Mike Drop

Threats against U.S. troops in Europe, and their families, are piling up, from Iran-backed plots in England to Russian sabotage in Germany and Romania.

MIKE DROP NEWSROOM | 14 NOVEMBER 2026

Stars and Stripes reports that U.S. tankers left RAF Mildenhall after a reported Iran threat, and Mildenhall and RAF Lakenheath went to Force Protection Condition Charlie, weeks after B-1 bombers were pulled from RAF Fairford over a suspected Iran-backed plot. Iran's security chief says any base used to strike Iran is a target, and European Command is now telling troops and families to vary their commutes, limit what they share online and stay alert in crowds.

Mike Ritland breaks down what these threats mean for troops and families living off base, why so little is being said about the investigations in England, and how cyberattacks on freezers in Europe and at U.S. military commissaries fit the pattern.

Also covered:

- Israel's Mossad chief in Washington as the push to restart strikes on Iran grows

- Iran's Bahrain drone claim and more mines in the Strait of Hormuz

- The U.N. watchdog says it can't locate Iran's Isfahan enrichment plant

- Turkey and Qatar sign a mutual defense pact

- The nationwide FAA ground stop

- A bomb found at an ethanol plant in Peoria, Illinois

If you were stationed in Europe right now, would you want your family there? Tell us in the comments.

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0:00 Today's headlines

0:37 Threats to U.S. troops and families in Europe

4:41 Pressure to restart strikes on Iran

8:02 Bahrain drones and more mines in Hormuz

10:50 The U.N. can't find Iran's enrichment plant

12:57 Turkey and Qatar sign a defense pact

15:00 The FAA ground stop

17:15 Bomb found at a Peoria ethanol plant

Iran says it destroyed a U.S. radar in Bahrain, home of the Navy's Fifth Fleet, and U.S. Central Command says its forces shot the drones down before they did any damage.

MIKE DROP NEWSROOM | 13 NOVEMBER 2026

Iran's Revolutionary Guard claims it destroyed a U.S. early-warning radar in Bahrain as payback for a strike on Sirik, an Iranian port town on the Strait of Hormuz. CENTCOM denied it, saying U.S. forces shot down two one-way attack drones headed for Bahrain with no injuries and no damage. At home, Iranian threats have moved Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent onto a military base, and President Trump warned Iran "will not exist very long" if it kills a senior U.S. official.

Mike Ritland breaks down why Iran claims hits that never happened, what it means that three senior U.S. officials have left their homes, and how the U.S. would likely answer an attack on American soil.

Also covered:

- A U.S. Army lieutenant colonel accused of spying for Russia in England

- Five tankers hit in the Strait of Hormuz in two days, and whether the Navy should clear the mines

- Poland says the Pentagon greenlit a permanent U.S. troop presence

- The fight in Congress over renewing Section 702 surveillance powers

Who do you believe on Bahrain, CENTCOM or the IRGC? Tell us in the comments.

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0:00 Iran claims a hit on a U.S. radar in Bahrain; CENTCOM says drones shot down

3:06 Iran's threats push Bessent, Rubio and Miller off their home turf

6:53 U.S. Army officer accused of spying for Russia

10:34 Five tankers hit in the Strait of Hormuz

13:38 A permanent U.S. base in Poland?

16:42 Section 702 spy powers stall in Congress

Iran says every U.S. military base from the Middle East to Europe is a target if America strikes it again.

MIKE DROP NEWSROOM | 12 NOVEMBER 2026

Mohsen Rezaei, the head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, warned that any base used in a new attack, "from West Asia to Europe," would be a legitimate target, adding "no safe distance, no safe haven, no immunity." In England, RAF Mildenhall and RAF Lakenheath went to Force Protection Condition Charlie, the second-highest level, and KC-135 tankers left Mildenhall for Germany and Scotland. At home, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has moved onto a U.S. military base after Iranian threats against him, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House adviser Stephen Miller have also moved to protected housing.

Mike Ritland breaks down what it means when Iran's reach extends to U.S. bases in Europe and to the homes of top U.S. officials, why sleeper cells and proxies are still a threat after months of strikes, and why Vice President Vance may sit down with the same man making these threats.

