Major General Seyyed Abdolrahim Mousavi, Chief of Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces, responded to recent remarks by Donald Trump describing his statements as reckless and unbefitting of a head of state.
Marco Rubio, U.S. Secretary of State, stated that the administration of Donald Trump continues to emphasize pursuing a diplomatic solution toward Iran, adding that Washington’s primary focus remains on continuing negotiations.
Seyed Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s Foreign Minister, left Tehran at the head of a diplomatic and technical delegation for Geneva to participate in the second round of negotiations with the United States, as well as in diplomatic consultations.
Hamza al-Mustafa, Syria’s Minister of Information, met yesterday with a delegation from the U.S.-based organization IREX, which operates in the fields of education, media development, youth empowerment, and social change. The two sides discussed the state of the media sector in Syria and related development programs.
Following their withdrawal from the Al-Shaddadi base in southern Hasakah province, U.S. forces set fire to their facilities. This action comes amid new U.S. military movements in northeastern Syria and the relocation of equipment from various bases, including Kharab al-Jir, toward the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
In recent days, U.S. military drones have carried out three targeted assassination operations against members of Al-Qaeda and possibly Islamic State (ISIS) in the provinces of Marib and Al-Mahrah, located in central and eastern Yemen.
The United States has advanced its drone strategy in West Asia by deploying the first operational unit equipped with affordable kamikaze drones, which are reverse-engineered from the Iranian Shahed-136. The creation of the “Scorpion Strike” task force, integrated into the “US Military Drone Dominance Plan,” signifies a shift in the air power balance and marks the beginning of an era focused on the mass production of inexpensive, quickly manufactured, and large-scale operational drones. This development poses several strategic challenges that we will explore below.
Following recent political and field developments in Syria, the US presence in the northeast has entered a new phase. Although reports since early 2025 indicate a reduction in forces and the evacuation of some bases in Deir Ezzor, field evidence and satellite images suggest this is not a complete withdrawal. Instead, it appears to be a shift and concentration of presence toward the eastern-northeastern corridor of Syria. This change coincides with decreased activity at Deir Ezzor bases and increased infrastructure development at several eastern bases, notably “Qasrak” and “Shaddadi”. The simultaneous trends—waning presence in the west and expansion in the east—raise a key question: What is the true US strategy in Syria? Is it a gradual withdrawal or a reconfiguration for a new phase?
The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), alongside the Eskan and Prince Sultan air bases near Riyadh, operates another facility at the port of Yanbu in western Saudi Arabia, known as L.S.A. Jenkins.
Qais al-Muhammadi, deputy commander of Iraq’s Joint Operations Command announced that the Ain al-Asad base will be fully handed over to Iraqi security forces next week, following the withdrawal of coalition troops. He stressed that the agreement ending the coalition’s mission was finalized three months ago, and that no coalition personnel are currently present within Iraq’s Joint Operations Command.
Zalmay Khalilzad, former U.S. envoy for Afghan peace, has arrived in Kabul on a new visit and met with Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Taliban’s foreign minister.
The Ansar Allah movement announced the martyrdom of Maj. Gen. Zakaria Hajar, a commander in Yemen’s Armed Forces missile unit, along with several of his companions in recent U.S. airstrikes on Yemen.
