S2 Underground

//The Wire//2000Z September 3, 2026// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: SABOTAGE ATTACKS CONTINUE IN GERMANY AND POLAND. IRANIAN ATTACKS CONTINUE IN THE MIDDLE EAST. MASS SHOOTING REPORTED AT RESIDENTIAL BUILDING IN MINNEAPOLIS.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE-----  -International Events-Middle East: Overnight, Iran conducted another round of drone and missile strikes, mostly targeting American bases in Kuwait. Satellite imagery of the American bases in Jordan also indicate that some Iranian missiles evaded defenses to strike their targets, but full battle damage assessments will take some time, as high resolution imagery is not yet available. This afternoon, reports of more Iranian missile launches have emerged, and the situation continues to develop by the hour.Germany: This morning the sabotage attacks continued throughout the country. Two Bulgarian nationals were arrested in Munich after throwing a Molotov incendiary device at the headquarters for Rohde and Schwarz, a major defense contractor of communications and radar equipment.Poland: Local authorities have announced that they are treating an industrial fire that tool place over the weekend as a potential act of state-sponsored terrorism. The WB Electronics factory in Skarzysko-Kamienna reported a fire at their facility a few days ago, which is assessed by Polish authorities to be an act of sabotage caried out by foreign intelligence services.-HomeFront-Minnesota: Yesterday evening a shooting was reported at an apartment building, which resulted in multiple fatalities. Local authorities initially responded to reports of shots fired on an upper floor of Loring Towers, a Section 8 residential housing facility. Upon arrival, police were immediately engaged with small arms by at least one shooter. A total of three fatalities were reported as a result of the engagement, including the shooter and two unidentified individuals. Three officers were also severely wounded during the engagement. The suspect has been identified as Carlton Johnson II, who had a long history of threatening residents in this building with firearms.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comments: The shadow war throughout Europe has remained hot this week, and very few people seem to realize the severity of the situation. To be sure, there is a solid argument for thinking that at least some of the attacks in Europe might be false-flag attacks intended to draw the global west further into the war. However, just because an incident might be a false-flag attack, doesn't mean it isn't a genuine threat....At the end of the day, if you step on an IED while walking your dog in the German countryside, it doesn't matter who planted it there, the result to the victim is the same. Right now, the lines are blurred to the point that attributing cause or culprit is nearly impossible for most attacks, but the explosions continue nonetheless. Daily attacks/incidents in Germany (and now Poland) are probably going to continue for the time being, and regardless of who's actually behind the attacks.Analyst: S2A1 Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground NomadNet: 5fa68c88be727a0e1a250a75e5e79269 Disclaimer: No LLMs were used in the writing of this report. //END REPORT//

//The Wire//2100Z September 2, 2026// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: SABOTAGE ATTACK TARGETS SECOND GERMAN ELECTRICAL SUBSTATION. SHOOTING REPORTED BETWEEN GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN UKRAINE. IRANIAN ATTACKS CONTINUE OVERNIGHT, TARGETING AMERICAN BASES.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE-----  -International Events-Middle East: Last night's attacks by Iran were somewhat successful, with strikes being reported at the airport in Erbil. An Iranian Shahed-type drone also took out the Persistent Threat Detection System (PTDS) balloon at this location, in addition to striking the fuel point. In Bahrain, several Shahed-type drones targeted the former headquarters of 5th Fleet in Manama and Sheikh Isa Airbase to the south. Several locations were also targeted in Kuwait, with unknown success. As of this report, the United States has not yet responded to the round of Iranian targeting conducted overnight.Ukraine: Overnight a small arms skirmish was reported in Kiev, which reportedly involved two different Ukrainian governmental agencies engaging each other in the street. Allegedly, the Security Service of Ukraine (the SBU, which is like a uniformed and militarized version of the FBI) detained Stepan Kaplunov who was the deputy commander of the Russian Volunteer Corps, a unit of ethnic Russians fighting on Ukraine's side during the war. Kaplunov was staying at a residential building in Kiev for Independence Day celebrations last week, when he was reportedly abducted for unknown reasons. After this kidnapping, the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine (the GUR, or the main military intelligence unit) launched an investigation into why the SBU took him, which resulted in a scuffle and subsequent shootout at the scene of the earlier abduction. One GUR officer is dead, and several others were wounded during the initial engagement.Analyst Comment: As one might expect, Ukrainian sources are downplaying this incident, and Russian sources are trying to amplify it, so determining the truth is challenging. However the incident did take place, and the small arms engagement in the street between these two agencies was captured on film.As it stands, video evidence from the time of the shooting indicates that tensions were high between the SBU and the GUR right before shots were fired. Both agencies were arguing with each other, with the SBU refusing to allow the GUR into the crime scene, and a standoff situation emerged. As the agencies continued arguing and fighting with each other, eventually the altercation became physical, and devolved into a shooting. After the shooting, the standoff situation continued throughout the night and the next morning. Eventually, the SBU ended up releasing Kaplunov, ending the incident. Several prominent Ukrainian leaders have called for an investigation into what happened, and for more details to be made public.Germany: Yesterday afternoon, another electrical substation was targeted by malign actors conducting sabotage operations. Locals observed an explosion and arcing at the Bergheim Power Station in western Germany, shortly before the power went out. Local authorities state that 6x rocket launch sites were located in a field near the second substation that was attacked, continuing the same attack vector as witnessed at a different power station yesterday.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comments: In Germany, the attacks on electrical substations over the past two days have been substantial. In short, these attacks were probably not carried out by amateurs. Locals report that upwards of twenty separate rockets were launched over the top of the substation near Berlin. These rockets were not fireworks, but specifically constructed devices built for the task. These rockets were also trailing thin copper wire, which was intended to cause electrical shorts.This is not entirely a new tactic, after all the United States pioneered this tactic of taking out enemy substations with "blackout bombs" that operate very similarly. Cruise missiles were used to deploy such devices over Baghdad during the initial invasion of Iraq in 2003, with thin graphite wires being trailed over the top of exposed substation transformers and electrical connectors. More recently, an unidentified malign actor also attempted to target an electrical substation in Pennsylvania back in 2020, which resulted in widespread media coverage at the time.Malign actors using almost thirty rockets to achieve the same effect in Germany is a substantial escalation that is not likely to have been undertaken by non-state actors. Germany is infamous for having some of the more serious ecoterrorists around the world, who have conducted IED attacks, train derailings, and other similar attacks on electrical infrastructure. However, since no ecoterrorist organization has claimed credit yet, right now the leading theory is that these sabotage operations could be sleeper cells conducting attacks around the German countryside.Analyst: S2A1 Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground NomadNet: 5fa68c88be727a0e1a250a75e5e79269 Disclaimer: No LLMs were used in the writing of this report. //END REPORT//

//The Wire//2300Z September 1, 2026// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: UNITED STATES LAUNCHES NEW WAVES OF ATTACKS IN MIDDLE EAST. IRAN RETALIATES BY STRIKING AMERICAN AIRBASES AND MULTIPLE TANKERS IN STRAIT OF HORMUZ. RUSSIA CONFIRMS MATERIEL SUPPORT FOR IRAN. SECRETARY OF THE ARMY RESIGNS IN WASHINGTON. IEDS DISCOVERED AT ELECTRICAL SUBSTATION IN GERMANY.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE-----  -International Events-Middle East: Overnight, Iranian targeting of merchant shipping continued, with a total of 3-4x vessels being struck since the targeting in the Strait of Hormuz re-ignited over the weekend. At least two of these targeting efforts involved VLCC tankers being struck as they attempted to exit the gulf. The M/T SIDR and the M/T SENEGAL PROSPERITY were hit by unidentified munitions (one of these ships was hit three times), with the effect of the targeting being a halt of their transit through the Strait.This afternoon, the United States conducted larger-scale attacks on Iran, continuing the strikes that kicked off the fighting again over the weekend. The United States struck targets on Qeshm Island, Sirik Island, the port of Chabarhar, and several other targets along the Iranian coastline. After these strikes took place, Iran launched more missiles at American bases throughout the region (mostly in Jordan and Kuwait). As of this report over 20x Iranian ballistic missiles have been launched, with the launches continuing into the evening.Europe: Over the past few days, the war in Ukraine has become increasingly more serious, as Russian and Ukrainian attacks on each others' infrastructure have intensified. Over the past two days, large-scale waves of drone and missile attacks have been reported, with Russia and Ukraine focusing on targeting Kiev and St. Petersburg respectively. Several dozen smaller cities on both sides have also reported missile and drone impacts within the past 48 hours.Germany: This morning several explosive devices were discovered near a electrical substation at the Jänschwalde Power Plant southeast of Berlin. Several IEDs were discovered at this location by workers, though the exact number and composition of the devices has not yet been disclosed.Analyst Comment: Details of what actually happened at this substation are very hard to come by. Initial reports suggested that workers found IEDs at the site, but throughout the afternoon other reports emerged indicating that these were actually warheads from improvised mortars/rockets, which landed at the substation and failed to explode and/or had a different purpose altogether. Some reports from local sources in the community claim that rockets were found that contained "conductive material" which were fired over the top of electrical transmission lines at this location. This undescribed conductive material caused an electrical short on two transmission lines, which took out the power for a few hours. If these details are accurate, this would be a deliberate infrastructure attack, though the culprits could be anyone from climate groups, to foreign nationstates. More details are expected as the situation develops.Kyrgyzstan: As part of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian for a series of press conferences and brief talks. During the media events, President Putin directly stated that Russia is providing resources to Iran to help circumvent the effects of the American blockade on Iranian ports.Analyst Comment: While this is certainly no big secret, Putin saying this openly is a message to the United States, which is probably a tit-for-tat response to the global west arming Ukraine for years. Though it is largely forgotten, Iran actually does share a border with Russia, but it's not by land...it's via the Caspian Sea. Russian boats can easily transfer large amounts of cargo to Iranian ports on the northern coast of Iran, in addition to the large-scale railway projects in the northern districts, which serve as vital logistical lines to Russia and China.-HomeFront-Mississippi: Yesterday afternoon, a major fire was reported at an industrial facility in Laurel, which began after a truck caught fire near a paint locker at the Howard Industries facility which produces electrical transformers. The initial fire sparked a much larger blaze that consumed much of the main factory complex as well as the storage yard for large transformers.Analyst Comment: The U.S. imports about 80% of the electrical transformers needed to keep the electrical grid functioning, and as recently as May of this year, the industry was facing a dire shortage of transformers (a shortage which has been problematic for years). Howard Industries is a major domestic US producer of transformers, producing over 10 million transformers that are still in service around the nation. This company has a total of 14 different factories around the state, but even just one facility being offline (and the stored transformers being lost in the fire) will probably negatively impact the nationwide shortage of these critically-needed components.Washington D.C. - Last night Dan Driscoll, the Secretary of the Army, reportedly tendered his resignation to President Trump. Dave Fitzgerald, the Deputy Undersecretary of the Army is also expected to resign sometime this week.Analyst Comment: These resignations are extremely important, and very significant during a time of war. Normally, the resignation of the Secretary of the Army during an active conflict is something that is a major indicator of things not going well in upper management circles, however the terms of Driscoll's resignation also add more fuel to the fire. Allegedly, Driscoll resigned due to clashes with SECWAR Hegseth regarding the operational readiness of the Army. Officially, Driscoll's resignation has not been confirmed from official sources, and he himself has not commented on the reasons for his departure, so until he does, it could be for any number of reasons. However, the timing of the resignation the day after the war reignites (and indications are growing of shaping operations being prepared), is quite coincidental for this to be unrelated.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comments: It will take a few more days before the dust settles and proper assessments of battle damage can be conducted regarding the latest rounds of targeting both in the Middle East and in Ukraine. As it stands right now, the war in Ukraine remains very hot and very active, and the war in the Middle East has ebbed and flowed as the United States adopts more of a "mowing the lawn" approach to the conflict (or at least, that seems to be the motivation for the latest round of strikes).Separately, time is running out on the petroleum front, and the attempts to mitigate the energy crisis have not been as effective as hoped for. The American operation to shuttle tankers back-and-forth through the Strait, to play a grand shell game of shuttling oil from ship-to-ship once in the Gulf of Oman has had some positive impact. How much impact is hard to say, because how the data is being counted can be framed in many different ways to support various contradictory arguments, but right now (as per Kpler) the bottom-line figure for how much oil is exiting the Gulf via the Strait is 8.6 million bbl/day (or at least it was during the lull over the past month). Since Kpler did not factor in the Saudi East-West pipeline for this figure, we have to add that critical resource to the overall total. However Kpler also confirmed that as of July, these two pipelines that are supposedly rated for allowing around 7 million barrels per day to bypass the Strait...were only resulting in a total export of 1 million barrels, a fraction of what the ecosystem is rated for. The reason for this, is the bottleneck at the ports. Even loading oil onto ships as fast as humanly possible, they can only manage to get 1 million barrels out per day. It doesn't matter how fast the oil flows through a pipeline, if it cannot flow onto ships at the same rate, and right now, the oil terminals on the Saudi coastline are the weakest link in the chain. These bottlenecks, combined with the Houthi attacks on the Jazan refinery, have sharply reduced the main alternative method for bypassing the Strait with at least some petroleum product.Around the region more optimistic reports indicate that, all total, as much as half of the world's pre-war needs have been met by the efforts to get oil out of the Gulf region. Even with all of the tricks we've tried (and factoring in Omani-shuttle operations AND the Saudi bypass pipeline), we're only reaching "half of normal", at best.As this 8.6 million bbl/day figure is the absolute maximum theoretical figure (due to much of this oil being secretly transferred between ships as part of the shell game), there is variance in the data. Regardless of how it's counted, 8.6 million barrels is most assuredly welcome, but it's still nowhere near enough to prevent the civilization-level energy crisis that the entire planet is experiencing at present. Now that the tit-for-tat strikes have resumed over the past few days, this absolute-best-case-scenario figure of 9 million barrels per day is likely to be reduced quite a bit.Looking forward over the next few weeks, this crisis will probably be complicated even further by a decline in demand; most major prediction models project a decline in demand due to the petroleum shortage going on for so long now. Also, the American Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) will be running dry soon, to the point that tank-bottom will be approaching within a couple of weeks, if the current rates of release continue. Now that the war has resumed somewhat (and oil prices are spiking), solutions d

//The Wire//2300Z August 31, 2026// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: WAR REIGNITES IN THE MIDDLE EAST AFTER AMERICAN STRIKES REPORTED IN IRAN. RETALIATORY STRIKES REPORTED IN JORDAN AND THE UAE.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE-----  -International Events-Middle East: Over the weekend, the war resumed it's more kinetic phase as the United States carried out strikes on Iran. Larak Island was the primary target, with strikes taking place to target Iranian rocket launchers that were preparing to launch rockets suspected of carrying sea mines. Locals report that two launchers were struck, killing two soldiers.In retaliation, Iran launched multiple ballistic missiles, all targeting US bases in the region. Jordan and the UAE reported strikes targeting airbases used by the United States, but the success rate is unknown. Initial imagery obtained via the Sentinel-2 sensors indicates a hanger and a barracks building might have been hit at Muwwafaq al Salti. Footage provided by locals indicates that at least two Iranian ballistic missiles were successfully intercepted, but it's likely that at least several got through missile defenses to strike at least two bases in Jordan.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comments: Once more into the breach, so it seems. The grand question now is whether or not the weekend strikes will continue to escalate. The White House has stated that the US will respond to Iran's counterattack with a counter-counterattack, and as it stands, more targeting is likely. More broadly, the weekend targeting confirms several different lingering theories. For one, diplomacy is completely off of the table for now. Many people theorized that the past month of essentially very little fighting was a prelude to an exit strategy. However, conducting strikes during a lull in the fighting is not indicative of any kind of diplomatic intent to end the war.Secondly, conducting strikes targeting sea mine launchers also directly confirms that Iran has this capability. For years, it has been widely known that Iran has the ability to lay mines in the Strait via rockets (without ever sending boats out), but how effective they are at such has been hotly debated over the years. The fact that the US hit these launcher sites confirms that this capability and threat is genuine enough to warrant kinetic action.Also of note, President Trump posted two AI-generated videos on his Truth Social account last night, depicting the United States blowing up Kharg Island. As of this morning, Kharg Island (which is at the opposite end of the Gulf) has not been targeted during this latest round of strikes. The intent of posting AI-generated videos regarding kinetic targeting is not clear. This could be a classically flamboyant Trump post, or it could be intended to deceive people who might not understand that they are not real videos. Even more concerningly, President Trump himself might believe it to be a genuine video (or an AI approximation of a real-world event). One might think that this would be preposterous (because the videos are obviously AI), but the precedent has already been set in Congress....AI-generated content that claims to be real footage has already been used by members of Congress on the House floor several times over the past year. AI models are already blurring the line between fiction and reality, and now the line is blurred even further, if the White House is going to start providing AI-generated content of airstrikes that never happened. When it comes to corroborating what has been targeted via other governmental agencies, the picture is not so clear either: The CENTCOM social media page on X did not disclose the fact that strikes took place. However, CENTCOM did issue one of their infamous "fact check" posts, which indirectly confirms that they did conduct strikes in Iran (though they did not confirm the exact location of those strikes). Where we go from here is anyone's guess, but the truth of what's going on on the ground is getting harder to discern.Analyst: S2A1 Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground NomadNet: 5fa68c88be727a0e1a250a75e5e79269 Disclaimer: No LLMs were used in the writing of this report. //END REPORT//

Research Notes/Bibliography can be found here: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground Common Intelligence Picture: https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=204a59b01f4443cd96718796fd102c00 Border Crisis Map: https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=7f13eda1f301431e98a7ac0393b0e6b0 TOC Dashboard: https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/ebe374c40c1a4231a06075155b0e8cb9/ 00:38 - Cyberattacks 01:38 - Secret Route? - No. 06:29 - Could it work? 11:16 - Ukraine 16:01 - Homeland Weirdness 20:16 - GhostNet Download the GhostNet plan here! https://github.com/s2underground/GhostNet The text version of the Wire can be found on Twitter: https://twitter.com/s2_underground And on our Wire Telegram page here: https://t.me/S2undergroundWire If you would like to support us, we're on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/user?u=30479515 Disclaimer: No company sponsored this video. In fact, we have ZERO sponsors. We are funded 100% by you, the viewer. All of our funding comes from direct support from platforms like Patreon, or from ad revenue on YouTube. Without your support, I simply could not do this work at all, so to those of you who chose to support my efforts, I am eternally thankful. Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/S2Underground BitChute: https://www.bitchute.com/channel/P2NMGFdt3gf3/ Just a few reminders for everyone who's just become aware of us, in order to keep these briefings from being several hours long, I can't cover everything. I'm probably covering 1% of the world events when we conduct these briefings, so please remember that if I left it out, it doesn't necessarily mean that it's unimportant. Also, remember that I do these briefings quite often, so I might have covered an issue previously that you might not see if you are only watching our most recent videos. I'm also doing this in my spare time, so again I fully admit that these briefings aren't even close to being perfect; I'm going for a healthy blend of speed and quality. If I were to wait and only post a brief when it's "perfect" I would never post anything at all. So expect some minor errors here and there. If there is a major error or correction that needs to be made, I will post it here in the description, and verbally address it in the next briefing. Also, thanks for reading this far. It is always surprising the number of people that don't actually read the description box to find more information. This content is purely educational and does not advocate for violating any laws. Do not violate any laws or regulations. This is not legal advice. Consult with your attorney. Our Reading List! https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/133747963-s2-actual The War Kitchen Channel! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYmtpjXT22tAWGIlg_xDDPA 

//The Wire//2300Z August 28, 2026// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: TARGETING CONTINUES IN UKRAINE. WAR IN MIDDLE EAST REMAINS AS BEFORE. ANOTHER COMMUNICATIONS INCIDENT REPORTED INVOLVING MARINE ONE IN WASHINGTON D.C.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE-----  -International Events-Europe: Following yesterday's assassination in St. Petersburg, long-range Russian and Ukrainian drone attacks continued. Several more warehouses and logistical hubs were hit within Ukraine, and this morning Ukrainian forces reportedly struck a Tu-95 Bear H parked on the apron at Engels Airbase in Saratov.United Kingdom: This morning a large fire was reported at an industrial warehouse in London, near Wembley Stadium. Local authorities state that this facility was a waste processing facility located next to an Amazon warehouse (which was evacuated due to the fire). The cause of the fire is not known at this time.-HomeFront-Washington D.C. - This morning an incident was reported aboard the Presidential MARINE ONE helicopter, while President Trump was onboard. The tower at Reagan National experienced communications issues with MARINE ONE, which involved radio transmissions being dropped between the helicopter and the tower.Analyst Comment: As the protection and transportation of the President is a zero-fail mission, what would ordinarily be a minor issue becomes a mission-critical failure. Ordinarily, today's incident would be a minor issue for any other aircraft, as it's not uncommon for minor comms issues to be present within the world of aviation and not being able to contact the tower for a few seconds is hardly groundbreaking news in most other circumstances. However, little mistakes become big ones in D.C, especially considering the wider implications.If the most important aircraft in the country has to relay comms to the tower via other aircraft, that is a national security concern. If this were an isolated incident it would be nothing more than something to mention at a turnover briefing for the day, but Washington Tower has a long history of major incidents: From fistfights in tower last year, to the deaths of 67x people during the AA5342 disaster, and even the incidents involving MARINE ONE just a few weeks ago, the management of the personnel and communications systems at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport have been persistent issues that present very real risks to the National Capitol Region.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comments: In the Middle East, the situation remains much the same as before, with a brief lull in the targeting efforts being undertaken overnight by Iran. This lull came to an end this afternoon, after another vessel was targeted in the Strait of Hormuz, with unknown success. On the American side, there's lots of rumor and talk behind the scenes regarding the overall strategic plan, most of which is only a loose indicator of how the war is going. This morning Axios leaked details pertaining to several Foreign Ministers around the Middle East being told by SECSTATE Marco Rubio, that the US is probably not going to resume kinetic targeting until at least after the midterms. While the sourcing of this is dubious at best, this does make sense based on how things have gone over the past month. Months ago, the war lasting until next year (at minimum) sounded laughably unlikely, but at this stage, this timeline seems realistic. The one determining factor is the underlying energy crisis, and what happens when a global maritime choke point remains in the conflict zone for this long. Uncharted territory is ahead, and in terms of the tactical situation on the ground, no indicators are present that suggest the conflict will reach a point of conclusion anytime soon.Analyst: S2A1 Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground NomadNet: 5fa68c88be727a0e1a250a75e5e79269 Disclaimer: No LLMs were used in the writing of this report. //END REPORT//

