25 August 2026
Iran War
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that the US will target all means of Iranian income, including oil, with sanctions. This has been dubbed “Operation Economic Outcast”. It aims to prevent companies and other countries from doing business with Iran and strangling its economy.
Iranian rail cargo transit with Afghanistan has increased substantially. Freight transit has increased from approximately 15,000 tons a year to over 130,000 tons a month. Iran has expanded its transit links with Afghanistan, Central Asian countries and Turkey in recent years. It has also diversified not only trading partners but also logistical systems, reducing Iran’s reliance on sea-based cargo.
Ukraine-Russia War
President Putin signed a decree allowing the Russian state to temporarily seize critical infrastructure if it finds the facilities poorly protected. Moreover, the government can strip owners of physical and financial control over facilities if it determines they are failing to repair damage quickly. This will have implications for Russia’s oil sector and the online retailers, Wildberries and now Ozon.
Overnight, Ukraine struck Russia’s Afipsky oil refinery. The previous night, Ukraine struck the Astrakhan gas processing plant. Both facilities supply the Russian military. The extent of the damage is currently being assessed.
Britain will share technical information on the SCALP missile, also known as the Storm Shadow. Soon, Ukraine will be able to produce these missiles under licence. The missile has a range of 250km and is designed for precision strikes against pre-planned, fixed targets.
A Boeing C-17A Globemaster III departed from Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland on Sunday afternoon and landed in Riga, Latvia. It then departed for Moscow and landed at the Vnukovo International Airport. US military officials, the White House, and Russian and American embassy officials have not commented. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he had no information about the aircraft. It is definitely an unusual and mysterious flight. There are rumours of a prisoner exchange, and a video of a US diplomatic motorcade driving in Moscow.
Fears of Russian mobilization continue as forced recruitment spikes. Human rights groups claim that there has been a surge in forced recruitment since mid-August. Men have been detained by Russian security forces under the pretext of document checks or for drinking in public and then pressured to sign military contracts, either at police stations or directly at military enlistment offices.
Yemen
The Houthi rebels claimed a strike on a Saudi oil tanker. It is believed that the ship was hit by a missile. There are no reports of casualties, but there was a fire on board.
Iraq
Iraq pushed back the deadline for armed groups to disarm. The original deadline was set for 30 September, and the government stood by that deadline until Sunday. The Iraqi government now states that the disarmament phase will begin 30 September. Some groups have indicated that they will disarm, but militias backed by Iran have been refusing. Negotiations with a three-member Shiite committee from the Iraqi government and three Iranian-backed armed groups regarding disarmament mechanisms are in progress. The three Iranian-backed groups are attempting to set conditions including the withdrawal of all foreign military forces from Iraq, including the Turkish army.
Syria
The United States officially removed Syria’s designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism. The State Department also revoked the designation of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) as a terror group. The group originated in 2011 as Jabhat al-Nusra, which was the official branch of al-Qaeda in Syria but split with al-Qaeda in 2016. Syria’s president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, has vowed not to support terrorism in the future, although he was a former leader of HTS.
Gaza
Military officials from Burundi and Uganda met with Israeli officials to discuss the deployment of soldiers to Gaza as part of the international security force put forward by the Board of Peace. Both countries do not have finalized plans: Uganda recently passed approval in parliament, and Burundi has declared its intent to join but has not started the process. Uganda pledged 1,200 troops to the international security force.
Haiti
Gang members killed at least 40 people in a church in Kenscoff outside Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince on Sunday. Others were injured, and some were kidnapped. The victims included many already displaced by gang violence.
Sudan
The United States will propose expanding the UN arms embargo in Sudan. Russia claims that the changes will require UN Security Council approval and will hurt the Sudanese army. The US wants the embargo to cover all of Sudan geographically, as well as to materially cover unmanned aerial vehicles and related technologies. The current arms embargo has been in place for two decades and will expire on 12 September if not renewed.
Germany
Earlier this month, German investigators found a third drone at Leipzig airport as well as 50 grams of what is suspected to be hexogen (RDX), a military explosive. Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said the German government will “shortly” set out who it believes was behind the 4 August drone attack at Leipzig/Halle airport. “They will pay for it,” Merz said.
Social Media Wires
US diplomatic motorcade seen in Moscow
Possible trouble for Russia’s new “Starlink” programme
Featured Photo: “C-17A Globemaster ”, Ismael Ortega, DVids Hub, 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.