Also covered:

- Vance weighs a face-to-face meeting with Rezaei, possibly in Doha

- A Tomb of the Unknown Soldier sentinel calls out Secretary Hegseth's group on Veterans Day

- The defense budget fight and the failed Hegseth impeachment vote

- Data centers and the AI race with China

- Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang resigns amid an alleged affair with a suspected Chinese spy

Should Vance meet face to face with the Iranian official threatening U.S. bases? Tell us in the comments.

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0:00 Iran says every U.S. base from the Gulf to Europe is a target

0:50 U.S. bases in England go to FPCON Charlie

2:20 Vance weighs meeting the man making the threats

4:33 Bessent, Rubio and Miller move to protected housing

9:20 Tomb guard calls out Hegseth's group

10:34 The defense budget fight and the impeachment vote

11:36 Data centers and the AI race with China

13:40 Nvidia's CEO resigns over an alleged Chinese spy affair

Three men working for Iran's Revolutionary Guard and its Iraqi militia allies are now charged in a plot against a British air base that hosted American bombers and airmen.

MIKE DROP NEWSROOM | 11 NOVEMBER 2026

The Justice Department says three Iranian-backed operatives were charged in a superseding indictment tied to a plot against RAF Fairford in England. Prosecutors say the men acted for Iran's IRGC and Iraq's Kataib Hezbollah, that vans disguised as fuel trucks were sent toward the base, and that the network is tied to nearly 20 attacks and attempted attacks in Europe and the United States. The alleged leader is accused of passing coded messages through calls to relatives in Iraq from a federal jail in New York. Iran denies involvement. Days after the September incident, the U.S. pulled its B-1 bombers from Fairford.

Mike Ritland breaks down why a handful of men in three vans could force U.S. bombers to move, why every base's outer perimeter is its weak link, and what Iran's new threat to hit U.S. bases far away really means.

Also covered:

- Iran says no enriched nuclear material will leave the country, while Rubio says there's "really no need for major combat"

- Why U.S. troops and the blockade are still in place

- A senior U.S. Army soldier arrested in England on suspicion of spying for Russia

- Washington's push to renegotiate European security alongside Ukraine talks

- Lawmakers push tighter chip export rules after a PLA-linked university bought NVIDIA H200 chips

- The House blocks the Hegseth impeachment effort, for now

- Ring's indoor flying security camera

Would you let a flying security drone patrol your house? And how do you stop three vans at the fence line? Tell us in the comments.

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0:00 Iran-backed plot against RAF Fairford: three men charged

3:22 Iran threatens U.S. bases far away

6:49 Report: Treasury Secretary Bessent moved onto a military base

9:30 U.S. Army soldier arrested in England as a suspected Russian spy

12:16 Washington and Moscow talk European security

14:51 NVIDIA, China and the push for tighter chip exports

17:20 Hegseth impeachment effort blocked for now

18:13 Ring's indoor flying security camera

Captain Alex Folchitto, a 16-year veteran of the Italian Army Special Forces and an airborne Ranger from the tier one unit known as the 9th Paratroopers Assault Regiment, Col Moschin, joins Mike Ritland as the first Italian veteran to appear on the podcast. Alex opens with a mission that nearly went terribly wrong: a midnight flight into a village, everybody shooting at them, and an aircraft that loses its front wheel. From there, he walks through the Italian selection (ten-day hell week, then three years of training), working alongside U.S. units in Afghanistan, rules of engagement, and his deployment to Libya around the time of the Benghazi attack. He also tells how he went from washing dishes at his sister’s restaurant to the movie business as a military advisor, stunt performer and actor.

A U.S. warplane fired on a ship trying to run the blockade on Iran, and Tehran answered with a 48-hour ultimatum and a promise to "rain down hell."

MIKE DROP NEWSROOM | 09 NOVEMBER 2026

CENTCOM says a St. Kitts-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman ignored repeated warnings and tried to break the naval blockade, so U.S. forces ordered the crew clear and a U.S. warplane disabled it with precision munitions. Since July, the blockade has redirected 147 commercial ships and disabled five. Iran's foreign minister says Iran's two-day proposal stands and warned that otherwise "Iran's warriors will rain down hell," while President Trump says new strikes are "highly unlikely" to be necessary and three carriers in the region are "locked and loaded."

