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Ali al-Zaidi met US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Tuesday as Iraq’s prime minister. He carried the title. The power was another matter.

Eleven weeks earlier, after months of paralysis, the Shia alliance which is known as the Coordination Framework had taken just 25 minutes to choose him. That sudden consensus was forged under intense pressure from Washington DC.

The United States Treasury had frozen Iraq’s dollar lifeline, the cash shipments that fly from New Jersey to the Central Bank of Iraq. Nouri al-Maliki, a former prime minister, and the top contender to return to the premiership had to abandon his plans because of Washington’s veto.

Al-Zaidi, a 40-year-old banker with no political base, was the man left standing.His lack of an established political base is part of his usefulness. He owes his position less to Baghdad’s ballot box than to the pressure exerted by Trump’s Treasury.The banker’s own ledger is not clear.

In 2024, Iraq’s Central Bank barred al-Zaidi’s own institution, Al-Janoob Islamic Bank, from US-dollar transactions as part of a wider crackdown intended to curb illicit dollar flows to Iran. He was never charged. Neither the bank nor the man is currently sanctioned. But the file exists. Its existence could give Washington another source of leverage should al-Zaidi drag his feet.

The real power in Baghdad now sits in one man’s portfolio. Tom Barrack holds three titles at once: ambassador to Turkiye, envoy to Syria, and now envoy to Iraq. His influence rests less on diplomacy than on Washington’s financial leverage over Baghdad. Iraq’s oil revenue sits in an account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. In April, Washington blocked a cash shipment of nearly $500m drawn from those revenues and suspended parts of its security cooperation. Oil funds roughly 90 percent of Iraq’s budget. Barrack does not need to threaten military force when the administration he represents can reach directly into the financial system on which the Iraqi state depends.

Washington’s demand that Iraq bring all armed factions under state control remains far from resolved. Shia Cleric Muqtada al-Sadr dissolved his Saraya al-Salam militia in late May. Other militias such as Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq and Kataib Imam Ali have announced steps towards handing over their weapons or placing them under fuller state control. That is real movement. But Kataib Hezbollah and Harakat al-Nujaba, the two factions most tightly bound to Tehran, have rejected full disarmament. In their own words, their weapons are not for bargaining. Washington has answered in kind. US strikes killed dozens of Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) fighters this spring; the Treasury has sanctioned seven militia commanders by name. Baghdad has set September 30 as its disarmament deadline, the same date on which the remaining US forces are expected to leave Iraq. Whether the hardest factions bend by then remains the open question that Washington has yet to answer honestly.

Even Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani’s authority has limits here, as it always has. Al-Sistani’s 2014 fatwa built the PMF’s founding myth. But his call was for men to defend Iraq under the state’s command, not to form independent militias. The hardline factions never answered to Najaf. They answer to Tehran. al-Sistani’s own representative in Karbala has also pressed publicly for exclusive state control of weapons. His influence remains significant, but it has never extended to full control over these factions, and the current standoff is making that reality harder to ignore.

The prize Washington actually wants, however, lies underground. Chevron is negotiating an expanded role in Iraq’s oil sector, while other US companies are pursuing contracts in gas, electricity and export infrastructure. Baghdad wants production up from 4.5 million barrels a day to 7 million within three years, though doing so would require a substantially larger OPEC quota. Western Iraq’s gas reserves, largely untapped, could one day elevate the country into a dominant regional energy player and exporter. This is the potential bonanza al-Zaidi is being asked to unlock in exchange for the loyalty Washington is seeking.

Kurdistan’s place in this emerging arrangement is still unclear. Barrack has called the old Baghdad-Erbil federal model outright “Balkanization”, a structure he blames for letting Iran fill the vacuum. Yet the same envoy spent much of June pressing the prime minister of the Kurdish region, Masrour Barzani, to reactivate the Kurdistan parliament and form a new cabinet, not dissolve it. Read together, these positions suggest a clear message: Washington wants a functioning, cooperative Kurdistan region, firmly inside Washington’s orbit, not an autonomous wildcard and not a vassal of Baghdad’s sectarian blocs either.

Stripped of diplomatic varnish, Washington’s vision for Iraq is this: no militias operating outside the state; no Iranian veto over Iraqi policy; no single sect running the table from Baghdad; a Western economic orientation locked in by contracts, not sentiment; American energy firms as the primary beneficiaries; and a prime minister who answers, in practice, to Tom Barrack before he answers to his own parliament. Whether Iraq is pressured towards the Abraham Accords, whether the old nationalist and Ba’athist-adjacent currents find any oxygen again, whether sectarian parties actually lose their seats at the ballot box, these remain predictions, not settled facts.

What is clear is simpler and starker. Iraq spent two decades as the ground on which Iran and America fought indirectly, through proxies and sanctions. It is now becoming something else: a state whose oil, banking system and militias are all being renegotiated at once under intense US pressure. At the centre of this transformation is a banker-premier chosen in twenty-five minutes and now expected to deliver by September 30.

The Gulf model, from Riyadh and Abu Dhabi to Manama, Kuwait, Doha and Muscat, took decades to lock in. Trump’s Washington wants to compress Iraq’s version into a single presidential term. Whether Baghdad survives that compression intact, or merely changes which capital it answers to, is the question al-Zaidi’s visit left unresolved.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial policy.

At least 28 people have been killed since protests began in June, as the region braces for a major protest march.

Islamabad, Pakistan – At least nine people were killed in clashes in Pakistan-administered Kashmir on Tuesday, as a planned protest march to the region’s capital, Muzaffarabad, temporarily stalled amid rising tensions.

Security personnel raided a house on the outskirts of Rawalakot town in the region’s Poonch district after receiving a tip-off about a weapons cache, but came under fire, officials said. An officer was killed.

In a separate clash in Sudhnoti district, protesters blocked a security convoy, which officials said came under a barrage of stones and gunfire. Seven protesters and a police officer were killed, according to authorities. Police officials have said that security personnel acted in self-defence.

Deadly protests have periodically rocked the region since the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), a group that is leading a major protest movement, was proscribed under anti-terrorism laws on June 5.

Protesters wait in Rawalkot before march on Muzaffarabad

Meanwhile, protesters gathered under the JAAC’s umbrella were still in Rawalkot on Wednesday evening, despite announcing they would set off at 2pm on Wednesday, officials told Al Jazeera. The government has severely restricted internet and phone access in the region, making it harder to reach the protesters directly.

Munir Qureshi, deputy commissioner of Muzaffarabad, said the situation in the capital and surrounding areas was calm.

“Muzaffarabad and its adjoining areas are all clear, and there is no disturbance to public life,” he told Al Jazeera. “Internet access is limited due to the security situation, but otherwise the situation is normal and there is no protest or violence.”

Liaqat Ali Malik, inspector general of police for Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), told Al Jazeera the crowd in Rawalakot was estimated at between 3,000 and 4,000 people.

“There has been no violence today,” he said.

But tensions continue to simmer. The current unrest stems from a long-running dispute over political representation.

Political dispute

At the centre of the dispute are 12 seats in the region’s legislature reserved for Kashmiri refugees who migrated to Pakistan after 1947 and now live outside the region.

The JAAC argues the arrangement allows Pakistan-based political parties to influence the government of Pakistan-administered Kashmir while diverting development funds intended for the region.

Last month, the Supreme Court of the region ruled that the seats are constitutionally protected and cannot be abolished without a constitutional amendment, a decision that hardened the group’s protest campaign.

Elections in the region are scheduled for July 27.

At least 28 people have been killed since protests began on June 4, according to officials, while 79 have been injured.

Authorities said about 4,000 police and paramilitary personnel have been deployed across the region before the planned march to Muzaffarabad.

Khan, the Poonch commissioner, said marchers would not be allowed to pass through Rawalakot and would instead have to use mountain trails to reach Muzaffarabad.

Three days after the sudden death of Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, his sister, Darline Graham Nordone, was sworn in on Tuesday to fill his vacant Senate seat at the suggestion of United States President Donald Trump.

Announcing his selection of the deceased senator’s sister on Monday, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster introduced the new senator as Graham’s “darling little sister” who would “finish his work for him now”.

Graham had been among the most influential of senators in the US Congress, using his seat in South Carolina to pursue a consistently hawkish line on foreign policy as well as offering unflagging support to his formerly bitter political rival, President Trump.

Among the Senate’s strongest advocates of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, Graham repeatedly argued against imposing limits on US military support and rejected calls for a ceasefire. He also pressed for a tougher stance on Iran, championing harsher sanctions, backing military action against Tehran’s nuclear programme and warning that the US should be prepared to use force to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.

After dying unmarried and without children, his position has now been inherited by his sister, Darline, formerly active in South Carolina’s local government, but with no experience in elected political office.

So, who is Darline Graham Nordone, how significant is this, and are US political powers often inherited? Here’s what we know.

Who is Darline Graham Nordone?

She is Lindsey Graham’s younger sister.

Graham and his sister lost both their parents within 15 months of each other.

At the time, Graham was 22 and his sister was 13. She went to live with relatives, but the pair remained close as Graham studied law and later served in the Air Force.

Years later, Graham legally adopted his sister, saying the move would ensure she was eligible for his military benefits if he died and would be eligible to serve as first lady if he were ever elected president.

Darline Graham Nordone has never held elected office. Neither she nor Governor Henry McMaster has said whether she intends to seek a full six-year Senate term or serve only as a caretaker until January 2027.

“I promise to work hard over the next several months to support the president and carry forward the efforts of my brother on behalf of the citizens of South Carolina and the United States,” she said in brief remarks during the announcement of her appointment on Monday. “I think this is what Lindsey would have wanted, and I plan to honour him in this way.”

What powers has Darline Graham Nordone inherited?

Although Darline Graham Nordone inherits her brother’s Senate seat, she does not automatically inherit his influence.

As a senator, she will be able to vote on legislation, approve presidential appointments, influence foreign policy and help shape US spending priorities.

However, her brother’s committee positions, seniority and political networks were built over decades of negotiating and dealing in the Senate’s corridors of power, and will not transfer to her.

Republican leaders will decide her committee assignments, leaving her to establish her own standing in Washington.

Are US political powers often inherited?

It happens more than you might think.

The practice of relatives stepping into the seats of deceased lawmakers has a long history in US politics, with family members often appointed to complete the remainder of a term.

