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President Trump Weighs Decision on Further Iran Attacks + Report: Iranian Reconstruction on Parchin Complex; Activity at the Taleghan 2 Facility + US Representatives Meet With Houthis in Muscat Sep 17, 2026

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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.

President Trump Voices Support for Irish Unification + US CENTCOM Commander Hosts Middle East Military Chiefs in Germany; Discussed Opportunities for Security Cooperation + IDF Kills Rafah Brigade Commander in Gaza Strike Sep 15, 2026

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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.

Report: Chinese Assets Assisted Iran With Target Information for Strike on US Base in Jordan + Report: US - Cuba Energy Deal Collapsed After Negotiations + Poland to Develop Starlink-Type Military Satellite System Sep 13, 2026

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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.

IDF Destroys Subterranean Complex Beneath Ali Taher Ridge + Houthis Seize Key Islands in Bab el-Mandeb Strait + IAEA Reports Construction Activity at Iran's Pickaxe Mountain Sep 11, 2026

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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.

US Destroys Five More Iranian Tankers + Iran Claims Capture of US Navy Underwater Drone + IDF to Create Fourth Branch: Unmanned Systems & Artificial Intelligence Branch Sep 09, 2026

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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.

US Envoys Witkoff / Kushner Travel to Moscow & Kyiv + Iran to Announce a "Prohibited Zone" Outside the Strait of Hormuz + Sweden to Procure US-Made M142 HIMARS; Croatia to Procure S. Korean-made K239 Chunmoo Systems Sep 07, 2026

Show notes

For review:

1, The new head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council on Sunday said Tehran plans to announce a “prohibited zone” outside the Strait of Hormuz aimed at vessels it believes are attempting to transit the waterway.

2. The Israel Defense Forces struck Hezbollah terror group targets in Lebanon overnight Sunday-Monday, reportedly killing eleven people, after the Iranian proxy fired two explosive drones at troops, the army said.

The IDF said that no injuries were caused to troops in the Hezbollah attack, the third such incident in a week.

3. Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis on Monday accused Saudi Arabia of carrying out airstrikes around the country, including the deadly bombardment of a prison, as the rebels pressed an offensive to seize territory near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

4. A top official within the US-backed Board of Peace said on Monday that a failure to move forward in Gaza paired with rising violence in the West Bank are making a two-state solution “impossible.”

5. The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Qatar, Egypt, Indonesia and Pakistan on Sunday issued a joint condemnation of remarks by Defense Minister Israel Katz and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir calling for plans to facilitate the emigration of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.

6. Britain is set to announce wide-ranging economic restrictions on Israeli settlements in the West Bank on Tuesday, including a ban on trade in goods produced in the settlements, reports said Monday, in what would mark a significant escalation in London’s pressure on Israel and possibly prompt similar measures by other countries.

7. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he expects the war with Russia to continue into the winter, following talks with Donald Trump's top envoys in Kyiv.

The discussions finished without an announcement of a major breakthrough, after Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner travelled to Ukraine for the first time since Russia's full-scale invasion.

The previous day, the pair had held talks with Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

8. Sweden to Procure US-Made M142 HIMARS; Croatia to Procure S. Korean-made K239 Chunmoo Systems.

US CENTCOM Forces Attack 3 x Iranian Crude Carriers + US Developing Post-Iran War Middle East Strategy; Expands Abraham Accords; Alignment of Allies Against Iran + Israeli PM Netanyahu: Toppling Iran Regime "Within Reach" Sep 05, 2026

Show notes

For review:

1. The US military said Saturday it had struck and destroyed three oil tankers linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps after the Iranian military organization fired on American warships.

2. The navy of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says it targeted three oil tankers that were traveling through unauthorized routes in the Strait of Hormuz as well as three additional US vessels in other areas, according to a statement.

There is no immediate confirmation from the US.

3. US President Donald Trump’s administration is crafting a post-Iran war strategy to build a regional alignment of US allies to contain Iran, while also expanding the Abraham Accords.

4. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israel’s “central mission” is to topple the Iranian regime, asserting that the goal was “within reach.”

“The regime is now faltering. It is weaker than ever. It is fighting for its survival,” PM Netanyahu said.

4. The US State Department today greenlit several potential arms deals for key Middle East partners Saudi Arabia, Oman and Iraq, totaling about $6.1 billion-worth of equipment.

5. The European Union is reviewing Kyiv’s request to spend billions of euros on PAC-3 interceptor missiles for its Patriot batteries — the first time Ukraine has formally asked to tap a 90 billion Euro support loan approved earlier this year to buy the U.S.-made systems, European officials announced this week.

6. Following steep losses of the General Atomics MQ-9A Reaper in recent combat operations against Iran, Air Force officials are accelerating efforts to replace the venerable drone with a new unmanned aircraft at a price of $10 million each.

Israel: IDF Controls Strategic Ali Taher Ridge in S. Lebanon; Underground Site Cleared; Working to Demolish + Russian President Putin: Chance of Settlement to End Conflict + New US Sanctions on Cuba Sep 03, 2026

Show notes

For review:

1. The Israel Defense Forces said Thursday night that it had finished clearing a “strategic” underground facility belonging to the Hezbollah terror group beneath a mountainous ridge in southern Lebanon in recent weeks.

The Ali Taher Ridge is located within Israel’s southern Lebanon buffer zone, near Nabatieh. According to the IDF, Hezbollah built tunnel systems beneath the hill, which served as the “nerve center” of the terror group’s Badr regional division — a unit tasked with the area of southern Lebanon that is north of the Litani River.