Mike Ritland breaks down what the 48-hour clock really means for U.S. sailors and air crews, why Iran's threats often don't match its follow-through, and why the third carrier group steaming in from the South China Sea could decide the timing.

Also covered:

- The debate over whether Russia can actually hand Iran the S-400

- Task Force Iron Gate and the push to hit Iran's land routes

- A drone that knocked out power to most of Iraq's Kurdish region, where U.S. troops have long been based

- Qatar's peace plan at the White House: lifting the blockade and releasing about $8 billion in frozen Iranian assets

- Trump's planned talks with Xi Jinping and Putin at APEC

- The White House's $1.5 trillion defense budget request and the December 11 funding deadline

Should releasing Iran's frozen money be part of any deal? Tell us in the comments.

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0:00 U.S. warplane fires on a blockade runner; Iran's 48-hour ultimatum

2:27 Can Russia really give Iran the S-400?

4:07 Task Force Iron Gate update

5:29 Drone knocks out power in Iraq's Kurdish region

7:50 Qatar's peace plan at the White House

11:00 Trump to meet Xi and Putin at APEC

13:20 The $1.5 trillion defense budget request

Iran's Revolutionary Guard says it has lifted its self-imposed missile range limit for the United States, putting more U.S. bases inside the danger zone.

MIKE DROP NEWSROOM | 08 NOVEMBER 2026

CBS News, citing the AP, reported that an IRGC spokesman said Iran's roughly 1,200-mile missile range limit has been lifted for the United States. Iran has not shown a new missile, but in March it fired two missiles toward Diego Garcia, about 2,400 miles away. Meanwhile U.S. strikes hit Qeshm Island, a U.S. aircraft disabled a blockade runner in the Gulf of Oman, and CENTCOM stood up a new task force to choke off Iran's land routes.

Mike Ritland breaks down why he sees the range threat as mostly rhetoric, whether U.S. air defenses have enough interceptors to cover a 2,500-mile radius, and what a CENTCOM task force aimed at Iran's land routes could mean for U.S. forces.

Also covered: two more tankers hit mines near Hormuz and what is missing from Iran's seven demands, Gadi Eisenkot's push to replace Netanyahu and what it means for a U.S.-Iran deal, reports that Iran wants Russia's S-400 air defenses, and Congress returning with a December 11 funding clock and an impeachment push against War Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Do U.S. bases farther from Iran need to plan as if they're targets now? Tell us in the comments.

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00:00 Iran says it lifted its missile range limit

00:50 What it means for U.S. bases, and the Diego Garcia precedent

02:30 Do U.S. air defenses have enough interceptors?

03:40 U.S. strikes Qeshm and disables a blockade runner

04:50 Task Force Iron Gate targets Iran's land routes

07:40 Could it lead to boots on the ground?

09:15 Two more tankers hit mines near Hormuz

11:10 What's missing from Iran's seven demands

12:35 Eisenkot tapped to replace Netanyahu

13:45 Does a new Israeli leader change a U.S.-Iran deal?

15:45 Russia's S-400 and pipeline lifeline for Iran

17:00 What the S-400 means for U.S. pilots

21:45 Congress returns: funding clock and Hegseth impeachment

24:20 Is the war budget worth it?

25:30 Wrap-up

U.S. Central Command is finalizing preparations to restart major operations against Iran, and President Trump says Americans will know "soon enough."

MIKE DROP NEWSROOM | 06 NOVEMBER 2026

U.S. officials told Axios that CENTCOM is finalizing preparations for a possible return to major operations against Iran, though no new order has been given. President Trump met with his national security team Wednesday and Thursday, and officials pointed to the November 9 new moon as favorable for operations. Meanwhile tankers are still burning in the Strait of Hormuz and Iran says its seven conditions must be met before the strait reopens.

Mike Ritland breaks down why the new moon matters, what "finalizing preparations" means for U.S. troops in the region, and whether the carrier group headed for the Gulf signals strikes are coming.