Figures from the US House of Representatives show that, as of 2025, 45 widows have directly succeeded their late husbands in Congress – including 38 who entered the House and eight who served in the Senate.

Supporters of such appointments point to a long tradition in US politics. Known historically as “widow’s succession”, the practice involved governors appointing the spouses of lawmakers who had died in office, allowing them to serve as temporary custodians until a special election was held. The system also provided an early pathway for women to enter Congress, helping expand female representation in the 20th century.

In modern Washington, inherited seats have, more often than not, served as bridges between one era of family influence and the next, such as the way that the powerful Kennedy family has preserved its influence over past decades.

Has there been any backlash?

Some.

Senior elected officials have yet to comment on Graham Nordone’s appointment, while details of her willingness to run in the midterms remain unknown. However, social media users in the US have reacted angrily to what they see as the unelected transfer of power.

Journalists such as Ben Binday of The Washington Post have also questioned Graham Nordone’s lack of political experience, commenting that nothing is known of her position on key issues such as abortion, foreign policy and healthcare.

Thousands of people who travel every day between the southern tip of Spain and the British territory of Gibraltar will no longer have to cross a physical border from Wednesday.

This came after the European Union and United Kingdom on Tuesday signed a treaty that delivers “economic and trade certainty for the people and businesses of Gibraltar, safeguards British sovereignty and protects the autonomous operation of UK military facilities”.

The treaty was signed in Brussels by the European Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic, British Minister of State for Europe Stephen Doughty, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares and Gibraltar Chief Minister Fabian Picardo.

“Gibraltar was left out of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement following Brexit, creating the prospect of a devastating ‘hard border’ for the 15,000 people – more than half of Gibraltar’s workforce – who cross the land border between Spain and Gibraltar every day,” the treaty said.

Here’s what we know about the treaty:

What does the treaty include?

Britain secured Gibraltar, a strategically important enclave at the southern tip of Spain, in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht, which ended the War of Spanish Succession.

The contested British overseas territory of 38,000 people is perched at a strategic location, only 8 nautical miles (15km) from Morocco where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Mediterranean Sea.

The new agreement allows residents of Gibraltar to cross into Spain using residence cards without needing to have their passports stamped. In return, Spanish citizens will be allowed to enter Gibraltar using a government ID card.

The treaty in effect brings Gibraltar into the EU’s Schengen free-travel area, which allows people from 29 countries to move among them freely without needing visas.

At Gibraltar’s airport and port, entry and exit checks will be conducted by both British and Spanish border officials. The arrangement is similar to what’s in place at Eurostar train stations in London and Paris, where both British and French officials check passports.

Travellers to Gibraltar from countries outside the Schengen area, including the UK, will have to contend with the EU Entry/Exit System, which was rolled out in Europe in April and replaced passport stamps with biometric data collected through photographs and digital fingerprints.

Under the older system, every person had to face two border checks, one by Gibraltarian border agents and the other by Spanish officials when entering or exiting the Schengen area. The checks caused long queues, heavily impacting the workers who made the crossing daily.

The British government said the agreement brings “fluidity for people and goods crossing the Gibraltar-Spain border to support economic growth and jobs in the region”.

What was the motivation behind the treaty, and how does Brexit feature in it?

In a 2016 referendum in which UK voters approved leaving the EU, 96 percent of voters on “the Rock”, as Gibraltar is popularly known in English, supported remaining in the bloc.

When Britain eventually left the EU in 2020, the relationship between Gibraltar and the bloc was left unresolved. Previous talks on a deal to ensure people and goods could keep flowing across the border had made halting progress.

While the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, which came into force in 2021, broadly covered relations between the bloc and Britain, it was decided that Gibraltar would be addressed in separate negotiations because of its unique situation because it’s not in the EU customs union or the Schengen area.

In 2025, the EU and UK announced an agreement on those issues after more than three and a half years of negotiations.

Does the treaty place Gibraltar in a special position, and do any other British overseas territories have the same privileges?

Yes, Gibraltar is in a unique position because it has now gained EU privileges without being an actual EU member.

Still, it is under British sovereignty, and the treaty solely seeks to resolve post-Brexit cooperation with the EU and border management due to its open land border with the EU.

None of Britain’s other overseas territories, which include 14 territories scattered across the Caribbean and the Antarctic, has a deal similar to Gibraltar’s due to the shared land border.

Some of the territories have international arrangements, including Bermuda, which has its own immigration and tax systems, and the Falkland Islands, which govern themselves.

May God have mercy on Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the humane emir, the brave leader, and the great father, who loved Qatar and its people. Advancing the nation, both in the present and the future, was his primary concern and highest goal; today, it occupies advanced ranks across all fields, including media.

The Al Jazeera Media Network was one of the projects launched during his reign, may God rest his soul.

One day, His Highness summoned me, and I met him at his home. He informed me that he intended to establish a television news channel to be named Al Jazeera. It would enjoy a wide margin of freedom so it would be different from what people were accustomed to seeing in the Arab media landscape.

It would be a news channel that operates according to the principles of free journalism, akin to professional international media institutions and outlets.

We began constructing the building not far from Qatar Television, and we proceeded to equip it with broadcasting and satellite communication equipment, and prepared the newsroom to receive those who would work there.

His Highness was keen on following the progress of all major projects, offering encouragement and guidance, despite his immersion in state affairs, having taken the reins of power only a few months prior at the time.

The Board of Directors was formed, and the director general of the channel was appointed. Then the steps of attracting and recruiting journalistic and technical personnel began.

Journalists and staff arrived, and the newsroom came to life. The channel’s slogan, “The Opinion and the Other Opinion”, was set and trial broadcasting commenced.

In late November 1996, the first half-hour news bulletin aired, serving as a window outside the general norm. The beginning consisted of six hours of broadcasting per day.

Signs of success emerged from the early days when journalists and the general public began talking about a new voice unlike anything the Arab world had seen before. Everyone felt joyful at the success of the idea after doubts had troubled many.

Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa used to visit the channel, but he never once interfered in any coverage or programme, as long as everything proceeded according to professional rules.

This is what strengthened everyone’s belonging to the project and cemented the conviction that it was a project for the nation, aimed at conveying the truth from the field in image and word, no matter the hardships and sacrifices.

It was not unexpected for His Highness that the channel — with its strong performance in the arena of news and talk shows, and its independent, professional editorial policy — would face opposition and pressure from both the Arab and international spheres alike.

However, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa did not yield to this, driven by his belief in the importance of independent and free media. This served as a protective umbrella for the channel and its employees, reinforcing their spirit of belonging, deepening their faith in their message, and increasing their readiness to continue contributing.

His vision for the future of Al Jazeera also proved true. The painful targeting it endured over the years did not deter it from continuing to carry its independent message. Its impact continues to grow day by day, within its region and beyond. It changes concepts, broadens culture and awareness, and shifts media equations around the world, north and south. The network today occupies a leading position at the forefront of both the traditional media landscape and the digital sphere.

Among all the projects established by His Highness, Al Jazeera held a special place. In my final meeting with him, may God have mercy on him, his health condition did not prevent him from asking about Al Jazeera and checking on its current state and future, just as he used to do with the workers in the rest of the country’s projects.

Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani succeeded his father as emir. He too faced, during one of the most difficult periods in Qatar’s history, pressures seeking to alter the network’s approach, yet he did not accept any interference in its editorial policies, regardless of the source.

Furthermore, he does not personally intervene in its operations as long as it adheres to professional rules and ethics.

This is the story of Al Jazeera’s inception with its visionary founder, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa, up until he passed away.

However, this article does not recount the complete history of Al Jazeera; rather, it presents merely one chapter of its tale. It is a story that will continue to be read, emulated and cited as an example of a successful enterprise that left a profound impact spanning generations, despite the hardships and challenges it endured.

Above all, these words — and many more — cannot do justice to Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa for all that he gave to his nation, his people, and his extended Qatari family. He dedicated his entire life to serving them and spearheading developmental projects across all fields. Among these is the Al Jazeera project, which is widely regarded as a success story acclaimed by the entire world and described as an exceptional media model.

May God have mercy upon Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa — the human, the father and the leader. May He grant him rest in His vast paradise and reward him with the best of rewards on behalf of us all. And may God protect the emir and wise leader, Sheikh Tamim, and protect Qatar and its people.

A version of this piece was first published on Al Jazeera Arabic. 

The inability of a munitions plant in Mesquite, Texas, to build a key part set back the U.S. Army’s plans for ramping up production of 155mm shells to 100,000 rounds per month, according to a scathing new report by the War Department’s Office of Inspector General (DOWIG). Despite receiving close to $500 million from the U.S. Army funded through supplemental spending bills from Fiscal Years 2022 and 2023, General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems (GD-OTS), failed to make a single subcomponent needed to produce the badly needed shells as of last March.

“Without the 30,000 additional projectile metal parts anticipated from the Mesquite facility, the Army will be unable to reach its monthly capability goal of 100,000 155-mm artillery rounds,” the report concluded. “As of March 2026, the CPE A&E [Capability Program Executive Ammunition & Energetics] officials have not developed a plan to produce the additional rounds that are supposed to be produced at the Mesquite facility.”

At present, the Army is only producing 36,000 rounds per month, inspectors revealed.

Through modernization efforts and two new facilities, the Army expects to exceed the 100,000-round-per-month goal significantly by the end of next year. The initial goal was established by Congress in the wake of the U.S. providing millions of rounds to Ukraine.

Still, the report highlights the challenges U.S. arms makers face in trying to meet tighter timelines to produce more weapons. This all comes as the U.S. is increasingly concerned about stockpiles of a wide array of munitions after heavy usage in past and current conflicts and donations to partners like Ukraine, as well as foreign military sales. These are issues that we raised long before and during the current war with Iran, but they have become major headlines in the aftermath of the initial stages of that conflict.

The plant at the center of this new report is the Universal Artillery Projectile Line owned and operated by General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems. It opened in May 2024 to great fanfare and high hopes.

According to the IG report, more than three million 155mm shells were donated to Ukraine, more than 111,000 rounds were used over the past four years on training and testing, and nearly 218,000 rounds were sold to foreign customers. Combined, U.S. stocks were depleted by more than 3.6 million rounds since the start of the war in Ukraine.

The Mesquite plant was opened to help replenish the supply. However, according to DOWIG, it failed to live up to expectations.

