I - On Defense Podcast

For review:
1. US Announces (Gaza) Board of Peace Executive Committee; Includes Turkey & Qatar.
2. Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday said authorities “must break the back of the seditionists” and blamed US President Donald Trump for “casualties” after the Islamic Republic’s bloody crackdown on a protest wave against the country’s clerical authorities.
3. US President Donald Trump, for the first time, appeared to call on Saturday for the end of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s rule in Iran.
“It’s time to look for new leadership in Iran,” the President told Politico.
4. Mossad director David Barnea was reported to arrive Friday in the US for consultations on Iran’s deadly crackdown on protests and a potential American military response.
5. Ukraine Delegation Arrives in US to Discuss Peace Agreement. 
Ukrainian negotiators will meet with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll.
6. Troops from several European countries continued to arrive in Greenland on Thursday in a show of support for Denmark as talks among representatives of Denmark, Greenland and the U.S. highlighted “fundamental disagreement” over the future of the Arctic island.
7. French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday reaffirmed that "no intimidation or threat" could influence them following US President Donald Trump's announcement to impose new tariffs on eight European countries over the Greenland dispute.
8. US Navy Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Daryl Caudle: US defense spending needs to be rebaselined to at least 4 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product to enable the Navy to meet current readiness demands and to expand its fleet of warships to contend with future threats.
9. The first Trump-class Battleship could cost up to about $21 billion if ordered today, with the price inching toward $22 billion if ordered in 2030, according to an estimate put forward by the Congressional Budget Office.

For review:
1. US Forces seize 6th sanctioned tanker in Caribbean Sea.
2. Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado said she presented her Nobel Peace Prize medal to President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday.
3. US President Donald Trump reportedly informed Iran that he won’t be ordering a strike on the country over its deadly crackdown on protesters after the leaders of four Arab countries convinced him to hold off.
4. US special envoy Steve Witkoff on Wednesday announced the launch of phase two of President Donald Trump’s plan for ending the war in Gaza, including the establishment of a new technocratic Palestinian administration for the Strip.
5. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy responded Thursday to President Trump that Ukraine was stalling a peace deal in the country’s ongoing war with Russia, saying his country will “never be a stumbling block for peace.”
The President told Reuters this week that he believes Russian President Putin is “ready to make a deal,” but “Ukraine is less ready.” The President specifically named Zelensky as the person holding up the negotiations. 
6. Moscow agrees with U.S. President Donald Trump’s view that Ukraine is holding up a peace deal to end the almost four years of fighting, a Kremlin official said Thursday.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, “Yes, we can agree with it, it’s indeed so.”
7. Ukrainian military resistance, with France alone providing two-thirds of Ukraine's intelligence capabilities in the war against Russia.
This was stated by French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday, January 15, in his New Year's address to the army at the Istres airbase near Marseille, according to a Ukrinform correspondent.
8. The White House meeting to discuss Greenland lasted about an hour. Participating in the meeting were: U.S. Vice President JD Vance, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen and Greenland’s Vivian Motzfeldt.
Denmark’s Rasmussen described the conversation as “frank but constructive,” 
The U.S., Denmark and Greenland agreed to establish a high-level working group to try to determine a way forward for the self-governing Danish territory.
9. Armor Not Dead: US Army Shows M1E3 Tank Prototype at Detroit Auto Show; A Working Platform to Test Ideas.

For review:
1. Latest on Iran Protests.
- Iranian Officials: More Than 2000 Killed in Protests: Iran Blames US and Israel.
- Appearing to depart from the notion of negotiating with the Iranian government, US President Donald Trump told protesters in Iran on Tuesday that “help is on its way” and urged them to keep protesting and take control of the country’s institutions.
- Israeli and Arab officials have suggested the Trump administration hold off on striking Iran for now, believing that the Islamic Republic may not be sufficiently weakened in order for an American attack to topple it.
 - The Israel Defense Forces said Monday that it remained on alert for possible “surprise scenarios” as anti-government unrest in Iran has prompted the United States to threaten intervention over the killing of protesters.
- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling party warned on Monday that foreign intervention in Iran could spark wider turmoil in the region.
2. The United States accused Russia on Monday of a "dangerous and inexplicable escalation" of the war in Ukraine after Moscow launched new attacks on energy and civilian infrastructure in Kyiv, despite ongoing U.S.-led negotiations aimed at ending the conflict.
3. Russia and China are increasingly working together in the Arctic, and their presence there will be a growing threat to NATO allies, said Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, the Supreme Allied Commander Europe.
4. Vice President Vance & Secretary of State Rubio to Meet with Foreign Ministers from Greenland & Denmark in Washington D.C..

For review:
1. US and Jordan Strike ISIS Targets in Syria.
2. Human Rights Group: More Than 500 Killed in Iran Protests; President Trump Weighing Military Options.
3. Hamas says it has instructed its government agencies to prepare to hand over their powers to the independent committee of Palestinian technocrats that is supposed to administer Gaza under US President Donald Trump’s ceasefire plan.
4. Israel on Sunday carried out major airstrikes against seven Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, using more than 30 munitions in two waves of strikes, the military said.
5. A group of European countries, led by Britain and Germany, is discussing plans to boost their military presence in Greenland to show U.S. President Donald Trump that the continent is serious about Arctic security, Bloomberg News reported on Sunday.
6. EU countries should weigh whether to set up a combined military force that could eventually replace US troops in Europe, the bloc’s defense chief said Sunday.
EU defense commissioner Andrius Kubilius floated creating a “powerful, standing ‘European military force’ of 100,000 troops” as a possible option to better protect the continent.
7. The UK Friday earmarked 200 million pounds ($268 million) to prepare British troops to be deployed to Ukraine as part of a “multinational” force if a ceasefire is agreed between Moscow and Kyiv.
8.  Armor Not Dead: US Army to Unveil M1E3 Prototype at Detroit Auto Show.

For review:
1. Iranian Protests Continue for 13th Day; Spread Across Iran's 31 Provinces.
2. During visit to Beirut, Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi has said his country is seeking to open a new chapter in relations with Lebanon, at a time when Lebanon is continuing with plans to disarm Tehran's most potent proxy- Hezbollah.
3. Iran’s supreme leader signaled Friday that security forces would crack down on protesters after they screamed from windows and marched through the streets overnight, directly challenging US President Donald Trump’s pledge to support those peacefully demonstrating.
4. Report: Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will escape to Moscow if his regime collapses- an intelligence report shared with The Times of Israel says.
The Supreme Leader Khamenei, 86, will flee Tehran with his aides and family members if his security forces fail to halt the growing demonstrations or desert his side amid the unrest, the report says.
5. Russia fired its new Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile at the western Ukrainian city of Lviv overnight on Jan. 9, the Russian Defense Ministry said, calling the attack "retaliation" for an attempted Ukrainian drone strike on one of President Vladimir Putin's residences, a claim Kyiv has denied.
6. The US has seized another sanctioned oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea, US Southern Command said on Friday.
7. The head of NATO’s forces in Europe, US General Alexus Grynkewich, said Friday the military alliance was far from being in “a crisis,” following President Donald Trump‘s threats to bring Greenland under US control.
8. Lockheed Martin says it delivered 191 F-35 Stealth Fighters in 2025, a record for the program facilitated by a backlog of jets held in storage.