//The Wire//2100Z August 27, 2026// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: CAR BOMB KILLS COLONEL IN RUSSIA. IRAN STRIKES TANKER IN HORMUZ. LARGE-SCALE CYBERATTACKS TARGET AMERICAN GOVERNMENT AGENCIES.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE-----  -International Events-Middle East: Overnight, Iran struck another tanker vessel in the Strait of Hormuz. The vessel has been identified as the M/T AL SALAM II, a Kuwaiti-owned tanker attempting to exit the Gulf.Analyst Comment: Claims are circulating that Iran conducted this strike using underwater drones, similarly to claims that were made last week regarding Iran using underwater drones to conduct attacks. There is no way to verify this either way, but if true, this would be the second such attack on a vessel this month.Russia: This morning an assassination was carried out in St. Petersburg, which took the form of an IED exploding inside the vehicle of a Russian Air Force Lieutenant Colonel. The man (who has not yet been identified) was killed instantly, and his wife remains in critical condition following the blast.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comments: Within the United States, various federal databases have been hacked by malign actors, including the systems used by high-level government agencies. The DoJ alleged that the Nanjing Xinjiuwei Network Technology Company was responsible for compromising the systems used by the Federal Reserve, three different National Laboratories, the National Institute of Health, and several other unnamed agencies. On the same day, the ATF also disclosed that systems related to their gun registries were breached. The Chinese hacking group Qilin posted the ransomware disclosure on their website, claiming to have a trove of unspecified documents that they stole from the ATF.These confirmed cyberattacks continue the trend that has been building over the past few weeks. From the cyberattacks on water treatment facilities a couple of weeks ago, to federal agencies being hacked in undisclosed ways, the war on the cyber front is palpable. This cyberwarfare has not been confined to the United States either; at the exact same time that unknown hackers were taking out the water infrastructure in Minnesota, the United Kingdom reported that one of their power plants was hacked and taken offline for a total of four days. This afternoon, Manchester Airport Group announced that another major cyberattack has breached the data of over 8.7 million customers who traveled through three airports in the U.K.As the United States and Iran continue their latest stage of the war, and Russia and Ukraine continue their war, these cyberattacks are probably going to get a lot worse, both in the scale of what systems are affected, but also the types of targets selected. So far, none of the groups engaging in cyberattacks have demonstrated any hesitancy to avoid targeting civilian targets...these groups on all sides will exploit any vulnerability they find, particularly to target a civilian populace. As civilian critical infrastructure around the world remains vastly more vulnerable than government networks...when those government networks themselves are constantly proven to not be safe, much softer targets are very likely to be impacted more severely as global tensions continue.Analyst: S2A1 Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground NomadNet: 5fa68c88be727a0e1a250a75e5e79269 Disclaimer: No LLMs were used in the writing of this report. //END REPORT//

//The Wire//2300Z August 26, 2026// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: MAJOR FLASH FLOODS AND MUDSLIDES DEVASTATE TIBET AND NEPAL. STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENTS CONTINUE FOLLOWING CIA DIRECTOR VISIT TO RUSSIA. STABBING ATTACK REPORTED IN AUSTRALIA.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE-----  -International Events-Europe: The war remains constant as Ukraine and Russia continue their targeting efforts. Overnight, Ukraine continued their strikes on Russian oil infrastructure, targeting the Lukoil Refinery in Kstovo. Similarly, Russia has continued striking gas stations within Ukraine. Both sides have also continued strikes on each others consumer industry, with Ukraine hitting Wildberries and Ozon warehouses, and Russia hitting shopping malls in Ukraine.Western Asia: This morning a major mudslide was reported in Tibet, after flash flooding throughout the region caused instability in the terrain. The small Himalayan town of Gyirong was nearly completely destroyed by mudslides, along with many other mountain villages. Analyst Comment: As this disaster took place mostly in Tibet, the administration of recovery efforts is complicated. China is the most capable entity in the general region, and has mobilized around a hundred soldiers that were already at the far-flung outposts on the border of the autonomous region. Chinese authorities have stated that this is a mass casualty event, and video footage of the mudslides confirm several dozen fatalities outright, with potentially hundreds of people being killed by the disaster.Australia: Yesterday afternoon, a stabbing attack was reported in Melbourne, after an African man attacked a 10-year-old boy randomly on the street directly outside the main entrance of the Victoria Police Headquarters. After attacking the child, the assailant stabbed the boy's mother with a pair of scissors. Several bystanders immediately counterattacked the assailant, subduing him while police responded from their headquarters building. The assailant has been identified as Jerry Sowood, a Liberian man who proudly confessed to the crime in court shortly after his arrest.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comments: Strategic indications and warnings keep stacking up concerning American and Russian military assets, though right now it's not entirely clear what it all means. Shortly after Ratcliffe's visit to Moscow, a total of 5x E6-B MERCURY TACEMO aircraft took off and flew patterns over the American interior all at roughly the same time. This has happened a few times before during exercises, but it's not that common to see this many strategic communication aircraft airborne at the same time. This morning, a strategic Russian radio station was active again, repeating several coded messages for unknown recipients on 5135 kHz. This frequency has occasionally been used by strategic Russian assets in the past, and starting about two weeks ago this frequency began being used more frequently. Normally, messages that begin with the prefix DMITRI are higher priority messages, or at least that's a common theory among shortwave listeners. These transmissions repeated throughout the day, mostly conveying the same coded message.Normally, the movement of strategic aircraft or cryptic radio messages can't be pinned down to a singular event or cause, and the entire purpose of the whole strategic readiness posture is to make an exercise indistinguishable from a real-world event. However, when we add up the events of the past 48 hours, the situation is revealed to be more interesting than at face value. In isolation, an interesting plane flying around or a random radio message is not worthy of mention, but in aggregate these events become vastly more interesting, even though it's impossible to know why.More broadly, the very minute details and observances by planewatchers, shortwave listeners, and hobbyists alike are extremely early indicators of some kind of strategic event. These observances are at the very bleeding edge of what is possible to perceive within the open source world, and must be weighted accordingly. It is impossible to make decisions based on so little data, so right now all of this is just evidence supporting the hunch that strategic moves are being made. The CIA Director flying to Moscow at the same time 5x "Doomsday" communications planes are active in the US, and the Russians are more active on their own strategic radio frequencies...is all extremely coincidental to be nothing. Much more analysis will be needed to maybe determine what's going on but as it stands, high-level diplomatic and strategic moves continue behind the scenes, as both the war in Ukraine and Iran remain in the balance.Analyst: S2A1 Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground NomadNet: 5fa68c88be727a0e1a250a75e5e79269 Disclaimer: No LLMs were used in the writing of this report. //END REPORT//

//The Wire//2300Z August 25, 2026// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: CIA DIRECTOR CONDUCTS MYSTERIOUS VISIT TO MOSCOW. AMERICAN TRADE DISPUTE WITH CANADA DETERIORATES AS BOTH SIDES DIG IN AND ANNOUNCE MUTUAL TARIFFS. IRAN STRIKES ANOTHER TANKER IN HORMUZ.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE-----  -International Events-Middle East: Last night Iran struck another tanker vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, which resulted in the vessel being disabled just off the coast of Oman. The vessel has not been identified as of this report, however this is the first tanker vessel struck by Iran in about a week.Russia: This morning unique aviation traffic was observed, centered around a US Air Force C-17 which took off from Riga, Latvia bound for Moscow. The transport aircraft (Callsign REACH4555) took off from Riga, landing in Moscow a few hours later, with both the United States and Russia not acknowledging the movement. Russians in Moscow also reported seeing American vehicles with diplomatic license plates being escorted by Russian police in the vicinity of the Kremlin.Analyst Comment: So far, neither side has confirmed who this aircraft movement was related to, however this appears to be a visit by CIA Director John Ratcliffe, who arrived for confidential talks with President Putin. This visit (particularly conducted in this manner) is highly unusual, and since all sides are ignoring questions about what was discussed, it will be quite interesting to find out what this visit was really about in a few days. The route taken by Ratcliffe's plane into Russia from Latvia was probably a hint regarding what the very short meeting was related to, but this can be interpreted in many different ways which are all speculative. Landing in Riga was not really necessary; the C-17 could have landed directly in Moscow without diverting to Latvia. Russia has been eyeing the targeting of NATO members for supplying Ukraine with munitions for a few months now, and though we have only complete speculation to rely on, it's possible that the visit was related to that. It could also be related to the rapidly escalating strikes on energy infrastructure throughout Russia and Ukraine. Both parties are slugging it out by destroying major petroleum infrastructure which is being made worse by the war in the Middle East, and the CIA Director would be the level of station that would be put on a plane to broker a miniature truce on that front. Whatever it was, it was certainly not without major importance. The last time the chief spy visited the Kremlin was five years ago, when Director Burns visited Russia to warn against invading Ukraine. That visit was largely kept a secret and only disclosed after the fact, whereas this morning's visit was telegraphed to the world to see very visibly.Canada: The trade dispute with the United States continues to deteriorate as both sides intensify hostile rhetoric on the economic front. So far, talks have stalled and both sides appear to be heading toward a return to mutual retaliatory tariffs. Over the past few days President Trump has threatened to impose a 50% tax on all automotive and auto parts imports from Canada, and this morning Canada announced a similar threats of tariffs on American imports.-HomeFront-Nevada: The Hawk Fire continues to demonstrate active fire behavior as weather conditions have allowed the fire's spread over the past 24 hours. As of this morning, almost 90,000 people are either in mandatory evacuation zones, or are in the "get ready" zones, preparing to evacuate. Good progress was made overnight by crews digging handlines, which have prioritized defending residences in Dog Valley. The weather forecast indicates an increase in conditions favorable for fire behavior over the next 24 hours, with the National Interagency Fire Center predicting the potential for the fire to make major runs to the Northeast and Northwest over the next few days.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comments: Within the Middle East, another threat vector bears consideration as the United States and Iran engage in their economic-warfare phase of the conflict. Yesterday, the United States announced the start of this economic campaign, which began with no real solid and tangible tactics being disclosed. More generally, this plan is an economic version of "if you're not with us, you're against us", and is intended to force other nations that have been sitting on the fence, to choose to support the United States (or at least, not support Iran). The issue with this plan, is that Iran has publicly stated many times that they will not be engaging in tit-for-tat economic policies...they will be meeting economic targeting, with kinetic targeting.How serious they are about this, is anyone's guess; they may just be content to let the Americans continue the economic warfare, on the bet that it won't really affect them since they've been sanctioned for half a century already. However, if Iran does decide to use missiles and drones to respond to American economic targeting, this could get ugly.For instance, if the United States somehow seriously hurts their ability to work with Pakistan to export oil through their pipeline, the Iranians might strike a Chevron facility in Iraq. And they probably won't be hitting the storage tanks, but the office trailer where they know Americans are working. They could also hit the American-linked banking headquarters facilities with precision strikes in Dubai, as a message to both parties. Based on the rhetoric that has been flying all around, this would be an example of the next rungs on the escalation ladder that both sides are climbing by the day. Iran limiting their strikes to only valid military targets and petroleum facilities so far during this war, might lend one to have the false assumption that Iran has been striking the most significant targets they could find. In terms of risk management, if the Iranians have indeed been holding back, the only way that the US will find out that their assumptions are wrong, will be Iranian munitions landing at facilities that the US did not expect.Analyst: S2A1 Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground NomadNet: 5fa68c88be727a0e1a250a75e5e79269 Disclaimer: No LLMs were used in the writing of this report. //END REPORT//

//The Wire//2300Z August 24, 2026// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: BODY DUMP SITE LOCATED IN OREGON. MARITIME TRAFFIC IN MIDDLE EAST REMAINS STAGNANT AS HOUTHIS STRIKE SHIP IN RED SEA. RENO WILDFIRE CONTINUES TO THREATEN SUBURBS.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE-----  -International Events-Red Sea/HOA: This morning a merchant vessel was struck by an unidentified munition in the Red Sea, to the west of the port of Yanbu. The M/V AMZAN was struck by the Houthis while transiting the Red Sea, and as of this afternoon remains on fire.Ukraine: This morning a mass stabbing attack was reported at a monetary in Donestk. An unidentified group of assailants breached the compound of the Holy Dormition Svyatogorsk Lavra Monastery, and began attacking the clergymen living at the compound. This attack resulted in the murder of at least one monk, and the wounding of several others. An investigation is currently underway to identify the culprits of the attack.-HomeFront-New York: Over the weekend, Buffalo-Niagara International Airport ran out of jet fuel, resulting in aircraft diverting to other airports to refuel. Delays continued throughout the evening for some flights, with most flights returning to normal this morning.Analyst Comment: This is more of a localized issue resulting with problems internal to the airport. Initially, statements indicated that the problem was within the supply chain itself, as this airport is supplied by trucks carrying fuel and not a pipeline like many other airports. However this afternoon, the airport stated that the issue was due to an electrical wiring problem at the fuel point.Oregon: On Saturday, authorities discovered a body dump site at a rural home in Washington County. Local authorities initially responded to a fire at a residence on NW Otis Lane, after neighbors reported seeing a vehicle on fire at this location. Once firefighters arrived on scene, they discovered a series of human remains. All total, 5x bodies were found at this location, along with several deceased animals. Once police arrived on scene, the suspect was identified as Benjamin Charles Parker, who was tracked to an undisclosed location in Enumclaw, WA. At this location, Parker was discovered deceased in his vehicle. No further information has been provided on this incident, and the investigation into what actually happened continues.Nevada: Major wildfires continue to spread in the vicinity of Reno, with roughly 14,000 homes remaining under mandatory evacuation orders. Residential areas to the north and west of the city remain threatened as the Hawk Fire remains at zero-percent containment. Local authorities state that this fire was caused by human activity, though the exact point and circumstances of the origin has not yet been disclosed.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comments: In the Middle East, maritime traffic throughout the region remains stagnant as the war of information continues. On Friday, reports circulated claiming that 40x ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz secretly, using the southern Omani route. In reality, this report is a complete fabrication. Not only is merchant traffic easily verifiable via a number of sources, but the UKMTO themselves (which work for USNAVCENT) stated that this entire week, the amount of traffic through the Strait has been in the "single digits" both ways.This report was almost certainly intended to manipulate financial markets once again, as Brent crude started climbing back up due to the announcement of the economic warfare campaign intended for Iran. TankerTrackers has stated that all total, over the past 7 days, the entire region has exported 6 million barrels of oil per day, though not all of such has transited the Strait (some has originated from Oman and the UAE, which have pipelines bypassing the Strait). This figure is also the totality of petroleum that has been exported to the global market; the exact amount of petroleum which has specifically been exported to the United States is not as easy to parse from the total. Nevertheless, the total figure is still much less than the pre-war average of roughly 20 million barrels per day, which is the main reason for why the United States continues to drain the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.Analyst: S2A1 Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground NomadNet: 5fa68c88be727a0e1a250a75e5e79269 Disclaimer: No LLMs were used in the writing of this report. //END REPORT//

Toka Thread: https://x.com/JoshWalkos/status/2085785810754785715 Sensor Misuse Database: https://ij.org/the-ij-database-of-alpr-abuse/ Research Notes/Bibliography can be found here: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground Common Intelligence Picture: https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=204a59b01f4443cd96718796fd102c00 Border Crisis Map: https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=7f13eda1f301431e98a7ac0393b0e6b0 TOC Dashboard: https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/ebe374c40c1a4231a06075155b0e8cb9/ 00:00 - Global Strategic Concerns 02:15 - Turkey 03:32 - Mystery Meat 05:58 - New York 08:38 - Utah 16:17 - Dangerous Freedom 19:51 - GhostNet Download the GhostNet plan here! https://github.com/s2underground/GhostNet The text version of the Wire can be found on Twitter: https://twitter.com/s2_underground And on our Wire Telegram page here: https://t.me/S2undergroundWire If you would like to support us, we're on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/user?u=30479515 Disclaimer: No company sponsored this video. In fact, we have ZERO sponsors. We are funded 100% by you, the viewer. All of our funding comes from direct support from platforms like Patreon, or from ad revenue on YouTube. Without your support, I simply could not do this work at all, so to those of you who chose to support my efforts, I am eternally thankful. Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/S2Underground BitChute: https://www.bitchute.com/channel/P2NMGFdt3gf3/ Just a few reminders for everyone who's just become aware of us, in order to keep these briefings from being several hours long, I can't cover everything. I'm probably covering 1% of the world events when we conduct these briefings, so please remember that if I left it out, it doesn't necessarily mean that it's unimportant. Also, remember that I do these briefings quite often, so I might have covered an issue previously that you might not see if you are only watching our most recent videos. I'm also doing this in my spare time, so again I fully admit that these briefings aren't even close to being perfect; I'm going for a healthy blend of speed and quality. If I were to wait and only post a brief when it's "perfect" I would never post anything at all. So expect some minor errors here and there. If there is a major error or correction that needs to be made, I will post it here in the description, and verbally address it in the next briefing. Also, thanks for reading this far. It is always surprising the number of people that don't actually read the description box to find more information. This content is purely educational and does not advocate for violating any laws. Do not violate any laws or regulations. This is not legal advice. Consult with your attorney. Our Reading List! https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/133747963-s2-actual The War Kitchen Channel! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYmtpjXT22tAWGIlg_xDDPA 

//The Wire//2300Z August 21, 2026// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: FBI ARRESTS MENTALLY ILL INDIVIDUAL IN NEW YORK, WHO THEY PROMPTED TO CONDUCT A TERROR ATTACK. CONCERNS GROWING REGARDING SOCIAL IMPACT OF LINDSAY CLANCY TRIAL AND POTENTIAL COPYCATS.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE------HomeFront-Massachusetts: The Lindsay Clancy trial continues in Plymouth, which has resulted in localized protests in support of Clancy. For context, this murder trial is the result of Clancy murdering her three children in the family home in 2023, after her husband left her alone for a few minutes to run errands. Clancy has confessed to the murder, and is currently attempting to plead an insanity defense. Throughout the trial, the crowd of protesters supporting Clancy have grown in size outside Plymouth Superior Court, with hundreds of people lining the streets to show their support for her.Analyst Comment: Ordinarily the Clancy trial would be classified as social commentary that while a horrific murder trial, would normally be confined to the tabloids. However in this case, it's resulting in wider impact that is worth being aware of due to the future threats that are presented. Many supporters of Clancy have taken to social media to abuse their children for TikTok videos, to show their support for Clancy. These abuse videos (along with the millions of people supporting them) have increased to the point that this is now presenting real risks for copycat murders over the next few weeks.New York: Last night the DoJ announced the arrest of an alleged terrorist, who was allegedly planning to conduct an attack at the New York Capitol building. The FBI provided Jessica Bowie with $200 to buy acetone, nails, and electrical tape at Home Depot which she gave to undercover agents to create an explosive device. Once the IED (which was a fake) was provided back to Bowie for the attack, she was arrested.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comments: The arrest in New York was not a legitimate terrorism threat, this is a very clear case of the FBI plotting a terror attack themselves and getting some idiot to go along with it. Normally there's a bit of grey area in terms of how significant an arrest actually is, but in this case this is a Biden-era-style FBI investigation, which is embarrassing to have been such an overwhelmingly significant federal case. They put multiple active surveillance teams on this individual, with dozens of agents getting involved to orchestrate every single step of the alleged attack plans. Per their own documentation, they planned the attack themselves and targeted Bowie for an entrapment operation. At no point in the indictment did the DoJ ever allege that she was in communication with actual ISIS members; she was only talking to FBI agents who encouraged her to try some haphazard attack. Per the indictment, the FBI approached her first, after she posted pro-ISIS comments/posts online, and the undercover agent had to coach her on how to make the pledge to ISIS.As for Bowie herself, she does not appear to be a part of a legitimate terrorist organization, but a rather strange version of ISIS that she alone is allegiant to. Based on the indictment, she is very clearly mentally ill, and she did not know hardly anything about the variety of Islam that ISIS is known for (nor did the FBI agents investigating her, apparently). She did not even know how to spell "jihad" correctly, and most of her communications contained Arabic words that she probably heard on the internet. To be sure, she very clearly went along with the entire plot, and did desire to cause harm. However, the DoJ is pretending like they just stopped another major terror attack, and they most certainly did not.The worst part of the entire case is that the FBI almost got her roommate killed. While this entire saga was underway, Bowie was living with her roommate, and per the indictment Bowie verbally considered stabbing her roommate to death if the roommate were to discover the fake IED that the FBI had given her. In trying to make themselves look good, the FBI's entrapment case almost resulted in their mentally ill target murdering some random person.Analyst: S2A1 Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground NomadNet: 5fa68c88be727a0e1a250a75e5e79269 Disclaimer: No LLMs were used in the writing of this report. //END REPORT//

