I - On Defense Podcast

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.

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 memorandum of understanding with Iran after demanding his team secure more concessions on Iran’s nuclear program.
3. The US military stopped a merchant vessel trying to break through its blockade of Iranian ports by firing a missile into its engine room, the US Central Command said on Saturday.
The Gambia-flagged cargo ship Lian Star ignored more than 20 warnings from US forces overnight as it tried to enter an Iranian port, the military said. 
4. Bloomberg: An Iranian ballistic missile strike has targeted a major US military hub in Kuwait on Saturday, May 30, wounding multiple personnel and destroying high-value aviation assets.
According to intelligence and military sources, Iran deployed a Fateh-110 short-range ballistic missile targeting the Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait. 
5. CNN: Iran has salvaged entrances to dozens of missile facilities struck by the US and Israel in the recent war, a Sunday report said, as the Islamic Republic continues to rebuild its military infrastructure amid ceasefire talks with the US.
Citing satellite images, Iran has been able to dig out 50 of 69 tunnel entrances at 18 separate underground missile facilities across the country. It has also repaired other damaged areas of those bases, including key access roads that the US and Israel bombed during the war.
6. Israel captured the historic Beaufort Castle and the surrounding strategic ridge as it pushed deeper into Lebanon, the IDF announced on Sunday.
7. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth addresses the Shangri-La dialouge on May 30, 2026. The head of the Pentagon called on U.S. Western Pacific allies to maintain military strength and called on China not to disrupt the regional equilibrium while praising the current state of affairs between Washington and Beijing.
8. Japan’s defense minister has pushed back against Chinese allegations that Japan’s push to broaden regional defense cooperation was “new militarism,” saying that Tokyo’s increased defense spending and broader regional footprint has been conducted in a transparent fashion with regional security in mind.

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 Beirut, and in the Beqaa, across the entire front, and hitting Hezbollah hard.”
3. The International Stabilization Force for Gaza was announced with great aplomb at the inaugural meeting of US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace in February.
Three months on, none of the five countries that pledged troops have made any significant contributions. Hamas has refused to disarm and Israel has seized more territory while continuing to strike terror targets.
4. US President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he was entering the White House Situation Room to make a “final determination” on a MOU to extend the ceasefire with Iran and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
5. The proportion of vessels not linked to Iranian ownership that are transiting the Strait of Hormuz has risen, according to data from maritime firm Lloyd’s List Intelligence shared Thursday.
6. The United Arab Emirates launched dozens of airstrikes in Iran in the first days of the US-Israeli war on Iran, and after the ceasefire in April was announced, according to a WSJ report published Friday.
7. Norway’s Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said Thursday that Europe cannot combine its strong backing for Ukraine with a neutral mediator role in future peace talks, as EU foreign ministers met informally in Lemesos, Cyprus.
8. NATO accused Moscow on Friday of reckless behavior and pledged to “defend every inch of Allied territory” after Romania said a Russian drone had crashed into an apartment block in the alliance member state during an attack on neighboring Ukraine.
Russia’s TASS news agency cited Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying President Vladimir Putin had been informed about the incident.

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 and boats trying to lay mines on Monday, US Central Command said, as top Iranian negotiators arrived in Doha for talks to end the war. 
3. US President Donald Trump indicated during a Wednesday cabinet meeting that progress in talks with Iran on a deal to end the war had slowed, departing from his assertion at the start of the week that an agreement was nearly finalized. 
4. Hamas on Wednesday confirmed the death of Mohammed Odeh, the newly appointed head of the terror group’s military wing, who Israel killed in a strike in Gaza City.  
5. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Tuesday that Israel is “intensifying operations” in Lebanon by taking strategic positions and reinforcing the security buffer zone as the IDF pushed past the lines it held as it seeks to counter the recent surge in drone attacks by Hezbollah. 
6. Ukraine is urging the EU to help negotiate an end to the war with Russia, a topic that will be discussed in detail at an informal meeting of European foreign ministers in Cyprus. 
Ukraine's foreign minister has told the BBC that Kyiv is keen to introduce some "new dynamics" into the negotiation process. 
7.  The U.S. intends to significantly reduce military contributions available to assist European allies in a crisis, including fighter jets, warships and mid-air refueling aircraft, German news outlet Spiegel reported. 
8. North Korea test fired a newly-developed lightweight multi-purpose missile launching system and multiple tactical cruise missile weapons systems on Tuesday, state media Korean Central News Agency reported. 
North Korea’s state media did not disclose the exact nature of the special mission warhead, but imagery released shows the tactical ballistic missile being the Hwasong 11-D tactical ballistic missiles capable of carrying conventional explosive, fragmentation, submunition, chemical or nuclear warheads.

For review:
1. Latest on US - Iran Negotiations and Deal.
2. Israel Ramping Up Strikes Against Hezbollah