Middle East – Page 38 – The Defense Post

Feb- 2026 -

6 February

Two Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy fast in-shore attack craft, a type of speedboat armed with machine guns, conducted unsafe and unprofessional maneuvers while operating in close proximity to USCGC Maui (WPB 1304) as it transits the Strait of Hormuz

Staff Writer With AFP

Iran Guards Seize Two Foreign-Crewed Tankers in Gulf: News Agency

Iran's Revolutionary Guards have seized two oil tankers with their foreign crews in Gulf waters for "smuggling fuel."

5 February

Artist's impression of the DefendAir counter-unmanned aerial system

Ronald Watkins

ParaZero Receives Follow-On Order for Counter-Drone Interception System

Israeli firm ParaZero Technologies has received a second order from a “major global defense corporation” for its drone interception net-pods.

5 February

Ukraine's President, Volodymyr Zelensky meeting with other foreign ministers.

Staff Writer With AFP

Ukraine, Russia, US to Start Second Day of War Talks

Ukraine, Russia, and the US will start a second day of talks in Abu Dhabi, seeking to end Moscow's nearly four-year invasion.

4 February

Staff Writer With AFP

Netanyahu Tells US Envoy Palestinian Authority Won’t Be Part of Post-War Gaza Governance

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu told US envoy Witkoff that the Palestinian Authority would not be part of post-war Gaza's governance.

4 February

Christine Casimiro

US Approves Saudi Arabia’s F-15 Sustainment Under $3-Billion Deal

The Royal Saudi Air Force’s F-15 fleet is set to receive sustainment services following the US State Department’s approval of a potential $3-billion foreign military sale.

4 February

Palestine residents crying and walking over a rubble of a building after an Israeli strike

Staff Writer With AFP

Gaza Civil Defense Says 9 Dead in Strikes After Israel Says Shots Wounded Officer

Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli air strikes killed nine people in the Palestinian territory, including three children.

4 February

220309-N-DU622-1207 PACIFIC OCEAN (Mar. 9), An F-35C Lightning II, from the "Rough Raiders" of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 125, makes an arrested gear landing on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68). Nimitz is underway conducting routine operations. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Justin McTaggart)

Staff Writer With AFP

US Jet Downs Iran Drone but Talks Still on Course

A US fighter jet shot down an Iranian drone that approached an American aircraft carrier in the Middle East, Washington said.

3 February

Palestinian militant group Hamas fighters secure an area before handing over an Israeli-America hostage to a Red Cross team in Gaza City on February 1, 2025, as part of the fourth hostage-prisoner exchange. Ranks of Hamas fighters formed up on Gaza's beachfront on February 1 for the handover of an Israeli-American hostage Keith Siegel in a show of force against the dramatic backdrop of breaking waves. (Photo by Saeed Jaras / Middle East Images via AFP)

Rojoef Manuel

US Pushes Hamas Disarmament With Gaza Weapons Buyback Plan

The US has told the UN Security Council that further Israeli troop withdrawals from Gaza will depend on Hamas disarming under an internationally funded weapons buyback program.

3 February