//The Wire//1900Z August 20, 2026// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: U.S. MERCHANT MARINE VESSEL SINKING IN PACIFIC OCEAN DUE TO SHAFT SEAL FAILURE. PRESIDENT TRUMP ANNOUNCES NEW ECONOMIC WARFARE CAMPAIGN AGAINST IRAN.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE------International Events-Middle East: President Trump announced a new economic offensive against Iran, aimed at leveling sanctions on nations which are working with Iran. In his post on Truth Social, President Trump stated that economic sanctions will be used against third-party nations which are providing financial aid to Iran, are engaged in oil smuggling, or otherwise are benefitting from Iran's current status within the region.Analyst Comment: Choosing to engage in an "ECONOMIC D-DAY" is probably an acknowledgement that, at present, military options are not likely to achieve the intended effect. If a front is being opened up on the economic side of the war, the worse case scenario is that it probably won't make the situation much worse in the short term. However, if this economic effort is genuine, this is a major indicator that the war is expected to last for a long time, as economic wars of attrition rarely resolve quickly.Pacific Ocean: Last night an incident was reported onboard the M/V SLNC YORK after a mechanical error resulted in a catastrophic shaft seal break approximately 1,100 nautical miles northeast of Saipan. An emergency distress call was transmitted and the crew abandoned ship due to the uncontrolled flooding in the engine room. Another merchant vessel, the M/T PACIFIC TANTAI rescued the crew from liferafts, and a US Navy Destroyer also responded to the scene to take on the crew. The vessel remains adrift as she sinks, and salvage crews are reportedly moving to the vessel to stabilize the ship in hopes of preventing her sinking.United Kingdom: This morning the Home Office published a pamphlet for migrants, informing them on how to not rape British citizens. The brochure informs asylum seekers that they cannot rape random people and that they cannot own slaves. Per the documentation, if they were to do so, they could (not will) go to prison.Analyst Comment: As one could probably expect, a laminated brochure is unlikely to have the same effectiveness as hanging violent criminals from lampposts, but the Home Office seems keen to give it a try anyway.-HomeFront-USA: Concerns remain constant concerning the rise in public officials using Flock cameras illegally. After the initial concerns with Flock itself became mainstream weeks ago, concerns have been growing regarding other similar companies such as Axon. Over the past few weeks dozens of police officers have been fired and arrested for misusing Flock/Axon sensor suites. Many of these cases of misuse involve everything from stalking exes, to interfering with investigations and evidence tampering. Earlier this month in Charlotte, North Carolina, one police officer was arrested after his drug-dealer friend asked him to run a license plate through the Flock database, to check if his buyer was an undercover cop (which he was).-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comments: The SLNC YORK was not a random cargo ship, she was a part of the Maritime Security Program within the U.S. Maritime Administration. This vessel was working under contract for the US Navy, and frequently carriers military cargo between the United States and US military bases within PACOM. At the time of her crew abandoning ship, her exact cargo is not known, but it was probably logistical supplies intended for PACOM. This vessel sinking (along with the cargo) will probably make the already dire logistical situation within PACOM and CENTCOM worse, simply due to the logistical shuffle that will be needed to replace that capability.Concerning the damage itself, within the maritime community, a shaft seal failure at sea is an immediate threat to the vessel. This seal is essentially a large mechanical gasket which acts as a seal between the spinning propeller and the hull of the ship. The shaft seal allows for the propeller to spin freely, while also keeping seawater out of the vessel, and when it fails, it normally results in immediate catastrophic flooding in a compartment that is impossible to fully seal off (the engine room). This is not something that would be the result of hostile action or even sabotage, if the shaft seal did fail this would be a non-malicious catastrophic failure, but one which occurred at the worst possible time.Analyst: S2A1 Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground NomadNet: 5fa68c88be727a0e1a250a75e5e79269 Disclaimer: No LLMs were used in the writing of this report. //END REPORT//

//The Wire//2300Z August 19, 2026// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: PRESIDENT TRUMP ANNOUNCES HALT TO DIPLOMATIC EFFORTS WITH IRAN. DUBAI CONFIRMS YESTERDAY'S MISSILE ATTACK ORIGINATED FROM IRAN. ISRAELIS STRIKE AIRBASE IN SYRIA. TAJIK NATIONAL FLEES MURDER CONVICTION IN UNITED STATES AFTER VIRGINIA ALLOWS HIM TO OBTAIN PASSPORT.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE------International Events-Persian Gulf: Following yesterday's missile warnings in Dubai, the culprit of the missile attack was revealed to be not the Houthis, but Iran. Two ballistic missiles were launched from within Iran, with one impacting in the Gulf, and the other landing somewhere outside the UAE. Emirati officials have stated that the missiles were not intended for them, and that the missiles were attempting to target merchant vessels within the Strait of Hormuz. Nevertheless, the UAE has allegedly halted trade and financial transactions with Iran, until further notice.Analyst Comment: Prior to the war, Dubai was Tehran's gateway to the west, and served as a major hub for trade, but especially for banking. If the Emirs have indeed shut down Iran's access to financial markets, this will probably have more significant impact than it seems at first.Syria: Last night Israeli forces conducted airstrikes at Al Duhur Airbase, targeting the runway and several maintenance facilities at the airfield.Analyst Comment: This is a message to Turkey. Turkish forces have been at this airfield for a few months, trying to fix the airstrip enough for it to open once again, which would in turn allow for the recreation of the Syrian Air Force, but also another place for Turkish forces to run operations out of. The Israelis striking this runway is probably an effort to put the Syrians back in their box, and also inflame tensions with the Turks even more, to prevent their expansion into Israel's back yard.-HomeFront-USA: Around the nation, the energy crisis continues to worsen as gas prices climb steadily higher. This morning, the national average for diesel rose to over $5.50, as reflected by the current global diesel shortage. This afternoon bond yields dropped after the Treasury Department announced that the US will be doubling the repurchases of debt.Washington D.C. - Yesterday President Trump stated that no diplomatic efforts with Iran are taking place, sharply reversing the months of prior rhetoric that the White House has become legendary for. Up until this statement, the official stance has been that indirect talks are occurring, and that Iran frequently calls the White House "wanting to make a deal". Yesterday's statement by President Trump is a very sharp reversal regarding the diplomatic efforts in the region.Virginia: Yesterday local authorities revealed that a Tajik man fled the United States last month following his detention in a mental facility. In 2019, Abdulloi Toshpulodzoda stabbed his landlord to death, but was found not guilty by reason of insanity in 2022. He was sentenced to detention in a mental facility, before being deemed to be a candidate for early release last year. While serving his sentence, he was allowed by the prosecution to visit the Tajik Embassy in Washington D.C. where he was allowed to obtain a passport for his home country of Tajikistan. He was also allowed to have prison vacation time, when he could have two-day vacations outside the detention facility. During one of these vacation slots on July 6th, Toshpulodzoda used his passport to flee the United States.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comments: In Utah, overnight more details have come to light regarding Monday's funeral shooting. The lead suspect at the moment is Afuhia Masiu Manatau, who pulled out a gun and attempted to kill an unidentified person at the funeral. At some point during the shootout, his son Tusi took his father's gun and continued to shoot at members of the Angilau family.Concerning the alleged victims, a correction to yesterday's report is needed as the fatality in this case is not the same person who was previously convicted of murder. The victim was Vilisoni Angilau (aged 18), and Vilisoni Angilau (aged 33) was previously convicted of crimes related to gang affiliation. Same exact name, same exact area, same exact family, same exact affiliation with the Ward, but different people. Turns out, the 18-year-old who was killed yesterday is also affiliated with the Tongan Crips, as evidenced by confirmed gang members and shotcallers mourning his death on Facebook. Local Tongans are claiming the victim is not affiliated with the gang, but social media posts indicate this is not true.The reason for why this matters is due to the elevated potential for a gang war to kick off, if it hasn't done so already. Clearly local police thought the same at the time, as they rolled way harder than they needed to in order to protect the hospital. Gang violence is very likely to continue to escalate within Utah over the next few weeks, and this is going to affect more people than just those in the gang. When the only Level 1 Trauma Center for hundreds of miles is locked down because hordes of Tongan Crips are trying to break down the doors after a gang shooting, this becomes more of a substantial concern than just some random gang war. Even in the legendary gang epicenters around the country, local hospitals don't have to worry about literally being overrun as if they were a forward-deployed military base in a foreign land. But in Salt Lake City, this is now a genuine concern that is all brought about by a demographic that comprises less than one percent of the population.Analyst: S2A1 Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground NomadNet: 5fa68c88be727a0e1a250a75e5e79269 Disclaimer: No LLMs were used in the writing of this report. //END REPORT//

//The Wire//2300Z August 18, 2026// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: KINETIC TARGETING CONTINUES WITHIN MIDDLE EAST AS HOUTHIS LAUNCH MISSILES TOWARD DUBAI. TONGAN CRIP THREAT REMAINS SIGNIFICANT IN SALT LAKE CITY.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE------International Events-Middle East: Iran struck two more ships in the Strait of Hormuz last night, continuing the trend of the past couple of weeks. This morning, the UKMTO retroactively admitted to a merchant vessel being struck on August 15th, with the ship sustaining damage and one crew casualty. This afternoon, Houthi forces conducted a ballistic missile strike on the UAE, with missile warnings being issued in Dubai, for the first time since May. No locals reported witnessing any interception, and government officials stated that one missile splashed down in the Gulf, and another landed outside their territory.Analyst Comment: On the rhetoric front, this morning President Trump continued claiming control of the Strait of Hormuz, posting a graphic which claims the Strait is now U.S. territory. Even though waterways traditionally can't be claimed as land territory, and while this may just be a more lighthearted meme, at the other end of the spectrum this could be more serious. If the White House is indeed serious about making a territorial declaration of some kind, this could be an effort to move the goalposts to allow for the use of more substantial weapons. If Hormuz is America, then the US can claim that Iran is attacking the homeland. Of course, this logic is a stretch at best, but it's exactly the kind of reasoning that would make sense for the White House to rely on at this stage in the war.-HomeFront-Utah: One suspect has been arrested in conjunction with yesterday's events in Salt Lake City. Afuhia Masiu Manatau was arrested for his role in yesterday's shooting at the Tongan funeral in Kearns. During the funeral, a fight broke out among the congregation, between his 17-year-old son, and several others. During the fight, Manatau gave a firearm to his son, which resulted in the son attempting to murder the others. Manatau's son (the shooter) was shot in the chest during the engagement, and Manatau himself has been arrested.Analyst Comment: Concerning casualties, so far one fatality was reported as a result of the funeral shooting. The victim has been identified as Vilisoni (Soni) Angilau, a confirmed Tongan Crip who was recently released from prison after murdering a member of a rival gang in 2013. Soni Angilau's immediate relative, Naisa Angilau, was also recently released from prison for a completely different shooting as well, after he attempted to kill a gas station clerk in 2009. Of note, Soni's brother Siale also met a violent end as he was also shot and killed during a high-profile shooting that took place inside the courtroom during his trial. Siale Angilau was shot and killed by federal Marshals after attempting to stab a witness to death during his trial for racketeering back in 2014. All of these family members have an extensive presence on social media, and all self-identify as Tongan Crips.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comments: In Utah, additional details are helpful for understanding how serious yesterday's shooting actually was, especially considering the long history of similar murders. Despite assurances to the contrary, Intermountain Medical Center remained locked down throughout the evening last night, as the threats to the hospital remained constant. Many non-essential employees were escorted out of the hospital by SWAT, and patients' medical procedures were canceled due to the security threat. Intermountain Public Relations officials issued statements claiming that everything was fine and that there was no threat to the hospital, however employees within the hospital confirmed that these statements were not true.Intercepted radio traffic from 911 dispatch also confirms that the reason for the overwhelming police response at the hospital, was due to the Tongan Crip Gang attempting to breach the entrance to the Emergency department. At least one employee was assaulted and wounded in the ER, and a large crowd of Tongans also attempted to break through the Emergency Room entrance on the south side of Unit 4. After this breach attempt, local authorities responded in force, with SWAT officers responding immediately to reinforce the hospital and prevent the facility from being overrun. Snipers were deployed to the rooftops, and at least two Bearcat armored vehicles were posted at the Emergency Department to secure a perimeter around the facility.Concerning future threats, the circumstances of yesterday's funeral shooting are still unclear, with much of the eyewitness testimony being verifiably false as gang members seek to cover up the crime. The main question is whether or not this will result in a wider gang war, and right now the answer to that question is not so clear. The Tongan Crip Gang is known to engage in mutual combat within the gang itself, as rival factions settle internal disputes with violence and murder. Funerals are a common way for hostile TCG factions to meet up, and tensions flare. However, the Tongans also have many rivals locally which might also be inclined to stoke up a gang war. The TCG originally had a foothold in Inglewood, California, where the gang achieved it's extremely brutal reputation. After expanding this foothold to Salt Lake City, the TCG became one of the most legendarily violent gangs in the entire nation. Though small in numbers, they make up for their lack of footsoldiers with sheer violence. Even so, many locals prefer to call them "nice" and ignore this brutality, due to the affiliation this gang has within facilities owned by the LDS Church. This gang is known to murder people randomly without a second thought, and despite Tongans being less than one percent of the population of Utah, they make up over 13% of all gang member affiliation in the region. For those who want to make the argument that "not all Tongans" are causing problems, unfortunately in Salt Lake City specifically, this does not appear to be the case based on the case history and preponderance of evidence. During the Tongan Crip funeral murder at an LDS Ward back in January...not a single churchgoer came forward to name the killer. 100% of the congregants at the Ward where the murder took place, refused to speak to the police or provide a statement regarding what they saw. Police set up an anonymous hotline to protect witnesses, but among the hundreds of Tongans that witnessed that shooting, not a single person came forward to testify and the shooters were eventually charged based on evidence of the murder plans being found on their phones.Even the small handful of Tongans who are not documented gang members are extremely loyal to tribal allegiances; quite literally every single Tongan with a social media presence in Salt Lake County has expressed support for their guy who attempted to murder a gas station clerk with a shotgun. No one within this diaspora has condemned the actions of the man who's funeral even resulted in further bloodshed. The Tongan community has not tried to distance themselves from the frequent murders that are conducted within their areas, and most of the Tongan Wards within Salt Lake close ranks around those who commit violent murders.Concerning yesterday's shootings, posts on social media indicate that other family members of yesterday's deceased have been observed flashing Tongan Crip Gang signs and generally confirming their gang affiliation, specifically within the Tongan Wards. On Facebook, most of the Salt Lake Tongans don't wish each other a "Happy B-Day"...they change it to "C-Day" because the letter "B" is too closely affiliated with their arch rivals...the Bloods. This is a callback to their Inglewood origins...many of the TCG's rivals are much the same as in California. The Rose Park Bloods are their main external adversary within Salt Lake, as both gangs have been expanding into each other's turf. In the same area, the Rose Park Taliban (a gang formed from the children of refugees from the Middle East) also maintains some presence, and is allied with the Bloods. Back in March, a Rose Park Taliban member tried to murder a liquor store employee in Taylorsville (near Tongan Crip territory), so gang violence in southwest Salt Lake specifically from these gangs is a constant. As yesterday's "victim" had previously killed a member of the Baby Regulators gang, it's possible that this was a revenge killing that was unrelated to the other Angilau who's funeral was being held at the time.As a result of this complicated web of alliances and relationships between extremely violent gangs, more violence is expected. Despite the grass skirts, barbeques, and disarming smiles, most of these people are killers, and the killing is only likely to escalate. Since one person was killed during the funeral shooting, the funeral for that person will undoubtedly be another opportunity for another shooting, as the cycle of violence and vengeance continues.Analyst: S2A1 Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground NomadNet: 5fa68c88be727a0e1a250a75e5e79269 Disclaimer: No LLMs were used in the writing of this report. //END REPORT//

//The Wire//2300Z August 17, 2026// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: WAR IN MIDDLE EAST REMAINS STAGNANT. WHITE HOUSE SIGNALS SHIFT AWAY FROM PACOM AS PRESIDENT TRUMP ATTEMPTS TO IMPROVE RELATIONS WITH NORTH KOREA. TONGAN CRIP GANG SHOOTING REPORTED AT FUNERAL IN SALT LAKE CITY.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE------International Events-Middle East: The situation remains much the same, no major changes over the weekend. Iran did not conduct any major strikes over the past few days, and the Houthis have also not engaged any Saudi oil refineries since last week. Otherwise the situation remains as before.South Korea: Over the weekend President Trump announced a significant change to the American diplomatic position regarding the Korean Peninsula. Due to South Korea not participating in hostilities during the Gulf War, President Trump has ordered the United States to reduce American participation in ROK military exercises.Analyst Comment: This is a big deal, but one that has been boiling since the Gulf War began. Pinning American diplomatic efforts to whether or not nations supported us during the war highlights the priority the White House is placing on the conflict. Supplies and missile defenses have been taken from PACOM for months now, and this halting of joint exercises with South Korea is the latest development in the de-prioritization of all operational theaters in order to support the war. Similarly, the other effect of de-prioritizing South Korea, is to improve relations with North Korea, which in turn might lead to another round of diplomatic talks soon.-HomeFront-Michigan: More details have come to light regarding a series of small arms attacks carried out a few days ago. On Friday, authorities responded to a private residence in Missaukee County, where a mass shooting had occurred. 3x deceased victims and 1x severely wounded victim were located at the residence, with the suspect having fled the scene. At the scene, the immediate investigation resulted in the discovery of another fatality located at a different residence adjacent to the initial shooting site. The suspect was identified as Chad Hickman, and a large-scale manhunt was conducted throughout the area. Some time later, Hickman's vehicle was located near Whitlock Lake, where the remains of one additional victim and the deceased suspect were discovered.Analyst Comment: So far, no motive has been disclosed for this attack, but right now this looks like a domestic incident. The suspect's sister is reportedly among the casualties, and Hickman had also recently been involved in a messy divorce.Utah: This morning a riot and subsequent mass shooting was reported at an LDS Ward in Salt Lake City. Local authorities initially responded to the 13th Ward in Kearns, after a street fight involving 80+ people broke out during a Tongan cultural event and funeral. At some point during the fray, several people were shot as a state of mutual combat broke out between suspected members of the Tongan Crip Gang, and local rivals.After the initial shooting at the funeral, the wounded suspected gang members were transported to Intermountain Medical Center, where another skirmish possibly broke out in the parking area. Several reports of shots-fired were issued, and the hospital was locked down throughout the afternoon. No details have been provided on this second incident, or the status of the reported shootings at the hospital. However, ambulances are being diverted away from Intermountain Health, and armored police vehicles are reportedly parked at the facility providing security.Analyst Comment: These shootings are directly linked to a different shooting. This was the funeral for Ofa'tangikivaha Angilau, a Tongan man who was neutralized by Good Samaritans two weeks ago. On August 7th, Angilau attempted to purchase alcohol without showing ID at the Holiday Oil gas station in Riverton. After the clerk denied his purchase, he left the store and returned with a shotgun, and attempted to murder the clerk. Before Angilau could bring the shotgun to bear, he was promptly shot dead by two different bystanders in the store. His funeral was this morning, and due to the shooting breaking out during the funeral, this retroactively indicates that Angilau was probably affiliated with the Tongan Crip Gang.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comments: For wider context, the Tongan community has a major foothold in Salt Lake County, and have been running operations inside LDS Wards throughout the city for some time. The LDS Church has organized several different Tongan Stakes (districts) which serve as the administrative hierarchy solely for immigrants from the Pacific island of Tonga. Around 13,000 Tongans live throughout the Salt Lake County area, which is roughly a quarter of the entire Tongan population in the United States, and as a result the LDS Church has provided substantial resources for this community, including a few dozen cultural centers and dedicated Wards just for Tongans. At these facilities, no English is spoken and even the websites are in the Tongan language. Over time, the Tongan Crip Gang has emerged as a major threat to the local area. In many cases, the Tongan Wards within Salt Lake City are not really houses of worship, but actually safehouses for the Tongan Crip Gang, as demonstrated by gang colors being placed all around these structures, only gang members attending these wards, and the frequent shootings at these facilities. Due to the gang seeking refuge within LDS churches...in the heartland of where the LDS Church was founded...this rarely gets mentioned by local mainstream media sources, which in many cases have either been financially motivated (or even outright ordered) to ignore this major gang threat. Most outsiders are rather shocked to learn that a violent gang can not just occupy houses of worship, but be invited in to use the facilities to continue their criminal enterprises. But that's what's been happening in Salt Lake City for a long time, and as unpleasant as it is, this must be acknowledged as the body count keeps rising.The Tongan Crip problem has become so bad that local police pre-stage at Tongan funerals, because they assess with a high degree of certainty that there is going to be a shootout at some point. This morning's shooting is the second shooting this year involving a funeral for a Tongan Crip Gang member; back in January, nearly the exact same event took place. Tongan Crips were having a funeral for one of their leaders, and a rival gang showed up to conduct a shooting in the parking lot. This morning's shooting occurred under nearly identical circumstances. Also during both shootings, upwards of a dozen officers were already staged at these Wards with rifles, prepared for the active shooting, knowing that a small arms engagement would be occurring at some point.Nevertheless, nobody wants to ruffle any feathers when a faith-based organization is involved, even if that organization is knowingly and deliberately allowing a gang to operate within their facilities, so these shootings (but especially the Tongan Crip angle) will continue to be ignored by local media, politicians, and Church leadership alike. However, both today's shooting, and the prior one in January took place in close proximity to schools, where children could have been wounded or killed by the gunfights in the parking lots, so this is not merely an internal Church problem. Further investigation will be needed to truly determine how widespread the problem is, but this is probably more significant than most people realize, and pretending everything is fine is resulting in clear and present dangers being allowed to threaten innocent citizens.Analyst: S2A1 Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground NomadNet: 5fa68c88be727a0e1a250a75e5e79269 Disclaimer: No LLMs were used in the writing of this report. //END REPORT//

