Nikolai Patrushev, Assistant to the President of Russia and Chairman of the State Maritime Council announced that Iranian, Russian, and Chinese warships have been dispatched to the Strait of Hormuz to conduct the "Maritime Security Belt 2026" Exercise near Iran.

Parts of the Strait of Hormuz will be closed for several hours on Tuesday during a ongoing multi-day military exercise, dubbed the “Smart Control of the Strait of Hormuz” Exercise, being carried out by naval assets and other forces of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), according to reports from the Iranian state-run Fars News Agency.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Office (UKMTO) has just posted a warning to commercial ship traffic near the Gulf of Aden/Bab al-Mandab Strait at the southern entrance to the Red Sea, advising that a vessel was hailed by a white skiff with five persons on board followed by an exchange of small arms fire. The vessel also reported two additional skiffs in the vicinity near Yemen.

Major fighter movements by the U.S. Air Force towards the Middle East are currently underway this morning, with 3 KC-46A “Pegasus” Aerial-Refueling Tankers, ROMA01/02/03, currently up over the Northeastern United States, supporting the transfer of 12 F-22 Raptors with the 1st Fighter Wing stationed at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia to RAF Lakenheath in Europe.

While 6 KC-135R Stratotankers and a KC-46A Pegasus, CLEAN21/22/23/31/32/33, are preparing for the crossing of 12 F-16CJ with the “Swamp Foxes” of the the South Carolina Air National Guard’s 169th Fighter Wing from McEntire Joint National Guard Base to Naval Station Rota in Spain.

In addition to the crossing of at least 24 fighter jets from the United States to Europe, 4 KC-135 Stratotankers from bases in Europe, LAGER12/13 and LAGER10/14, are actively in the process of towing 12 F-16C Fighting Falcons with the 31st Fighter Wing at Aviano Air Base in Italy and 12 F-16CJs with the 52nd Fighter Wing at Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany, to air bases in the Middle East.

If we were preparing for a major strike campaign against Iran, this is what it would look like.

Today’s second round of nuclear talks between Iran and the United States have concluded after several hours of direct and indirect negotiations in Geneva, Switzerland.

During negotiations earlier this month in Oman, Iranian diplomats floated a total pause in the enrichment of uranium, the transfer of its current stockpile offshore to third-party countries such as Russia, and the cutting of energy, mining, and other business deals with the United States, in exchange for broad sanctions relief on Iran, according to American, Iranian, and other regional officials who spoke to the Wall Street Journal.

Following the end of nuclear talks with Iran, trilateral peace talks between Russia, Ukraine, and the United States have now begun in Geneva.

Speaking about the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) currently deployed to the Arabian Sea near Iran earlier today, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said in broadcasted speech, “More dangerous than the American warship is the weapon that can send it to the bottom of the sea,” adding that the United States “will not be able” to destroy Iran, but that that the U.S. “may be struck so hard that it cannot get back up,” according to the Iranian state-run Fars News Agency.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi states following today’s talks in Geneva, that an understanding has been reached on the main principles of negotiations with the United States.

TREND51, flight of 6 F-22 Raptors with the 1st Fighter Wing have arrived at RAF Lakenheath after departing earlier this morning from Langley Air Force Base, Virginia.

The USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), who has been deployed already for close to eight months, departed the Caribbean Sea within the last day bound for the Middle East, accompanied by a handful of other surface vessels both part of the Ford Carrier Strike Group and not, including the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers; USS Mahan (DDG-72), USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG-81), USS Bainbridge (DDG-96), USS Stockdale (DDG-106), and USS Thomas Hudner (DDG-116).

“Progress has been achieved in the talks with Iran, but there are still many details that need to be discussed. The Iranians said they will return in the coming two weeks with detailed proposals in order to bridge some of the remaining gaps between our positions,” senior officials with the White House told Axios following today’s talks in Geneva.

F-22 Raptors with the U.S. Air Force’s 1st Fighter Wing landing earlier at RAF Lakenheath, England.

Video credit goes to @FaytuksNetwork on X.