I - On Defense Podcast

For review:
1. Report: Mossad chief removes 2 senior officials behind aborted Iran regime-change plan 
2. Iran’s foreign ministry said Wednesday that Iran and Oman have agreed on a route for ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz and are putting the final touches on arrangements for jointly managing the waterway.
3. Lebanon and Israel held a fresh round of US-sponsored talks in Rome on Tuesday. This week’s negotiations mark the seventh round of Washington-mediated talks.
4. Yemen’s Houthi rebels have killed at least 30 government soldiers and injured 15 in missile attacks on Yemeni military, government sources 
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the attacks, using missiles and drones, led to “hundreds” of casualties.
The Yemeni military confirmed the attacks, framing them as a response to their own attacks on the Houthis.
5. A Ukrainian cargo plane targeted by a drone carrying explosives at Germany's Leipzig/Halle Airport was loaded with ammunition at the time of the incident, German media reported on Aug. 6.
6. US Triples Patriot and Quadruples THAAD Interceptor Production.

For review:
1. US President Donald Trump held a phone call earlier today with Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani during which the pair discussed “efforts to deescalate tensions between the US and Iran,” the latter’s office says.
2. Iran and the Gulf Arab state of Oman have made progress toward a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a potential breakthrough that could help wind down the war in the Middle East, regional officials say.
Under the emerging agreement, ships would enter the Persian Gulf through an Iranian-controlled route and exit through a route controlled by Oman, with service fees charged for providing security and preserving the maritime environment, two regional officials tell The Associated Press.
3. In his first public comments on the matter, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that Israel has not agreed to the Board of Peace’s Hamas disarmament plan, which was accepted by the terror group last week.
4. The US-backed Board of Peace appeared to change its conditions for the IDF to withdraw from Gaza after its top officials held a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Monday, shortly before a fresh Israeli airstrike was reported in the enclave.
5. Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine's former ambassador to the U.S., has been charged with illicit enrichment, an anti-corruption prosecutor said at a hearing of the High Anti-Corruption Court on Aug. 5.
6. Ukraine will never become a member of NATO despite years of pursuing accession, Ukraine's Ambassador to the U.K. and former Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi said on Aug. 3.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said Zaluzhnyi's remarks had been "taken out of context and caused a stir," noting that the ambassador's full answer referred primarily to the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), not NATO.

For review:
1.  US President Donald Trump on Monday said that Washington and Tehran were currently engaged in talks, pushing back on Iranian claims to the contrary and accusing the Islamic Republic of being “unbelievably duplicitous.” 
 In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump lashed out at Iran and insisted that negotiations over reopening the Strait of Hormuz had already begun and that more were scheduled imminently. 
2.  As Israel faced growing criticism from the Board of Peace for its continued strikes on Gaza, despite Hamas’s recent signing of a US-backed disarmament plan, a senior Israeli spokesman said Monday that the roadmap “does not reflect Israel’s positions,” and “stands in direct contrast to the current reality” in the Strip. 
3.  Former Mossad chief David Barnea is joining Ondas Defense Ltd. as its global president and chairman, the NASDAQ-traded company announced on Monday. 
4.  President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed Olha Stefanishyna from her post as Ukraine's ambassador to the U.S., according to a decree published on the presidential website on Aug. 3. 
5.  Ukraine President Zelensky on Tuesday (21 July) fired Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi as commander-in-chief of the armed forces and named his replacement, following days of mass protests in Kyiv, the country’s capital, and other cities across the nation demanding his removal. 
President Zelenskyy appointed Mykhailo Drapatyi as the new commander according to a statement on social media. 
6.  President Volodymyr Zelensky appointed National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov as head of Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service, according to a decree published on the presidential website on Aug. 3. 
7.  Poland is preparing to host the first military drills for the so-called Coalition of the Willing with British and French forces. 
A spokesperson for the Polish Ministry of National Defence told Defense News that the military exercise, which is scheduled to be held this fall, is part of the group’s preparations for the post-war reality in Ukraine.
8.   Anduril’s first Ohio-made unmanned, semi-autonomous aircraft rolled off the production line Monday, just four months after its beginning. 
In January 2026, Anduril declared that its first product would be the YFQ-44A, a missionized variant of the company’s FQ-44, or “Fury,” autonomous fighter jet, for the U.S. Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft program. 
The $1 billion, 5 million-square-foot facility is located near Rickenbacker International Airport.

For review:
1. US Sec of State Rubio raised concerns about Cuba’s ability to infiltrate and influence top-level U.S. institutions, detailing what he described as a dangerous Cuban spy network that is undermining American interests. 
2. Secretary of State Rubio: Diplomatic Efforts in the Coming Weeks to Restart Moscow - Kiev Negotiations.
3.  The Pentagon is giving up leadership of a U.S.-led NATO command in Germany that coordinates military aid to Ukraine. Another NATO member will eventually take over running the Security Assistance Group, according to a U.S official.
4.  A deal is being mediated to return the United States and Iran to the memorandum of understanding the two countries signed last month, sources aware of the details told Israeli-outlet Channel 12 on Sunday. 
The deal would ensure that the Strait of Hormuz remains open for 60 days without fees and renew a ceasefire between the two sides, according to the report. 
5.  Israeli airstrikes overnight Saturday and into Sunday killed at least 17 people, according to local health officials, and a senior Israeli minister vowed that strikes in the territory will not stop despite Hamas signing a US-backed disarmament plan and earlier reports that Israel agreed to halt attacks. 
The strikes followed similar heavy attacks on Saturday, which the IDF said targeted several Hamas weapon depots.
6.  The U.S. Air Force’s F-47 program has begun its engineering and manufacturing development phase and will fly in the coming years, a service official said.  
The first Boeing F-47 is on track for its first flight in 2028. The Air Force plans to buy at least 185 F-47s, matching the size of the F-22 Raptor fleet it intends to replace. 
7.  US Navy announced that it is awarding contracts for another round of ballistic missile and fast-attack submarines. 
The Defense Department is granting a collective $76.6 billion to General Dynamics Electric Boat for five Columbia-class submarines and to both General Dynamics Electric Boat and Huntington Ingalls Industries-Newport News Shipbuilding for nine Virginia-class submarines to be built in the coming years.

For review:
1. Saudi Arabia is gearing up for a major offensive against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, by sea and possibly including a ground operation, The Guardian reported Thursday. 
2.  The United States and Israel are planning what would be one of the harshest bombing campaigns to date against energy infrastructure in Iran, multiple sources told CBS News, with strikes possible throughout the weekend. 
3.  The Israeli military blew up a Hezbollah tunnel system beneath the Beaufort Ridge in southern Lebanon, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz announced late Thursday night in a joint statement. 
They said the Israel Defense Forces used 700 tons of explosives to demolish the subterranean facility.  
4. US President Donald Trump announced Thursday that his Board of Peace had reached an agreement on the “complete disarmament of Hamas and all other armed groups in Gaza.” 
5. USMC F-35B crasheded today  in California, according to the service. 
The pilot ejected and is in stable condition at a local medical facility, the service said in a statement. The pilot is being treated and evaluated for non-life-threatening injuries, the statement added. 
No additional details were immediately available.