Research Notes/Bibliography can be found here: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground Common Intelligence Picture: https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=204a59b01f4443cd96718796fd102c00 Border Crisis Map: https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=7f13eda1f301431e98a7ac0393b0e6b0 TOC Dashboard: https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/ebe374c40c1a4231a06075155b0e8cb9/ 00:00 - Global Strategic Concerns 01:36 - All Quiet on Drone Front 03:12 - French Fries 04:03 - Fuel Crisis 06:51 - Where's the Beef? 08:17 - The Bounty 13:05 - Houth-i of Cards 17:12 - Canary in the Coal Mine 20:43 - GhostNet Download the GhostNet plan here! https://github.com/s2underground/GhostNet The text version of the Wire can be found on Twitter: https://twitter.com/s2_underground And on our Wire Telegram page here: https://t.me/S2undergroundWire If you would like to support us, we're on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/user?u=30479515 Disclaimer: No company sponsored this video. In fact, we have ZERO sponsors. We are funded 100% by you, the viewer. All of our funding comes from direct support from platforms like Patreon, or from ad revenue on YouTube. Without your support, I simply could not do this work at all, so to those of you who chose to support my efforts, I am eternally thankful. Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/S2Underground BitChute: https://www.bitchute.com/channel/P2NMGFdt3gf3/ Just a few reminders for everyone who's just become aware of us, in order to keep these briefings from being several hours long, I can't cover everything. I'm probably covering 1% of the world events when we conduct these briefings, so please remember that if I left it out, it doesn't necessarily mean that it's unimportant. Also, remember that I do these briefings quite often, so I might have covered an issue previously that you might not see if you are only watching our most recent videos. I'm also doing this in my spare time, so again I fully admit that these briefings aren't even close to being perfect; I'm going for a healthy blend of speed and quality. If I were to wait and only post a brief when it's "perfect" I would never post anything at all. So expect some minor errors here and there. If there is a major error or correction that needs to be made, I will post it here in the description, and verbally address it in the next briefing. Also, thanks for reading this far. It is always surprising the number of people that don't actually read the description box to find more information. This content is purely educational and does not advocate for violating any laws. Do not violate any laws or regulations. This is not legal advice. Consult with your attorney. Our Reading List! https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/133747963-s2-actual The War Kitchen Channel! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYmtpjXT22tAWGIlg_xDDPA 

//The Wire//2000Z August 14, 2026// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: DRONE SHOT DOWN OVER LATVIA. WASHINGTON CSG STEAMING WEST TO REPLACE LINCOLN CSG IN ARABIAN SEA. IRANIAN STRIKES CONTINUE IN HORMUZ. WHITE HOUSE AUTHORIZES CIVILIAN COMPANIES TO BEGIN OFFENSIVE CYBER OPERATIONS.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE------International Events-Middle East: This morning at least one strike on a merchant vessel was reported in the Strait of Hormuz. The UKMTO published two separate nearly-identical reports under two different reporting numbers, 111-26 and 112-26, both of which took place in the same area.Analyst Comment: Iranian sources claim that these vessels were struck by submarine drones, which (if true) would be the first kind of attack conducted so far during this war. Iran absolutely has this capability, though it is probably more limited to the areas closer to the Iranian coastline. The UKMTO chart provided for the location of both attacks does plot the targeting effort closer to the Iranian coastline than most other attacks, but so far no comment has been made regarding the attack method yet.Red Sea/HOA: This afternoon another series of strikes was reported between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis, with the latter conducting another missile strike on an Aramco refinery/processing facility in Najran City, near the Yemeni border. A large fire was reported at this facility following this strike, and Saudi forces have conducted various strikes around Yemen in retaliation.Latvia: This morning NATO aircraft shot down a suspected drone over the Balvi region, near the village of Rugaji. Latvia stated that the incident was a stray drone that entered their airspace due to Russian electronic warfare measures. Only one drone was detected, which was engaged by fighter aircraft.Analyst Comment: This is a tacit admission that the drone was probably Ukrainian, continuing the now long-standing trend of off-course drones entering the airspace of third-party nations. With both Russia and Ukraine sending drone waves comprising of hundreds of drones during each attack, the high failure rate on both sides has resulted in dozens of runaway drone incidents throughout the continent over the past few years.-HomeFront-Washington D.C. - Late last night, President Trump signed an Executive Memorandum aimed at combatting cybercrime. The very first section of this order is to effectively privatize offensive cyberattacks on foreign actors. The order outlines a 60-day time limit for establishing a deconfliction process to coordinate attacks carried out by private companies versus those conducted by military forces. The memorandum specifically states that operations resulting in Critical Outcomes (i.e. operations which kill people or are classified as Use of Force) are not authorized.Analyst Comment: This EO is a big deal, as it essentially is a Letter of Marque for private companies to conduct military actions against foreign nationstates in the cyber realm. While this seems cutting-edge and forward thinking in terms of the ever-evolving battlespace...this removes a lot of protections for civilian companies when it comes to warfare. When civilian entities are authorized to engage in offensive military action against a foreign nation, they become lawful combatants. The caveat which states that companies can't kill people is not likely to result in much difference to any actor targeted under this program, and as it stands, any company that participates in this order will be a valid military target which will be targeted by foreign adversaries. In short, if companies want to play ball, they can now do so, but major cyberattacks on civilian targets are going to skyrocket over the next few weeks.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comments: In the Middle East, several logistical and leadership shakeups have settled in throughout the region. Within Iran, six new commanders have been officially promoted to new positions throughout the General Staff, most of whom are younger hardliners who are of the mind to continue the war. These promotions include Ahmad Vahidi, who has been promoted to the Commander in Chief of the IRGC. On the American side, the USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN CSG is planned to move off station when she is replaced by the USS GEORGE WASHINGTON CSG within a few days.This relief comes a few days after reports emerged regarding the deteriorating conditions onboard the LINCOLN. Over the past few days, reports of multiple sailors within this strike group attempting to take their own lives have hit the media, which CENTCOM has flatly denied. However, one day after these reports started circulating, the WASHINGTON was observed steaming through the Strait of Malacca. The LINCOLN was officially last reported in port in Guam on December 11th, 2025 and has not conducted a single port call since that time.Analyst: S2A1 Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground NomadNet: 5fa68c88be727a0e1a250a75e5e79269 Disclaimer: No LLMs were used in the writing of this report. //END REPORT//

//The Wire//2300Z August 13, 2026// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: EXPLOSION REPORTED AT ITALIAN MUNITIONS FACTORY. WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY RESIGNS. IEA REPORT CONFIRMS OIL CRISIS INCREASES IN SEVERITY WORLDWIDE. PRESIDENT PUTIN VISITS CONTROVERSIAL ISLAND CHAIN IN FAR EAST.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE------International Events-Italy: This morning an explosion was reported at the KNDS munitions factory near the town of Colleferro. This facility produced artillery rounds and solid-fuel propellants for the Ukrainian military. No casualties have been reported, as the explosion took place during the summertime vacation season, when nobody was working at the factory. The cause of the blast has not yet been disclosed.Analyst Comment: Industrial accidents happen all the time, but it's not everyday that a factory making explosives for Ukraine suffers such a catastrophic blast, with no prior warning, and with nobody actually at the plant. Reading between the lines, most assumptions are that this might have been malign action related to the war in Ukraine, however nothing has been released regarding that theory yet.Far East: Overnight, Russian President Vladimir Putin conducted a surprise visit to the Kuril Islands, an island chain north of Japan which has a hotly-contested history originating back with World War Two. President Putin visited Iturup Island for the first time, and mostly conducted tours of the facilities, including a fish processing factory, a school, and a hospital. During the visit, Putin specifically mentioned the Japanese sanctions on Russia, which were imposed after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, stating that Russia has no grievances against Japan. Putin also directly mentioned the fact that in Japan's latest military publications, Russia is classified as a source of major threat, which Putin denied.Analyst Comment: This sparsely-populated island chain is just north of Japan, and was initially gifted to the Soviet Union during the 1945 Yalta agreement (though Japan disputes the legality of this). In practice, Russia dominates the four main islands, and a few dozen of the smaller uninhabited islands. Putin visiting a small island north of Japan is a major signal that Russia is interested in what's going on in their backyard, and that their far eastern regions are certainly not forgotten. This visit was deliberately intended to pressure Japan to reexamine their sanctions, as well as to serve as a not-so-subtle reminder, that mainland Russia is much closer to Tokyo than the mainland United States is.-HomeFront-Washington D.C. - White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced her resignation yesterday evening, which will come into effect at the end of the month. The reason for her resignation has been stated to be personal, to spend time with her family. Her replacement has not been officially announced, and most mainstream media is speculating that a replacement will not be named until after the midterms.Analyst Comment: The real reason for her resignation is probably for personal reasons, but vastly more personal reasons than anyone knows. The tabloids are running some rather juicy theories and rumors at the moment, most of which are related to the continuing scandal originating from the Air Force One plane swap incident in Turkey last month, and the details of who was selected to join the President onboard the covert plane...and who was left on the decoy.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comments: Overnight, the International Energy Agency's report for the month of August was published, which provides more fidelity on the energy production throughout the Middle East. Based on the IEA's report, the situation is dire and now the sheer lack of oil is a problem. Even with all of the efforts to open the Strait, and with the brief ceasefire which resulted in a surge of tankers (before the Strait closed again), we still have a global shortage of 8.3 million bbl/day. This is roughly 8% of the entire planet's oil demand, which remains offline due to the war.As the energy crisis is firmly an emergency situation at this point, the biggest impact to the American people right now will take the form of Diesel prices rising higher, until eventual shortages begin. When the shortages will begin, is anyone's guess, but since the war has dragged on for so long, the second and third order effects are already well underway. Right now, the problem is not just a shortage of crude...it's also a problem of getting the right type of crude, to the right type of refineries. The complicated mess of secondary and tertiary disruptions has resulted in bottlenecks along the whole process, and since Hormuz, the BAM, Suez, and the Black Sea are all negatively affected in some manner by effectively three wars, roughly 20% of all global maritime diesel exports are effectively cut off.As a result, the biggest immediate problem for the U.S. is refining diesel at the scale needed to avoid shortages, which is why many people have been surprised to see diesel prices starting to creep up again over the past couple of weeks nationwide. The US can turn the tap and drain the SPR all we want, but that will not solve the immediate problem of the dwindling diesel supply in the short term.Analyst: S2A1 Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground NomadNet: 5fa68c88be727a0e1a250a75e5e79269 Disclaimer: No LLMs were used in the writing of this report. //END REPORT//

//The Wire//1800Z August 12, 2026// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: OIL CRISIS CONTINUES TO DETERIORATE AS STRATEGIC PETROLEUM RESERVE DROPS BELOW 300 MILLION BARRELS. WAR IN MIDDLE EAST REMAINS COMPLICATED, SHIPPING REMAINS STAGNANT. DOMESTIC VIOLENCE RESULTS IN MURDERS AT DAYCARE IN MINNESOTA.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE------International Events-Middle East: Around the region the war remains as before, with no major strikes being reported overnight. The war between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia has continued to increase in complexity following the Houthi strikes on the Jazan refinery last week. Saudi Arabia has stepped up efforts to fund and supply the official Yemeni government, which was outcast by the Houthis capturing and holding the capital city years ago. Analyst Comment: For the past decade, the Saudis have tried to undermine the Houthi control of Yemen by funding the exiled government forces which still control pockets of influence around the country. A few days ago, a strike was reported in the city of Mocha in Yemen, which was originally reported as being of Saudi origin. Turns out, it was the Houthis themselves striking the sector of the city that still remains in government control, targeting a collection of Saudi advisors which were working with the Yemeni government.-HomeFront-Washington D.C. - This morning a suspicious device was discovered in the vicinity of the Engine Company 20 fire station. One device comprised of a thermos container with wires wrapped around it was discovered by authorities, prompting a lockdown of the area. EOD responded to the scene and stated that the device was not a threat.Minnesota: This morning a stabbing attack was reported at a child care facility in Hopkins. Local authorities state that two adults and one child were stabbed at Brown Bear Childcare, a private residence converted to a daycare. All three individuals are reported deceased. Throughout the day, official sources have indicated that this was a domestic violence incident between the owners of the daycare, which resulted in one of the adults murdering the other, before murdering their child, and then themselves. The attack was witnessed by six other children, as well as a parent who had arrived at the residence to drop off their child.Analyst Comment: This attack took place at 236 Tyler Ave North. The business itself is registered with the state and has an active childcare license, with no violations or concerns being readily available online. Reviews are very positive, and the business appeared to be a small and wholesome daycare run out of a private residence. Prior to the murders this morning, this address had been listed on a local garage sale page. The listing claiming that the daycare had been scheduled to close at the end of the month, but how (or if) this fits in is unclear at the moment. As a result, this horrifically brutal attack is very out of the ordinary for Hopkins, and further analysis will be required to determine why this happened.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comments: Concerning the impact of the Gulf War on global energy markets, the situation is still desperate. Oil transits through Hormuz are very minimal, with the NAVCENT-run reporting sources no longer publicly disclosing all of the Iranian strikes on tanker vessels. Many observers visually seeing a burning hull on the horizon, or crude oil washing ashore, is about as "confirmed" as it can get, and over the past few weeks several strikes have taken place that have not been reported by the UKMTO. In terms of what this is doing to the oil markets, Hormuz is back to very minimal oil flows. The constant Houthi targeting down in the Red Sea region has also resulted in the Saudi's cutting production at many oil terminals and processing facilities, and the Omanis are quietly trying to export more oil from their terminals which bypass the Strait...efforts which get derailed when a tanker gets struck by a drone/cruise missle.Where we go from here is hard to say, but the situation has been slow to develop. If a person is watching a car crash in slow motion, and it takes 6 months for the impact, people get bored. This appears to be what's happened as this war has dragged on for almost half a year. This has resulted in complacency, even though the overall situation is incredibly serious. The United States has continued to drain the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) at a breakneck pace, to the point that we are approaching the physical limits of how much oil can be withdrawn from storage. This oil is not really being processed within the US, but rather sold on the international market so as to keep the price of oil artificially low globally. Last week, the SPR dropped to 298.7 million barrels of oil in storage, all total. This is the first time that the SPR has dipped this low since the 1980's, when the demand was 20-30% lower than it is today. More broadly, this is also a major milestone in terms of how close we're getting to tank bottom. There is debate regarding how low the SPR can be drawn down. A common figure over the years has been that the US can theoretically drain the SPR down to 70 million barrels. There is also a legal floor as well, with 42 USC § 6241 mandating that the SPR cannot be drawn below 252 million barrels for national security reasons. Of course, this is a law that can be reliably ignored by both the White House and Congress itself, but it is a number to work from...and we're getting close to it.Last year the Government Accountability Office conducted a large-scale study on the SPR, which found that due to infrastructure degradation over the years, the entire system can only pump out a fraction of what it was previously capable of. The report did not explicitly state the magic number of how low we can go, but the report did state that regardless of where the bottom of the tank actually is, we can only pump it out at a rate that is 61% of what it was designed for. This means that not only are our tanks scraping bottom, but we are also limited in how fast we can drain what's left. Like a broken record, the story has constantly repeated since the war began...demand remains the same, but supply is down. The basics of that fact can only be concealed, manipulated, and talked-down for so long before supply itself runs out. As the SPR cruises past the 300 million barrel milestone, more motivation is stacking up to re-enter the diplomatic phase once again, before the energy crisis gets much worse.Analyst: S2A1 Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground NomadNet: 5fa68c88be727a0e1a250a75e5e79269 Disclaimer: No LLMs were used in the writing of this report. //END REPORT//

//The Wire//1700Z August 11, 2026// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: DETAILS EMERGE REGARDING LAST MONTH'S SECURITY INCIDENT INVOLVING AIR FORCE ONE. MULTIPLE OIL SPILLS CONTINUE TO SPREAD AROUND PERSIAN GULF AND ARABIAN SEA.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE------International Events-Middle East: Overnight the targeting of merchant shipping continued, with both Iranian and American strikes on commercial vessels. Iran struck an oil tanker sometime over the past 24 hours, which resulted in an oil spill which washed up on the shores of Qeshm island this morning. In the Gulf of Oman, the United States struck a different merchant vessel for violating the American blockade.Analyst Comment: Similarly, a separate oil spill has continued to expand in Omani waters, after unclear circumstances (i.e. some sort of attack) led to an explosion onboard the M/T CAROLINE BEZENGI two months ago. Since that time, this vessel has been adrift until she ran aground in an Omani nature preserve. This morning Oman announced that the subsequent oil spill now covers roughly 150 square miles.Red Sea/HOA: The Houthis struck another vessel in the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait last night.Analyst Comment: Locals claim this vessel was the M/V TIHAMAH a smaller regional containership that the Houthis had suspected of carrying out weapons shipments from Saudi Arabia, to the Saudi-backed Yemeni government. If this is true, this would not be surprising, but every ship that gets struck in this Strait increases apprehension among commercial shipping companies.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comments: Overnight, more details were released regarding the security incident affecting Air Force One during President Trump's visit to Turkey last month. At the time, a brief scandal emerged after President Trump switched from the newer Air Force One to the older airframe, due to an unidentified security incident of some kind. More specifically, the threat involved the newer Air Force One airframe allegedly not having sufficient missile defense systems, due to having been pressed into service too quickly for the appropriate countermeasures to be installed.However yesterday, more of the truth came out. President Trump actually pulled a double-switch. Instead of boarding the older legacy Air Force One, the Secret Service used a catering van to covertly move the President to an Air Force C-32A (one of the administrative backups that frequently accompanies AF1). From there, both aircraft flew to the United Kingdom (with President Trump's actual aircraft flying completely blacked out and not emitting any radio signals), where the President transitioned back to the newer Air Force 1 airframe for the trip back to the United States.Many people who are not familiar with the world of counterterrorism may think this is a super cool, James Bond-like operation that fooled those pesky journalists. However, this incident proves that a clear and present danger to the President existed, and was significant enough to warrant extreme measures. At the time, the White House claimed that the switch to a different plane was conducted out of an abundance of caution. Now, we find out that he was actually secretly switched to a third plane, and smuggled into that plane in a catering van. From the perspective of executive security, placing the principle in unorthodox situations like this to ensure security is a last-ditch method...a tactic that is utilized when the danger isreal enough to outweigh any inconvenience to the protectee. The Secret Service resorting to cramming the President in the back of a catering van is a tactic that has been used in the past, but only under extreme circumstances. Bill Clinton allegedly used this trick top avoid the press during the Monica Lewinsky scandal, and Joe Biden was also suspected of having used this tactic when he had trouble climbing the AF1 staircase a few years ago. As it stands, President Trump's use of this technique is one of the first public uses for security reasons. Perhaps the most entertaining aspect to the story is that President Trump left the media on the plane that was threatened with being shot down. Most of these journalists, even in retrospect, don't seem to realize that they were they were bait.More broadly, this incident is yet another peek behind the curtain regarding the shocking levels of security that President Trump is now surrounded by. A few days ago President Trump was spotted playing golf mere feet away from an Avenger Surface-to-Air Missile defense system, which had been set up near the fairway of Trump's golf course in Bedminster while the President played a few rounds. Similarly, a few months ago, the President quietly began having Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft holding station near him at all times, just in case enemy fighter jets or cruise missiles enter the airspace.To be sure, this security is very likely necessary, but therein lies the problem: If the President now requires a SAM system to be parked mere feet away from him during an ad hoc trip that only takes a few hours...this is indicative of how serious the threats are within the homeland. Even the notoriously paranoid Vladimir Putin, who got his start in the KGB and who's bedroom in the Kremlin has been targeted (so far unsuccessfully) by Ukrainian drones, doesn't travel around with an AWACS aircraft at all times. This is also very unlikely to be a case of President Trump himself being scared, and fortifying his surroundings as his predecessor did. President Trump is not a military man, and he would not have known to ask for a SAM system, and it's highly unlikely that Trump even knows that an AWACS follows him around everywhere now.Unfortunately, all of these extremely substantial security practices are probably not an overreaction, but likely a response to legitimate and very specific threats. What's more, the security practices that we visibly observe are not the countermeasures that would be effective against the standard lone-wolf terrorist or the standard variety of screeching lunatic who might want to target the President. These countermeasures are only for countering nationstate-level threats. In Turkey, for instance, the only entities that could have targeted President Trump's plane are national-level actors. Similarly, the use of an Avenger SAM system implies that the threat might be so quick to materialize, that the standard Combat Air Patrol that is mere minutes away...might not be fast enough of a response. If any other President had been observed chipping the ball onto the green with a SAM system parked in the rough just off the fairway...the American people would be panic buying cases of water and digging a bunker in their back yard by now.But because a level of tension that surpasses the height of the Cold War has become normalized, the general population barely notices. As long as Netflix works and Doritos are on store shelves, the fact that the United States government has rapidly increased steps to prepare for major, nationstate-level attacks within the homeland will continue to go unnoticed by most.Analyst: S2A1 Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground NomadNet: 5fa68c88be727a0e1a250a75e5e79269 Disclaimer: No LLMs were used in the writing of this report. //END REPORT//