“The DoW increased its capability and capacity to produce 155-mm artillery ammunition but did not reach the 2025 National Defense Industrialization Strategy Implementation Plan goal of 100,000 rounds per month by October 2025,” the DOWIG report pointed out.

As of March 2026, “the Army had increased its monthly production from 14,000 to 36,000 rounds because of expansion and modernization efforts at both the projectile metal parts and the load, assemble, and pack facilities,” the IG report noted. “However, at a contractor-owned, contractor-operated facility in Mesquite, Texas, the contractor has been unable to produce any projectile metal parts that meet contract specifications.”

According to an Army news release about the plant opening, it was built to “feature high-volume production capabilities for large-caliber metal parts and is equipped with long-stroke, high-tonnage forging capabilities.”

“The facility’s 155mm metal parts production lines also meet Army modernization goals by incorporating high levels of automation, modern manufacturing practices, and digital-data-capture ability. It will offer the flexibility to produce a variety of metal parts ranging from 60mm to 155mm, with minimal changeover requirements,” the Army added.

The Army “planned for the Mesquite Texas facility to produce 30,000 rounds per month,” the report added. “With only three facilities producing the required projectile metal parts, the DoW will reach only 71,000 rounds per month, or 71 percent of its monthly production capacity goal for 155-mm artillery rounds.”

We’ve reached out to General Dynamics and the Army for comment and will update this story should the company respond.

The main issue inspectors found was that the plant adapted equipment used to make parts for M107 155mm shells to produce parts for M795 155‑mm shells. The latter is an upgraded version of the munition that is slightly heavier and longer, and has an extended range.

As a result of this adaptation, several factors came into play, according to DOWIG. Army officials knew that the concept of trying to produce the more advanced 155mm shells using equipment not designed for that was risky. However, officials felt that would pay off because that machinery was already available. In addition, the report stated that the existing Scranton plant’s past work with GD-OTS on ammunition production was a factor in deciding to take a chance on what turned out to be a flawed assumption.

The report states, in part:

• According to the Army’s CPE A&E, “ACC issued the contract and CPE A&E accepted the risk associated with the contractor’s plan to purchase and adapt M107 metal part production equipment to produce a newer variant of the 155-mm projectile metal parts at different specifications.”
• “According to CPE A&E officials, the Mesquite facility was a high-risk, high-reward opportunity, and CPE A&E is realizing some of that risk now because the facility has been unable to produce acceptable rounds.”
• “CPE A&E accepted the contractor’s proposal to acquire and adapt unique production equipment and an unproven production process because equipment was already available. According to the CPE A&E official, obtaining and adapting the available production line equipment was expected to be faster than obtaining new M795 production line equipment.”

• “The contractor has been working since the original contract task order was issued in November 2022 to produce the contracted 155-mm projectile metal parts. However, according to CPE A&E officials, acquiring the equipment and adapting it to produce M795 155-mm projectile metal parts resulted in significant challenges.” The report redacted specific examples.
• “In addition, according to CPE A&E officials, CPE A&E recommended the contractor for the Mesquite facility because the contractor has 20 years of experience producing 155-mm projectile metal parts at the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant.”
• “Scranton Army Ammunition Plant officials stated that despite the contractor’s years of experience, the Scranton facility encountered separate ongoing problems with the contractor in terms of responsiveness, equipment maintenance, and timeliness.”
• “Those officials expressed concern to the evaluation team that ACC did not open the contract for the Mesquite facility to competition from other contractors.”
• “In addition, according to ACC officials, the contract for the Mesquite facility was issued as a task order under the property management contract for the Scranton Ammunition facility and not as a separate contract.”

The Army did not dispute that the Mesquite factory was not producing the needed parts.

“The Capability Program Executive Ammunition & Energetics will correct issues identified in this report, and develop and implement a corrective action plan,” CPE A&E responded.

The “United States Army concurs with the report as written,” the Assistant Secretary of the Army, Acquisition, Logistics and Technology stated.

Army Contracting Command (ACC), however, took issue with how the relationship between the Scranton and Mesquite plants was characterized. In its response, ACC stated that no one reached out to them to question GD-OTS’s plan and that it had received sign off from higher authorities to execute the contract without Congressional approval. Moreover, ACC added that it did not need to open up competition for the new plant.

The ACC response says:

• “It is unclear what parties or organization are being referred to by ‘SCAAP officials,’ so it cannot confirm the accuracy of this information, however, ACC-RI would like to clarify that at no point did anyone question or raise concerns to ACC in terms of the acquisition strategy to award this effort to the contractor under the existing Scranton facility effort. Further, ACC-RI did document the contract file with a Determination of Contractor Responsibility in accordance with FAR 9.104 prior to award of these task orders.”
• “ACC-RI received concurrence and approval on the acquisition strategy to execute these efforts on a sole source basis under W52P1J-19-D-0075 from the requiring activity, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army-Procurement, and the Office of General Counsel, with notification provided to Congress prior to execution.”
• “ACC-RI would like to clarify that while some might refer to W52P1J-19-D-0075 as the ‘Property Management contract for the Scranton Ammunition facility,’ the scope of the contract states that it covers operation, maintenance, and modernization; includes Production Based Support projects; and doesn’t require active operation at Scranton.” 
• “The contract states that ‘The Property Management of SCAAP can be accomplished either through active operation of the Government-Owned, Contractor-Operated facility or layaway maintenance’ and allows the contractor to operate the contract at a privately-owned facility. As such, ACC-RI already determined it in scope to execute the Universal Artillery Projectile Line requirement as separate task orders under W52P1J-19-D-0075 and documented such in-scope determinations in memorandums within the contract file.”

Problems with the plant were emerging even before the DOWIG released its report.

In February, Brent Ingraham, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology, complained to lawmakers about the inability of the plant to produce needed parts.

“First, let me start by saying I’m not happy with where we are at Mesquite either, right?” he testified. “So I’m in the same boat you are.” 

The Army was considering scrapping GD-OTS’s contract to manage the production lines in Mesquite, but Ingraham said the service ultimately did not go through with it, according to Breaking Defense. The Army is still in negotiations with the company, he said at the time.

“I anticipate you will see an investment from the company themselves, from the industry partner themselves, to ensure they can continue to build out that facility that would make rounds that would primarily be supported by the [foreign military sales],” Ingraham said. “But we are currently in negotiation [on] what that looks like, both from a line perspective, a quantity perspective, and hopefully we’ll have that wrapped up soon.”

A month ago, General Dynamics announced it would “invest $200 million of its own money and unwind a partnership with Turkish defense contractor Repkon in a bid to finally start producing 155mm artillery shells at a Texas plant that’s been beset by delays,” Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The factory “has joined a long list of US defense programs that have failed to meet the lofty goals set out for them,” the publication added.

Munitions manufacturing equipment provided by Repkon “had failed to meet required standards and will be replaced by hardware and management from Deterrence Defense, a privately-held company based in Fremont, Calif.,” Bloomberg added. “General Dynamics and the US Army ‘have reached an agreement on a path forward, which includes additional investment,’ the company said in a statement without disclosing the amount.”

As we noted earlier in this piece, despite the problems at the Mesquite plant, the Army projects that it will turn things around by next year.

“According to Army officials, the Army did not reach its goal for increased capability and capacity to load, assemble, and pack 155-mm artillery ammunition,” investigators found. “However, through the modernization of the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant and the addition of two new facilities in Kansas and Arkansas, the Army is on track to increase its capability and capacity to load, assemble, and pack 140,000 155-mm artillery rounds per month by December 2027. This exceeds the NDIS Implementation Plan goal by 40,000 rounds per month.”

Still, that’s more than a year away and, as we noted earlier in this story, about 14 months later than the Army was expecting to receive these shells. Whether it can meet these revised goals remains to be seen.

Contact the author: howard@twz.com

Mérida, July 14, 2026 (venezuelanalysis.com) – The Venezuelan National Assembly preliminarily approved two laws granting expanded benefits to landlords and the private real estate sector as part of authorities’ post-earthquake reconstruction plans.

The Tuesday session was held at Simón Bolívar Park in La Carlota, Caracas, after the legislative palace suffered damage from the June 24 double tremor.

The Venezuelan legislature voted in favor of a Law for the Special Regime of Housing Property Leasing and a partial reform of the Law Against Real Estate Fraud. Both projects will now be subject to consultations and revisions before being put to a second and final vote.

“Our main task with this reform is to stimulate the housing rental market,” National Assembly Vice President Pedro Infante stated. “We have to strengthen the legal certainty for property owners and also protect tenants. It’s a legal balance.”

Infante added that officials estimate that there are around 200,000 homes that could enter the rental market but that parliament has to “untie the knots that are holding this market back.”

The existing legislation governing housing rentals was enacted by former President Hugo Chávez in 2011 and it is highly protective of tenants. Grassroots movements participated directly in several housing laws.

In a recent press conference, National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez called the current law “regressive” and argued that parliament needed to make property owners feel “more secure in renting their properties.” Real estate chambers have long lobbied for reforms to housing laws.

The preliminarily approved bill expands conditions for landlords to evict their tenants, including two months of unpaid rent, deterioration of the property, or unauthorized subletting. It additionally establishes that disputes are to be resolved via mediation or municipal courts. Tenant movements have recently denounced a growing trend of landlords bringing “invasion” charges against tenants as a way to evict them, with the complicity of public prosecutors.

The partial reform of the law against real estate fraud, likewise approved during Tuesday’s session, loosens conditions for the sale of housing properties yet to be built or under construction while also reducing collateral requirements for developers.

“The reform seeks to guarantee better conditions, legal security, and financing capacity so that the private sector initiates an aggressive, accelerated process of housing construction,” Infante explained, adding that it “removes rigid price schemes,” allowing real estate developers to factor “variations in the costs of materials in supplies” into house prices.

Under the updated law, house sale and pre-sale contracts no longer need to be individually approved by government housing authorities. Instead, the governing body will publish a set of general rules. According to the reform text, banks that finance real estate projects will no longer be liable for their non-completion, with legislators arguing that the measure will boost credit options.

Deputy Alejandra Rodríguez, from opposition party Un Nuevo Tiempo, endorsed the preliminary housing reforms for seeking a “balance between the right to housing, the protection of private property, legal security, and the promotion of responsible investment.”

