Episode Details

For review:

1. Iran rejected calls by the United States to halt uranium enrichment on its territory during talks in Oman on Friday.

A regional diplomat briefed by Tehran told Reuters Friday that while the Islamic Republic would not budge on its right to enrich uranium inside Iran, it was willing to discuss the “level and purity” of enrichment or a regional consortium.

2. The Israel Defense Forces said it struck a Hamas arms depot in Gaza City on Friday in response to an attack on troops a day earlier, after issuing an evacuation warning for a residential building for the first time since the start of the ceasefire.

3. The United Arab Emirates has drafted plans to build a compound to house thousands of displaced Palestinians in a part of south Gaza under Israeli military control, according to a map seen by Reuters and people briefed on the plans.

The planning map shows where the “UAE Temporary Emirates Housing Complex” would be constructed near Rafah.

4. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Friday that Lebanon’s army must be given the means to disarm the terror group Hezbollah and replace a United Nations peacekeeping force after its mandate ends this year.

“France’s vision for Lebanon is that of a strong, sovereign state holding a monopoly on arms,” Barrot told AFP.

5. Russian Lieutenant General Vladimir Alekseev has been shot multiple times in Moscow by an unknown assailant, the Kremlin said on Feb 6.

In response to the shooting, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov blamed Kyiv for the assassination attempt, accusing Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky of "provocations aimed at destabilizing the (peace) negotiation process."

Ukraine is yet to comment on the shooting.

6. US President Donald Trump inked a new executive order today, calling for national production interests to be taken into greater account when the US sells foreign nations weapons, creating a new list of platforms to push on the market, and prioritizing arms sales for countries who invest more in their own defense spending.  

7. Singapore is slated join the F-35 operator club once the first of its Lockheed Martin F-35B fighters enter service later this year, becoming the fourth Asia-Pacific nation to fly the fifth-generation fighter.

8. The U.S. Army has stood up a rotational force in the Philippines, according to recently released defense media.

While details regarding the rotational force’s formation date, capabilities and mission remains unclear, the force is headed by a lieutenant colonel and has assigned a liaison officer with Task Force-Philippines. 

U.S. Indo-Pacific Command did not immediately respond to a request for comment from USNI News.