State Optimistic About Gaza International Stabilization Force + Russian Intel Ship Operated Near Hawaii Last Month + More Nov 14, 2025

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For review:

1. The body of slain hostage Israeli Meny Godard was returned to Israel by Hamas on Thursday night, officials confirmed. The bodies of three slain hostages now remain held in the Strip — two Israelis and one Thai national.

2. US Secretary of State Optimistic About Gaza International Stabilization Force.

3. Indonesia has trained up to 20,000 troops to take on health and construction-related tasks during a planned peacekeeping operation in the war-torn enclave of Gaza, the defense minister said on Friday.

4. US President Donald Trump urged Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman in a phone call last month to normalize relations with Israel following the October 9 Gaza ceasefire.

5. President Trump Considers F-35s for Saudi Arabia.

6. Ukraine President Zelenskyy said Ukraine is facing a “very difficult” situation in the city of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region, where Russian forces are attempting to seize control after months of intense fighting.

Speaking in an interview with Bloomberg, President Zelensky said decisions about any troop withdrawals from the area are being left to military commanders on the ground. “Nobody is pushing them to die for the sake of ruins,” he said.

7. The U.S. Coast Guard said Thursday that it had detected and tracked a Russian intelligence-gathering vessel off the coast of Hawaii late last month.

8. Colombia on Friday signed an agreement for 17 Gripen E/F fighter jets, with a value of €3.1 billion ($3.6 billion).

Delivery of the jets will take place between 2026 and 2032.

9. The US Navy has begun efforts to salvage a fighter jet and helicopter from the South China Sea, Breaking Defense has learned.

The MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter and F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter crashed within 30 minutes of each other on the afternoon of Oct 26 while conducting routine operations from the USS Nimitz.

Houthis Indicate a Halt to Military Operations Against Israel and Red Sea Shipping + Dense Fog Enables Russian Forces Entry into Pokrovsk + US Envoys Visit Israel to Discuss Hamas Fighters Trapped in Rafah Tunnels + More Nov 11, 2025

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For review:

1. US Envoys Visit Israel to Discuss Hamas Fighters Trapped in Rafah Tunnels.

2. France hosted Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Paris for a meeting on Tuesday, during which French President Emmanuel Macron committed to helping the PA draft a constitution for a future state.

3. Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa threw cold water on the prospect of his country joining the Abraham Accords, saying that conditions were premature for talks on a normalization deal with Israel.

4. Houthis Indicate a Halt to Military Operations Against Israel and Red Sea Shipping.

5. Inspectors of the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) visited Iranian nuclear sites last week, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson said on Monday.

6. Dense Fog Enables Russian Forces Entry into Pokrovsk.

7. Finland’s former president Sauli Niinistö has called on the European Union to open direct channels of communication with Russian President Vladimir Putin to press for an end to the war in Ukraine.

8. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is keen on ordering more than two dozen Raytheon-produced Patriot air defense systems.

Figures from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) thinktank claim that a Patriot battery costs $1.1 billion — split between $690 million for the weapon systems’ missiles and $400 million for the system itself.

9. The Navy has awarded General Dynamics a $1.7 billion contract to construct two more John Lewis-class fleet replenishment oilers.

The fleet oilers are 742 feet in length with a displacement of nearly 50,000 tons when fully loaded and can carry 162,000 barrels of oil and dry cargo.

IDF Officer's Body Returned After More Than 11 Years in Hamas Captivity; 4 Hostages Remain + Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov Ready to Meet with US Sec of State Rubio to Discuss Ukraine + German Armed Forces counter-Drone Munition + More Nov 09, 2025

Show notes

For review:

1. Pakistan said Sunday it was committed to “dialogue” with Afghanistan despite peace talks ending after deadly violence, with Islamabad stressing its security concerns persist.

2. IDF Officer's Body Returned After More Than 11 Years in Hamas Captivity; 4 Hostages Remain.

3. Israel has warned Lebanon’s army that it is not satisfied with the actions taken so far against the Hezbollah terror group, vowing to continue its stepped-up bombing campaign unless the situation changes.

The Israel Defense Forces has recently stepped up these strikes, killing three Hezbollah members in two separate strikes on Saturday, after an intense bombing campaign on Thursday.

4. In a late Friday interview, John Hurley, the undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said Iran has managed to funnel about $1 billion to Hezbollah this year despite a raft of Western sanctions that have battered its economy.

5. Another Israel-Iran war is “only a matter of time,” according to a report by The NY Times, which says Iran still has a stockpile of enriched uranium and is racing to build thousands of missiles.

6. Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov Ready to Meet with US SEC of State Rubio to Discuss Ukraine.

7. German Armed Forces counter-Drone Munition.

Dubbed SADM, the Small Anti-Drone Missile will be fitted onto Rheinmetall-made Skyranger 30 anti-aircraft vehicles. The missile will extend the Skyranger’s effective engagement range from 2 to about 6 kilometers

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