Venezuelan authorities have prioritized finding housing solutions with over 20,000 people forced into temporary shelters after losing their homes in the June 24 double earthquake, most of them in coastal La Guaira State. The latest official figures placed the death toll at 4,734, with nearly 17,000 injured.

Venezuelan Acting President Delcy Rodríguez has launched the “Venezuela Renace” program to conduct inspections and repair works in affected buildings, as well as revitalize the construction sector to generate new housing complexes in a short time frame. She likewise called on public and private banks to expand mortgage programs, vowing that the government would subsidize them up to 80 percent.

On Monday, Rodríguez met with representatives from business chambers, including construction and real estate, and reiterated calls for the private sector to participate in the post-earthquake reconstruction. 

“Every person who lost their home should have hope of being under a new roof in the short term,” she stated.

Rodríguez announced that the government is working on construction plans in La Guaira alongside the Venezuelan Construction Chamber and the Venezuelan Real Estate Chamber. Authorities are conducting soil studies and identifying potential land plots. She recalled that the export of construction materials is presently banned.

The acting president assured those present that Venezuela remains on a path of economic growth and that household consumption had risen by 33 percent in June.

Rodríguez reiterated calls for the removal of economic sanctions against the country and ongoing efforts to secure the release of frozen Venezuelan assets, including gold reserves held by the Bank of England.

Edited by Ricardo Vaz in Caracas.

Istanbul, Turkiye – At around 19:30 GMT on July 15, 2016, a faction of the Turkish military launched a coordinated attempt to overthrow President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s democratically elected government.

But within hours, the attempted takeover involving tanks and fighter jets had been quashed. Thousands of people poured onto the streets of major cities, joining loyalist members of the army and the police, and much of the chain of command, in defeating the putschists.

The failed coup attempt 10 years ago was not only the bloodiest in Turkiye’s modern history – some 250 were killed and more than 2,200 wounded – but also a watershed moment that fundamentally changed relations between civil and military authorities in the country.

“The failure of July 15 had three pillars,” said retired Colonel Unal Atabay.

“The resistance of the people, the officers, noncommissioned officers and soldiers inside the Turkish Armed Forces who resisted the coup, and the institutional reflex of the armed forces themselves.”

Military intervention cast a long shadow over Turkish politics for decades.

The armed forces overthrew governments in 1960 and 1980; intervened through a memorandum in 1971; and forced another elected government from office in what became known as the “post-modern coup” of 1997.

Although civilian rule returned after each intervention, the military remained one of Turkiye’s most influential institutions, seeing itself as the guardian of the republic’s founding principles.

Yet that was not how the republic’s founders had envisioned civil-military relations. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and Ismet Inonu, both commanders during the War of Independence of the early 1920s, entered politics only after leaving military service.

“If the military had remained involved in politics, it would most likely have been exploited by various groups in the uncertain and weak conditions of those early years of the republic. They made the most accurate diagnosis and said that the military should stay out of politics.

Political scientist Ali Carkoglu said separation between military command and civilian politics was regarded as one of the republic’s founding principles, calling it “the most accurate diagnosis”.

Over time, however, the armed forces increasingly came to see themselves as guardians of the state, repeatedly invoking that role to justify intervention in politics.

But 10 years since the latest attempt, few experts believe Turkiye faces another conventional coup.

“You never say never,” said Howard Eissenstat, a Turkiye specialist at St Lawrence University in New York. “But to bet on a military coup in Turkiye is to lose money.”

While the military’s political role appears to have receded, the broader consequences of the post-coup transformation remain the subject of debate.

Reducing the military’s influence over politics had already become a central objective of the governing Justice and Development Party, or AK Party, after it came to power in 2002.

Following years of tension with the military establishment, the government steadily expanded civilian oversight – and the failed coup accelerated that process dramatically.

Ankara accused the network of United States-based Muslim scholar Fethullah Gulen, designated by the Turkish government as the Fethullah Terrorist Organisation (FETO), of orchestrating the coup attempt. Tens of thousands of soldiers, judges, police officers, teachers and civil servants were dismissed or arrested. Military academies were replaced by the National Defence University, command structures were overhauled, and civilian oversight of the armed forces expanded.

Atabay said these changes have fundamentally reshaped the relationship between the military, the state and society.

He added the military has strengthened its internal oversight after the coup to prevent another organised infiltration, noting that both the armed forces and wider society are now more alert to attempts to penetrate state institutions.

“External centres of power may always make such attempts,” he said. “The important thing is to detect them early, expose them and build a system that prevents them from infiltrating the state.”

For Carkoglu, however, the military cannot be examined in isolation from the broader health of Turkiye’s democratic institutions.

He said bringing the armed forces firmly under civilian authority was essential. But civilian supremacy alone, he argued, does not necessarily amount to democratic consolidation.

“It is certainly a success that civilian authority has established greater control over the military,” he said. “But if that comes at the expense of democracy, then it is, at the very least, an unfortunate outcome for Turkish politics.”

Carkoglu noted that institutions derive legitimacy not simply from who controls them, but from whether citizens trust them.

“The healthy development of trust in institutions requires competitive politics and the possibility of free expression,” he said. “Otherwise, institutions themselves begin to lose credibility.”

That debate has become increasingly prominent in recent years.

The arrests of several opposition mayors – including Istanbul mayor and presidential candidate for the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) Ekrem Imamoglu, together with investigations into other opposition politicians, have fuelled criticism from political parties and rights groups, who argue judicial processes are increasingly being used against rivals.

The government rejects those accusations, saying the investigations are conducted independently and are based solely on evidence of criminal wrongdoing.

The debate has unfolded during a period of remarkable political continuity. Since coming to power in 2002, the AK Party has won every parliamentary election, most recently in 2023, when the governing People’s Alliance retained its parliamentary majority.

Rights groups, meanwhile, focus on a different legacy of the coup.

Human Rights Watch says emergency powers introduced after the 2016 coup attempt gradually evolved into broader restrictions on civil liberties. It argues the crackdown extended well beyond those responsible for the attempted overthrow, leaving many dismissed public employees unable to rebuild their professional lives even after acquittal.

The government says the measures were necessary to dismantle clandestine networks inside the state and prevent Turkiye from facing a similar threat again.

Ten years on, that effort continues. On Monday, two days before the anniversary, Turkish authorities launched coordinated operations across all 81 provinces targeting nearly 1,000 suspects over alleged links to FETO.

For the government, it was another reminder that the events of July 2016 remain an active national security issue rather than a closed chapter in the country’s history.

Jude Bellingham has been the best player at the World Cup so far, says former England striker Wayne Rooney.

Real Madrid midfielder Bellingham has scored six goals in six games for England, leaving him only two behind France’s Kylian Mbappe and Argentina’s Lionel Messi in the Golden Boot standings.

Erling Haaland, whose Norway side were eliminated by England in the quarter-finals, is on seven while Three Lions captain Harry Kane is level with Bellingham.

England play Messi’s Argentina on Wednesday in the second semi-final (20:00 BST). The match is live on BBC One, BBC iPlayer, the BBC Sport website and app, and BBC Radio 5 Live.

“In terms of best in the world I think you’re looking at someone like Mbappe or Haaland,” Rooney said on The Wayne Rooney Show.

“Bellingham hasn’t quite hit those levels at Real Madrid this season, but he’s been the best player in the tournament for me.”

Bellingham, 23, has become a big-game player for England – with nine goals and three assists in World Cups and European Championships.

His Real Madrid team-mate Mbappe – with 12 – is the only European player to have scored more than nine goals in a major tournament before the age of 24.

Bellingham has averaged a goal or assist every 138 minutes at major tournaments for England, compared to one every 284 minutes in other international matches.

He scored in the group wins over Croatia and Panama at this World Cup, then twice against both Mexico and Norway in the knockout stage.

“With Jude, it’s all about energy, passion, desire, drive and that’s how he’s getting his rewards,” said Rooney.

“That’s very rare to have that. A lot of these top players rely on the ability and the technique to get their moments. Jude has desire and hunger and it’s so refreshing to see a player playing the toughest game but also doing it.

“That’s what fans want, especially the England fans. They want to see players running and working for the team and for the badge.

“He reminds me of me in terms of one minute you’re thinking, ‘this lad’s a genius’, and the next minute you’re thinking, ‘don’t go into that tackle, don’t get sent off’.

“It’s exactly how I was. But he’s obviously backing it up in the biggest tournament. There were doubters before but he’s put all that to bed.”

Alebtong, Uganda – When Lucy Everlyn Atim returned home after six years working as a child rights activist in South Sudan’s refugee settlements, her favourite shea tree was gone.

Known locally as moyao, the tree had shaped her childhood. Every morning, she and her friends gathered beneath its branches to eat its sweet, creamy fruit before walking to school.

Its disappearance was not an isolated loss. Across northern Uganda, many more shea trees had been cut down for charcoal.

“I got concerned,” Atim, now in her mid-thirties and a climate activist, told Al Jazeera.

“The destruction of shea trees is alarming. These trees need to be protected, but people also need an alternative source of fuel.”

Uganda loses an estimated 122,000 hectares of forest each year, largely to charcoal production and logging. With about 90 percent of households relying on charcoal for cooking, indigenous species such as shea and Afzelia africana continue to disappear.

Research by Makerere University found that mature shea tree populations on fallow land fell from about 20 trees in 2008 to between 10 and 15 by 2017.

“There is still scant data on the declining shea tree population in northern Uganda,” Dr Patrick Byakagaba, the Makerere University environmental researcher who led the study, told Al Jazeera.

“More needs to be done to determine their density, sapling survival and regeneration.”

Tracking the decline is difficult, he said, because charcoal producers often uproot entire trees, leaving no stumps behind to count.

While working in South Sudan, Atim met a woman in Yida making fuel briquettes from discarded shea husks.

“I got curious. I knew this was something that could be replicated back home,” she recalled.

In 2023, she founded Moyao Africa Initiative, a social enterprise that turns shea waste into fuel briquettes, while helping women earn a living from processing shea butter.

The initiative employs six staff and works with more than 1,200 women organised in savings groups to collect shea waste, produce briquettes and process butter.

“In most households, women carry the burden of finding cooking fuel. By training them to make and sell briquettes and shea butter, we’re creating an income while providing an affordable alternative to charcoal,” she said.

Learning fuel

On a hot afternoon in Alebtong, 15 women sit on woven mats attending a training session led by Moyao Africa Initiative.