//The Wire//1700Z August 10, 2026// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: MAJOR EARTHQUAKE STRIKES COLOMBIA. WAR CONTINUES IN MIDDLE EAST. BRITISH MOD ALLEGEDLY INVESTIGATING VULNERABILITIES WITH NEWLY-PURCHASED DRONE BOAT FLEET.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE------International Events-Middle East: The situation continues as before, with routine strikes being carried out over the weekend. Iran has continued to strike merchant shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, with daily targeting efforts being reported for about a week. Overnight, a tanker vessel was struck in the Strait, with the resulting fire being visible from land.Red Sea/HOA: The Houthis have been active over the past few days, conducting low-level strikes against the Saudi staging areas along the border region with Yemen. More significantly, the Houthis have also struck the Jazan refinery again, with the Saudis targeting the port of Mocha in Yemen.France: As wildfires have continued to spread around the nation, French authorities have announced the arrest of over 420x individuals on charges of arson, at least 166x of which are individuals claiming to be minors who admitted to deliberately starting fires.United Kingdom: This morning the Telegraph published a leak from within the Ministry of Defense, pertaining to the new K3 Unmanned Surface Vessels (USVs) that have been purchased by the Royal Marines. The leak alleges that some components within the drone boat fleet are made in China, and actually "phone home" to data centers back in China. The Ministry of Defense has denied any security vulnerabilities, but an emergency audit has been announced to investigate the matter.Analyst Comment: Having a foreign adversary contribute to any part of the production chain for highly secret and cutting-edge military technology is a suboptimal decision.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comments: This morning an earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 7.4 was reported in the western districts of Colombia, which resulted in infrastructure damage throughout the region. The city of Cali was hardest hit, with many structures collapsing or otherwise suffering major damage. So far, roughly 20x fatalities have been reported outright, but the true scale of the damage will take some time to determine due to the remote nature of many affected villages. There is not a lot of information on how bad the damage is, and most of what has circulated are videos showing the damage, or other first hand reports. At the time of this report, this is a developing story, and details are likely to change as more information becomes available.Analyst: S2A1 Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground NomadNet: 5fa68c88be727a0e1a250a75e5e79269 Disclaimer: No LLMs were used in the writing of this report. //END REPORT//

Twin Falls Incident Report: https://youtu.be/bej58mQ3smY Research Notes/Bibliography can be found here: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground Common Intelligence Picture: https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=204a59b01f4443cd96718796fd102c00 Border Crisis Map: https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=7f13eda1f301431e98a7ac0393b0e6b0 TOC Dashboard: https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/ebe374c40c1a4231a06075155b0e8cb9/ 00:00 - Global Strategic Concerns 01:08 - Water Supply Cyberattacks 07:15 - Spokane Fires 11:28 - Twin Falls Shooting 19:33 - Germany 22:41 - GhostNet Download the GhostNet plan here! https://github.com/s2underground/GhostNet The text version of the Wire can be found on Twitter: https://twitter.com/s2_underground And on our Wire Telegram page here: https://t.me/S2undergroundWire If you would like to support us, we're on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/user?u=30479515 Disclaimer: No company sponsored this video. In fact, we have ZERO sponsors. We are funded 100% by you, the viewer. All of our funding comes from direct support from platforms like Patreon, or from ad revenue on YouTube. Without your support, I simply could not do this work at all, so to those of you who chose to support my efforts, I am eternally thankful. Odysee: https://odysee.com/@S2Underground:7 Gab: https://gab.com/S2underground Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/S2Underground BitChute: https://www.bitchute.com/channel/P2NMGFdt3gf3/ Just a few reminders for everyone who's just become aware of us, in order to keep these briefings from being several hours long, I can't cover everything. I'm probably covering 1% of the world events when we conduct these briefings, so please remember that if I left it out, it doesn't necessarily mean that it's unimportant. Also, remember that I do these briefings quite often, so I might have covered an issue previously that you might not see if you are only watching our most recent videos. I'm also doing this in my spare time, so again I fully admit that these briefings aren't even close to being perfect; I'm going for a healthy blend of speed and quality. If I were to wait and only post a brief when it's "perfect" I would never post anything at all. So expect some minor errors here and there. If there is a major error or correction that needs to be made, I will post it here in the description, and verbally address it in the next briefing. Also, thanks for reading this far. It is always surprising the number of people that don't actually read the description box to find more information. This content is purely educational and does not advocate for violating any laws. Do not violate any laws or regulations. This is not legal advice. Consult with your attorney. Our Reading List! https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/133747963-s2-actual The War Kitchen Channel! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYmtpjXT22tAWGIlg_xDDPA 

//The Wire//2000Z August 7, 2026// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: MASS SHOOTING REPORTED IN THAILAND. WAR IN MIDDLE EAST REMAINS STAGNANT. CHICAGO MORTUARY UNDER INVESTIGATION AFTER REMAINS DISCOVERED BEING STORED IMPROPERLY.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE------International Events-Middle East: Kinetic activity has been fairly minimal over the past few days, with the exception of the Iranian targeting of merchant ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Concerning the Strait itself, Iran and Oman are reportedly close to announcing their combined plan for joint administration of the waterway, which is reported to include the tolling structure moving forward.Thailand: This morning a mass shooting was reported at the Debsirin School in Bangkok. One 14-year-old student conducted the attack, which resulted in 8x fatal casualties and over a dozen more wounded. Local authorities state that the main target for the shooting was a teacher, and five of those killed were teaching staff. Eventually, the suspect took his own life, ending the attack. After the suspect was identified by police, his home was raided, where his grandparents were found murdered, as the suspect attacked them first, before conducting the shooting at the school.Analyst Comment: This is the second high-profile violent incident involving children in Thailand over the past month. On July 2, an eleven year old boy was driving a pickup truck when he rammed into a group of Buddhist monks on pilgrimage, killing 11. That incident was not explicitly stated to be nefarious, but authorities never stated that it was an accident either, and the boy in that case was committed to the care of the government.-HomeFront-Illinois: This morning an investigation began into a crematorium in Chicago. Yesterday evening, authorities were dispatched to the South Chicago Chapel funeral home to investigate a possible "license violation". Over 57x bodies were found in various states of decomposition at this facility, which resulted in a HAZMAT response which continued throughout the night.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comments: There is unfortunately a long history with the body dump site case in Chicago, and it revolves around one man. Clark Morgan has a history of being involved with rather grim affairs, ranging from fraudulently operating as a funeral director (with no license), to also improperly storing remains at his facilities. Last year, he did the same thing at Chicago Heights crematorium, where over 100x decomposing remains were discovered in freight trailers and cargo trucks...the same type of cargo trucks that are observable in the Google Streetview imagery of the South Chicago Chapel. Morgan has faced years of disciplinary action due to unprofessional conduct, but has not been criminally charged for the most recent discoveries or the prior incidents. He was levied a $10,000 fine for the previous incident involving over a hundred bodies, but the fee was paid and he carried on as before.One of the questions that has not been addressed at any time, is the more important question of potential organ harvesting practices. All media has commented on the impropriety of the case, but when it comes to mortuary affairs, the black market for extremely graphic practices is thriving. Plus, the same guy that's going to operate a mortuary on a revoked license, and get caught stacking bodies in closets (at least twice), is probably not the sort of character that would shy away from the black market. As a result, it would be wise for this investigation to focus on the more nefarious possibilities that might be in play, rather than just the health code violations.Analyst: S2A1 Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground NomadNet: 5fa68c88be727a0e1a250a75e5e79269 Disclaimer: No LLMs were used in the writing of this report. //END REPORT//

//The Wire//2300Z August 6, 2026// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL OUTAGE RESULTS IN MINNEAPOLIS CENTER DIVERTING MOST AIRCRAFT TO OTHER SECTORS. NEW CDC DIRECTOR CONFIRMED BY SENATE. IRAN REPORTEDLY STRIKES TWO TANKERS IN HORMUZ.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE------International Events-Middle East: Iranian targeting of merchant vessels has continued, with two more vessels being struck this afternoon in the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian sources claim that they struck the M/T NISSOS KEA (heading outbound) and the M/T NISSOS KEROS (heading inbound) while the two vessels were being escorted by the United States through the southern Omani route.Analyst Comment: These two strikes have not yet been confirmed by the UKMTO, but reporting regarding strikes on ships is ironically hit-or-miss at this point. If these ships were being escorted at the time, these strikes would be quite important, but this detail is the most questionable at this time. What is certain is that both vessels shut off their transponders when they got close to the Strait, and the status of both vessels is not known.-HomeFront-Minnesota: This afternoon all flights at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport were grounded for several hours, due to a communications issue with Air Traffic Control. Most aircraft diverted to different air control sectors while Minneapolis Center was down, and many delays were reported nationwide due to the cascading affects of an outage in a busy air corridor. The exact cause of the outage has not yet been disclosed.Washington D.C. - The FAA is investigating air traffic control procedures at Ronald Reagan International Airport after an incident involving the President. Yesterday afternoon, MARINE ONE lifted off from the White House grounds to transport President Trump to Joint Base Andrews to depart for Los Angeles. Normally, when MARINE ONE flies this routine route, commercial aviation at Reagan is halted for a few minutes to provide a security standoff for Presidential aircraft. Tuesday night, this did not occur, and a civilian airliner passed within one mile of the President's helicopter.Analyst Comment: In terms of security incidents, this is comparatively minor and no safety concerns came about. There was no risk of collision, but due to the extreme levels of caution that is in place with any Presidential aircraft (and the zero-fail nature of the mission) ATC at Reagan making this mistake is concerning. Especially in the context of the long list of aviation mishaps that have plagued this specific airport for the past few years.Washington D.C. - Yesterday the Senate confirmed Dr. Erica Schwartz as director of the CDC. Before this position, Schwartz was a clinician for the Coast Guard, with her entire career being spent in the realm of creating and managing vaccine policy. Her latest position was to serve as the Preventative Medicine Chief in the Operational Medicine Readiness Division at headquarters in Washington, and was in charge of creating all vaccine policies for the USCG. Her priority areas for vaccine management and administration have been in Haiti, New Orleans (after Hurricane Katrina), and more recently with the Ebola outbreak in Africa.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comments: The confirmation hearings to get the CDC Director position across the line were initially a bit uncertain, as Schwartz's main interest is in the world of vaccines. As HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy has been extremely outspoken on the topic of vaccine policy management, most of her confirmation hearings involved Senators questioning if she would continue the ways of the "old guard" at the CDC, or if she would follow the newer policy initiatives of her boss (Secretary Kennedy), who most of the traditional bureaucracy opposes. After a few brief rounds of questioning, the Senate was satisfied with her answers and she was confirmed with the vote splitting mostly along party lines.Analyst: S2A1 Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground NomadNet: 5fa68c88be727a0e1a250a75e5e79269 Disclaimer: No LLMs were used in the writing of this report. //END REPORT//

//The Wire//2300Z August 5, 2026// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: ALLEGED DRONE ATTACK REPORTED TARGETING UKRAINIAN AIRCRAFT AT GERMAN AIRPORT. MERCHANT SUNK IN THE SOUTHERN RED SEA IN DRONE BOAT ATTACK. MAN ARRESTED IN CALIFORNIA AHEAD OF PRESIDENT TRUMP'S VISIT TO GOLF CLUB YESTERDAY.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE------International Events-Red Sea/HOA: This morning one merchant vessel reported being struck by an Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV) near the Bab el Mandeb Strait. The UKMTO reported the vessel as being sunk during the attack. The incident occurred so quickly that the UKMTO was not notified during the attack, and the ship sank almost immediately after the incident.Analyst Comment: If the Houthis are now using USVs during this phase of operations, this war just got a lot more serious. The Houthis have demonstrated this capability in the past (such as the war with the United States last year), but have refrained from using this tactic so far during this campaign. Sinking a vessel using a USV is a new step toward closing the Bab el Mandeb, and the response from insurance companies will be an indicator to monitor, as this chokepoint becomes a warzone once again.Germany: This morning a series of possible explosive drone attacks was reported at Leipzig/Halle Airport. Just before midnight, one quadcopter-type drone was observed operating over the airport, prompting drone procedures to be enacted and aircraft grounded. During this response, a search of the airport resulted in the discovery of a second quadcopter lying on the tarmac near a Ukrainian cargo plane. This drone appeared to contain an explosive charge, though no contact detonation apparatus was visible in the provided photos of this device. After this incident was concluded and flight operations resumed, a DHL cargo aircraft collided with a third drone (of unknown type) upon takeoff from this airport, which resulted in the aircraft declaring an emergency and diverting to another airport due to the damage to the airframe.-HomeFront-USA: Around the nation cyberattacks on critical infrastructure continue. Over the past few days, water utilities in a total of 12x states have been affected by malign actors since last month. After the large-scale cyberattacks which resulted in dozens of water districts being locked out of their systems in Minnesota, many more states have reported similar incidents. Georgia is the latest state affected by cyberattacks, and this afternoon New Jersey also reported two water districts being targeted, both of which had to cut access to unspecified computer systems and switch to operating manually.Analyst Comment: As with most infrastructure attacks, these incidents are usually not immediately disclosed to the public unless the public would find out about it anyway, so the timing of all of these cyberattacks is not really known. The Minnesota attacks last week were publicized immediately due to the immediate impact to the public, and now that more eyes are on the issue (and various federal agencies have issued warnings of more attacks), more lower-level municipalities are disclosing that they had similar breaches over the past two weeks.As far as the malign actors behind these cyberattacks, it could be anyone. It does not take a nationstate level actor to breach a system that was using the default passwords or wasn't secured properly in the first place, but the targeting of a nation's water supply indicates the motive is probably in the military realm. No ransomware or demands have been noted, and no hacking group has claimed credit yet. These attacks were meant to directly take services offline, ruling out financial motives for the time being.California: Yesterday the DoJ announced the arrest of an individual tied to a possible security breach at the Trump National Golf Club in Los Angeles. The press release states that Jeanine John Taele was observed conducting surveillance by the initial Secret Service advance team that was sent to the Golf Club ahead of President Trump's visit. Taele was observed wearing an earpiece and taking photos of the security practices at the club, which drew the eye of the USSS. The suspect departed the facility and transited to his home, where he was apprehended by the Secret Service. During a search of his belongings agents found a few firearms, a pair of binoculars, and a generic badge used by security guards. Additionally, authorities discovered several notebooks containing "concerning statements" at his residence.Analyst Comment: The press release left enough ambiguity to make it difficult to determine what actually happened here: This could be extremely serious, or just some idiot who got too curious. The mention of the earpiece is an important detail, because depending on what that earpiece was, this could be a big deal. The way the release is written, this could easily have been a bluetooth headset as is customarily displayed by those who prefer the rather garish utilitarianism of wearing at all times. Or, this could have been a more substantial security threat that expands beyond just one person. If this individual was acting suspiciously, taking photos of security equipment, speaking into a "radio signal device" with an earpiece, and had vaguely described manifesto-esque notebooks at his residence...this was probably way more serious than just some guy walking around.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comments: The drone incident in Germany will be heavily scrutinized as this is a major escalation which can be interpreted in many different ways. First off all, it must be noted that the one extremely blurry photo of one drone may or may not actually show an explosive charge. What looks like an explosive charge could also be the battery pack, it's hard to tell based on the photo. If there were explosives onboard, it would have been a very small charge and not the flying artillery shells that have become common during the war.At the wavetop level, it is hard to believe that a nation-state level actor which has undeniably mastered the art of conducting attacks with sUAS platforms in war...would fail. If Russia was behind this attack, and really intended to target Ukrainian aircraft on the ground in Germany, a 100% failure rate using multiple explosive drones is extraordinarily unlikely. As a result, it's possible that this was either a false-flag attack intended to blame Russia, or it was Russia sending a message to NATO. Conducting a drone attack, but deliberately leaving the detonator disconnected so that the debris is found and forensic analysis of the explosives leads to a Russian factory, would be a classic Russian message...that's their style perfectly. This is the Kremlin's version of "per my last email", and proves two very serious ideas: NATO's aircraft are vulnerable on their home turf, and Russia already has clandestine forces located near NATO airports poised and waiting to eliminate NATO aircraft before they ever get off the ground. That message is more valuable than taking out one Ukrainian transport plane.However, this whole saga could also be the Ukrainians trying to expand the war, continuing the trend that has been expanding for some time. Since the very start, Zelenskyy has been trying to draw the whole world into their war, and has conducted attacks involving other European nations (such as Monaco and Turkey), which have served as an attempt to bring other nations in to the war to fight the Russians for them. From the Ukrainian perspective this makes sense, and every nation on earth fighting such a nasty war would also use trickery in a similar manner. But for the DHL pilots who almost died and other collateral damage over the years, this is hardly reassuring.The truth will probably be indirectly told in the mainstream media, by what rhetoric is being pushed. If this incident is downplayed and memory-holed, it probably was the Russians. If the mainstream media sources in NATO countries start an information campaign to spin this in their favor, the chances of this being a fake attack go up. For everyone who does not have the ability to forensically analyze the devices themselves, the true culprit might never be known. All the while the new Cold War becomes increasingly more hot, every single day.Analyst: S2A1 Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground NomadNet: 5fa68c88be727a0e1a250a75e5e79269 Disclaimer: No LLMs were used in the writing of this report. //END REPORT//

//The Wire//2300Z August 4, 2026// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: IRANIAN ATTACKS CONTINUE IN KUWAIT AND STRAIT OF HORMUZ. TURKISH MERCHANTS STRUCK BY UKRAINIAN DRONES IN BLACK SEA. WILDFIRE RESPONSE CONTINUES IN PACIFIC NORTHWEST AS ARSON REMAINS A CONCERN.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE------International Events-Middle East: This morning Iranian attacks continued in the Strait of Hormuz, targeting more vessels which have attempted to transit via the unauthorized southern route. Around the region, Iranian forces targeted American installations in Kuwait overnight, with locals reporting large fires allegedly in the vicinity of Camp Buehring. Analyst Comment: This is the first round of strikes that was not explicitly tied to the tit-for-tat American strikes, and this is one of the few times the Iranians have launched an attack during this war, that was not purely retaliatory. This is the latest indicator that the Iranians are becoming increasingly less likely to allow the United States to conduct strikes, and then let the markets cool off by the time the opening bell rings. Conducting strikes on their own terms and timing, is likely a tactic Iran will continue to exercise while the United States tries to buy more time to figure out how to win the war.Europe: The war in Ukraine has remained hot on multiple fronts as attacks on merchant shipping in the Black Sea continue to involve more third-party nations. This morning, Ukrainian drones targeted the M/V NADEZHDA (IMO: 7702657) just off the coast of Novorossiysk. This vessel is a Roll-on, Roll-Off (RoRo) vehicle transportation vessel, and was owned and operated by Turkey, with a mostly Turkish crew. In addition to this strike, another vessel was also struck in the same general area. The M/V YASAR (IMO: 9276341), a smaller regional containership was struck at roughly the same time as the NADEZHDA. Both vessels had recently departed port Novorossiysk before being struck.Analyst Comment: So far, Turkish authorities have played their hand very carefully, and there haven't been any public statements indicating how serious they are treating these strikes. The Turks have called on both Ukraine and Russia to ensure safe navigation in the Black Sea, which is exactly the kind of milquetoast statement that would be expected for a NATO member which also buys a lot of Russian military hardware. Nevertheless, this duality of defense is only going to last for so long, especially if this war expands to include the deaths of Turkish civilians onboard Turkish civilian ships.-HomeFront-Pacific Northwest: Wildfire concerns remain paramount as disaster recovery efforts continue in Washington state. Spokane is the biggest urban interface affected by the wildfires, and many suburbs and surrounding towns have burned completely to the ground. The National Interagency Fire Center status report for this morning stated that the three main wildfires burning in the Spokane area are still zero-percent contained, though major gains were made in combatting two of the fires threatening local homes in the suburbs. So far, most of the firefighting efforts have prioritized immediate risk to life within the residential areas of the city, in addition to aiding evacuation efforts for much of the population.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comments: In eastern Washington, weather is going to play a factor over the next few days and the region at large is not out of the woods just yet. The National Weather Service Fire weather update from this morning indicated light and variable winds forecasted for tonight, increasing tomorrow. Temperatures today were a bit cooler, but temps are expected to rise (and humidity expected to drop) ever further tomorrow, as winds begin to rise. This afternoon's weather forecast continued to indicate increasing winds of over 20mph are likely throughout central and eastern Washington on Friday and Saturday. As a result, fire behavior conditions can change quickly, and increased situational awareness is vital while the crisis continues. This is especially important considering the origin of the fires. At least one arrest has been made due to at least some of these fires being arson, and the risk of continued malign action is likely while these weather patterns continue.Analyst: S2A1 Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground NomadNet: 5fa68c88be727a0e1a250a75e5e79269 Disclaimer: No LLMs were used in the writing of this report. //END REPORT//

