Day: December 8, 2025

NEW: The United Arab Emirates (UAE)-backed Southern Transitional Council  (STC), which is part of the Yemeni government, has seized key areas of  Hadramawt and Mahrah governorates in eastern Yemen since December 3.  Yemeni actors close to or openly allied with the STC and the UAE have supported or not explicitly condemned the STC’s operation to seize control of these governorates. Some actors have reiterated the STC’s secessionist aims. The STC offensive may increase tensions between Saudi  Arabia and the UAE, while increasing Emirati influence in Yemen.

The  Turkish government has continued to outline political justifications for a potential joint Turkish–Syrian military operation against the  Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northeastern Syria if the SDF does not fully integrate into the Syrian Ministry of Defense by December 31,  2025.

Israel  and the United States began a week-long naval exercise off the coast of  Israel on December 7 to prepare for “regional threats.” Iran and  Iranian-backed groups have frequently posed maritime and aerial threats to Israel and international shipping, such as Houthi attacks in the Red  Sea and Iranian drone and missile attacks on Israel.

The  2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which the US Congress is expected to vote on in the coming days, demands that the Iraqi federal government take “credible steps” toward reducing the operational capacity of Iranian-backed Iraqi militias in order to receive US  security funding in 2026. It is unclear if the NDAA’s use of the term  “Iraqi Security Forces” refers to the Iraqi security apparatus as a whole or to the ISF specifically.

Senior  Iranian military officials called on students at Islamic Revolutionary  Guards Corps (IRGC)-controlled universities to help the Iranian armed forces improve their technological and “preemptive” capabilities.

Unspecified  European diplomats told Al Monitor on December 6 that Israel would likely strike Iran in the next year if Iran resumes enriching uranium at high levels. Iran has conducted “extensive” clean-up efforts at several nuclear weaponization sites, but there are no indications that Iran has resumed enriching uranium or retrieved its highly-enriched uranium stockpile after the war.

— Institute for the Study of War (@TheStudyofWar) Dec 9, 2025

You guys…

The SAME DAY the admin approves sale of H200 chips to China, DOJ says this — about the *exact same chips*

“These chips are the building blocks of AI superiority and are integral to modern military applications. The country that controls these chips will control AI… https://t.co/m1FsbSJ4YM

— Michael Sobolik (@michaelsobolik) December 9, 2025

Breaking News: Honduras has issued an international arrest warrant for its former president who was recently pardoned by President Trump. https://t.co/kYlLsRDFN8

— The New York Times (@nytimes) December 9, 2025