They are chairpersons of savings groups from across the district, learning to turn discarded shea husks into cooking fuel.

When the trainer asks about the process, the women answer almost in unison: collect the husks, crush them, mix them with clay and cassava flour, mould them, dry them and store them.

The lesson soon moves from theory to practice. Some women pound dried shea husks in wooden mortars while others dig up clay soil. Nearby, another group stirs thick cassava paste, the binder that holds the mixture together before it is pressed into moulds and left to dry in the sun.

Among them is Catherine Akello, chairperson of the Oteno Moyao Africa Women’s Group in Abwoc village.

Before joining the initiative, Akello valued only the shea kernels, which she processed into butter for her family. The husks were thrown away.

Now they have become a source of fuel.

“I don’t have to worry about buying charcoal whenever I want to cook because I make my own briquettes from shea husks,” Akello, a 47-year-old mother of five, told Al Jazeera.

“As a group, we’re also able to save money from the products we sell, and that helps us support our families when emergencies arise,” she said.

Demand is growing, but production remains limited by the seasonal shea harvest.

To meet it, Atim is saving to buy a carboniser, crusher and briquette-making machine costing about $530. The equipment would allow the initiative to process more shea waste and produce briquettes throughout the year.

“Our plan is to increase shea butter production from 600 litres to 6,000 litres. That means more shea husks and, in turn, more briquettes. It will help us meet demand even when raw materials are scarce,” she said.

Shared future

Renewable energy expert Bosco Odyek told Al Jazeera that turning shea husks into briquettes offers a practical alternative to charcoal by putting waste material to use.

Using a carboniser, he says, would produce cleaner-burning, smokeless briquettes that burn more efficiently.

Beyond fuel production, Moyao Africa Initiative runs environmental clubs in 20 schools across Alebtong District and works with the National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO) to distribute tree seedlings, encouraging communities to restore the landscape.

Paul Mwirichia, a humanitarian and development expert, told Al Jazeera that such initiatives are important but access to clean energy remains beyond the reach of many rural households.

“We have very good policies,” he said.

“The challenge is implementation. Government needs to support indigenous organisations like Atim’s because they understand the problems affecting their communities, and people trust them to address those challenges.”

For Atim, the work is about saving the tree that shaped her childhood.

The shea tree is gone, but she hopes turning discarded husks into fuel will mean fewer trees are cut down and more women can earn a living from keeping them standing.

“We are leaving no one behind.”

The US is set to have some of the most expensive elections in history. The US Supreme Court says political spending is equal to free speech, and therefore cannot be restricted, but as one expert told Al Jazeera’s ‘This is America’, if there’s a speed limit for cars, there can be a spending limit on politics.

U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened a strike on a very hardened Iranian facility known as Pickaxe Mountain, saying it is ripe for a “nice big fat shot right in the front door.” Trump’s comments underscore the challenges involved in holding this extremely deeply-buried site, which is tied to Iran’s nuclear program, at risk. The installation notably went untouched during the Operation Midnight Hammer strikes on Iran in June 2025, and was not struck in the course of Operation Epic Fury this year, either. So, here is what Pickaxe Mountain is, why it matters, and why it would be so hard to destroy.

Trump spoke about Pickaxe Mountain, also known as Kuh-e Kolang Gaz La, during a phone interview yesterday with Hugh Hewitt on the Salem News Channel network. This came amid renewed fighting between the United States and Iran, which broke out last week and has continued to escalate. The regime in Tehran has now declared the highly strategic Strait of Hormuz closed again to all maritime traffic, while the U.S. military is moving to reimpose a blockade of Iranian ports. This is all despite the signing of a 14-point Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) last month that included the extension of an already fragile ceasefire. Readers can get caught up on the broader situation in the Middle East with our recent reporting here.

“Before you enter into another deal, will you insist that IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] inspectors get down into that deep, deep, deep tunnel and find out if they got a doomsday machine down there?” Hewitt asked Trump during their conversation yesterday.

“They don’t have it because we have eyes with Space Force, and everything else. We have a lot of eyes on it [Pickaxe Mountain],” Trump said in response. “But Pickaxe is a possible target for a nice big fat shot right near the front door, and I think that maybe you’ll see that.”

“We see no activity there. They’re not doing well with their nuclear situation. Every time we hear about it, we blow it up. So they don’t like talking about it,” Trump added. “But we’ll probably give Pickaxe a shot relatively soon.”

What is Pickaxe Mountain?

It should be noted here up front that there are actually assessed to be two independent tunnel networks under Pickaxe Mountain. One was built circa 2007, and the construction of the other began around 2020. The entire complex, which is contained within a single large security perimeter, is situated immediately to the southwest of Iran’s nuclear facility at Natanz, as seen in the satellite image we obtained from Vantor below. As an aside, Natanz was one of the facilities that U.S. forces struck during Operation Midnight Hammer. Natanz and Pickaxe Mountain are roughly in the center of Iran.

In the past, Iran has openly discussed plans to produce centrifuges to support its nuclear enrichment efforts at the newer facility at Pickaxe Mountain. It is also estimated to be large enough to house an actual enrichment plant, as well as other nuclear infrastructure, but exactly what is inside remains unconfirmed. Hewitt’s question yesterday reflected the fact that international inspectors have not been given any access to the overall site to date.

In light of strikes on other Iranian nuclear sites since last year, there is also the possibility that Iran may have relocated nuclear assets from other facilities to the more extensively hardened ones under Pickaxe Mountain.

In terms of activity, satellite imagery TWZ has obtained from Vantor, seen below, does show dump trucks and other vehicles moving in and out of one of two entrances to the newer tunnel network on the western side of Pickaxe Mountain on June 21. There are also two other entrances on the eastern side.

Previous satellite imagery had shown Iran taking steps to at least partially block access to the newer facility after the start of U.S. and Israeli strikes on February 28, according to the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) think tank. Before the conflict erupted, Iran was also observed to have buried and hardened the entrances to the tunnel network built in 2007, again per ISIS’ assessments.

Last year, TWZ had called attention to efforts to at least partially seal up Iran’s nuclear facility at Fordow before Operation Midnight Hammer. Similar activity has been observed in the past year at Natanz, Isfahan (also written Esfahan), and other hardened nuclear sites in Iran. As we have explored in detail in the past, sealing tunnel entrances and other access points creates an important deterrent to ground raids, as well as potentially offering additional hardening against standoff strikes. We will come back to this later on.

“Unlike the situation at both the Fordow and Esfahan tunnel entrances, this material [at the eastern entrances to the newer facility at Pickaxe Mountain] does not provide complete tunnel entrance obscuration at either portal,” ISIS noted in an assessment back in May. “Nonetheless, this material would appear to be sufficient to significantly hinder rapid ingress/egress by vehicles and would require the use of heavy earth moving equipment to gain such access and clear an unobstructed path inside. At present, we do not yet see evidence of such blockage having been undertaken at the two western tunnel portals of the larger complex.”

A shot in the door and not from above?

All of this brings us back to Trump’s comment about the possibility of a “nice big fat shot right in the front door” at Pickaxe Mountain. For years, experts have talked about the likelihood that the main caverns under the mountain are beyond the reach of even the largest known conventional bunker buster bomb in U.S. inventory, the 30,000-pound-class GBU-57/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP). The MOP was developed, at least in part, specifically to hold underground facilities in Iran at risk. Construction at Pickaxe Mountain, especially in the past five years, is a clear response to U.S. threats.

GBU-57 MOP test

MOPs were the centerpiece during the Operation Midnight Hammer strikes, with 12 being dropped on Fordow and another two on Natanz. To get at the actual targets at Fordow, six MOPs were dropped on two specific ventilation shafts, with each successive bomb burrowing deeper down into the complex below. This underscores the challenges that would be involved in attempting a similar operation against Pickaxe Mountain.

The available stockpile of MOPs was also understood to be relatively limited even before Operation Midnight Hammer, and it is unknown how many are currently in inventory. The U.S. Air Force is now in the process of acquiring a successor to MOP, called the GBU-76/B Next Generation Penetrator (NGP), but that is not expected to enter service for some time.

The United States does also have Earth-penetrating B61-11 gravity bombs in its nuclear stockpile, specifically to prosecute extremely deeply buried strategic targets. However, there is next to no chance the U.S. government would initiate the use of nuclear weapons against Iran absent anything approaching a proportionate, imminent threat or attack. Doing so would be a beyond massive escalation with serious worldwide ramifications, and there is no indication that American authorities are at all considering taking that step.

As with the strikes on Fordow, multiple bombs could be dropped on the same impact point to try to penetrate further down into Pickaxe Mountain. Whether there might be similar ventilation shafts or other weak points that could be exploited at Pickaxe Mountain is unknown. Trump’s remarks to Hugh Hewitt would certainly seem to suggest otherwise.

A strike “right in the front door” on the tunnel entrances at Pickaxe Mountain would be another option to at least hamper access to the facility inside for a time. This could be combined with strikes aimed at sections of the tunnel networks that run deeper inside the facility, but that are still close enough to the surface to be reachable by available conventional munitions. For instance, MOPs may not be able to hit the main cavern areas, but they could possibly hit certain tunnels that might lead to them.

Even a combined strike on entrances and shallow tunnels at Pickaxe Mountain could still present certain challenges. Firm intelligence on exactly where the tunnels snake under the mountain could be limited, making it difficult to select the best impact points. This is exactly why the U.S. military has been investing heavily in advanced, void-sensing fuzes for MOP and other bunker buster bombs for decades now. These fuzes detect when a munition has penetrated into a sufficiently large space, such as a room or tunnel in an underground facility, to help maximize damage. Fuzes that can effectively ‘count’ floors also help to ensure the munition has burrowed sufficiently deep before detonating.

It is possible that additional tactics, techniques, and procedures could be brought to bear to increase the effectiveness of any strikes on Pickaxe Mountain and further complicate any efforts to dig out the site afterward. Just last month, TWZ explored in detail the benefits of near-horizontal strikes on fortified targets, as well as of ‘skipping’ munitions into tunnel and cave entrances. The Pentagon’s 2027 Fiscal Year budget proposal had revealed interest in enhancing the capabilities of 2,000-pound-class Joint Direct Attack Munition-Extended Range (JDAM-ER) precision-guided glide bombs in the bunker-busting role, which could further enable these kinds of lateral strikes. If appropriate funding is allocated, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) would be responsible for leading this work. DTRA is a multi-faceted organization focused on responding to Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) threats, and notably played a critical role in the development of the MOP.

