According to a release from the Japanese Defense Ministry, Japanese Defense Minister Shinjirō Koizumi held a video conference with U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth today. The ongoing situation in the Middle East and the reaffirmation of U.S.-Japanese defense and security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific was the topic of conversation. This comes amidst moves by the U.S. to reposition key air defense assets and an amphibious ready group from the Indo-Pacific theater to the Central Command area of responsibility.

The Israeli Air Force (IAF) has released footage of a strike on an unmanned aerial vehicle launch crew as they were preparing to launch a drone in Western Iran. After the initial strike, a follow-on strike was conducted to eliminate the launch crew. Real time intelligence was the impetus for the strike, per the IAF.

Initial reports that Brig. Gen. Mohammad Karami, the Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Ground Forces, has been targeted and possibly eliminated in a strike by the Israeli Air Force, according to the Saudi state-owned Al Arabiya.

The Israeli Government is set to approve the call-up of up to 450,000 reservists as the Israel Defense Force prepares for yet another major ground operation against Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon, according to reports by the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation.

The Trump Administration as soon as this week plans to announce that multiple countries have agreed to form a maritime coalition that will escort commercial shipping vessels and oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, which runs along the coast of Iran, U.S. officials tell the Wall Street Journal.