Middle East

The U.S. military stopped Iran from seizing two oil tankers this week near the Strait of Hormuz, according to a CBS News report.

“The Iranian navy did make attempts to seize commercial tankers lawfully transiting international waters,” said U.S. Navy Cmdr. Tim Hawkins, as quoted by CBS. “The U.S. Navy responded immediately and prevented those seizures.”

A video released by the U.S. Navy shows an Iranian ship firing shots at one of the oil tankers that it unsuccessfully tried to seize on Wednesday.

U.S. 5th Fleet releases video it says shows an Iranian navy ship shooting at an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman. pic.twitter.com/GMIhWI7ECf

— Erik Slavin (@eslavin_stripes) July 6, 2023

This week’s attempted seizures are the latest in a string of incidents involving Iranian ships taking aggressive actions in and around the Strait of Hormuz. Please pray for all U.S. military personnel serving in this troubled region.

Hundreds of American military personnel serving in Syria are dealing with a plethora of threats, from ISIS and Iran to Russia.

This week, the U.S. military said Russian fighter jets were photographed harassing several American drones flying over Syria as the unmanned aircraft conducted a mission against ISIS.

“Russian military aircraft engaged in unsafe and unprofessional behavior while interacting with U.S. aircraft in Syria,” said U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Alex Grynkewich, as quoted by Fox News. “We urge Russian forces in Syria to cease this reckless behavior and adhere to the standards of behavior expected of a professional air force so we can resume our focus on the enduring defeat of ISIS.”

Please continue to pray for the 900 brave U.S. troops stationed in Syria, as well as another 2,500 deployed to neighboring Iraq.

Europe

NATO is planning “the biggest revamp to the organization’s military plans since the Cold War” to counter the threat posed by Russia, according to an Associated Press report.

President Biden and other leaders of NATO-allied countries are reportedly “set to endorse” the new plans at a summit that will be held next week in Vilnius, Lithuania. The talks will be held in the shadow of the bloody Russia-Ukraine war, which has been raging for 17 months.

“Under its new plans, NATO aims to have up to 300,000 troops ready to move to its eastern flank within 30 days,” the AP report said.

#DYK exercise #GriffinShock https://t.co/MWqa1n635S demonstrates the #USArmy’s ability to rapidly reinforce the #NATO Battle Group Poland to a brigade-size unit. pic.twitter.com/jDvF3OGzbE

— U.S. Army (@USArmy) July 1, 2023

As The Stream has been reporting since Russia invaded Ukraine, there are tens of thousands of American military personnel stationed across Europe. The number of U.S. troops deployed to the continent currently stands at about 100,000.

Please keep all of these brave men and women in uniform and their families in your constant prayers.

Coming Home

Sailors serving aboard the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Nimitz returned home just in time for the Fourth of July after spending the past seven months deployed overseas.

A U.S. Navy Sailor assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz reunites with his family during the ship’s homecoming at Naval Station Kitsap-Bremerton in Washington state on July 2, 2023.

Welcome home, heroes! Thank you for defending our freedom.

Tom Sileo is a contributing senior editor of The Stream. He is the author of the recently released Be Bold and co-author of Three Wise Men, Brothers Forever, 8 Seconds of Courage and Fire in My Eyes. Follow Tom on Twitter @TSileo and The Stream at @Streamdotorg.