//The Wire//2300Z August 3, 2026// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: MASS SHOOTING CONDUCTED IN IDAHO, PREPARED CITIZEN RETURNS FIRE DURING SMALL ARMS ENGAGEMENT. PRESIDENT TRUMP CALLS OFF WEEKEND STRIKES IN IRAN. WILDFIRES DEVASTATE URBAN AREAS IN PACIFIC NORTHWEST.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE------International Events-Middle East: On Saturday, President Trump stated that the weekend strikes had been called off. Throughout the region the status quo remains, and no major targeting efforts were conducted since last week, with the exception of Iran continuing to strike merchant vessels which try to transit the Strait of Hormuz using the unauthorized southern route.-HomeFront-Idaho: On Saturday, an active shooter incident was reported at an In-N-Out restaurant in Twin Falls. At approximately 2:30pm local time, one gunman approached the structure and began shooting at the patrons inside. During the attack, an armed and prepared citizen responded to the shooting and began engaging the shooter. This action prompted the shooter to break off the attack, and take his own life, ending the incident. During the fray, an off duty police officer at the venue also responded to the shooting, and was seriously wounded by a gunshot wound to the arm.Concerning casualties, a total of 3x people were killed during the attack, at least one of which was an employee of the restaurant. Approximately 7x others were wounded, some of which remain in critical condition. The suspect has been identified as Chad Williams, and no information has been released regarding the motive for the attack.Analyst Comment: Based on the videos that have come to light during the shooting, the attacker was very likely not expecting any opposition to arrive for some time, and was likely caught off guard by at least one, possibly two people shooting at him immediately after his attack began. Though this shooting will be scrutinized over the next few weeks, the immediate lesson learned is that both violence of action and some level of training are the most important factors for turning the tide during an active shooter incident.Washington: Over the weekend, wildfires have spread throughout the Pacific Northwest, with an exceptionally dangerous series of fires affecting Spokane. Fire damage has spread to the urban areas at the northwestern side of town, and upwards of 65,000 people remain affected or displaced by the devastation statewide.Analyst Comment: In wildland fire management, one of the most dangerous fire situations are fires that occur at the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI). These are fires which occur on the outskirts of towns, where jurisdictions meet and interagency coordination is more difficult due to varying tactics being used in fighting the fire. In this case, the fires spreading to the urban environment very quickly resulted in the loss of approximately 700 structures in Spokane County.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comments: Though the chances of this theory being correct are slim, there is another possible explanation for the weekend shenanigans in the Middle East, that does not lie in the realm of stock market manipulation or insider trading. It is possible that the long buildup to weekend strikes on the rhetoric front (but not really in terms of staging a lot of aircraft) was intended to make someone or something move.Speaking operationally, the Iranians have been buttoned up for some time now, as they are fighting a defensive war on their home turf. Most Iranian leadership, even down the chain to mid-level management positions, are all expecting decapitation strikes, the targeting of headquarters positions, and other secret bunker complexes and safehouses that are used for command and control. When an adversary is dug-in so substantially, sometimes it's beneficial to "shake the tree", as in, to do something to get the dug-in adversary to either move or communicate with others. If this was the goal, it probably worked and resulted in some intelligence benefit. The Iranians viewed the strikes as imminent, to the point that cities were being evacuated, leave was canceled for ground troops, and key leaders had moved to their more substantial bunker complexes. Movement which the watchful eye of American intelligence agencies could see.Of course, if this theory bears any weight, the overall reasoning for why this took place is still fairly dumb. Normally, these types of information operations are useless unless they are capitalized on immediately, as stale intelligence does not really help the overall strategic situation. What's astronomically more likely than some sort of intelligence collection potential is simply the financial incentives to keep playing financial markets, and hoping that the "we're bombing them"/"they called and want to make a deal" cycle continues to be a viable option for both insider trading, but also to string the war along and buy time for a solution to hopefully materialize.Analyst: S2A1 Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground NomadNet: 5fa68c88be727a0e1a250a75e5e79269 Disclaimer: No LLMs were used in the writing of this report. //END REPORT//

Research Notes/Bibliography can be found here: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground Common Intelligence Picture: https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=204a59b01f4443cd96718796fd102c00 Border Crisis Map: https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=7f13eda1f301431e98a7ac0393b0e6b0 TOC Dashboard: https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/ebe374c40c1a4231a06075155b0e8cb9/ 00:00 - The HomeFront 04:39 - Middle East 07:56 - Spain 12:32 - Chokepoints 19:08 - GhostNet Download the GhostNet plan here! https://github.com/s2underground/GhostNet The text version of the Wire can be found on Twitter: https://twitter.com/s2_underground And on our Wire Telegram page here: https://t.me/S2undergroundWire If you would like to support us, we're on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/user?u=30479515 Disclaimer: No company sponsored this video. In fact, we have ZERO sponsors. We are funded 100% by you, the viewer. All of our funding comes from direct support from platforms like Patreon, or from ad revenue on YouTube. Without your support, I simply could not do this work at all, so to those of you who chose to support my efforts, I am eternally thankful. Odysee: https://odysee.com/@S2Underground:7 Gab: https://gab.com/S2underground Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/S2Underground BitChute: https://www.bitchute.com/channel/P2NMGFdt3gf3/ Just a few reminders for everyone who's just become aware of us, in order to keep these briefings from being several hours long, I can't cover everything. I'm probably covering 1% of the world events when we conduct these briefings, so please remember that if I left it out, it doesn't necessarily mean that it's unimportant. Also, remember that I do these briefings quite often, so I might have covered an issue previously that you might not see if you are only watching our most recent videos. I'm also doing this in my spare time, so again I fully admit that these briefings aren't even close to being perfect; I'm going for a healthy blend of speed and quality. If I were to wait and only post a brief when it's "perfect" I would never post anything at all. So expect some minor errors here and there. If there is a major error or correction that needs to be made, I will post it here in the description, and verbally address it in the next briefing. Also, thanks for reading this far. It is always surprising the number of people that don't actually read the description box to find more information. This content is purely educational and does not advocate for violating any laws. Do not violate any laws or regulations. This is not legal advice. Consult with your attorney. Our Reading List! https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/133747963-s2-actual The War Kitchen Channel! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYmtpjXT22tAWGIlg_xDDPA 

//The Wire//2100Z July 31, 2026// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: GIBRALTAR CRISIS CONTINUES AS 60,000 MIGRANTS FLOOD INTO SPAIN. ITALY TO SUSPEND SCHENGEN AGREEMENT WITH SPAIN DUE TO MIGRANT CRISIS. IRAN CONTINUES TARGETING KUWAIT AS UNITED STATES CONSOLIDATES POSITIONS IN MIDDLE EAST AMID IRANIAN TARGETING EFFORTS.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE------International Events-Spain: The situation regarding the migrant wave has continued to deteriorate sharply. After the perimeter fence was breached yesterday, the sheer waves of people crossing the border have devastated the enclave of Ceuta. Spanish authorities estimate that over 60,000 people have crossed the border since the perimeter breach last night, and most residents of the peninsula have been barricading themselves inside their homes as the sheer number of people in this small town is staggering. Home invasions and forced-squatting instances have been reported all around the peninsula, along with mass looting and destruction taking place. Throughout this morning, many migrants have also been observed crossing back into Morocco, after realizing that the small peninsula cannot sustain this many people, as water and food sources have been expended throughout much of the city.Analyst Comment: Additionally, videos surfaced overnight confirming that this effort is not entirely organic. Truckloads of migrants are deliberately being driven to the border fence and released into Spain with the active participation of the Moroccan government. Moroccan border guards have also been observed opening the fence from their side as well, allowing large crowds through gates separating the peninsula from the mainland.Europe: This morning, the Italian government has suspended their Schengen Agreement with Spain, cutting off free travel between the two nations. The Interior Minister for Finland also voiced support for Italy's decision, urging other EU member states to likewise close their borders with Spain.Analyst Comment: Spain losing visa-free access to Italy is a big deal, as Italy one of the largest economies in Europe and cross-border trade between Spain and Italy amounts to roughly €70 billion per year. The Schengen agreement does specifically allow for the temporary halting of the pact as a measure of last resort, which Italy has enacted. If more nations follow suit, Spain could be in quite a tough spot that will probably result in a complication of trade in the short term. -----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comments: In the Middle East, the war remains much the same as before, with most strikes targeting American bases in Kuwait. No strikes have been reported in Jordan yet today, but satellite imagery is still pending coverage since the strikes on al Salti a few days ago. The United States has reportedly turned around a few vessels in the Gulf of Oman, which if true, confirms that the American blockade is still in effect to some degree. Similarly, Iranian sources claim to have struck two more tankers somewhere in the Gulf or Strait of Hormuz, but the UKMTO has not confirmed this yet (which they might not do, as they also underreported successful strikes a few weeks ago). In Iraq, Arab news sources are reporting that the drawdown of the American presence in Erbil is nearly complete, and that all missile defenses have been withdrawn from this installation and relocated elsewhere. Though the scale of the American withdrawal in Iraq is not exactly being openly advertised, moving the remains of that Patriot battery are a big clue that the U.S. is looking to cede Iraq to Iran's sphere of influence. The Erbil airport was the last official American position in the nation (aside from the Embassy in Baghdad), so if the US has departed this base, this would be the first time in 23 years the US has not had a conventional military presence in Iraq. Now, the closest positions to Iran (from the western side), are in Kuwait. This is probably why Iranian strikes continue to focus on Kuwait, and the American bases within. This is not just intended to reduce the potential for more American ATACMS missile launches from the border region, but also to keep pressure on the United States, preventing the staging of aircraft at the handful of airbases in Kuwait.Analyst: S2A1 Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground NomadNet: 5fa68c88be727a0e1a250a75e5e79269 Disclaimer: No LLMs were used in the writing of this report. //END REPORT//

//The Wire//2100Z July 30, 2026// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: UNITED STATES CONDUCTS RETALIATORY STRIKES WITHIN IRAN. CYCLOSPORA OUTBREAK CONTINUES IN UNITED STATES. MIGRATION WAVE HITS SPAIN AFTER SUPREME COURT RULING RESULTS IN BORDER CROSSING BREACH.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE------International Events-Middle East: American strikes on Iran continued overnight, with most of the targets being struck in the same coastal regions of Iran that have been targeted since the ceasefire was broken. Iran has claimed to have struck several aircraft on the ground at Muwaffaq al Salti in Jordan, along with other targets around the region which will take some time to verify.On the American side, one new series of targets struck by the United States was reported in the border town of Abadan, which is geographically located right on the Iraqi border, a short distance from Bubiyan Island where American HIMARs launchers have been observed conducting ATACMS strikes within Iran.Spain: An emergency situation has been declared after thousands of migrants swarmed the small enclave of Ceuta on the south side of the Strait of Gibraltar. Several thousand migrants breached the border perimeter that separates the Spanish peninsular city of Ceuta, from mainland Morocco. After it became clear to the crowds that there were very few border guards, the fencing was breached by land, and small boats launched by sea to land on the beaches, circumventing the fencing.Immediately after the migrant waves arrived this morning, the city has been in a state of sheer bedlam. Riots have been reported throughout the peninsula and property owners have reported being swarmed with break ins, as the border itself has completely collapsed.Analyst Comment: The reason for the fray is due to a recent court ruling which has intensified illegal immigration efforts. This week, Spain's Supreme Court re-affirmed that their borders are open, and that migrants who are apprehended trying to cross over to this peninsula cannot be deported. Last month, Spain's amnesty program officially closed, but because it's very hard to prove an entry date for someone who crossed the border illegally, the boats are being launched like never before, which resulted in today's intensification once the fence was breached.-HomeFront-USA: Around the nation the outbreak of cyclospora has continued to remain a concern as the exact point of origin for the parasite remains largely unknown. Over the past few weeks, the infection has continued to spread around the nation, and now a total of 45x states are reporting citizens falling ill. The largest outbreak cluster remains in Michigan and Ohio, and most of the other states affected are located in the midwest, the northeast, and southeastern regions of the nation.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comments: The war in the Middle East has reached a level of complexity that makes direct strikes and targeting efforts way more impactful than they otherwise would be. A few days ago, the Saudis struck targets in northern Iraq, targeting Iran-aligned militia groups. It was partially this action which resulted in Iran striking back at Saudi Arabia yesterday. The groups that were targeted by the Saudis, were allegedly smaller sub-groups within the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), which had not formally joined with the Iraqi government. For context, the PMF are an infamous collection of militia units and tribes, which align with Iran along religious lines in addition to sharing the geography along the Iranian border.In recent years, the PMF has been rolled into the Iraqi government, to serve as the official militia/homeguard for the nation. This results in a complex web of loyalties and relationships, as making the PMF a part of the official uniformed Iraqi military service makes them harder to strike due to the diplomatic situation. This is probably why the Saudis attacked when they didn't necessarily need to. They found a way to strike PMF factions that would probably result in a fracturing within the region, but also not really result in a retaliatory attack from the Iraqi government. Or at least, that was the gamble on the part of the Saudis. The fact that the PMF sporadically launch drones at the Saudis helped justify this targeting effort last weekend. However in effect, what this has done, has brought Iran and Iraq closer together...at least in terms of hating the Saudis. The problem is that the Saudis (much like others in the region) have a habit of kicking a hornets nest, then handing that nest to the United States to deal with. When the Saudis hit the PMF in Iraq, the militia groups in Iraq will probably take this as an opportunity to increase attacks on the American base in Erbil (as they have for years), and the Iraqi government might not be so inclined to reign them in...because the Americans are not reigning in the Saudis. In short, things are sliding sideways, and because it's complicated and can't be compressed into a quick soundbite for decision makers to consume, the danger is very likely going unnoticed.Even though it is complicated, this is a comparatively easy example of how escalations can take place not just vertically, but also horizontally. Vertical escalations take the form of increasingly more severe tit-for-tat airstrikes, but horizontal escalations are far less intense, while spreading out around the world. This has resulted in the situation sleepwalking into serious territory, which has largely gone unnoticed because it hasn't been flashy enough for headlines. The Saudis are striking the Iraqis, the Houthis are hitting the Saudis, somebody is striking the Egyptians, the Israelis have slipped back into the shadows, the Iranians are hitting the Jordanians and Americans, and the United States is perplexingly bombing coastal targets and bridges within Iran...which are rather forebodingly only used during the wintertime wet season. These horizontal escalations have been a mainstay of this conflict since the beginning, but right now these more indirect escalations are taking center stage as the United States and Iran slug it out with missiles, drones, and bombs, and the United States is unable to make progress for the time being.Analyst: S2A1 Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground NomadNet: 5fa68c88be727a0e1a250a75e5e79269 Disclaimer: No LLMs were used in the writing of this report. //END REPORT//

//The Wire//2300Z July 29, 2026// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: WAR IN MIDDLE EAST EXPANDS TO AFRICA AS DRONE ATTACK REPORTED IN EGYPT. IRAN CONDUCTS MORE MISSILE STRIKES ON AMERICAN BASES IN MIDDLE EAST, UNITED STATES BEGINS RESPONSE THIS EVENING. CYBERATTACK TARGETS MINNESOTA WATER SUPPLY.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE------International Events-Middle East: Overnight Iran conducted missile and drone attacks throughout the region, targeting American positions. Muwaffaq al Salti was hit again, along with the American base in Erbil. After this series of attacks, the White House has indicated that the US will be retaliating soon, and as of this report American airstrikes have resumed within Iran.Egypt: This morning, explosions were reported onboard a floating natural gas storage/processing platform in Damietta Port. An American-registered Floating Storage and Regassification Unit (FSRU) was reportedly struck by at least one munition, which resulted in several follow-on explosions. Separately, another tanker vessel was reportedly struck in the same general area. As of this afternoon firefighting boats were still cooling the superstructure and most of the topside equipment onboard the two vessels.Analyst Comment: Egyptian authorities have stated that these explosions were an industrial accident, however a video taken by a crew member onboard the vessel that was struck confirms that the incident was a drone attack. Regardless, nobody has claimed this as a targeting effort yet, and if this was Iran, it would be the longest-range attack they have conducted so far during the war. As a result, it's possible (or even likely) that these drones were launched from somewhere closer than Iran. Lebanon is the only wild guess that makes sense, as it's a straight shot across the water to the target.-HomeFront-USA: Yesterday evening American Airlines announced a nationwide ground stop of all of their aircraft due to an IT outage. The FAA implemented the emergency action due to an unspecified loss of connectivity between American Airlines aircraft and ground control systems. Mass delays were reported nationwide while the outage was being fixed, and after several hours systems were restored.Minnesota: This afternoon a large scale cyberattack was reported targeting water treatment and processing systems throughout the state. The cyberattack was only disclosed to the public this morning, but initially took place on July 26/27. The immediate impact of this cyberattack resulted in power outages and the control of automated water management systems being affected. As of this afternoon, the towns of Braham, Maple Plain, Plymouth, and south St. Paul have all reported being impacted by the cyberattack, with many districts throughout the state remaining under a boil-water advisory.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comments: CENTCOM and the media are calling Iran's actions last night a "surprise attack", but in reality it was no different than all of the other attacks conducted so far. CENTCOM has stated that all missiles were intercepted, but locals on the ground have provided photos of large fires and smoke plumes being emitted from American bases. Nevertheless, theses attacks probably pushed the decision to be made regarding a return to strikes, in some form. The war officially expanding to now include Egypt is very likely to complicate the situation further...this one war involving Iran has now technically spread to a total of three continents: Asia, Europe, and now northern Africa. Of course, one or two drone strikes does not equal a large scale operation, but back in 1942 Doolittle's Raid didn't either. It was meant to send a message, much like the extremely long-range attack that was carried out in Egypt today.Egypt certainly received that message lout and clear, but it is questionable as to if the significance of this small attack was understood by the United States. Though the usual tit-for-tat cycle has been disrupted somewhat over the past week, at a more strategic level all indications are in place pointing toward a continuation of what's been ongoing since the ceasefire was broken: Tit-for-tat strikes continuing that stay below the level of all-out war, but also resulting in no diplomatic solution for the time being. All the while the war slowly creeps outside the bounds of the region, and the message becomes more clear: From the Nile Delta to Mumbai...nowhere is safe from the impact of war.Analyst: S2A1 Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground NomadNet: 5fa68c88be727a0e1a250a75e5e79269 Disclaimer: No LLMs were used in the writing of this report. //END REPORT//

//The Wire//2000Z July 28, 2026// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: MAJOR EARTHQUAKE STRIKES SOUTHERN JAPAN. NETANYAHU ARRIVES IN WASHINGTON D.C. FOR SEN. GRAHAM FUNERAL. HOUTHI TARGETING OF SAUDI OIL REFINERIES REMAINS CONSTANT.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE------International Events-Japan: This morning a major earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 7.1 struck the Kumamoto prefecture, causing damage to critical infrastructure and residential areas in southern Japan. Aeon Mall was one of the most heavily damaged structures, with several entrapments being reported as shoppers were unable to exit the building due to a partial collapse of the structure. After this collapse, a gas explosion was also reported at the mall, and as of this morning approximately 20-30x people remained missing.Middle East: No major changes to the overall situation were reported overnight. Satellite imagery has become available that confirms the Houthis not just hit the Jazan refinery a few days ago, but also the refinery at Yanbu. This afternoon, the Houthis announced that they had targeted a tanker vessel which has been at anchor off Yanbu for a few days, though the success of this targeting has not yet been confirmed.Analyst Comment: Despite the devastating strikes on Saudi oil facilities over the past few days, oil markets continue to plummet, indicating a sharp departure from the reality of the situation.-HomeFront-Washington D.C. - Yesterday afternoon PM Netanyahu arrived for the state funeral of Sen. Lindsey Graham, as well as to conduct meetings regarding the war in Iran. This morning, the proceedings for Sen. Graham began at the Capitol, and various politicians and dignitaries are expected to make an appearance throughout the day.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comments: Debate is growing regarding the general status of the war in the Middle East. Iranian targeting has remained fairly tepid after last week's strikes, although the Houthis have continued to deal damage to Saudi infrastructure over the past few days. For the United States, every indicator lined up last week to suggest weekend strikes were going to take place, but leaks from the White House and Pentagon have suggested that the strikes were called off for now. As to why, the rumors diverge sharply and there's no way to get a solid bead on what the actual plan is at the moment. The situation has reached another point (much like has happened before) where the US can just as equally go all-in on another round of strikes, or the US could do nothing. Nevertheless, if strikes are planned, timing wise it's almost certain to take place after Netanyahu returns home from his visit to the US.President Trump himself confirmed one of the main reasons for PM Netanyahu visiting Washington, is to provide an in-person briefing on the infamous Pickaxe Mountain complex at the Natanz nuclear facility in Iran. In various statements since this leaked, President Trump pushed back on the significance of this underground complex (and thus indicating less support for conducting another Midnight Hammer-style operation), but as always this can go either way.Analyst: S2A1 Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground NomadNet: 5fa68c88be727a0e1a250a75e5e79269 Disclaimer: No LLMs were used in the writing of this report. //END REPORT//

