U.S. Air Force Air Mobility Command (AMC) is hard at work this morning with 13 U.S. Air Force C-17A "Globemaster IIIs" and 2 U.S. Air Force C-5M "Super Galaxy" aircraft active over Europe and the Middle East.

In the last few hours, the Ministry of Defense of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) air defenses have engaged 2 drones.

According to a release from U.S. Central Command, since the beginning of the U.S. blockade of vessels traveling to and from Iranian ports, 61 vessels have been redirected back to Iranian ports or turned away from transiting the Strait of Hormuz, and 4 vessels have “been disabled to ensure compliance.”

According to Reuters, citing a Pakistani official, Pakistani mediators have now received Irans’s response to the U.S. proposal, centered on a potential memorandum of understanding between the two countries.

In an interview with 60 Minutes, when asked if the war with Iran is over, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said “I think it accomplished a great deal, but it’s not over,” saying that enriched material still remains there, enrichment sites must be degraded more, and Iranian proxies still remain intact. When asked how he “envisions” resolving the problem of enriched material, Prime Minister Netanyahu said “You go there and you take it out.”

U.S. President Donald J. Trump has made his first comments since the news broke that Iran sent their response to the U.S. proposal through Pakistani mediators. While nothing was said about the proposal by President Trump, we can garner that the proposal sent by Iran was likely unacceptable to the administration, as the president was highly critical of the “games” that Iran has played with past administrations to gain concessions.

According to a release from U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), the remains of one of the U.S. soldiers who went missing off the coast of Morocco during training exercise African Lion 26 have been recovered. First Lieutenant Lamont Key Jr. has been identified as one of the two missing soldiers, now that his remains have been recovered and identified. He was assigned to Charlie Battery, 5th Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command. The other, yet unnamed soldier remains missing, following the accident where both went missing following unsuccessful rescue attempts when one soldier fell into the water and others jumped in to rescue them.

Per the release, “More than 1,000 U.S. and Moroccan military and civil personnel have been involved in the search operations.”

South Korea has continued increasing its defense ties with European countries, as South Korea and Estonia have signed another deal to export 3 Chunmoo multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS). The deal is part of an ongoing FMS framework between South Korea’s Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) and Estonia’s Estonian Centre for Defence Investments (ECDI).

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has officially announced the invitation for U.S. President Donald J. Trump’s visit to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping this week. We’ll be providing a more in depth post covering the expected topics for discussion between the two principal decision-makers in a bit.

The Royal Navy announced today that HMS Dragon will be switching its tasking from defensive missions near Cyprus to a potential Strait of Hormuz mission, as European surface combatants, including the French Charles de Gaulle carrier strike group, continue to converge on the local region in preparation of a European naval mission aimed at securing safe passage for maritime trade through the contested strait.

Director of the National Economic Council Kevin Hasset has said that there is “no rush” on Iran negotiations, citing their economic woes, as a result of the ongoing blockade and joint U.S.-Israeli strikes.

According to a release from U.S. Central Command, since the start of the U.S. blockade of vessels traveling to and from Iranian ports, 62 vessels have been redirected back to Iran/directed to turn away from the Strait of Hormuz and 4 vessels have been disabled to ensure that they comply with directives.

Iran’s state-backed news agency Irib News details Iranian conditions for negotiations with the U.S., following U.S. President Donald J. Trump’s reaction that called their response “totally unacceptable.” The terms, just a reiteration of their previous statements, include, but are not limited to, releasing frozen Iranian funds and assets, war reparations, and Iranian sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.

Today, the White House Correspondents Dinner shooter, Cole Tomas Allen, has plead not guilty to the charge of attempting to assassinate the president of the United States.

Expect some comments from President Trump today on Iran, visit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, and other pertinent matters.
Schedule via @rollcall

According to a release from the Israel Defense Force, following the second desecration of Christian symbols, such as the Mother Mary, in Southern Lebanon by Israeli soldiers, “At the conclusion of the investigation, the soldier documented carrying out the act was sentenced to 21 days of military prison, and the soldier who filmed the incident was sentenced to 14 days of military prison.”

Confirming previous reports following the lifting of Saudi and Kuwaiti restrictions on the U.S.’s use of their bases, U.S. President Donald J. Trump has told Fox News that he is indeed considering renewing Project Freedom. Additionally, per the reports, President Trump has said that it would include U.S. vessels directly escorting commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz.

While speaking to press from the Oval Office, U.S. President Donald J. Trump characterized the current state of U.S.-Iranian negotiations as being on “massive life support.”

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) Centre has reported no incidents in the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman in the last 24 hours.