I - On Defense Podcast

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.

For review:
1. Yemen’s top diplomat says the Houthi rebels are not willing to strike a peace deal with the internationally recognized government to end the country’s yearslong civil war.
Foreign Minister Afrah al-Zouba speaks to The Associated Press in Paris, where she met with French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot.
“The problem is that the Houthis aren’t willing, and they will not be ready for peace,” al-Zouba tells AP.
2. The Houthis have launched multiple cross-border raids into Saudi Arabia in recent months, in an expansion of the conflict beyond Yemen a western and Arab official with direct knowledge of the raids told Middle East Eye.
3. The US carried out strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, an American official said late Monday.
The strikes, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, appeared to be limited and were not a resumption of major combat operations, the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
Another official said the strikes were defensive measures against Iranians “using surface-to-air missiles against US assets.”
4. The Trump administration on Monday signaled a negotiated deal with Iran was possible after Tehran offered to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, albeit under strict conditions.
5. Russia on Tuesday confirmed that peace talks with Ukraine and the U.S. will go ahead next week in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, while also signaling that a meeting between Presidents Trump, Putin, and Xi Jinping to end the conflict was on the table. 
Putin aide Vladimir ​Medinsky will serve ⁠as Moscow’s chief negotiator ​at the talks in Abu Dhabi on Nov. 10-11, Kremlin spokesman ​Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call, according to Reuters. 
6. Australian military officials have been furtive about how they will use Anduril-developed Ghost Shark extra-large autonomous underwater vehicles – or XLAUVs. 
In an official unveiling at Anduril Australia’s manufacturing center in Sydney on Oct. 19, three Ghost Shark payloads were revealed.
One entailed sea mines, another was a swarm of Altius-600 loitering munitions, and the third was logistics supply caches.

For review:
1. Saudi air defenses intercepted at least two suspected Houthi drones on Saturday morning, according to the spokesman for the Saudi Arabia-led military coalition.
2. Iran’s supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei on Saturday reportedly warned the United States and Israel against returning to war, according to a written statement, following threats from Tehran’s foes of a possible resumption of strikes, which a report said could come as early as November 4, the day after the US midterms.
3. US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly spoke on Saturday morning over the phone as the United States laid plans to resume strikes on Iran.
The Wall Street Journal reported the call, citing people familiar with the conversation, as Trump told reporters in Palm Beach later in the day that the US wanted to destroy up to two more targets in Iran.
4. Iran on Sunday said that any renewed war with the United States or Israel could last longer than the previous round of fighting, warning that US President Donald Trump would not be able to dictate its end.
5. A multi-day ceasefire between Moscow and Kyiv in the Russian-controlled Ukrainian city of Oleshky ended late Sunday with no violations reported by either side.
The truce, announced by US first lady Melania Trump to facilitate humanitarian aid deliveries and civilian evacuations, took effect Tuesday and was extended beyond Oleshky, in the Kherson region, to provide safe passage for humanitarian convoys.
6. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Oct. 30 denied that Moscow seeks to arrange a phone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Volodymyr Zelensky instead of a face-to-face meeting.
7. German tank maker KNDS and Norway’s Ritek have begun producing Leopard 2A8 tanks in Norway, adding a land-based industrial foothold to a security partnership spanning submarines, missiles and military operations in Europe’s north. 
8. Hanwha Philly Shipyard has won a $269 million contract to build the Marine Corps’ Landing Ship Medium, according to a Friday announcement from the program’s vessel construction manager.