The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence has released into the August Congressional doldrums a new report on Iran. The main thrust of the unclassified report is that the threat posed by Iran is high and growing higher, but the US is ill prepared to deal with the Iran question. The report says, “The United States lacks critical information needed for analysts to make their judgments with confidence about Iran, and there are many significant information gaps.” These gaps include knowledge of Iranian political dynamics, economic health, involvement with terrorism, and, of “special concern,” status of nuclear, biological, and chemical programs.
Secretary of Defense Austin Lloyd III met with his counterparts from Australia, Japan and the Philippines to discuss bolstering defense ties on May 2. The discussion included plans for joint F-35 exercises with Japan and Australia in the coming years.