Faytuks Network

Following months of tension with SECDEF Pete Hegseth, US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll has submitted his resignation to President Trump.

Trump says it is “very early” to talk about Hegseth for the 2028 election.

Trump says Iran will never have a nuclear weapon, claims Iran “doesn’t really know who their leader is,” and warns the US may “smack” Iran, adding that we will see what happens.

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee told The Jerusalem Post Washington is concerned by Turkish officials’ rhetoric toward Israel and by financing allegedly flowing through Turkey to Hamas. Huckabee said a recent Israeli strike on a Syrian airbase ahead of a planned Turkish deployment there was intended as a warning.

U.S. officials told Axios that the White House was leaning against approving strikes to avoid escalating with Iran.

Iran fired anti-aircraft missiles toward a U.S. F-35 fighter jet that was providing cover to ships in the Strait of Hormuz, according to Axios. The missile did not come close to being a threat, but it was a signal that Iran is trying to rebuild its military capacity, according to a U.S. official

U.S. officials told Axios that CENTCOM became concerned that Iran was rebuilding its radar, air defense and anti-ship missile capabilities in the Strait of Hormuz to more accurately target ships.

A plan has been developed by U.S. Central Command and is backed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, but had not been approved by Trump before this weekend’s exchange of fire with Iran. Trump could approve the plan following the latest escalation, according to Axios.

A U.S. official said the plan is intended to reduce the risk of Iranian attacks on oil tankers, U.S. Navy ships and Air Force aircraft, describing the approach as “mowing the lawn.” - Axios

President Trump and senior aides are considering limited strikes in the Strait of Hormuz to prevent Iran from rebuilding radar and missile capabilities used to attack ships, according to three U.S. officials. - Axios

The U.S. Department of War launched ChatGPT Mil on http://GenAI.mil, an enterprise version of OpenAI’s ChatGPT accredited for Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) at Impact Level 5 (IL5). The department said the system is intended for secure, large-scale unclassified work including planning, policy, logistics and administration, with deployment designed to support more than 3 million personnel.

The IRGC said its air defense forces intercepted and destroyed a U.S. MQ-9 drone. U.S. officials have not commented on the claim.

The number of confirmed Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo has surpassed 6,000, with 6,041 infections and 2,911 deaths reported by the government. The outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo strain, is now the largest in the country’s history.

Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan have agreed to establish a permanent secretariat in Saudi Arabia under the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, with Pakistan providing the first secretary-general for a three-year term.

Chevron, GE Vernova, ONGC, Eni and GeoPark are on track to sign final agreements for energy projects in Venezuela after months of negotiations, according to Reuters. Most deals would require the transition of oil contracts to an amended hydrocarbon law, which give foreign firms more flexibility to expand and operate.

Lionel Messi has announced his retirement from the Argentina National Team. He won 1 World Cup, 2 Copa Americas, played 207 games and scored 125 goals with 69 assists during his international career.

Given access to email, A.I. agents have started reaching out to the philosophers and researchers exploring deep questions about them, like the possibility of A.I. consciousness - NYT

Kalshi has permanently banned former Republican congressman George Santos from its prediction markets, saying he violated rules requiring cooperation with an investigation. The ban follows CFTC allegations that Santos made more than $17,000 by betting on his attendance at President Trump’s State of the Union address. - WSJ

Trump tells Fox News the United States will respond to the overnight attack on U.S. forces, saying: “We’re going to hit them hard.”