//The Wire//2300Z July 27, 2026// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: WEEKEND SHOOTING REPORTED AT SEATTLE FESTIVAL. VEHICLE RAMMING ATTACK REPORTED IN BERLIN. STABBING ATTACK REPORTED IN PARIS. IRANIAN TARGETING CONTINUES TO STRIKE LOCATIONS THROUGHOUT MIDDLE EAST, U.S. HAS NOT RESPONDED YET.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE------International Events-Middle East: After the intense Iranian targeting of American positions Friday evening, sporadic Iranian drone strikes have been reported throughout the region. Other than targeting American positions, Iranian drone attacks have also been observed striking Kurdish militia encampments in northeastern Iraq. On the American side, CENTCOM has not disclosed any strikes within Iran for several days.Red Sea/HOA: Nearly the entire Jazan Refinery in Saudi Arabia remains on fire following the Houthi targeting on Saturday. As of last night, fire detection satellites indicated that most of the facility has been totally destroyed and satellite imagery from yesterday indicates a very large fire at this facility is still burning and the smoke plume stretches over 50 miles to the south.Europe: This morning Iran issued a public condemnation of the Ukrainian targeting of a Russian vessel. Over the weekend a Ukrainian drone struck a Russian vessel, which resulted in the death of one crew member. This crew member happened to be an Iranian citizen, which prompted Foreign Minister Araghchi to issue a statement of outrage.Analyst Comment: It is very unlikely that the Ukrainians would have known that one random crewmember onboard a vessel was technically Iranian, but intentional or not, this incident is another step towards linking the war in Europe with the conflict in the Middle East.Germany: On Sunday, a vehicle ramming attack was reported at the Pride festival in Berlin. One assailant ramming his vehicle into a crowd in the vicinity of the Tiergarden west of the Brandenburg Gate, killing one person and wounding 29 others. After the ramming, the suspect exited the vehicle and reportedly stabbed several people with a machete, before fleeing the scene. This prompted a nationwide manhunt for the assailant that was carried out Sunday afternoon. By Sunday evening, the suspect had been located in a residential area of Spandau. Once located, the suspect allegedly tried to stab the arresting officers, which resulted in the suspect being shot and killed. The suspect was identified as Abdul Ballout, who had reportedly just been released from a juvenile detention facility.France: This morning a stabbing attack was reported in Paris, near Porte de Clichy. One assailant stabbed 3x women on the street, before being restrained by bystanders and an off-duty police officer. While being held down by responding citizens, the attacker claimed that the attack was Islamic in nature, prompting the government to classify this incident as a terror attack.-HomeFront-Washington: Yesterday a shooting was reported at the Bite of Seattle food festival at the Seattle Center. Multiple black/Middle Eastern males began shooting at each other inside a crowd at the event, which resulted in 3x people killed, and 4x others wounded.Analyst Comment: This incident was initially reported as a mass shooting, however the multiple shooters were not targeting the crowd, as this was almost certainly a gang/cultural shooting. As a result of the cultural implications, Seattle Police have not released the name of the suspect(s) they have in custody, nor have they released the photo of the suspect which remains at large.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comments: Despite the substantial Iranian targeting over the past few days, the American response has so far been very minimal and no meaningful strikes have been conducted since Friday night within Iran. This is probably a reflection of the calm before the storm, as the United States continues to stage assets for a large scale attack sometime soon. Over the weekend, many phone calls were likely made which may have delayed whatever American targeting was planned to take place, as several Iranian/Houthi targeting efforts appear to have been more substantial than expected. The Houthi strike on the Jazan Refinery was very clearly an extremely devastating strike from the Houthis, which probably caused the Saudis pause regarding how much hurt the Houthis can bring to the table. Similarly, the heavy targeting of Erbil (and Patriot battery at this base) has likely resulted in a degradation of air defenses in this sector. How bad the damage is, is anyone's guess, but based on the scorch marks observed from space last week, it is hard to imagine this air defense site remaining operational. The Iranians have also claimed to have struck half a dozen other air defense sites throughout the region, but these can't be verified until better satellite imagery is available. Which might take time due to the deliberate censorship of imagery as mandated by the U.S. government.Over the past few weeks, anecdotal evidence from locals on the ground throughout the region has increasingly indicated fewer and fewer successful interceptions of Iranian munitions. These reports are very hard to quantify as most of the time it's a shepherd looking up and visually seeing the interceptors miss the Iranian missile, or no interceptors being launched in the first place. Obviously, these reports are about as unconfirmed as it can get, but the smoking craters that are visible on satellite imagery add a lot of credence to the general theory that, for whatever reason, interceptions are not as effective as advertised. However, as it stands the U.S. will probably respond in some way, not just because of the scale of the Iranian missile strikes, but also the fact that this targeting (and the collapse of the ceasefire) has resulted in the Strait of Hormuz remaining fully closed. What that response will be or when it will be carried out, only time will tell.Analyst: S2A1 Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground NomadNet: 5fa68c88be727a0e1a250a75e5e79269 Disclaimer: No LLMs were used in the writing of this report. //END REPORT//

Research Notes/Bibliography can be found here: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground Common Intelligence Picture: https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=204a59b01f4443cd96718796fd102c00 Border Crisis Map: https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=7f13eda1f301431e98a7ac0393b0e6b0 TOC Dashboard: https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/ebe374c40c1a4231a06075155b0e8cb9/ 00:00 - The HomeFront 03:02 - Europe 06:53 - Middle East 14:10 - GhostNet and Reticulum Download the GhostNet plan here! https://github.com/s2underground/GhostNet The text version of the Wire can be found on Twitter: https://twitter.com/s2_underground And on our Wire Telegram page here: https://t.me/S2undergroundWire If you would like to support us, we're on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/user?u=30479515 Disclaimer: No company sponsored this video. In fact, we have ZERO sponsors. We are funded 100% by you, the viewer. All of our funding comes from direct support from platforms like Patreon, or from ad revenue on YouTube. Without your support, I simply could not do this work at all, so to those of you who chose to support my efforts, I am eternally thankful. Odysee: https://odysee.com/@S2Underground:7 Gab: https://gab.com/S2underground Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/S2Underground BitChute: https://www.bitchute.com/channel/P2NMGFdt3gf3/ Just a few reminders for everyone who's just become aware of us, in order to keep these briefings from being several hours long, I can't cover everything. I'm probably covering 1% of the world events when we conduct these briefings, so please remember that if I left it out, it doesn't necessarily mean that it's unimportant. Also, remember that I do these briefings quite often, so I might have covered an issue previously that you might not see if you are only watching our most recent videos. I'm also doing this in my spare time, so again I fully admit that these briefings aren't even close to being perfect; I'm going for a healthy blend of speed and quality. If I were to wait and only post a brief when it's "perfect" I would never post anything at all. So expect some minor errors here and there. If there is a major error or correction that needs to be made, I will post it here in the description, and verbally address it in the next briefing. Also, thanks for reading this far. It is always surprising the number of people that don't actually read the description box to find more information. This content is purely educational and does not advocate for violating any laws. Do not violate any laws or regulations. This is not legal advice. Consult with your attorney. Our Reading List! https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/133747963-s2-actual The War Kitchen Channel! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYmtpjXT22tAWGIlg_xDDPA 

//The Wire//2300Z July 24, 2026// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: TARGETING CONTINUES TO ESCALATE THROUGHOUT MIDDLE EAST. EXPLOSIVES RECOVERED DURING RAID IN IRELAND. SHILOH HENDRIX CONVICTED OF DISORDERLY CONDUCT IN LANDMARK FREE SPEECH CASE.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE------International Events-Middle East: Iranian strikes continue to target American military installations around the region. Most of the American bases in Kuwait have been struck regularly by Iranian drones, and missile attacks remain constant at American positions in Jordan. This morning, the Patriot battery in Erbil was targeted again, with local Iraqis reporting large smoke plumes emitting from the section of the base where the launchers are located. Some successful interceptions of drones were also reported along with the more unconfirmed targeting efforts which can't yet be geolocated or verified with satellite imagery.Iran: American targeting continues to escalate as well. Airstrikes have been observed in Bandar Abbas, Jask, and Qeshm Island, along with more substantial strikes at the underground missile cities in Khorramabad and Yazd. Coastal targets remain an American priority as the ports and marinas housing small boats using the IRGCN are constantly targeted.Red Sea/HOA: This afternoon the war between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia flared up once again, with both belligerents trading strikes this evening. The Yemeni port (and Houthi stronghold) of Hodeida was struck, with fires continuing to burn late into the night. Ireland: This morning an explosive device was discovered during a series of raids throughout the regions near the border with Northern Ireland. One suspect was arrested after a bag containing plastic explosives (allegedly Semtex) and a detonator was discovered in her vehicle.Analyst Comment: Details are very sketchy and vague, but this incident generally aligns with some of the other incidents that have recently taken place regarding explosives in Northern Ireland or adjacent areas. Much of the time the person arrested in possession of an explosive device is not the actual assailant, but instead transporting a package that they do not know the contents of. What the story is in this case, is not known. However, this is another reminder that even though Northern Ireland might be out of the mainstream news cycle, paramilitary groups are very much active throughout the region, and the causes of the Belfast riots last month have not been forgotten.-HomeFront-Minnesota: Last night, after a four day jury trial that involved multiple Somali interpreters, Shiloh Hendrix was convicted of one count of disorderly conduct, for calling a Somalian a name while being harassed on a Rochester playground in May of last year.Analyst Comment: This landmark First Amendment case is being appealed on the grounds that the judge in the case refused to allow evidence to be presented, verbally abused the defense council in front of the jury, and allowed one the the star witnesses in the case to commit perjury while on the stand.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comments: Indications and warnings continue to point toward a widening of the war, possibly to include more serious targeting efforts over the next few days/weeks. All American aircraft that were stationed at Al Udeid Airbase in Qatar have been relocated to Ovda Airbase in Israel, and King Hussein International Airport in Jordan, both of which have been targeted by Iran since their movement earlier this week. Otherwise, military aviation has been extremely active throughout the region, with many assets being moved around from base to base.On the messaging front within the homeland, other more generalized indicators are stacking up too. The media blitz to urge a widening of the war has re-intensified to a staggering degree, to similar levels in the days leading up to the war back in February. Rhetoric from official White House sources has likewise continued to expand the war, with the announced targets now including more tunnels and bridges along with more deliberately civilian infrastructure such as power plants, and water treatment/desalination facilities. All things considered, as the weekend approaches more targeting is likely.Analyst: S2A1 Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground NomadNet: 5fa68c88be727a0e1a250a75e5e79269 Disclaimer: No LLMs were used in the writing of this report. //END REPORT//

//The Wire//2100Z July 22, 2026// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: IRANIAN TARGETING OF AMERICAN BASES REMAINS SIGNIFICANT. MISSILE THREAT ISSUED FOR LA GUARDIA LAST NIGHT, REPORT QUICKLY DEEMED NOT CREDIBLE.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE------International Events-Kuwait: Strikes on American positions continue to degrade American capabilities. The logistical hub at Camp Doha in Kuwait City was struck overnight, along with possible strikes at the remote HIMARS launch sites in near the Iraqi border. Iran also claimed to have struck the AN/FPS-117 Early Warning radar array at Ahmed al-Jaber Airbase.Analyst Comment: Unlike all of the other strikes, this site cannot be independently verified or geolocated using current satellite imagery, so it might be a newly constructed site or the Iranians got the names of bases mixed up.Saudi Arabia: Iranian missile strikes were reported throughout the morning, with unknown success. The oil terminals at Yanbu as well as American positions at Prince Sultan Airbase were targeted, with unknown effect. Jordan: American positions continue to be struck at Muwaffaq al Salti Airbase, in the vicinity of the strike that killed 3x service members last week. In central Jordan, King Faisal Airbase was targeted as well, with satellite imagery confirming that as of this morning, one of the structures targeted was still on fire. Down south, the American positions at King Hussein International Airport were targeted, as the Iranians attempted to strike the American refueling aircraft that have been parked on the apron for several days. Israeli citizens across the border observed smoke over the mountain ridge in the vicinity of this airport.Analyst Comment: Now that the Iranians know that their targeting is effective at Muwaffaq, they will continue targeting the same location over and over again. Same with Tower 22, the far-flung base in Jordan's northeastern quadrant, where extensive damage has been noted. Also, the Iranians claim to have unveiled a comparatively new missile system during this wave of attacks; Iran used many of their low-grade missiles during the early days of the war, and now they are occasionally pulling out the newer missiles which have more advanced maneuverability during the terminal phases of the warhead's flight. This might be a contributing factor for why missile interceptions are completely non-existent during some attack waves.-HomeFront-New York: Last night, a security incident was reported at La Guardia after a MANPAD alert was issued for the airport. Port Authority Police alerted the tower regarding a threat they had received regarding the potential use of a shoulder-fired Surface-to-Air missile launcher being used to target a civilian airliner. The report was deemed to be not credible almost immediately afterwards, but the alert was still sent out over the radio to all aircraft in the vicinity.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comments: Sometimes, a few seconds of radio traffic is very illuminating. Listening to the very brief radio exchange between the tower and a Delta flight explaining the issue in New York, perhaps the most telling and concerning detail is that La Guardia possibly has a "MANPAD alert" procedure now. From a counterterrorism perspective this is a good thing, but it's also very disconcerting that this contingency is something that is not only actively being planned for...but already has a procedure drawn up for it. Granted, there's not a whole lot that a commercial airline pilot can do with that information while trying to land, and the rather nonchalant affirmation that no issues have been reported "yet" is only slightly reassuring. But this does go to show that threats within the homeland don't take a break just because eastern Europe and the Middle East are on fire, and the threats to commercial aviation are always on the menu even if most of the concerns are not credible. However, it only takes one credible threat for a very bad day to occur, and this target vector is the epitome of the old counterterrorism saying: We have to be successful in defending ourselves every single time, but the terrorist has to succeed only once.Analyst: S2A1 Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground NomadNet: 5fa68c88be727a0e1a250a75e5e79269 Disclaimer: No LLMs were used in the writing of this report. //END REPORT//

//The Wire//1700Z July 23, 2026// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: TARGETING THROUGHOUT MIDDLE EAST CONTINUES TO ESCALATE. CRUDE OIL FUTURES SURGE AS HOUTHIS ENTER THE WAR BY STRIKING TWO SAUDI TANKERS. U.S. HOUSE PASSES 2027 NDAA, WITH SECTION 219 LANGUAGE INTACT. POLICE SHOOTING REPORTED IN WISCONSIN, PROTESTS ALREADY UNDERWAY.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE------International Events-Red Sea/HOA: The Houthis entered the war overnight, striking two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea. The Houthis claim to have targeted the M/T ENCELA and the M/T LAYLIA for attempting to transit the Red Sea to the Saudi oil terminal at Yanbu. The UKMTO confirmed that at least one tanker was struck, but made no mention of the other vessel.Kuwait: Last night the Abdali Border Checkpoint crossing with Iraq was struck by an unidentified Iranian munition. This morning, satellite imagery became available for the first time in a few days over Ali Al Salem Airbase. At this base, a 50+ meter impact crater is visible directly in the center of a series of barracks buildings. The exact timing of this attack is not known, but the imagery indicates it was conducted sometime over the past week.-HomeFront-Wisconsin: Yesterday afternoon a high-profile police shooting was reported in Madison, which involved a man with a knife being shot during a scuffle in the vicinity of Baldwin and Williamson Street. The suspect's identity has not been confirmed yet, however protests and demonstrations broke out immediately after the shooting occurred. More demonstrations were carried out this morning, and more protests are expected over the next few days.Washington D.C. - Last night, the House of Representatives passed the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which included the highly controversial Section 219 language intact. This section links the American military industry with Israel, embedding Israeli control of discretionary budgets within the Pentagon. The bill enables the creation of an "Executive Agent" for the Pentagon, which will direct American military technological advancements at the behest of the IDF. The bill now heads to the Senate for approval, where it is expected to pass.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comments: Following the strikes in the Red Sea, financial markets reacted as Brent crude spiked to over $100/bbl, bringing futures prices back in line with the height of the war months ago. This is an indicator that the flimflammery present in the financial sector can no longer ignore the reality of the situation at hand. Since the war began, a grand game of musical chairs has been played by powerful entities to pretend that everything is fine, but at some point the markets will be forced into accepting reality by the sheer lack of oil. Within a few weeks the music is going to stop, and hard decisions will have to be made. This is why President Trump himself stated on June 17th that the main reason for signing the MOU was to prevent an extremely dire energy crisis, because the US was running out of oil. He directly stated that the US had 4 weeks of oil reserves left, and that if those run out, "bedlam" would be the result.The Houthi's becoming involved, and proving their dedication by striking oil tankers, is stacking concerns on top of concerns. The war in the Middle East now officially affects three of the most important maritime choke points in the world: the Strait of Hormuz, Bab el Mandeb, and the Suez Canal. Shipping attempting to transit any of these three points will very likely either be targeted directly, or be negatively affected in some way and the other options for securing oil are tightening as well. Venezuela, the nation that has become a proxy state of the US and thusly touted as being a major source of US oil during the Hormuz Crisis...just suffered a catastrophic earthquake that severely damaged infrastructure. Despite this destruction, oil continues to flow, but it was only ever half a million barrels per day before the war, and it's hard to imagine that an earthquake would make that export any easier. The war in Ukraine now including the daily mutual targeting of Russian and Ukrainian tanker vessels further squeezes an already dire situation. Even if the US does not use Russian oil, petroleum is a commodity...a scarcity in one place on earth affects the whole world because supply is reduced and demand remains the same.Over the past few days, most indications and warnings point to a widening of the war in the Middle East. The US has flown a lot of assets into the region, and has relocated many other assets based on the assumption that American bases will continue to be struck. The Israelis are starting to prepare their larger civil defense bunkers in preparation for large-scale ballistic missile strikes, and PM Netanyahu is scheduled to visit the US sometime this week, though the schedule has not been finalized. Glancing at mainstream media right now results in an onslaught of commentary urging strikes on Iran...you can't turn on the television without hearing the words "Pickaxe Mountain" in the context of a random ex-General urging strikes on this bunker complex, which is impervious to everything but a subterranean nuclear detonation.Nothing on the table right now points to de-escalation, in fact, all indications align with a return to the full-scale bombing campaign of the early days of the war. It's always possible to suddenly switch back to diplomacy and not restart major operations, but wars are usually fought on trends. And right now, the trends continue to suggest the war escalating for the time being.Analyst: S2A1 Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground NomadNet: 5fa68c88be727a0e1a250a75e5e79269 Disclaimer: No LLMs were used in the writing of this report. //END REPORT//

//The Wire//2300Z July 21, 2026// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: HOUTHIS ANNOUNCE EMBARGO OF SAUDI OIL TANKERS. LARGE SCALE BOMBINGS OF IRAN CONTINUE. ANDY BURNHAM ASSUMES OFFICE AS BRITISH PRIME MINISTER. STABBING REPORTED AT CHURCH IN IRELAND.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE------International Events-Middle East : The war continues as before with a new series of attacks taking place overnight, with CENTCOM conducting their 7th wave of airstrikes within Iran since the break of the ceasefire. In Jordan, the Tower 22 Base was struck again, with Iranian ballistic missiles targeting an aircraft hangar as well as a warehouse.Bahrain: Significant Iranian targeting continued with the Iranians striking the electrical substation powering an Amazon data center. The data center itself was not hit, but the center remains offline due to the power source being cut.Black Sea: The targeting of oil tankers by both Ukraine and Russia has continued, with concerns growing regarding the wider threats to petroleum infrastructure. Yesterday, Kazakhstan halted all shipments of oil through their pipelines that eventually arrive at the Russian oil terminals on the Black Sea, due to the threats presented by Ukrainian drones.Ireland: This morning a stabbing attack was reported at Holy Cross Church in Tramore, Wateford. One woman was stabbed at the altar shortly before Mass began, with the assailant fleeing the scene before being detained a short distance from the church. The victim remains hospitalized with serious wounds following the attack.United Kingdom: Yesterday Andy Burnham formally transitioned into the role of Prime Minister. This afternoon, he authorized the use of British bases by the United States to conduct strikes in Iran, marking a more public foreign policy departure from Starmer's government.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comments: In the Red Sea, things are not going so well. Last night, the Houthis claimed to have partially closed the Bab el Mandeb Strait, threatening another major global maritime chokepoint. This announcement has been implemented as a blockade of Saudi ports, with the Houthi's claiming that all ships bound for Saudi Arabia will be attacked. The status of other ships just passing through the area remains unclear.As a reminder, the US already fought the Houthis, specifically over their closure of the Bab el Mandeb Strait last year. That conflict resulted in a de facto Houthi victory after the US ceased the bombing campaign without securing the defeat of the Houthis, and many shipping companies have, to this day, continued to avoid the Red Sea route altogether. So far, the Houthi's have not struck any vessels however reports suggest they may have turned a couple of tankers around without missiles being fired.The Houthis are perhaps an even more substantial threat to the region than most realize, simply due to the weapons available to them. Unlike Iran, which has the capability of hitting individual ships in the comparatively cramped Strait of Hormuz, the Houthis have historically had to rely on the sledgehammer approach. It is true that the Houthis will strike vessels in their backyard with relative ease, but their main target is the Saudi port of Yanbu, far to the north on the east coast of the Red Sea. From that distance, the Houthis can't hit individual ships...they will be hitting the oil terminal itself. That's comparatively worse than striking just one ship; the Houthi targeting efforts are a much more blunt instrument than observed with Iran, and as a result they are more likely to cause damage that lasts a long time. This was already demonstrated by their previous targeting efforts during the short-lived war last year. The Houthis can also hurt the United States more directly too...Camp Lemonnier in Djbouti is just 70 miles away from Yemen, on the other side of the Strait. This has historically been a non-combat post, but this can change in an instant, if the belligerents choose to escalate this war to include two continents.Analyst: S2A1 Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground NomadNet: 5fa68c88be727a0e1a250a75e5e79269 Disclaimer: No LLMs were used in the writing of this report. //END REPORT//

