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We're hearing the ceasefire is still in effect but Iran is shooting at us, we're shooting back and Iran is launching drones and missiles into the UAE. There's no clear progress on peace talks and it looks like there's a real chance we're headed back to hostilities before long.
Atlantic article referenced: https://www.theatlantic.com/international/2026/05/iran-us-negotiations-ceasefire/687025/?gift=ggA7qUwxEgEyXL4EF2z6nhQ8yLmfDAiGHinw_S771Ks&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share
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Unclassified Podcast
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Today we're looking into a few new reports about the Iran war. The Washington Post points to a new CIA assessment saying that Iran can withstand the US blockade for months still and that their missile arsenal remains strong even after significant US and Israeli bombardment. We also have Project Freedom back on, for now, after Saudi Arabia and Kuwait allegedly denied us the use of their airspace.
Sources:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/05/07/cia-intelligence-iran-trump-blockade-missiles/

https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/saudi-arabia-kuwait-lift-restrictions-on-u-s-military-access-to-bases-airspace-8504c830?st=WX8RDr&reflink=article_copyURL_share

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/may/07/trump-project-freedom-saudi-arabia-strait-of-hormuz

https://abc7.com/post/doj-probing-26-billion-oil-trades-related-iran-war-sources-say/19057551/
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The Iran war is becoming more chaotic. Peace deals are always a few days away and US strategy seems to change by the hour. Last 24 hours are a perfect example as we stood up then paused Project Freedom after having Secretary Hegseth and Rubio publicly explain why this was such an important initiative. Today we're back to an Axios rumor of a peace deal that Iran says is still a long ways off.
Source:
https://www.axios.com/2026/05/06/iran-us-deal-one-page-memo
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Crazy story about the two US destroyers that forced the Strait of Hormuz yesterday. Braving Iranian mines, fast boats, drones and missiles, the crews of the USS Mason and USS Truxton made it into the Persian Gulf to extract two US flagged commercial vessels. As daring as this operation was, it's unlikely we're going to see this as a regular move to get ships in and out of the area. For that we're still looking at negotiations which don't appear to be moving really at all.
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Sources:

https://iran.liveuamap.com/
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/2-us-navy-destroyers-transit-strait-of-hormuz-after-dodging-iranian-onslaught/
https://x.com/citrinowicz/status/2051405647355560015?s=20
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Truck fundraiser: https://car4ukraine.com/campaigns/preston-stewart-spring-offensive
Today we're looking at a series of medium and deep strikes inside of Russia and Russian occupied territory of Ukraine. We've seen Ukraine re-take the initiative in recent months with Russia increasingly on their back foot trying to find a way to protect themselves from the increasing volume and effectiveness of Ukrainian drone strikes.
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Today we're looking into the resumption of hostilities in the Middle East. This is developing as missiles and drones are still airborne but as of this morning we've seen the US force the blockade to pull two US commercial vessels out, the IRGC opening fire on a number of civilian ships and missiles fired into the UAE. Right now we expect a US military response in the coming hours.

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Truck fundraiser to support the Seraphims: https://car4ukraine.com/campaigns/preston-stewart-spring-offensive
Today we’re joined by Pavlo Kazarin, the senior sergeant for the Seraphims to better understand the nature of their fight. This interview is part of a years long campaign we’re running with Car4Ukraine to help outfit the entire Seraphim battalion with a fleet of vehicles. We’ve made some incredible progress so far with 9 of 35 vehicles already delivered.
In fact, Pavlo talks about how the most dangerous place on the battlefield is moving to and from front-line positions, gives you an idea just how important these vehicles are to his units success.
00:00 Understanding Territorial Defense Brigades
05:09 Evolution of Ukrainian Military Structure
09:56 Challenges of Modern Warfare
14:47 The Role of Unmanned Systems in Combat
19:48 Logistics and Supply in the Battlefield
25:02 Future of Military Technology
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Today we're looking into some recent assessments and questions about Russian mobilization. With the known manpower advantage they have over Ukraine this has long been a question of when or if it will happen and how that will change the situation at the front. More and more we're hearing Russian analysts say it won't do anything, just more casualties.

Sources:

https://t.me/strelkovii/7406

https://twomarines.substack.com/

https://kyivindependent.com/14th-brigade-10th-corps-commanders-dismissed-amid-accusations-of-misreporting-supply-failures-and-ground-losses/

https://kyivindependent.com/after-40-days-on-front-line-soldiers-stop-caring-whether-they-survive-study-by-military-ombudsman-finds/

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Discover your DNA and explore your family history with MyHeritage! Go to https://bit.ly/PrestonStewart2 and use code PS to get the DNA kit for just $19. You’ll also get free shipping, a 30 day free trial, and access to the Ancient Origins feature, plus more.

Today we're looking into how the war in Iran is going by measuring progress against White House statements over the last few months. Right now we're on our way to accomplishing two of the four but the proxy and nuclear issue don't seem to have budged much. This doesn't mean we can't accomplish these objectives, simply that we haven't yet as of the 60 day mark.

Sources:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/releases/2026/04/peace-through-strength-operation-epic-fury-crushes-iranian-threat-as-ceasefire-takes-hold/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/04/22/iran-hormuz-mines/

https://www.axios.com/2026/04/23/iran-strait-hormuz-mines-trump

https://docs.house.gov/meetings/AS/AS26/20260416/119162/HHRG-119-AS26-Wstate-AdamsJ-20260416.pdf

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To help better understand the ongoing situation in Mali, we're joined today by Dr. Lesley Anne Warner.

Dr. Warner is a visiting scholar with the Africa Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and previously served in a ton of roles to include as the deputy assistant administrator in the Bureau for Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance at the U.S. Agency for International Development and a senior policy advisor to the US Ambassador to the United Nations.

Dr. Warner published an article yesterday in Just Security discussing some of these issues and you can find that as well as some of her other works relevant to this subject below.

https://www.justsecurity.org/137563/mali-junta-insurgent-offensive/

https://lesleyannewarner.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/tsctp-building-partner-capacity-to-counter-terrorism-and-violent-extremism2.pdf

https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/us-mali-burkina-faso-reengagement/

https://www.foreignaffairs.com/russia/why-russia-losing-sahel

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