Mike Drop

Iran says it destroyed a U.S. radar in Bahrain, home of the Navy's Fifth Fleet, and U.S. Central Command says its forces shot the drones down before they did any damage.
MIKE DROP NEWSROOM | 13 NOVEMBER 2026
Iran's Revolutionary Guard claims it destroyed a U.S. early-warning radar in Bahrain as payback for a strike on Sirik, an Iranian port town on the Strait of Hormuz. CENTCOM denied it, saying U.S. forces shot down two one-way attack drones headed for Bahrain with no injuries and no damage. At home, Iranian threats have moved Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent onto a military base, and President Trump warned Iran "will not exist very long" if it kills a senior U.S. official.
Mike Ritland breaks down why Iran claims hits that never happened, what it means that three senior U.S. officials have left their homes, and how the U.S. would likely answer an attack on American soil.
Also covered:
- A U.S. Army lieutenant colonel accused of spying for Russia in England
- Five tankers hit in the Strait of Hormuz in two days, and whether the Navy should clear the mines
- Poland says the Pentagon greenlit a permanent U.S. troop presence
- The fight in Congress over renewing Section 702 surveillance powers

Who do you believe on Bahrain, CENTCOM or the IRGC? Tell us in the comments.
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0:00 Iran claims a hit on a U.S. radar in Bahrain; CENTCOM says drones shot down
3:06 Iran's threats push Bessent, Rubio and Miller off their home turf
6:53 U.S. Army officer accused of spying for Russia
10:34 Five tankers hit in the Strait of Hormuz
13:38 A permanent U.S. base in Poland?
16:42 Section 702 spy powers stall in Congress

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Iran says every U.S. military base from the Middle East to Europe is a target if America strikes it again.
MIKE DROP NEWSROOM | 12 NOVEMBER 2026
Mohsen Rezaei, the head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, warned that any base used in a new attack, "from West Asia to Europe," would be a legitimate target, adding "no safe distance, no safe haven, no immunity." In England, RAF Mildenhall and RAF Lakenheath went to Force Protection Condition Charlie, the second-highest level, and KC-135 tankers left Mildenhall for Germany and Scotland. At home, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has moved onto a U.S. military base after Iranian threats against him, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House adviser Stephen Miller have also moved to protected housing.
Mike Ritland breaks down what it means when Iran's reach extends to U.S. bases in Europe and to the homes of top U.S. officials, why sleeper cells and proxies are still a threat after months of strikes, and why Vice President Vance may sit down with the same man making these threats.
Also covered:
- Vance weighs a face-to-face meeting with Rezaei, possibly in Doha
- A Tomb of the Unknown Soldier sentinel calls out Secretary Hegseth's group on Veterans Day
- The defense budget fight and the failed Hegseth impeachment vote
- Data centers and the AI race with China
- Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang resigns amid an alleged affair with a suspected Chinese spy

Should Vance meet face to face with the Iranian official threatening U.S. bases? Tell us in the comments.

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0:00 Iran says every U.S. base from the Gulf to Europe is a target
0:50 U.S. bases in England go to FPCON Charlie
2:20 Vance weighs meeting the man making the threats
4:33 Bessent, Rubio and Miller move to protected housing
9:20 Tomb guard calls out Hegseth's group
10:34 The defense budget fight and the impeachment vote
11:36 Data centers and the AI race with China
13:40 Nvidia's CEO resigns over an alleged Chinese spy affair