2. Iran has warned the United States that it would respond forcefully to any Israeli offensive on a mountainous ridge in southern Lebanon where Iranian military personnel are holed up alongside Hezbollah fighters, three officials briefed on the message told Reuters.

3. US Vice President JD Vance says Washington will only return to negotiations with Iran if Tehran stops targeting commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

4. South Korea is preparing to deploy military assets to support freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and aims to dispatch them before the end of the year, local media reports, citing government and military sources.

5. Russia has been helping Iran develop supersonic cruise missiles, an advanced weapon that is harder to defend against than subsonic variants, the Financial Times reported Tuesday.

6. The German Navy said on Wednesday that it had successfully tested an Israeli ballistic missile system the previous night and would now begin to advance plans to procure the projectiles.

The Long-Range Artillery Weapon System, known by the acronym LORA, has a range of 400 kilometers and is accurate to within 10 meters, according to its manufacturer, Israel Aerospace Industries. It is classified as a short-range ballistic missile.

7. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday there was a chance of reaching an agreement to end the war in Ukraine, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said U.S. negotiators trying to broker a deal would soon visit both Moscow and Kyiv.

‌Putin, speaking at an economic forum in Russia's far east, said a number of countries including the U.S. and China were ready to support a peace settlement.

8. The U.S. government on Thursday slapped new sanctions on Cuba in a fresh push to strangle the island’s economy and deepen its multiple crises.

9. American Rheinmetall delivered the first Lynx XM30 prototype to the Army this week, the company said in a Tuesday statement, the latest move in the service’s effort to replace the M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle.

The vehicle is slated to start testing, while seven additional prototypes are scheduled for delivery later this year.

US Resumes Strikes on Iran Tuesday; Targets Radar Systems, Air Defense Sites, Mine-laying Capabilities + Iran Responds; Jordan Intercepts Iranian Missiles; No Casualties + US Army Looks for New Tracked 155mm Howitzer Sep 01, 2026

Show notes

For review:

1. The US military hit targets in Iran on Tuesday, and Tehran fired missiles and drones in response, as hostilities flared once again.

2. Jordan’s army says it has intercepted 10 ballistic missiles launched from Iran while three others landed in remote areas.

3. A Syrian site held infrastructure “consistent with a nuclear reactor,” the UN nuclear watchdog said in a confidential report seen by AFP on Tuesday, adding that the country’s former authorities “failed to report nuclear material, facilities and activities.”

4. “Special forces” of the Shin Bet captured the commander of Hamas’s internal security apparatus in a “bold operation” in Gaza City on Tuesday morning, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the military, and the domestic security agency.

5. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is meeting Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov to discuss a Washington-backed 28-point peace plan for Ukraine, Fox Business reported on Aug. 31.

The two reportedly met on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Asheville, North Carolina, marking the first in-person attendance by the Russian finance minister since the outbreak of Moscow's all-out invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

6. Russian President Vladimir Putin, U.S. President Donald Trump, and Chinese President Xi Jinping could hold a trilateral meeting at the upcoming APEC summit in China, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said on Sept. 1.

Ushakov said the possibility of a three-way meeting between the leaders is being considered ahead of the summit, according to Russian state media.

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit is scheduled to take place in Shenzhen, China, on Nov. 18-19.

7. Two weeks after the Army picked a winner to provide prototypes for its next-gen wheeled howitzer, the service’s fires acquisition shop is now seeking a tracked variant.

8. The Army has announced it awarded Georgia Tech Research Institute up to $33.4 million to be the lead weapons systems integrator for the service’s Common Autonomous Multidomain Launcher (CAML) prototype program.

The CAML program is set to serve as a replacement for the Army’s Typhon — its Mid-Range Capability (MRC) long-range launcher — after the service discovered it was too large to operate on the battlefield.

US Attacks Iran in Strait of Hormuz; IRGC Attempted to Launch Rockets with Sea Mines + Iran Retaliates; Launches Ballistic Missiles at US Bases in Jordan; No Report of Casualties Aug 30, 2026

Show notes

For review:

1. The U.S. military struck Iranian military targets to prevent the deployment of sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz, a U.S. official said.

2. Jordan’s army says it intercepted eight missiles, shortly after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it attacked US military targets in the Washington-allied kingdom.

“Air defense systems intercepted eight missiles that breached the kingdom’s airspace at dawn today, Monday,” reads a statement quoting the army’s spokesperson.

3. Iran’s supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei on Sunday called on leaders of Muslim countries, and particularly those in the Gulf, to stand together against Israel and the United States, imploring them to “know your real enemy.”

4. The Trump administration plans to impose sanctions on another bank this week in an effort to clamp down on Iran transactions, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says.

5. The Hezbollah terror group has so far rejected overtures by the Lebanese government to pull its forces out of the contested Ali Taher Ridge in south Lebanon, according to a Saturday report.

6. Cuba is preparing to loosen some of the tightest controls over its communist economy, allowing private companies to trade directly with foreign businesses, giving foreign investors greater freedom to hire workers and expanding their ability to develop real estate on the island.

7. In a bid to accelerate missile production, India has approved the transfer of technologies for all conventional missile systems from a state-run organization to private companies.

8. The US Air Force has awarded aerospace giant Boeing a broad contract for the company’s F-15 fighter jet worth up to $131.2 billion, according to a DoW announcement.

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