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After trying — and failing — to use massive military force to force the Islamic Republic of Iran to collapse (or at least be more compliant with Washington’s wishes) for the last nearly six months, President Donald Trump seems to have walked back from that course of action.

Since the war started, the US military has massively depleted its stockpiles of critical defensive and long-range precision-strike munitions.

A U.S. Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II aircraft assigned to Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron (VMFAT) 501 performs a flight demonstration over Washington, D.C.

The Navy and Marine Corps are curtailing when service members can file anonymous complaints alleging discrimination and harassment, a recent Navy-wide message says.
Both services will no longer process such anonymous reports as part of Military Equal Opportunity complaints, according to the message, which closely mirrors recent policy changes announced by the Army and the Department of the Air Force.
“This does not prevent a commander from taking appropriate action in response to an anonymous report,” the Department of the Navy-wide message says.

Welcome to The Ukraine Compass, a weekly digest of Ukrainian commentary and analysis from across the political spectrum, only for War on the Rocks members. Each Monday, we bring you a curated selection of articles from Ukrainian media offering insight into how Ukrainians themselves debate the issues shaping their country.American coverage often narrows the view to the battlefield — these pieces widen it, revealing the texture of daily life, politics, and public argument in a nation at war.

Through its long war against Ukraine, Russia has received reinforcements from North Korea. Now, more of that is on the way.

According to The Independent, which cited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, North Korea is preparing to deploy as many as 50,000 more soldiers to Russia. If true, that would represent an escalation of North Korea’s previous troop involvement in the war.

North Korea Artillery. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

India is reviving production of the Russian Su-30MKI fighter at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited’s (HAL) Nashik facility, bringing a license production agreement that dates back a quarter century into a new phase. The facility will produce at least 12 new fighters, with the first deliveries expected to begin during the next financial year, while all aircraft are scheduled to be delivered by 2029. A total of 222 Su-30MKI fighters have already been produced under licence agreement with Russia, with 50 more having been built in Russia and delivered to the Indian Air Force fully assembled.

Iran is clear: An Oman deal would not reopen the Strait of Hormuz – For the last week, Iran and Oman have been in talks to reach a new understanding of how shipping traffic will operate in the Strait of Hormuz. But as Iran has now made clear through multiple public statements, even a deal resulting from those talks would not represent an “opening” of the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump Thinks He Can Wait Out Iran, But Iran Is Doing the Same – President Donald Trump, facing a missile crisis and the reality that Tehran doesn’t cave after weeks-long strike campaigns, appears to have settled on a new strategy for dealing with Iran: wait.

After months of military strikes, threats of further attacks, and even a naval blockade that is causing immense economic damage to Iran, Trump said on Sunday, August 9, that the United States is now “low-keying it” with Tehran.

Russia has refused to “freeze” its ongoing war in Ukraine if its “root causes” are not addressed, Moscow said on Monday.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin told the state-affiliated TASS news agency that “as Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said, no ‘freeze’ is possible without eliminating the root causes of this crisis.”

Zelensky Speaking in UK Ukraine Government Photo

Unsurprisingly, this latest intervention demonstrates Moscow’s unwillingness to accept a pause in military action unless its broader demands are met.

Over the last couple of days, the conflict between the U.S. and Iran has subsided after Washington hoped to reach an agreement with Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Unfortunately, no such deal materialized. Where many feared that Trump would try to escalate the conflict, it now seems that the U.S. has shifted its policy to wait out the regime in Iran and let the blockade and economic pressures take their toll. Meanwhile, the Islamic Republic has issued a new set of demands that it says the U.S. must meet before vessels are allowed to transit freely through the Strait.

The U.S.

Artec has received an order to deliver 69 additional Boxer RCT30 infantry fighting vehicles to the German Armed Forces and the Netherlands.