16 September 2026
Iran War
Iran attempted to capture a US surface naval drone, but was “forcefully responded” to. This comes after a US underwater drone was captured by Iran. Capturing that drone will allow Iran to reverse-engineer it and potentially boost its naval drone capabilities; given that Iran shared the Shahed drone design with Russia, Russia may gain as well. It is small news, but with larger repercussions.
The Department of War’s inspector general estimated in a report yesterday that Operation Epic Fury cost $33.4 billion. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates the cost at $38 billion, with an operational cost of $3 billion a month. Furthermore, the office predicts that inflation will rise 0.5 percent in the first three months of 2027. The CBO also stated that the Department of War did not cooperate with congressional financial auditors.
Yemen
More than 100,000 people are displaced in Yemen due to the escalation of conflict between the Houthi rebels and government forces, according to the UN. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that 2,400 Yemeni civilians have made the sea crossing from Yemen to Djibouti in the past four days, with 60% comprising women, children and elderly people.
Saudi Arabia says that a Houthi drone was destroyed before it entered the airspace of the holy city of Mecca (Makkah). Makkah is Islam’s holiest site, and the failed attempt is likely to upset millions of Muslims globally. This is not the first time that the Houthi rebels have targeted the city, as Saudi air defences intercepted a ballistic missile in 2017.
The Houthis deny that they targeted Mekkah, but claim that they shot down a Saudi F-15 fighter jet and also claim that it was done so with a “locally made air-to-air missile”. This would mean the Houthis have air assets, which they don’t.
Iraq-Iran
An Iranian drone hit a base belonging to the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) in Erbil province. This is the second strike in as many days against Kurdish opposition forces in Iraq. Early Monday, three missiles struck a camp housing families of the Iranian Kurdish dissident group Komala. This comes ahead of a planned general strike in Iran called by Kurdish opposition groups marking the fourth anniversary of Zhina (Mahsa) Amini’s death. Iranian security forces have been clamping down on Kurdish business owners ahead of the protests.
Israel
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir met with the army heads of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Jordan, Egypt, Bahrain, Kuwait and US Central Command chief Admiral Brad Cooper to discuss the situation with Iran. The meeting took place at a German ski resort last week. It is being reported that Israel and Saudi Arabia are in talks on how the two countries can confront Houthi advances in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
The IDF announced that several Hamas commanders and a Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist who invaded Israel on October 7, 2023, were killed in recent strikes in the Gaza Strip. According to the IDF and Shin Bet, one of the confirmed dead is Nael Abu Obeid, who commanded Hamas’s Rafah Brigade and headed its operations division.
The Trump administration is planning to sell $2.8 billion worth of munitions to Israel, including 20,000 MK-84 bombs, which weigh 2,000 pounds each.
Ukraine-Russia War
More than 500 locomotives have been destroyed or damaged by Russian attacks since the full-scale war began. More than half of them were destroyed or damaged this year alone, signalling a change in tactics by Russian forces. This comes as Russia intensifies its drone attacks on trains, but also following the recent strike where foreign security representatives may have been targeted near the Polish border.
President Zelensky claims that Russia targeted his plane twice in recent weeks. Drones entered Moldova airspace when his presidential aircraft was in Chișinău, and again as he returned to Ukraine from the Moldovan capital several days later. A report said a drone was near Zelensky’s plane while it was en route to Sweden before going to Canada.
Lithuania
The European Investment Bank approved a 100 million euro loan to ready the Baltic Sea port of Klaipeda for NATO ships. The port lies 50 kilometres north of Russia’s Kaliningrad enclave. The loan is to convert a civilian cruise ship terminal. The loan will cover half of the 201 million euro price tag, the remainder coming from EU and national contributions.
Kosovo
A Kosovo war crimes tribunal convicted former Kosovar President Hashim Thaci of four counts of war crimes committed during his country’s war for independence from Serbia. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison for crimes including murder, torture and illegal detention, committed while he was top commander of the ethnic Albanian Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA).
Democratic Republic of Congo
Clashes erupted in the DRC’s capital, Kinshasa, between opposition and pro-government supporters. Opposition parties have joined forces to oppose President Felix Tshisekedi’s attempt to change the constitution so he can run for a third term. Riot police were deployed, and tear gas was fired to disperse the crowd. Opposition action took place in other cities and towns nationwide.
Nigeria
Nigerians displaced by conflict call for change ahead of the 2027 presidential election. Approximately 3.7 million people are internally displaced in the country, up from 3.1 million in 2022. Opposition groups want to capitalize on this discontent, and with people being kidnapped every day, they might do so. However, a concrete path to change remains a pipe dream, as the security situation has not changed. Opposition groups are also divided on the path forward.
Social Media Wires
A Russian warship is covered in anti-drone netting
Featured Photo: “US bombing Iran with dollars”, ChatGPT, 2026
The Wires Brief is a daily breaking-news report that incorporates wire service news and social media updates. DefRep cannot verify the authenticity of social media reporters nor the accuracy of social media updates. Feature photos are altered with grayscale and cropping.