DefenceTalkThe White House demanded that the military draft plans for strikes on Iran after attacks in Iraq last year, sparking concern at the Pentagon and State Department, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday. The report said the move came after a mortar attack launched by an Iran-linked group on the Baghdad diplomatic quarters home to […]https://www.defencetalk.com/white-house-sought-military-strike-against-iran-72031/

DefenceTalkArab countries are in talks with the United States for a new security agreement to protect the Middle East from “external aggression”, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said on Sunday. “The aim is to achieve security arrangements in the Middle East that can protect the region from external aggression… and strengthen relations between the United […]https://www.defencetalk.com/arabs-in-talks-with-us-for-security-pact-saudis-say-71967/

DefenceTalkThe Pentagon is pulling Patriot missile systems from three countries in the Middle East as part of a “rebalance” away from the region, a US official said Wednesday. The move comes as the United States switches its focus towards countering Russia and China in an era of “great power competition.” Speaking on condition of anonymity, […]https://www.defencetalk.com/pentagon-to-pull-some-patriots-from-middle-east-us-official-71882/

DefenceTalkMore than 3,000 civilians have been killed in US-led coalition air strikes against the Daesh group in Syria since they began four years ago, a monitor said on Sunday. The Washington-led alliance puts the toll at just over 1,000 civilians in both Syria and neighboring Iraq, and says it does all it can to prevent […]https://www.defencetalk.com/four-years-of-coalition-strikes-on-syria-kill-3300-civilians-monitor-71864/

DefenceTalkFresh clashes and air strikes around the Yemeni city of Hodeida have killed 32 rebels, hospital and medical sources said on Sunday, as the UN envoy kept up peace efforts in Sanaa. A military source told AFP the Saudi-led coalition fighting alongside the Yemeni government against Huthi rebels carried out an air raid on a […]https://www.defencetalk.com/uns-yemen-envoy-in-sanaa-as-32-rebels-killed-71859/

DefenceTalkRussian warplanes battered Syria’s rebel-controlled Idlib on Tuesday for the first time in three weeks, a war monitor said, as expectations mount of a government offensive in the northwestern province. Regime ally Moscow and rebel backer Ankara have held several rounds of talks aimed at averting an assault, but government troops have been massing near […]https://www.defencetalk.com/russian-air-strikes-batter-syrias-idlib-monitor-71833/

DefenceTalkIsraeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Monday signalled his country could strike Iranian targets in Iraq if they threatened Israel, saying it would hit wherever necessary. “We will face any Iranian threat, no matter where it comes from,” Lieberman said in response to a question about reports that Iran had provided ballistic missiles to allied […]https://www.defencetalk.com/israel-does-not-rule-out-striking-iranian-targets-in-iraq-71831/

DefenceTalkIsrael is working on a new missile system capable of hitting targets anywhere in the Middle East, Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on Monday. State-owned arms manufacturer Israel Military Industries (IMI) would deliver “within a few years” an advanced integrated system “allowing precise hits by remote launching”, he said in a statement. Lieberman added that […]https://www.defencetalk.com/israel-developing-missiles-to-hit-anywhere-in-mideast-minister-71824/

DefenceTalkIran unveiled a new domestic fighter jet with President Hassan Rouhani saying Tehran’s military strength was only designed to deter enemies and aimed at creating “lasting peace”. Images broadcast on state television on Tuesday showed Rouhani sitting in the cockpit of the new Kowsar fourth-generation fighter at the National Defence Industry exhibition in Tehran. State […]https://www.defencetalk.com/iran-unveils-new-domestic-fighter-jet-71814/

DefenceTalkForty children were among 51 people killed in a Saudi-led coalition air strike on a bus in rebel-held northern Yemen, the Red Cross said Tuesday, after thousands protested at a mass funeral. Fifty-six children were also among the 79 people wounded in the Thursday strike on Saada province, a rebel stronghold that borders Saudi Arabia, […]https://www.defencetalk.com/yemen-bus-strike-killed-40-children-says-red-cross-71808/