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Three men working for Iran's Revolutionary Guard and its Iraqi militia allies are now charged in a plot against a British air base that hosted American bombers and airmen.
MIKE DROP NEWSROOM | 11 NOVEMBER 2026
The Justice Department says three Iranian-backed operatives were charged in a superseding indictment tied to a plot against RAF Fairford in England. Prosecutors say the men acted for Iran's IRGC and Iraq's Kataib Hezbollah, that vans disguised as fuel trucks were sent toward the base, and that the network is tied to nearly 20 attacks and attempted attacks in Europe and the United States. The alleged leader is accused of passing coded messages through calls to relatives in Iraq from a federal jail in New York. Iran denies involvement. Days after the September incident, the U.S. pulled its B-1 bombers from Fairford.
Mike Ritland breaks down why a handful of men in three vans could force U.S. bombers to move, why every base's outer perimeter is its weak link, and what Iran's new threat to hit U.S. bases far away really means.
Also covered:
- Iran says no enriched nuclear material will leave the country, while Rubio says there's "really no need for major combat"
- Why U.S. troops and the blockade are still in place
- A senior U.S. Army soldier arrested in England on suspicion of spying for Russia
- Washington's push to renegotiate European security alongside Ukraine talks
- Lawmakers push tighter chip export rules after a PLA-linked university bought NVIDIA H200 chips
- The House blocks the Hegseth impeachment effort, for now
- Ring's indoor flying security camera
Would you let a flying security drone patrol your house? And how do you stop three vans at the fence line? Tell us in the comments.

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0:00 Iran-backed plot against RAF Fairford: three men charged
3:22 Iran threatens U.S. bases far away
6:49 Report: Treasury Secretary Bessent moved onto a military base
9:30 U.S. Army soldier arrested in England as a suspected Russian spy
12:16 Washington and Moscow talk European security
14:51 NVIDIA, China and the push for tighter chip exports
17:20 Hegseth impeachment effort blocked for now
18:13 Ring's indoor flying security camera

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Captain Alex Folchitto, a 16-year veteran of the Italian Army Special Forces and an airborne Ranger from the tier one unit known as the 9th Paratroopers Assault Regiment, Col Moschin, joins Mike Ritland as the first Italian veteran to appear on the podcast. Alex opens with a mission that nearly went terribly wrong: a midnight flight into a village, everybody shooting at them, and an aircraft that loses its front wheel. From there, he walks through the Italian selection (ten-day hell week, then three years of training), working alongside U.S. units in Afghanistan, rules of engagement, and his deployment to Libya around the time of the Benghazi attack. He also tells how he went from washing dishes at his sister’s restaurant to the movie business as a military advisor, stunt performer and actor.

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A U.S. warplane fired on a ship trying to run the blockade on Iran, and Tehran answered with a 48-hour ultimatum and a promise to "rain down hell."
MIKE DROP NEWSROOM | 09 NOVEMBER 2026
CENTCOM says a St. Kitts-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman ignored repeated warnings and tried to break the naval blockade, so U.S. forces ordered the crew clear and a U.S. warplane disabled it with precision munitions. Since July, the blockade has redirected 147 commercial ships and disabled five. Iran's foreign minister says Iran's two-day proposal stands and warned that otherwise "Iran's warriors will rain down hell," while President Trump says new strikes are "highly unlikely" to be necessary and three carriers in the region are "locked and loaded."
Mike Ritland breaks down what the 48-hour clock really means for U.S. sailors and air crews, why Iran's threats often don't match its follow-through, and why the third carrier group steaming in from the South China Sea could decide the timing.
Also covered:
- The debate over whether Russia can actually hand Iran the S-400
- Task Force Iron Gate and the push to hit Iran's land routes
- A drone that knocked out power to most of Iraq's Kurdish region, where U.S. troops have long been based
- Qatar's peace plan at the White House: lifting the blockade and releasing about $8 billion in frozen Iranian assets
- Trump's planned talks with Xi Jinping and Putin at APEC
- The White House's $1.5 trillion defense budget request and the December 11 funding deadline
Should releasing Iran's frozen money be part of any deal? Tell us in the comments.
Subscribe for daily breakdowns of the stories that matter to America's military.
Want ad-free Newsroom updates? Join our YouTube membership: https://www.youtube.com/@mikeritland/join

0:00 U.S. warplane fires on a blockade runner; Iran's 48-hour ultimatum
2:27 Can Russia really give Iran the S-400?
4:07 Task Force Iron Gate update
5:29 Drone knocks out power in Iraq's Kurdish region
7:50 Qatar's peace plan at the White House
11:00 Trump to meet Xi and Putin at APEC
13:20 The $1.5 trillion defense budget request

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