President Donald Trump on Wednesday vetoed a trio of congressional resolutions aimed at blocking his administration from bypassing Congress and selling billions of dollars in weapons and maintenance support to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last month cited threats from Iran as a reason to approve the $8.1 […]

Ankara: Turkey ignored US warnings as it continued Saturday to take delivery of Russia’s S-400 missile defence system near Ankara, a defence minstry statement indicated. “Delivery of S-400 Long Range Air and Missile Defence Systems resumed today,” the statement said. “The fourth Russian plane carrying S-400 parts landed at Murted Airport outside Ankara,” it added. […]

DefenceTalkBERLIN: Berlin said on Monday (July 8) it had no plans to send ground troops to Syria, refusing a US request for Germany to ramp up its military involvement in the fight against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants. “When I say that the government intends to continue with its ongoing measures in […]https://www.defencetalk.com/germany-says-no-to-us-request-for-ground-troops-in-syria-72374/

DefenceTalkTehran: Iran and the United States, locked in a tense standoff after the US withdrew from a nuclear deal, traded barbs Sunday the day before the US tightens sanctions against the Islamic republic. Both sides say they want to avoid going to war, but tensions have spiralled as a series of incidents, including attacks on […]https://www.defencetalk.com/iran-and-us-trade-barbs-ahead-of-new-sanctions-72346/

DefenceTalkUS Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday he will visit Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for talks on the crisis sparked by Iran’s downing an American drone. “We’ll be talking with them about how to make sure that we are all strategically aligned and how we can build out a global coalition” […]https://www.defencetalk.com/pompeo-heads-to-saudi-arabia-uae-for-iran-crisis-talks-72344/

DefenceTalkA Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen intercepted a Huthi rebel drone targeting the kingdom, a spokesman said Wednesday, calling it another violation of an already fragile ceasefire in a key Red Sea province. The unmanned drone was shot down in Yemeni airspace after the Iran-aligned rebels launched it from Hodeida province, coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki […]https://www.defencetalk.com/saudi-led-coalition-intercepts-new-yemeni-rebel-drone-72330/

DefenceTalkHis Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, who is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, on Wednesday attended a reception ceremony to welcome the first squadron of Rafale fighter jets of the Qatari Amiri Air Force from France. The reception was attended by officers, non-commissioned officers and members of the squadron Al Adiyat. […]https://www.defencetalk.com/first-rafale-fighter-jet-squadron-arrives-in-qatar-72317/

DefenceTalkThe US government has approved the deployment of a Patriot missile defence battery and another warship to the Middle East amid increasing tensions between the US and Iran. The USS Arlington, which transports marines, amphibious vehicles, and rotary aircraft, will join the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group, which already passed through Egypt’s Suez Canal […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-sends-patriots-warship-to-middle-east-amid-iran-tensions-72309/

DefenceTalkIraq has promised to guarantee the safety of United States interests from Iran, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Tuesday as he paid a surprise trip to Baghdad where he accused Tehran of planning “imminent” attacks. The top US diplomat’s sudden, unannounced visit marked an effort to shore up Washington’s ties with Baghdad as […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-seeks-assurance-of-security-for-interests-in-iraq-amid-wrangle-with-iran-72303/

DefenceTalkPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel had at the weekend carried out an air strike on Iranian weapons in Syria, a rare public confirmation of such attacks. “Just in the last 36 hours the air force attacked Iranian warehouses containing Iranian weapons in the Damascus international airport,” Netanyahu said at the start of […]https://www.defencetalk.com/netanyahu-confirms-weekend-strike-by-israel-on-iran-target-in-syria-72034/