🇺🇸❌🇮🇷 — The Pentagon’s 2026 National Defense Strategy says Iran, despite suffering major setbacks in recent months, including from Operation Midnight Hammer, appears determined to rebuild its conventional forces and may continue pursuing nuclear weapons while refusing serious negotiations with the U.S.

➡️ It reiterates President Trump’s stance that Iran will not be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon, arguing that Operation Midnight Hammer demonstrated decisive U.S. resolve and military capability.

➡️ The strategy claims the operation destroyed Iran’s nuclear program and highlights U.S. support for Israel during the 12-Day War, contributing to Israel’s major operational gains.

➡️ It also says Iran is now weaker than it has been in decades, with its “Axis of Resistance” badly damaged: Hezbollah and Hamas significantly degraded, and the Houthis (Ansarallah) weakened by U.S. Operation Rough Rider, which curtailed their strike capabilities and led them to halt attacks on U.S. shipping.

🇺🇸❌🇰🇵 — The Pentagon’s 2026 National Defense Strategy states that North Korea poses a direct military threat to South Korea and Japan, both U.S. treaty allies.

➡️ While much of North Korea’s conventional force is outdated or poorly maintained, the document notes that vigilance is required against the possibility of invasion.

➡️ Its missile forces can strike targets in South Korea and Japan with conventional, nuclear, and other WMDs.

➡️ North Korea’s nuclear capabilities are also expanding in “size and sophistication,” creating a clear and present danger of a “nuclear attack on the American Homeland.”

🇳🇱🪖⚡️ — A NATO E-3A Sentry Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft, operated by the Royal Netherlands Air Force, is currently circling over the Eastern Mediterranean south of Cyprus.

🇺🇸🇨🇳⚡️ — The Pentagon’s 2026 National Defense Strategy states that China is already the world’s second-most powerful country after the U.S. and the most capable rival the U.S. has faced since the 19th century.

➡️ Despite significant internal economic, demographic, and societal challenges, China’s power continues to grow, with major investments in the PLA that have yielded rapid, large-scale, and high-quality military capabilities—both for operations in the Western Pacific and for longer-range missions.

➡️ This matters for U.S. interests because the Indo-Pacific will soon account for more than half of the global economy, directly linking American security, freedom, and prosperity to maintaining access and influence in the region.

➡️ Were China—or any other power—to dominate this area, it could effectively restrict U.S. access to the world’s economic center of gravity, with lasting effects on economic growth and reindustrialization.

➡️ The strategy aims to maintain a favorable balance of power—not to dominate or humiliate China, but to prevent any country from controlling the region—pursuing a stable peace acceptable to both sides, supported by credible military strength.

🇺🇸🇲🇲⚡️ — A federal judge blocked the Trump administration from ending Temporary Protected Status for about 4,000 Myanmar nationals, citing a lack of valid justification, Reuters reports.

➡️ A hearing is scheduled for February 6, as concerns remain over forcing people to return to Myanmar, still under military rule since the 2021 coup.

🇺🇸⚡️ — TLDR: The Pentagon’s 2026 National Defense Strategy shifts focus from China as the top threat to defending the U.S. homeland and Western Hemisphere.

➡️ It criticizes previous administrations for neglecting strategic areas like Panama and Greenland, while Europe is deprioritized due to its declining share of global economic power.

➡️ China remains a concern but is no longer the main focus, and Russia, Iran, and North Korea are mentioned but considered less prominent threats.