In response to the U.S. strike tonight on two Iranian rocket launch positions on Larak Island, the IRGC has vowed to respond, with what will likely be strikes on U.S. bases and infrastructure across the region and increased targeting of commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and surrounding areas.
Per the Washington Post report on the Secretary of Defense Orders Book (SDOB) leak, the Navy has arguably been beggared the most out of all the branches during operations against Iran and subsequent blockade operations in the Strait of Hormuz. Per the report, Pacific Command (PACOM) Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo “disagreed with the level of support he was ordered to continually provide, including an aircraft carrier strike group and naval destroyers, those familiar with the assessment said.”
As reports abound of conditions aboard vessels committed to operations in the Central Command (CENTCOM) AOR, per the article on the SDOB, vessels are at least slated to stay in theater until September, with some assets and formations possibly being held to ongoing missions into 2027.
In a reported classified warning to Pete Hegseth, the leaders of the US army, navy and air force said that prolonging the Iran conflict was critically weakening the United States’ ability to confront threats elsewhere, including at home
🔗: https://t.co/33L1cVFBEp
Behind the strikes is Russia’s new Banderol cruise missile, which has turned Ukraine’s Black Sea coast into a deadly no-go zone for cargo ships and hammered its ports since it entered serial production at the end of last month.
Cheap, fast and carrying a 114kg high-explosive fragmentation warhead, Banderols are launched from Russian-occupied Crimea, often by Mi-28 attack helicopters🔗
https://t.co/VWwgTQMPnW
1. The CIA director unexpectedly flies to Moscow to deliver a message to Putin: Article 5 is ironclad, don’t even think about attacking NATO countries in Europe.
2. Literally two days later, the U.S. deputy secretary of defense comes to NATO headquarters in Brussels and, in softened Machiavellian language, publicly says the following: "Atlantic unity no longer means anything to us. We are leaving, just as we withdrew support for Ukraine. There will be no support or protection in the event of a Russian attack, defend yourselves however you can. Diplomatically, we will call this "Europe taking responsibility for its own conventional defense."
So what conclusion about his plans should Putin draw when he sees this?
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has been informed that Britain faces military retaliation from Russia due to its support for Ukraine and needs to prepared for immediate action-Daily Mail
Wow...
The U.S.’s fresh campaign to economically isolate Iran stopped short of directly penalizing the country that has enabled it to withstand years of American pressure: China https://t.co/rzx7GOhHIo
Beijing has developed a new manoeuvrable type of air-to-air warhead capable of avoiding interception and hitting aerial targets thousands of miles away.
Find out how China has taken the hypersonic missile race to another level ⬇️
https://t.co/xvkJghlVHo
BREAKING: Russian officials have briefed Iran that the CIA Director Ratcliffe's Moscow visit delivered a message with the US asking Moscow to press Iran into reopening the Strait of Hormuz, warning that Russian entities would otherwise face designations under Operation Economic Outcast. Russia declined, and told Iran the threatened measures were of limited consequence, according to two senior Iranian sources with knowledge of the briefing.
The message also warned that Russian banks, traders and shipping entities tied to Iranian oil, gold and aviation will be sanctioned under the operation unless Moscow moves to close those channels.
Russia's new jet-powered Shahed drones fly at 300 mph, three times faster than the classic propeller version, and they exist because of Chinese engines.
Ukrainian wreckage analysis traces the turbojets to Shenzhen-based Telefly Telecommunications Equipment.
After Ukraine publicized the link, Telefly removed the turbojet section from its English website.
It remained on Chinese-language pages.
The jet variants are a serious problem because Ukraine intercepts over 90% of the slow propeller Shaheds with cheap drones.
The jet versions outrun those interceptors and require scarce missiles or fighter jets to stop.
Chinese-origin parts now make up roughly 60-65% of recovered Shaheds.
Beijing maintains it does not send "lethal weapons," classifying the components as dual-use.
Some engines were shipped disguised as industrial refrigeration units.
Source: WSJ
🚨 Iran shut down a British power plant for four days in an unprecedented cyber attack, The Telegraph can disclose.
It is thought to be the first time that hackers affiliated to the Iranian regime have succeeded in closing down such a facility in the UK, and believed to be the most successful cyber attack of its kind ⤵️
https://t.co/3fTNm98Q0I
Russia has no naval presence in the Mediterranean for the first time in more than a decade.
The Kremlin’s overstretched fleet is in a “shambles”, according to Western officials, with vessels previously stationed in the Med diverted to protect Vladimir Putin’s armada of sanctioned oil tankers.
@TomCotterillX has more 👇
https://t.co/YOMdGLncfx
The U.S. war against Iran has drained vital missile interceptor stockpiles, leading allies to question America’s capacity to sustain multi-front conflicts https://t.co/4XUyUaKXwb
The Kremlin’s bitter frustration with Britain's support for Ukraine might explain the tone of the latest statement from Russia’s embassy in London, which threatens Britain with unspecified “consequences”
From cyber attacks to assassinations, @davidblairdt and @RolandOliphant analyse the most likely ways Moscow could deliver on his threats of retaliation ⤵️
https://t.co/oPTQl5GajH