As noted earlier, the U.S. military could conduct follow-on strikes on the entry points at Pickaxe Mountain to disrupt any attempt to regain access, as well. Trump’s conversation with Hugh Hewitt yesterday indicates that the site is, unsurprisingly, already under heavy surveillance, including by regular spy satellite passes. Currently, this is the tactic being employed at other critical sites, like the similar mountain bunker facility in Isfahan, where it’s thought that much of Iran’s enriched uranium is buried. By striking any equipment or personnel attempting to access the collapsed tunnels, the problem could theoretically be ‘maintenanced’ indefinitely.

Limited access to underground sites for a protracted period of time might have second-order impacts, too. This would depend on whether the equipment or anything else contained therein requires regular maintenance or other attention to remain usable or otherwise prevent degradation.

Other considerations

Mounting a major operation against Pickaxe Mountain of any kind could entail additional complexities and risks. A total of 125 aircraft, including seven B-2 bombers, as well as fighters, tankers, and other supporting platforms, took part in Operation Midnight Hammer. U.S. Navy vessels in the Arabian Sea also conducted Tomahawk cruise missile strikes and otherwise supported the operation. At the same time, Iranian forces, including the country’s air defense capabilities, have been significantly degraded by U.S. and Israeli strikes since then.

Even so, there is still always the possibility of an aircraft going down due to a technical fault or some other issue. Combat search and rescue (CSAR) assets need to be in position, whether they are used or not. CSAR operations are risky and require immense resources themselves. This was put on full display during the race to rescue the crew of an F-15E Strike Eagle that went down in Iran in April, which resulted in the loss of several additional aircraft and helicopters.

On several occasions in the past, TWZ has highlighted the overall limits of conventional standoff strikes against especially deeply buried facilities, including in Iran. This has been a key driver in discussions about the potential for the United States or Israel to conduct ground raids on Iranian nuclear facilities, either to cause more definitive damage inside or to try to extract key assets, like enriched uranium. Any ground operation would pose its own immense challenges and risks, as we have also explored in detail previously.

“Going after the fissile material, I think, is a bigger operation. Again, I think we have the capabilities to do this. Within our Special Operations community, we have people that are trained to do this and have the right relationships and connections and other things to allow us to get in and do that,” retired U.S. Gen. Joseph Votel, who previously served as head of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), told TWZ‘s Howard Altman when asked about this in an interview in March. “So you’d have to be able to project that force onto the ground. This would be going to a place like Natanz or Isfahan – probably one of those locations. Those are well inland – several hundred miles into Iran, a country of the same size as the state of Alaska. So it’s big and it’s diverse. It’s largely in an open plain, so you don’t have a lot of natural terrain protection there. That would have to be taken into consideration.”

Getting into sites where Iran has deliberately sealed entry points would require heavy machinery and skilled operators, as well as time to do that work. That, in turn, has impacts on the force protection requirements for an operation that could be expected to last days, if not weeks. These forces would be well within the reach of Iranian artillery, drones and other weapons, as well as ground forces and direct fires. It is also interesting to consider here that if at least some of the entrances to the facilities underneath Pickaxe Mountain are not currently completely sealed off, the raid package could be lighter and the operation faster. In September 2024, Israeli ground forces were notably able to destroy an underground missile factory in Syria after gathering significant amounts of intelligence in an overnight operation. That being said, one would expect a site as sensitive as Pickaxe Mountain to be better defended on the ground, even if the ‘doors are open.’

100 Shaldag soldiers raid and dismantle Syrian missile factory in secret operation

There is a question here of the relative value of strikes on Pickaxe Mountain, especially depending on what U.S. planners think they could reasonably achieve. As noted earlier, exactly what is under the mountain at this point is not clear.

“It remains unclear when it could be operational, based on assessing satellite imagery,” David Albright, President and Founder of the ISIS think tank, wrote in a post on X just yesterday. “Recently, we were told that the site was not attacked in the two previous wars [the 12-Day War in 2025 and operations this year] because nothing of sufficient value was inside it.”

“Perhaps that assessment has changed,” Albright continued. “But just as likely, Trump does not want to leave Iran with a deeply buried nuclear-related site as the regime appears to be sending signals it is starting to rebuild its nuclear weapons capabilities aimed at making nuclear weapons.”

President Trump’s response yesterday to Hugh Hewitt’s specific mention of Pickaxe Mountain does point to there being some degree of concern about this target within the current administration. Trump being so familiar with the site and its weaponeering challenges is particularly notable.

Still, how soon a U.S. strike on Pickaxe Mountain might actually come, if at all, and what that might entail, remains to be seen. Though destroying the facility would be an extremely tall order, there are still other options to make it hard for Iran to make use of it, at least in the near term.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

The striker says FIFA’s decision to suspend his one-match ban led to ‘a lot of outside noise’ before USA’s knockout match.

US striker Folarin Balogun says he expected “a lot of controversy” after FIFA suspended his one-game ban at the World Cup following United States President Donald Trump’s request to review the decision.

Balogun was sent off during his team’s 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the last 32, but FIFA controversially suspended his ban for a one-year probationary period. The striker has spoken about the incident for the first time in an interview with CBS Mornings on Tuesday.

“My initial reaction was I was happy to be back in the team. But when I kind of started to reflect, I knew it was going to cause a lot of controversy,” he said.

“I could almost see within my teammates a bit of nerves because it was something that’s so unique.

“But the closer we got to the game, I tried to just focus as best as I could. But it was difficult – a lot of outside noise, and that’s hard to avoid.”

Balogun received the red card for stepping awkwardly on the right ankle of Bosnia’s Tarik Muharemovic in a 2-0 win for the USA in their round-of-32 match, triggering an automatic one-game suspension.

FIFA’s decision to suspend that ban – leading to Falogun playing in the game against Belgium – caused a furore in the football world, and accusations that the body bent its rules to please Trump.

The global football body announced that it had suspended the red card after the US president urged FIFA chief Gianni Infantino to review the case.

The decision prompted criticism from Belgium’s football association, Europe’s top football body, a former FIFA boss, multiple top former players, and many others. Critics argued that overturning a red card suspension after direct political intervention undermined the integrity of the tournament and set a dangerous precedent.

Balogun conceded that the saga led to a confusing few days for him. After the red card, he took on a supporting role in training to try to keep the team’s morale high before finding out he was cleared to play.

“We found out on the team bus. Everybody was like screaming and shouting,” Balogun said. “It was a pretty intense bus ride to the practice field.”

The US striker said it was not hard to separate “the emotion from the job at hand” ahead of the match against Belgium.

“We’re all professionals, so it’s not something I think was too difficult to be able to separate once we kind of got over the initial announcement that I’d be back in the team,” Balogun added.

The USA lost 1-4 to Belgium, with Balogun struggling to influence the game, following a fine overall tournament in which he scored three goals.

For several months, Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport was so packed with U.S. Air Force aerial refueling tankers deployed for the fight against Iran that officials in Jerusalem complained about the toll that presence was taking on airport operations. The issue came to a head on Tuesday, when Israel’s Transportation Minister placed a limit on how many of these jets can land at Ben Gurion Airport. The move comes despite an increase in fighting between the U.S. and Iran and with several Arab nations coming under fire from the Islamic Republic. Tuesday afternoon, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced a new round of strikes against Iranian targets as the naval blockade on that nation’s ports is being restored.

While an anonymously sourced Israeli news story stated that U.S. and Israeli officials are irate about this decision, three experts we spoke with suggest that despite ratcheted-up kinetic actions, the restrictions on tanker operations at Ben Gurion will be more of an inconvenience to U.S. forces than a major problem.

At issue is the tension faced by a very busy international airport operating at the peak of summer travel season, while also having to host dozens of American tankers deployed for high-tempo combat operations that are currently not happening.

“Hundreds of thousands of plane tickets were bought by Israelis to fly and enjoy their summer vacation,” Miri Regev said earlier on Tuesday. “We promised that we will enable commercial flights and we will not cancel a single ticket because of American refueling planes.”

“Therefore I have given instructions that we will not allow any U.S. refueling tankers to land at Ben Gurion Airport beyond the agreed number of 20 planes, and the remaining planes will land at Air Force bases.”

As we reported in the past, the U.S. Air Force began sending tankers to Ben Gurion in the lead-up to the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran that began Feb. 28.

Nine KC-46 Pegasus and five KC-135 Stratotanker aerial refueling jets arrived at Ben Gurion in the days before hostilities began. The number of U.S. Air Force tankers, as well as the service’s cargo jets, at the airport has grown tremendously since then.

“A fleet of about 75 U.S. refuelers and cargo planes had parked at Ben Gurion Airport for many months, as part of the US military buildup in the region prior to the war,” the Times of Israel reported on Tuesday. “Following the partial removal of the tankers in recent weeks, more than 30 US refueling planes are estimated to be stationed at Ben Gurion Airport, crowding out civilian aircraft and creating a shortage of parking spaces.” 

In our previous reporting, we noted that dozens of U.S. Air Force refueling aircraft deployed to Ben Gurion Airport had been expected to stay in Israel at least until the end of this year, though those plans now appear to be in flux.

Satellite imagery indicates the US has withdrawn 32 of the roughly 60–72 aerial refueling tankers it had stationed at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport, leaving about 32 as of early July 2026.

Source: @EGYOSINT pic.twitter.com/V8hKe2BfzJ

— Clash Report (@clashreport) July 7, 2026

Meanwhile, there are alternatives for the dozen or so KC-135s and KC-46s that now need a new home. The Air Force can operate tankers from several other bases in Israel as well as across the region. However, bases closer to Iran have come under dense Iranian fire and five tankers were reportedly damaged in an Iranian long-range strike on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia in March. Operating far forward during war time, such as at the traditional hub for these operations, Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, isn’t possible due to the extreme risk posed by Iranian standoff weapons. Other bases, like Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan is already packed with aircraft with little room for dozens of tankers.

As we noted earlier in this piece, the tanker limit reportedly upset U.S. and Israeli officials alike.

