I - On Defense Podcast

For review:
1. Saudi Arabia is pressing the EU to designate Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi movement as a terrorist organisation, ​but has yet to overcome European concerns that this could undermine a future peace process, according to six European officials.
2. Turkey and Qatar signed a defense agreement on Friday that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said would further strengthen ties between the regional allies, his office said.
The announcement came after Erdogan met Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in Istanbul.
3. US President Donald Trump said Thursday that he was directing Vice President JD Vance to focus “his complete and total attention” on domestic anti-fraud efforts and not negotiations toward a deal to end war with Tehran.
4. Mossad Director Roman Gofman was in Washington on Friday for a meeting about Iran with his CIA counterpart John Ratcliffe, Axios news site reported, citing three sources with knowledge of the matter.
5. An Israeli precision strike on a hospital in southern Gaza overnight targeted a Hamas brigade commander, the military said Thursday morning.
6. The Lebanese army said on Friday it seized “a large quantity of weapons and military ammunition” during a raid in Beirut’s southern suburbs, known as a stronghold of the Hezbollah terror group.
7. European leaders have agreed that EU institutions and five European countries will jointly represent Europe in negotiations aimed at ending Russia's war against Ukraine, European Council President Antonio Costa announced on Nov. 13.
The European negotiating team will include representatives of EU institutions alongside France, Germany, Italy, Poland, and the United Kingdom — the five countries known as the E5 within the Coalition of the Willing, a group of nations working to provide security guarantees for Ukraine.
8. A 2025 review of the AUKUS agreement has given the US, Australia and the UK an opportunity to have more candid conversations about the challenges facing the trilateral agreement, according to a senior Pentagon official.
9. Delivering the first Columbia-class submarine by the Navy’s 2028 goal is doable — although not an “easy” task, the Pentagon’s first-ever submarine czar said today, seemingly offering a more optimistic outlook on his previously shared view of the goal.

For review:
1. The Saudi-led coalition supporting Yemen’s internationally recognized government said Wednesday that air defenses intercepted and destroyed three cruise missiles and two drones launched by Yemen’s Houthi group toward different regions of Saudi Arabia.
2. Iran is producing 50 ballistic missiles a month, about half its prewar capacity, according to Western intelligence estimates reported on Wednesday, shortly before Iran unveiled a new underground “missile city.”
3. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has recently moved from his Washington, DC, residence to a US military base due to Iranian threats against his life, three people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
4. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says he sees no need to resume major combat operations against Iran because economic restrictions are working so effectively.
5. The US diverted refueling tankers from RAF Mildenhall on Monday because of a threat from Iran, WSJ reported.
6. After criticism from the US-backed Board of Peace over Israel’s restrictions on aid into the Gaza Strip, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office on Tuesday insisted that Israel was doing what it can to allow winter equipment into Gaza, and that Hamas, not Israel, was not honoring its commitments.
7. Ukraine and Russia have agreed in principle to a major prisoner exchange following two days of US-mediated peace talks in Abu Dhabi, although negotiations ended without a breakthrough on the central issues dividing the two sides, Euronews reports from the UAE.
8. A White House decision on establishing a permanent US military base in Poland could come as early as next month, the country’s defense minister said following discussions with US War Secretary Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon.

For review:
1. On Sunday, Syrian officials told The Associated Press news agency that Damascus has already sent Syrian military advisers to Saudi Arabia and 600 special forces were due to arrive in the kingdom next week.
2. US President Donald Trump says the US will not be launching a renewed military offensive against Iran for the time being, thanks to “positive momentum” toward ending the conflict and a desire from Washington’s Gulf allies to avoid an escalation in the interim.
Trump makes the announcement on Truth Social, as part of a readout on his “excellent” meeting earlier Monday in the White House with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who has been a key mediator in the Iran talks.
3. The Iranian Foreign Ministry also said UN inspectors had examined one of its nuclear sites at Bushehr, saying the inspection “serves as evidence that this regulated cooperation continues” between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency.
4. G7 top diplomats began a two-day meeting in Paris, with European foreign ministers set to press US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to ensure any settlement in the war with Russia was fair to Ukraine and steer clear of any new escalation with Iran.
5. The Israeli military on Monday announced the formation of two new battalions under the Golani and Nahal infantry brigades, in a move aimed at expanding the Ground Forces.
The IDF said the two battalions will specialize in operating drones, robotics, surveillance and other visual intelligence systems, as well as advanced weaponry and precision-guided munitions, “to improve reconnaissance and attack capabilities on the battlefield.”
6. The White House is "cautiously optimistic" as peace talks between Russia and Ukraine resume in Abu Dhabi this week, U.S. officials said on Monday.

For review:
1.  The Houthis claimed attack on Saudi oil facilities, Riyadh airport and troop positions, and said they would continue responding to Saudi military action, warning that Saudi Arabia would face further attacks. 
2.  Thousands of Syrian troops are set to deploy to Saudi Arabia and Yemen, with some already on the ground, multiple Yemeni officials have told AFP. 
Syria will send around 3,000 troops to join the Saudi-led coalition’s fight, a source from the Presidential Leadership Council, Yemen’s top governing body, told AFP. 
3.  US President Donald Trump said Friday that the US military carried out limited strikes on Iran, targeting an air defense system. 
Iranian media reported that two missiles struck Qeshm Island. 
4.  The US military said late Saturday it disabled a St. Kitts-flagged ship after it ignored multiple warnings and attempted to leave the region after visiting an Iranian port.
Saturday’s disclosure comes in the wake of at least two instances in which US Central Command did not announce military strikes it has carried out in the region, and officials at the command declined to confirm strikes when asked about local reports of explosions. 
5.  Washington is offering a $20 million reward “and possible relocation” for information about Iran’s nuclear program, the US military said Friday, as President Donald Trump reiterated his claim that Tehran wants to make a deal to end the war. 
6.  Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said Saturday that a self-proclaimed limit of 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) on the range of its ballistic missiles “has been lifted,” suggesting the country may seek to develop missiles capable of reaching more distant targets amid fears of renewed all-out war. 
7.  Thousands of European troops will gather in Poland next week for the Coalition of the Willing’s first major military exercise, a rehearsal for deploying a multinational force to Ukraine once the war with Russia comes to an end, European officials announced this week.

For review:
1. The Saudi and Syrian defense ministries signed a military cooperation agreement on Wednesday, as relations between the two countries continue to deepen.
The pact was signed during Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s visit to Riyadh, where he met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the second time in a month.
2. Turkish legislators have ratified a defense cooperation agreement among Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia as Riyadh seeks increased regional support in its conflict with Iran-backed Houthi rebels in neighboring Yemen. 
3. President Trump met with his national security team Thursday to discuss whether to resume military operations against Iran, senior officials confirmed to Fox News.
4. US President Donald Trump’s announcement on Tuesday that the United States would cease providing nearly $4 billion in annual military aid to Israel by the end of this year, rather than nearly two years from now, sent shockwaves through the Israeli defense establishment.
5. US First Lady Melania Trump expressed hope that the humanitarian ceasefire in Oleshky would inspire progress toward a “more enduring” peace, as she hosted representatives from Russia and Ukraine at the White House on Thursday.
6. North Korea leader Kim Jong Un inspected the ongoing construction of a new warship that is larger than the country’s 5,000-ton destroyers on Monday during a visit to North Korea’s Nampho Shipyard, state media reported Wednesday.
The under-construction warship is believed to be a 10,000-ton cruiser.