Also covered: Iran's nuclear proposal through Qatar and its security chief's meeting with Putin, Turkey's parliament approving a defense pact with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan and why a NATO ally in the fight changes everything, War Secretary Pete Hegseth's $350 billion request and the impeachment push, and Gov. Gavin Newsom emptying California's death row.

Is the carrier heading to the Gulf a sign strikes are coming, or is there still an off-ramp? Tell us in the comments.

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00:00 CENTCOM finalizes preparations to strike Iran again

01:10 Why the Nov. 9 new moon matters

02:30 What "finalizing preparations" means for troops

03:00 Tankers burn as the U.S. blockade holds

03:50 Iran's seven conditions and the stalemate

05:45 Does the carrier group mean strikes are coming?

06:40 Iran's nuclear offer through Qatar and Putin

10:20 Turkey joins the Saudi-Pakistan defense pact

12:25 Why a NATO ally in the fight changes everything

14:25 Hegseth's $350 billion request and the impeachment push

17:25 Is it worth it? What success looks like

19:40 Newsom empties California's death row

22:05 Wrap-up

Iran says it took control of two U.S. attack drones over the Strait of Hormuz as the U.S. military finishes preparations for possible resumed major combat.

MIKE DROP NEWSROOM | 05 NOVEMBER 2026

Iran's Revolutionary Guard says its navy's electronic warfare unit took control of two U.S. LUCAS one-way attack drones in the Hormuz area, part of the low-cost drone force the Pentagon has been ramping up. U.S. officials say the military is finishing preparations for possible resumed major combat, while President Trump says there are no immediate plans to strike.

Mike Ritland breaks down why U.S. forces need to know now if Iran can really grab drones in flight, why the daily attacks on tankers point to a stalemate in the strait, and whether the administration ramps up or backs off before the December 11 war funding fight.

Also covered: two more tankers on fire after mine strikes and the U.S. blockade at six months, impeachment talk building around War Secretary Pete Hegseth, China surging ships and aircraft around Taiwan and whether the Navy can cover two fronts, the Houthis claiming a strike on Riyadh's airport, and Vice President Vance saying the war cost Republicans the midterms.

Between now and December 11, do you expect more U.S. strikes on Iran, or a pullback? Tell us in the comments.

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00:00 Iran says it seized two U.S. attack drones

00:50 Why the LUCAS drone program matters

02:30 Strikes before December 11, or a pullback?

04:30 Tankers burn in the strait as the blockade holds

05:25 Qatar's draft deal and the stalemate

09:05 Impeachment talk builds around Hegseth

14:10 China surges ships and aircraft around Taiwan

15:25 Can the Navy cover two fronts at once?

16:40 Houthis claim a strike on Riyadh's airport

18:20 December 11: Congress and war funding

22:50 Wrap-up

Democrats won control of Congress, putting war funding for the Iran conflict on the table, while Israel warns that Iran is weighing chemical weapons.

MIKE DROP NEWSROOM | 4 NOVEMBER 2026

Democrats won control of both the House and Senate on Tuesday. Current government funding runs out December 11, and the new Congress is sworn in January 3, with Democrats promising bills to end the Iran war. Meanwhile, Israel has told the U.S. and Gulf states that Iran is considering chemical weapons if full-scale fighting resumes, though some U.S. officials doubt the intelligence.

Mike Ritland breaks down why the short window before the funding deadline could raise the risk to U.S. troops, what a chemical weapons threat would mean for forces in the region, and why both parties should treat the election as a lesson, not a victory lap.

Also covered: an update on the EUCOM warning to troops and families in Europe, Poland reinforcing its border with Russia after a warning from NATO's top commander, and Trump saying $4 billion a year in military aid to Israel will end.

Is Israel's chemical weapons warning a credible threat, or a push to pull the U.S. back into the fight? Tell us in the comments.

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0:00 Democrats win Congress; war funding deadline December 11

0:45 Mike's take on the election

9:15 Update: the EUCOM warning in Europe

11:50 Israel warns Iran is weighing chemical weapons

16:20 Poland reinforces its border after NATO warning

18:55 Trump says $4 billion a year in aid to Israel will end

20:30 Wrap-up