“Senior officials at U.S. Central Command have contacted the IDF’s top brass and Israel’s defense establishment in recent hours following the Transportation Ministry’s decision Tuesday not to allow additional American refueling aircraft to land at Ben-Gurion Airport,” according to Israel’s Ynet news outlet. “According to sources familiar with the details, the Americans were angered by the decision and made clear that it directly harms the operational needs of U.S. forces operating in the region amid the escalation with Iran. They said the refueling aircraft are a vital component of the regional deterrence and defense array.”

TWZ cannot independently confirm Ynet‘s reporting. Earlier in the day, Navy Capt. Tim Hawkins, CENTCOM’s spokesman, told us that the command “will continue working with our Israeli partners to best position U.S. aircraft to support operations.”

Hawkins declined to elaborate.

“Israel is a strong military ally, and we appreciate the warm hospitality for American forces as we work shoulder to shoulder in promoting regional security and stability,” Hawkins stated.

Meanwhile, as we have noted in earlier reporting, the U.S. has already returned F-22 Raptors that were flying out of Ovda Air Base in Israel back to the United States. Other aircraft, such as A-10s and F-15Es, have also returned home from or have been replaced in the CENTCOM region. So clearly there is a lot of shifting of aviation assets taking place even amid current operations.

A former senior U.S. Air Force leader acknowledged the tensions inherent in operating military aircraft for combat operations out of a civilian airport. However, Ben Gurion is considered one of the most important airfields in the region, the former official told us. 

Ben Gurion’s location, situated just to the southeast of Tel Aviv, roughly in the center of the country, is a big factor, both in terms of geography and Israel’s vaunted integrated air defense system (IADS), the former leader added.

Still, he suggested that the new limits at Ben Gurion don’t automatically mean a restriction in U.S. air operations against Iran or in support of partner forces.

Given the existing options in the region, CENTCOM and the Air Force will be looking at what runway, ramp space, and equipment availability there is elsewhere.

“Flow control is something we’re always concerned about during combat operations,” he explained, adding that planners will consider distance to where the tankers have to orbit, proximity to potential threats, and the capacity to launch sorties.

“They really work in advance to create the best mix of protection, survivability, and an operational envelope,” the former senior leader noted.

Retired Air Force Col. Troy Pananon, who once commanded Mildenhall Air Base, a tanker installation in the U.K., surmised that the Ben Gurion restrictions will have limited effects.

“I would say the base has an impact on the overall plan, but it doesn’t limit the ability to execute,” said Pananon, who was quick to point out he has no inside information about current operations. “Tanker planners can and should modify the plan to ensure there is enough fuel airborne in the AOR to accommodate the requirements for the receivers servicing the designated targets for the day. In other words, if they are limited in capacity at base A, they can or will supplement from base B, or adjust loiter times or targets.”

“Air campaigns by nature are a fluid event and stresses the importance of planners, leadership and C2 [command and control,” he added.

Israel is carrying out a balancing act when it comes to Ben Gurion, a high-ranking IDF official told us.

The airport “is effectively Israel’s only major international civilian airport,” he noted. “Haifa and Ramon handle only a very small fraction of Israel’s civilian air traffic. Operationally, Ben Gurion can accommodate roughly 20 U.S. Air Force refueling tankers. Beyond that number, the impact on civilian aviation becomes significant.”

However, “at the same time, Ben Gurion is arguably the safest airport in the region for U.S. aircraft,” the IDF official pointed out. “That is why discussions are currently focused on finding the right balance between parking tankers at Ben Gurion and dispersing them among Israeli Air Force bases. In my view, this is fundamentally an operational, economic and civil aviation issue, not a political one.”

The issue of U.S. Air Force tankers at Ben Gurion interfering with civil aviation is not new.

“The presence of the aircraft—not the U.S. military—is causing significant operational difficulties at Ben Gurion Airport, as they are parked almost everywhere possible at the airport,” Israel’s N12 News reported on X back in May.

בישראל התקבלו מסרים מהאמריקנים שלפיהם עשרות מטוסי התדלוק המוצבים בנמל התעופה בן גוריון צפויים להישאר בארץ לפחות עד סוף השנה האזרחית. נוכחות המטוסים שלא הצבא האמריקני מעוררת קשיים משמעותיים בתפעולו של נתב”ג, שכן הם חונים כמעט בכל מקום אפשרי בנמל@Dean_Fisher_

— החדשות – N12 (@N12News) May 18, 2026

How long the limitations at Ben Gurion last remains an open question, especially should Israel find itself at war again with Iran. 

As we pointed out in previous reporting, the KC-46s and KC-135s now at Ben Gurion alone are a tanker force far larger than what the Israeli Air Force (IAF) has in its inventory today. Each KC-46 also carries more fuel to offload to receivers than a KC-707 or a KC-135. During Epic Fury, when both the U.S. and Israel were attacking Iran, U.S. tankers gassed up IAF jets.

All this being said, in a time of war, these restrictions would be quickly lifted and civilian flights would decline. While moving aircraft around to other bases and still providing the majority of the refueling capacity available before the tankers’ exodus from Tel Aviv will certainly be possible, sortie rates and durations for receiver aircraft could still suffer in a sudden crisis. Seeing as these are tankers, their availability and proximity to their ‘customers’ has downstream effects. It comes down to how much gas is available in the sky at any given time versus the needs of the air operation. Luckily, America’s tanker crews and planners are masters at juggling their assets to make sure any changes in basing has a minimal impact on commanders’ needs.

The Israeli Transportation Minister’s decision comes as the prospects for a diplomatic settlement of the tensions between the U.S. and Iran seem dimmer than at any point since a ceasefire was agreed to on April 8.

As we noted earlier in this piece, CENTCOM forces “began launching an additional round of strikes on Iran to continue degrading Iranian capabilities used to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz,” the command stated on X. “The strikes are taking place as American forces prepare to resume the naval blockade against Iranian ports and coastal areas. The blockade goes into effect at 4 p.m. ET.”

At 3 p.m. ET today, U.S. Central Command forces began launching an additional round of strikes against Iran to continue degrading Iranian capabilities used to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. The strikes are taking place as American forces prepare to resume the…

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) July 14, 2026

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “warned Iran on Tuesday against launching future attacks on Israel, saying Tehran would face a far harsher response than in previous confrontations,” the Jerusalem Post reported on Tuesday.

“Do not count on it being quiet if you attack us,” Netanyahu said while speaking at the Negev Conference in Dimona. “Do not count on a rerun; this will be a different event, much more powerful.”

Prime Minister Netanyahu, today, at the Negev Conference in Dimona – in a message to Iran’s leaders:
“We are prepared for any scenario. I can tell you only one thing, and I will say this to the leaders of Iran: Do not count on it being quiet if you attack us. Do not count on a… pic.twitter.com/tbgRd7PNon

— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) July 14, 2026

Given all this, it does not appear there will be much of a reduction in the need for U.S. Air Force aerial refueling tankers in the Middle East. However, where they will be based remains in flux.

Contact the author: howard@twz.com

Activists say Moroccan authorities are intensifying repression of critical voices and the Gen Z protest movement.

Politically outspoken Moroccan artist, rapper, and filmmaker Mehdi El Youbi has been arrested in Casablanca, days after being barred from returning to France, where he has been based since 2017.

El Youbi, better known by his stage name Mehdi Black Wind, was detained on Monday night after being questioned by Morocco’s National Brigade of Judicial Police in Casablanca, according to a statement from a group of his friends and supporters.

“After a day of questioning, his family were informed at around 9pm that he had been taken into police custody and was due to appear before the public prosecutor on Wednesday”, the statement said. “According to the latest information, his arrest is believed to be linked to his artistic views and posts on social media.”

El Youbi, born in 1992, is widely known in Morocco and across North Africa for his rap songs heavily influenced by US hip-hop. He rose to prominence in the early 2010s, at the same time as the Arab Spring, with songs that caught the attention of the authorities for their politically engaged lyrics.

“When I return home, I’m afraid of being arrested or banned from the country,” El Youbi told French music magazine Mosaique Magazine in December 2025. “Many people try to depoliticise art or sport, but I believe that every committed artist, every activist, or anyone who takes risks lives between boldness and fear.”

El Youbi is “the best rapper in North Africa and it’s not close”, Algerian journalist Maher Mezahi said on X.

Omar Radi, a Moroccan investigative journalist and human rights activist who was previously jailed in Morocco for criticising a judge, told Al Jazeera that El Youbi is “the most outspoken and politically direct Moroccan rapper”.

“There is a deliberate attempt to stamp out any possibility of criticism of the government or police methods, whether within civil society and the press, or in artistic circles or amongst football supporters,” Radi said.

El Youbi’s detention comes a day after the arrest of Moroccan journalist Ali Lmrabet, which was condemned by the Committee to Protect Journalists, and two weeks after Zineb Kharroubi, a leading figure in the Gen Z 212 activist movement, was given a six-month suspended prison sentence after being found guilty of “incitement to commit crimes or offences by electronic means”.

A supporter of El Youbi said that these developments reflect “intensified repression linked to the Gen Z movement”, referring to the youth-led protest movement that emerged last year in Morocco demanding better health services and education reforms.

El Youbi is due to appear before the public prosecutor on Wednesday morning. His supporters said they were concerned that he may have to appear without a lawyer, as lawyers in Morocco are currently on strike.

The heroic pilot who safely ditched a stricken airliner in a New York City river in 2009 has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

Captain Chesley ‘Sully’ Sullenberger III, 75, shared the update on his personal website, writing that he was recently diagnosed and it is at an early stage.

“For now, this means a name may not come easily to me, I forget a story I have recently told, or I don’t sleep as well, but I am in the beginning of this long journey,” he wrote.

US Airways Flight 1549 came down in the Hudson River on 15 January 2009, after both its engines were disabled in a collision with a flock of geese shortly after take-off. All 155 people on board survived.

Sullenberger’s quick thinking and calm demeanour were credited with averting disaster.

The former US Air Force fighter pilot from California said in a post on his website on Tuesday that his Alzheimer’s diagnosis “has challenged what it means to be of service” and that he has found “the answer is to speak up” about the disease.

China said on Tuesday it does not seek a “sphere of influence” in the Pacific, as Foreign Minister Wang Yi defended Beijing’s growing engagement with Pacific island nations following criticism over a recent missile test in the South Pacific.

The remarks came during talks in Beijing with Solomon Islands Foreign Minister Rick Houenipwela, as regional tensions continue to intensify amid strategic competition between China and Western allies.

China Rejects Geopolitical Motives

Wang Yi said China’s cooperation with Pacific island nations is based on mutual respect and shared development rather than geopolitical ambitions.

He stressed that Beijing’s partnerships come without political conditions and are not imposed on other countries. Wang also said Pacific island states are independent and sovereign nations that should not be treated as any country’s “backyard” or be subject to outside interference.

China reaffirmed its willingness to expand cooperation with the Solomon Islands in areas including green energy, healthcare, and climate change.

Missile Test Sparks Regional Concerns

The meeting followed China’s recent test launch of a missile carrying a dummy warhead from a nuclear powered submarine into the South Pacific.

The test drew criticism from several regional governments, including the Solomon Islands, which questioned both the timing and the message sent by the launch.

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Matthew Wale described China as “a good friend” but said the missile test was “not something a friend does,” while reaffirming his country’s commitment to strengthening ties with Australia.

The launch also coincided with the signing of a new mutual defense agreement between Fiji and Australia, highlighting growing security cooperation among Pacific nations.

Pacific Becomes Strategic Battleground

The Pacific has become an increasingly important arena for geopolitical competition as China expands its diplomatic, economic, and security engagement across the region.

Meanwhile, Australia, the United States, New Zealand, and other partners have stepped up investment, defense cooperation, and development assistance in an effort to maintain their influence among Pacific island countries.

Many Pacific governments continue to pursue a balanced foreign policy, seeking economic cooperation with multiple partners while avoiding alignment with any single major power.

Why This Matters

China’s latest comments underscore the growing diplomatic contest for influence in the Pacific, where infrastructure investment, security partnerships, and climate cooperation have become central to regional politics. The region’s strategic location and maritime significance make it increasingly important in broader competition between China and Western allies.

Future Outlook

China is expected to continue expanding economic and development cooperation with Pacific island nations, particularly in renewable energy, healthcare, and infrastructure. At the same time, Australia and its partners are likely to deepen security and development initiatives across the region. As strategic competition intensifies, Pacific governments will continue balancing relationships with competing powers while seeking investment and support that align with their national priorities.

With information from Reuters.

South Korea will further boost its airborne electronic warfare capabilities, buying another two platforms based on the Bombardier Global 6500 bizjet. These will eventually complement the four Global 6500-based airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft that Seoul has already ordered, and which you can read about here.

Canada’s Bombardier Defense announced today that its Global 6500 had been selected for a second South Korean special mission aircraft program. The aircraft have been acquired by Korean Air, which will modify them for the electronic warfare role. Specifically, these will be standoff jammer (SOJ) aircraft, intended to disrupt enemy electromagnetic signals from a safe distance.

“The Global 6500 aircraft is in demand around the world because of its performance and versatility, and we’re extremely proud that it was chosen for two very advanced, yet different defense missions in South Korea,” said Michael Anckner, vice-president of worldwide sales at Bombardier Defense. “This aircraft is trusted because of its proven military track record, yet it remains highly adaptable as defense needs evolve.”

The Global 6000 series is already a popular choice for military special missions adaptations. Outside of South Korea, prominent examples include the Saab GlobalEye AEW&C aircraft, as well as the German Luftwaffe’s PEGASUS signals intelligence (SIGINT) aircraft. Meanwhile, the U.S. Air Force opted for a Global 6000-based solution for its E-11A Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN) program, and the U.S. Army ordered a Global 6500-based solution for its ME-11B High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System (HADES), which will be the service’s next-generation intelligence-gathering aircraft. 

All these applications are aided by the Global’s relatively high-altitude flight profile, which provides a significant standoff capability, increasing line of sight for the sensors, and helping keep the jet and its onboard operators further away from enemy air defense systems. In general, bizjet platforms are also becoming increasingly cost-effective, helped by steady improvements in jet engine technology.

Both Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) and Korean Air had presented offerings for the SOJ to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), which serves as the central administrative agency of the South Korean Ministry of National Defense.

DAPA had approved the plan for the development of the so-called Block I Electronic Warfare System Development Project in April 2025, with around $1.2 billion earmarked for the program by 2034.

As of September last year, KAI was teamed with Hanwha Systems and was pitching a design based on the Global 6500 airframe. Meanwhile, Korean Air was partnered with LIG Nex1 and, according to some reports, was proposing a platform based on the Gulfstream G550. Other reports suggested that both teams favored the Bombardier bizjet, which provides commonality with the new South Korean AEW&C aircraft.

KAI had argued that it was the best fit for the requirement based on its previous involvement in the Peace Eye program, which provided South Korea with a version of the E-7A Wedgetail AEW&C aircraft, as well as the forthcoming Baekdu II intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) platform. KAI is also an established airframer, building the T-50/TA-50/FA-50 series as well as the KF-21 fighter and various helicopters.

Meanwhile, Korean Air is involved in heavy aircraft maintenance, military aircraft upgrades, and the development of drones, while LIG Nex1 developed advanced electronic warfare systems for the KF-21, as well as for warships, submarines, and reconnaissance aircraft.

From relatively early on, there had been indications that the Korean Air bid was favored. Reports in the South Korean media said that the proposal “scored higher” in the bid evaluation process by DAPA, which had been “evaluating each company’s electronic warfare equipment technology and airframe integration capability, among other factors.” 

In the past, DAPA had said that the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) required four aircraft capable of “paralyzing enemy air-defense networks and wireless command and communication systems in times of crisis.” While Bombardier has said it is providing two Global 6500s for the program, it remains possible that more might be added. We have approached the company for clarification.

South Korea becomes the latest nation to invest in an SOJ platform, reflecting the growing interest in these capabilities, especially as higher-end and longer-range air defense systems proliferate.

The U.S. Air Force has introduced the EA-37B Compass Call as a standoff electronic attack platform, while earlier this year we looked in detail at Turkey’s HAVA SOJ, based on the Global 6000 airframe and intended to undertake a similar kind of mission.

Typically, SOJ platforms are intended to support air operations by suppressing enemy air defense radars, disrupting command-and-control networks, and interfering with communications through long-range deception and noise jamming, all while remaining outside hostile airspace. By degrading an adversary’s sensing and coordination capabilities, they enable friendly aircraft to penetrate defended airspace through safer access corridors. In modern warfare, the effective use of SOJ platforms has become a critical capability, serving as a force multiplier and delivering significant asymmetric operational advantages.

In addition to jamming systems, the SOJ aircraft generally also have a surveillance capability, with passive electronic support measures (ESM) equipment, while some might include an onboard radar or other sensors. ESM, which is a passive system, can geolocate threats and communications nodes, and that data can be shared in real time with tactical aircraft and missile units to prosecute strikes.

In its rendering of the aircraft, Korean Air presented a platform with prominent fairings alongside the fuselage sides as well as a canoe-type fairing below the fuselage. The fuselage fairings likely contain conformal antennas, which may well be associated with active electronically scanned array (AESA) technology.

AESAs can be used to send out highly focused beams of electromagnetic energy to jam hostile radars and other radio-frequency sensors and emitters in the air, on land, and at sea. This is a capability we have talked about before in relation to the U.S. Air Force’s EA-37B. Potentially, these same AESA antennas could be used to trigger cyber attacks, a capability you can read more about here.

According to South Korean outlet Chosun, the aircraft should have a jamming range of “at least 200 kilometers [124 miles] to cover the entire Korean peninsula.” Additionally, “high-performance transmit-and-receive antenna technology is required to secure enemy electronic signals while disrupting the enemy by emitting powerful radio waves.”

While designed to work from outside hostile airspace, there have been increasing questions about the ability of specialized aircraft like these to survive against more capable air defenses, with the threat of long-range anti-air missile systems only set to grow. However, this kind of platform makes unique sense for South Korea, which has a very specific threat to counter: North Korean air defenses are becoming more capable, and hardened borders mean the geographic area that the new SOJ is expected to cover is clearly established. Criticism of aircraft survivability and range is less of an issue in this case.

At the same time, although South Korea has long relied heavily on the United States for defense, Seoul has increasingly emphasized greater strategic autonomy. This includes developing sovereign electronic warfare and AEW&C capabilities, reducing its reliance on U.S. military assets and American-provided equipment for these critical missions.

As well as the new SOJ and AEW&C platforms, the ROKAF is also set to receive four Baekdu II ISR aircraft. KAI is developing these in partnership with LIG Nex1 under a $675-million contract, with the mission equipment to be installed on the Dassault Falcon 2000LXS bizjet airframe.

The contract is due to be completed by the end of 2026, and the new ISR jets will replace the four Hawker 800XP Peace Pioneer signals intelligence (SIGINT) aircraft that first entered service with the ROKAF in 2001. These are known locally as the RC-800B Baekdu and are operated alongside a similar number of RC-800G Geumgang imagery intelligence (IMINT) aircraft provided under the Peace Krypton program.

Photos show the RC-800B Baekdu SIGINT aircraft:

A photo shows the RC-800G Geumgang IMINT aircraft:

Meanwhile, the ROKAF also operates two modified Dassault Falcon 2000S bizjets in a SIGINT role. These RC-2000s were also procured under the Baekdu project between 2011 and 2018 and incorporate a greater proportion of Korean-built electronics than the RC-800Bs. These aircraft are also specially equipped to detect North Korean missile launches.

A photo shows the RC-2000 SIGINT aircraft:

Then there is the AEW&C fleet, currently comprising four Boeing E-737s, and set to be bolstered by four new aircraft based on the Global 6500 airframe, valued at roughly $2.2 billion. As we have discussed in the past, these will be outfitted by L3Harris and will include the EL/W-2085 AESA radar from Israel’s Elta. This series of radars is already used in AEW&C aircraft operated by Israel, Italy, and Singapore. The new radar planes are due to be introduced by 2032.

Returning to the new SOJ aircraft, the fact that North Korea possesses dense, layered air defenses concentrated near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) makes an electronic attack platform like this a key enabler for military operations. This is only becoming more important as North Korean defenses continue to mature.

Beyond enhancing operational effectiveness, the SOJ program strengthens South Korea’s defense industrial base, which is fast becoming a true global player.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com

US President Donald Trump welcomed Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi to the White House. Trump praised the ‘tremendous chemistry’ between him and the PM and said the countries will be announcing a new ‘massive’ oil partnership.

Military and defence analyst Alex Alfirraz Scheers says the US risks falling into an ‘escalation trap’ if it launches a ground assault in Iran because Tehran still retains a large number of ballistic missiles.