//The Wire//2300Z July 20, 2026// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: CENTCOM CONFIRMS FOUR AMERICAN CASUALTIES FOLLOWING IRANIAN STRIKES IN MIDDLE EAST. ARSON ATTACK REPORTED AT FEDERAL BUILDING IN NYC.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE------International Events-Jordan: Over the weekend CENTCOM confirmed the deaths of three US service members, who were killed as a result of the strikes on a barracks building at Muwaffaq al Salti Airbase. Two of the casualties have been identified as 1LT Tyler James Feehan, and Private Isabella Gonzales. The third casualty officially remains classified as Missing in Action as the remains will require DNA analysis to confirm identity, and has not yet been officially identified. A fourth casualty was also reported somewhere in Iraq, which was the result of an Iranian drone strike.Middle East: Following Iranian targeting of the al-Subiya Power Station, Kuwait has begun to rely on portable substations and generators to provide electricity while repairs are made. The scale of the power outages is not known, but Iranian forces have struck several logistical hubs and electrical power plants over the past few days. In Bahrain, Iranian targeting has remained heavy over the weekend, with several ballistic missile strikes reported at American installations around the country.Strait of Hormuz: Several more merchant vessels were struck over the past few days, most of which were tankers attempting to use the southern Omani route instead of the Iranian route. At least one of these vessels resulted in the crew abandoning ship before being rescued.Iran: After these collective strikes over the weekend, American targeting efforts intensified with the latest bombing campaign focusing on the targeting of bridges and civilian roadway tunnels around Bandar Abbas. Many of the roads that lead to the port city are now cut off, with only a few major roadways allowing access to the city. Several bridges have also already been repaired, and the status of others remains unclear until better satellite imagery is available.-HomeFront-New York: This morning an arson attack was reported at the Federal building in downtown Manhattan. One assailant approached the building with a bucket of gasoline, dumping the bucket at the northeast side of the structure. The suspect immediately ignited the pool of gas, which also contained a mix of commercial grade fireworks. The suspect was immediately detained by the plethora of police already on scene, as the accelerant burned on the sidewalk. Analyst Comment: No motive has yet been conveyed regarding this attack, however some of the paraphernalia scattered throughout the scene of the attack appears to be political in nature, opposing ICE.Washington D.C. - This morning, the latest numbers for Strategic Petroleum Reserve levels were released indicating that over the past week, the US has drained the SPR by an additional 5.1 million barrels, to it's lowest level since the Tanker War in 1983.Analyst Comment: Many might have assumed that the US might have re-stocked the SPR during the two-week ceasefire in the Middle East, however very little oil actually made it out of the region during that time, which amounted to only a tiny fraction of US daily usage. Since the war began five months ago, only a very small percentage of oil has exited the region, and the US has been draining the SPR at breakneck pace in order to keep the country going.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comments: Concerning the American casualties sustained over the weekend, it is extremely important to note that the deaths of 1LT Feehan and PVT Gonzales are officially classified under Operation INHERENT RESOLVE (OIR)...not under Operation EPIC FURY (OEFU). Inherent Resolve is the long-standing mission to combat ISIS in Syria, and not in any way linked to the current war in Iran. As a result, the true number of casualties sustained warrants further investigation. This classification could have been an administrative error, but this would also be a way of camouflaging casualty figures. The Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS) is the main database for logging all American casualties, which are defined by military operation. In this case, these deaths are not cataloged under either operation yet, adding to the more broad (but also growing) concerns that the database has been concealing the true number of casualties, specifically the numbers of personnel wounded.In fact, while admonishing these concerns as "baseless and malicious accusations" Assistant Secretary of War Sean Parnell directly contradicted the numbers his own department was producing. He stated in an interview with CBS News that roughly 100 personnel had been wounded throughout the war over the past month....while his own database states that a grand total of zero personnel had been wounded for the month of July, and three in June. If this testimony is accurate, this confirms beyond all doubt that the Pentagon is lying about the number of troops wounded during this campaign. Considering that the Pentagon has disclosed a total of 413x soldiers wounded during this entire campaign, ~100x WIA being reported within a month (which also included a two-week ceasefire) is alarming to say the least.The cause of the fatalities reported over the weekend is also important to note as these deaths were very likely preventable. In the days leading up to the ballistic missile striking the housing at this base, the Iranians successfully struck the Patriot battery in Erbil, Iraq. This missile defense site would have been one of the sites providing protection for missiles launched into Jordan. With this battery offline or at least degraded in some way, it is possible that a clear air corridor existed that allowed Iranian ballistic missiles to fly unchallenged through a gap in air defense coverage. If the Erbil strike also damaged the radar array, it is also very possible that the warning time for an incoming ballistic missile would have been reduced, so any defenses at the target base would have been less effective. Obviously, the true scale of the damage to this air defense site would be classified, so in the public eye we have to guess as to how bad it was based on blurry satellite imagery. However the military commanders who knew the systems and did NOT have to guess, were also the same commanders who had the authority to either issue warnings or orders to disperse from the unprotected Containerized Housing Units (CHUs) that were struck by Iran. The failure of command to disperse their soldiers is what led to these fatalities.The very minute that the Patriot battery was struck in Erbil was a major clue that the Iranians were conducting shaping fires of their own...they were striking the air defense sites so as to open up a gap in air defense coverage, and reach out to American positions with their larger ballistic missiles.Though it is usually in poor taste to reflect on failures in the immediate aftermath of the death of troops, in the interest of expediency sometimes uncomfortable conversations must be had in order to prevent further loss of life. If a gap in air defense coverage is what allowed this strike to happen, it is almost certain that this gap still exists and that the danger to American service members is still not mitigated. For ALL American troops in the Middle East, this observation must be noted: If the Iranians are striking air defense sites, the next assumption must be that the Iranians are planning to strike something that would have been protected by that site. In retrospect this is common sense, but even at this very moment, the continued strikes on American positions (and the nearly total lack of fortification efforts at these bases, even to this day) continues to indicate that the Iranian targeting efforts are not being taken seriously by senior American decision makers. Five months into this war, CENTCOM leadership has still not figured out that the Iranians can strike their bases at will, and as demonstrated by the strikes in Kuwait and Jordan, the US is still not digging in, and also not dispersing enough to avoid troops getting killed. No underground fortification efforts have been undertaken at any base in the Middle East, and satellite imagery indicates that no substantial fortifications have been undertaken either. Granting as much leeway to the Pentagon's decision making process as possible, it is possible that no hardening of defenses would have mattered considering the missiles Iran is launching. Drone defense is one thing, but it would take years to build a bunker that would withstand the impact of an Iranian Fattah or Ghadr missile. Nevertheless, when it comes to defending American positions, doing something is better than doing nothing, and concrete does not take half a year to dry.Even if large-scale construction projects are off the menu, ALL military publications, textbooks, and training scenarios dictate and demand what has been obvious since World War One...Dispersion is the name of the game. This is what kept casualties to a minimum in Bahrain, but different theater commanders have different personal initiatives. Some are more proactive with their defense, and others have done nothing at all, besides making sure that all of the vehicles in the motorpool are lined up neatly.Where this goes from here is anyone's guess, but unless radical and immediate changes are made, the United States will continue to suffer casualties. And as long as the bombing continues which is motivating Iran to target our bases, this indirectly highlights the deficiencies with American air defense technologies, not just for this war, but for the wars to come.Analyst: S2A1 Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground NomadNet: 5fa68c88be72

Research Notes/Bibliography can be found here: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground Common Intelligence Picture: https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=204a59b01f4443cd96718796fd102c00 Border Crisis Map: https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=7f13eda1f301431e98a7ac0393b0e6b0 TOC Dashboard: https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/ebe374c40c1a4231a06075155b0e8cb9/ 00:00 - The Good News 03:00 - Middle East 10:30 - Ukraine 11:41 - GhostNet and Reticulum Download the GhostNet plan here! https://github.com/s2underground/GhostNet The text version of the Wire can be found on Twitter: https://twitter.com/s2_underground And on our Wire Telegram page here: https://t.me/S2undergroundWire If you would like to support us, we're on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/user?u=30479515 Disclaimer: No company sponsored this video. In fact, we have ZERO sponsors. We are funded 100% by you, the viewer. All of our funding comes from direct support from platforms like Patreon, or from ad revenue on YouTube. Without your support, I simply could not do this work at all, so to those of you who chose to support my efforts, I am eternally thankful. Odysee: https://odysee.com/@S2Underground:7 Gab: https://gab.com/S2underground Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/S2Underground BitChute: https://www.bitchute.com/channel/P2NMGFdt3gf3/ Just a few reminders for everyone who's just become aware of us, in order to keep these briefings from being several hours long, I can't cover everything. I'm probably covering 1% of the world events when we conduct these briefings, so please remember that if I left it out, it doesn't necessarily mean that it's unimportant. Also, remember that I do these briefings quite often, so I might have covered an issue previously that you might not see if you are only watching our most recent videos. I'm also doing this in my spare time, so again I fully admit that these briefings aren't even close to being perfect; I'm going for a healthy blend of speed and quality. If I were to wait and only post a brief when it's "perfect" I would never post anything at all. So expect some minor errors here and there. If there is a major error or correction that needs to be made, I will post it here in the description, and verbally address it in the next briefing. Also, thanks for reading this far. It is always surprising the number of people that don't actually read the description box to find more information. This content is purely educational and does not advocate for violating any laws. Do not violate any laws or regulations. This is not legal advice. Consult with your attorney. Our Reading List! https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/133747963-s2-actual The War Kitchen Channel! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYmtpjXT22tAWGIlg_xDDPA 

//The Wire//2300Z July 17, 2026// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: GULF WAR ESCALATES AS INFRASTRUCTURE TARGETING BEGINS. SIGNIFICANT IRANIAN RETALIATION REPORTED ON AMERICAN INSTALLATIONS. IRANIAN TARGETING OF MERCHANT SHIPPING REMAINS CONSTANT.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE------International Events-Middle East: The war escalated again overnight, with the United States beginning the series of strikes on bridges and infrastructure targets intended to soften up areas near the coast of Iran. Several bridges were struck in the vicinity of Bandar Abbas, along with the usual nightly strikes on more military targets.On the Iranian side, the targeting of American installations has been substantial over the past few days. In Iraq, Iranian forces successfully struck the Patriot battery in Erbil, with satellite imagery indicating burn scars in the vicinity of where one launcher was previously located. In the UAE, a series of warehouses and probable weapons storage facilities were destroyed at the Zayed Military City. In Kuwait, one of the HIMARS launcher sites on the Iraqi border was targeted, in addition to a desalination plant providing the fresh water supply for Kuwait City.Persian Gulf: The war on the seas continued with many different strikes and incidents being reported around the region. At the northern end of the Gulf, the UKMTO reported an unidentified incident involving a merchant vessel, which was carried out by unknown parties and in the Strait of Hormuz and the Arabian Sea, several targeting efforts of merchant vessels was reported throughout the day.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comments: Last night's targeting in Iran possibly offers up a clue as to what the military objective of this specific operation might be. The bridges that were struck by the United States are not specifically military targets, however they did offer high-speed avenues of approach to the coastline. If the IRGC ground force needed to reinforce specifically the area of the coastline to the west of Bandar Abbas, north of Qeshm Island, these would be the bridges they would need to use.The bridges that were taken out also would be a way of isolating Bandar Abbas in terms of trade. In addition to the naval base being a military target, this is also a major civilian port city that handles the import of a lot of cargo for the nation (some reports claim up to 80% of Iran's imports arrive at this port). Under normal circumstances, taking out bridges is a tricky subject in the world of military targeting; if the bridge is predominantly used for military purposes, it's usually a valid target, but if it's predominantly a civilian bridge it's not normally legal to target. This categorization gets really blurry really quickly, but what is very clear is that targeting infrastructure like this isolates the military objective into only a few possibilities.Either the United States is attempting to go scorched-earth on civilian infrastructure so as to make life as miserable as possible and thus attempt to turn the populace against the government...or this is pre-shaping fires for other operations that might take place in the vicinity of the coastline. Neither option makes a whole lot of tactical sense, but making sense has not been a prerequisite for any military objective sought so far during this conflict, so the continued targeting over the next few days will probably shed some light on what the objective is with this latest campaign. As of this afternoon, dozens of refueling tankers are once again making their way into the Middle East from Europe and beyond, so the war is likely to continue escalating for foreseeable future.Analyst: S2A1 Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground NomadNet: 5fa68c88be727a0e1a250a75e5e79269 Disclaimer: No LLMs were used in the writing of this report. //END REPORT//

Hey everyone, kind of an odd one today. I had a spur of the moment thought this morning and decided that what I was going to say in tomorrow's Intel Update, would be best served as a dedicated podcast/video. I did not want to bog down the more informational content with a full-blown rant segment, so I recorded this separately.

//The Wire//1800Z July 16, 2026// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: UKRAINIAN ATTACKS CONTINUE ON RUSSIAN SHIPPING IN BLACK SEA, RUSSIA RETALIATES BY STRIKING UKRAINIAN SHIPPING. WILDFIRES CONTINUE TO SPREAD IN CANADA.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE------International Events-Europe: The war in Ukraine has continued to expand, with attacks on Russian merchant vessels remaining constant in the Black Sea. Russia has likewise retaliated by striking Ukrainian vessels also located within the Black Sea, as well as several port cities in southwestern Ukraine.Middle East: The war continues as before, with regular strikes taking place in the coastal regions which have been host to targeting for several days. Last night the US struck the port of Bandar Abbas again, and the Iranians have responded with attacks on Kuwait, which continued sporadically overnight.Analyst Comment: One aspect of the war that has not escalated for now, has been the conflict between Saudi Arabia and Yemen. After the initial mutual strikes two days ago, the Saudi's have chosen to back off of this line of effort, probably because they realized how bad of an idea it is to start a fight with the Houthis right now. That Saudi East-West Pipeline is the main asset that is keeping Saudi Arabia in the global oil market right now, and the Houthis can very easily threaten their main revenue source.Canada: Over the past few days, wildfires have continued to spread throughout the nation. As of this morning, at total of 859x wildfires are actively burning nationwide in Canada, most of which are clustered in Ontario, Qeubec, and the Northwest Territories. Of these active fires, 63x are out of control with zero percent containment. Evacuations of thousands of rural and tribal areas have been ordered over thousands of square miles, and air quality alerts have been issued for much of the American northeast and mid-Atlantic due to the smoke.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comments: Though not exactly grabbing front page headlines, the war in Ukraine has continued to expand and become increasingly more serious during this year's summer offensive.Numbers are hard to independently verify, but the Ukrainians claim a total of 136x Russian vessels have been struck so far during this Black Sea targeting campaign since it began last week. This number seems a little high, but what is undeniable is that the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov have become a new front during this war...for both sides, as demonstrated by the Russians now targeting Ukrainian ships. Equally important is the impact this is having on the broader Russian oil market. Previous strikes on petroleum refineries resulted in fuel shortages throughout Russia, which have varied by severity and location. Striking tankers in the Black Sea really only impacts the petroleum export market, and the long-term impacts of this will be interesting to follow. Like it or not, the concept of globalization has functioned as designed, and most nations are linked to each other in ways that are not readily apparent at first. Russia mostly exports oil to India and China, and their exports have remained high during the Persian Gulf crisis. So Ukraine, in striking the oil intended for China, is directly playing a hand in the Gulf War...a conflict thousands of miles away. How this will manifest over the next few weeks will be important. Gas prices in the US have been MUCH cheaper than they should be, due to a long list of factors, one of which has been the Chinese dipping into their own reserves to sharply reduce their demand. Ukraine strikes ships intended for China, and China now has to either dip into their reserves more...or buy more oil from the Middle East, and demand goes up in an already restricted supply chain. The Gulf War is still hot to some degree, and the miniscule flow of oil that had begun to trickle out of the Gulf during the ceasefire has once again slowed to a drip...and now that Ukraine is striking Russian oil intended for China, an already tight oil market is probably going to be squeezed even harder.Analyst: S2A1 Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground NomadNet: 5fa68c88be727a0e1a250a75e5e79269 Disclaimer: No LLMs were used in the writing of this report. //END REPORT//

//The Wire//2300Z July 15, 2026// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: STRIKES CONTINUE TO ESCALATE IN THE MIDDLE EAST AS WAR REMAINS HOT. PARASITIC INFECTION CONTINUES TO SPREAD IN USA. POLICE OFFICERS AROUND THE NATION INVESTIGATED FOR ILLEGALLY SPYING ON AMERICANS.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE------International Events-Middle East: Mutual targeting continued overnight throughout the region, with Iranian forces striking many American-aligned military bases in several Gulf states. Isa Air Base in Qatar was hit hard overnight, and several storage warehouses were hit in Kuwait. Iran claims to have also struck the parking apron at Muwaffaq Al-Salti Air Base in Jordan, targeting the fighter aircraft which have been staged at the base for weeks. On the American side, the US has conducted several waves of attacks, with constant bombings continuing in many major port facilities. The ports of Bandar Abbas, Jask, and Chabarhar have been targeted regularly for several days, in addition to the Gulf Islands which have served as communications nodes for ships transiting the Strait.Throughout the morning, the Strait remained somewhat navigable via the Iranian route. Several ships were observed making the crossing using only the northern Iranian traffic scheme. After the targeting of several merchant vessels over the past few days in the southern route, no ship has taken the Omani route, all ships are diverting north. Analyst Comment: In terms of how much oil is getting out, it's not much. No American tankers were observed transiting overnight via either route, and the severity of the oil crisis remains a major concern for impacts to the homeland. This afternoon CENTCOM struck a merchant vessel themselves, highlighting that the American blockade of the Strait is still in effect.-HomeFront-USA: Around the nation, an outbreak of Cyclosporiasis has continued to sweep through the country, with roughly 7,000 cases of parasitic infection being reported. Most of the cases are clustered in Michigan, but the food-borne illness has been reported in many other states. Health authorities are working to narrow down the point of origin for the parasite, which appears to be linked to contaminated lettuce or unclean food preparation practices at fast food chains.Georgia: This morning, five police officers with the Albany Police Department were fired after an internal investigation revealed that they were using their access to the Flock camera/sensor database to stalk and illegally surveil citizens.South Carolina: This morning, two police officers in the city of Greer were fired after an internal investigation revealed that they were using their access to the Flock camera/sensor database to stalk and illegally surveil citizens.Texas: Yesterday, one police officer with the Pasadena Police Department resigned after an investigation was launched into his misuse of the Flock camera/sensor network. Sgt. Michael Palitz is currently under investigation for allegedly using the intelligence network to stalk a female police officer. No further details on this incident have been provided as the investigation is still ongoing.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comments: Though it is purely anecdotal at the moment, locals on the ground in many Middle Eastern countries are reporting that this time, the fighting is different as fewer successful interceptions are being reported. As always, if interceptions of drones and missiles are successful, these munitions are usually destroyed out over the waters of the Gulf, out of view of the civilian populace. However, a lot of people have been rather dismayed that the fighting has resumed, and from their perspective it looks like their country is not intercepting anything because they are out of interceptor missiles. The stockpiles of interceptors running low for Gulf states has been a common theory for a while, after the war drew to a lull two months ago. After the ceasefire went into effect, it was generally assumed that the United States would sell more interceptor missiles to the Gulf countries (in addition to resupplying our own missile defense sites), but now that the fighting has resumed and locals are observing slow-flying drones very clearly not being intercepted in many cases, the concerns of missile stockpiles have come to the front page once again.Analyst: S2A1 Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground NomadNet: 5fa68c88be727a0e1a250a75e5e79269 Disclaimer: No LLMs were used in the writing of this report. //END REPORT//

//The Wire//1900Z July 14, 2026// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: WAR IN MIDDLE EAST REMAINS HOT WITH USA AND IRAN EXCHANGING HEAVY FIRE OVERNIGHT. NEW YORK TIMES JOURNALISTS ISSUED SUBPOENAS REGARDING THEIR REPORTING ON AIR FORCE ONE.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE------International Events-Middle East: The war continued to escalate overnight, with the attack/counterattack cycle no longer being distinguishable, as all belligerents are now attacking constantly. At least two more ships have been struck in the Strait of Hormuz since last night, and the US has continued to fly continuous sorties to strike targets within Iran. Dozens of targets were struck overnight, with CENTCOM announcing that the sorties took 5 hours to complete throughout the region. As of this morning, nearly all of the targets that have been struck have been within a few hundred yards of the Gulf, with heavy concentrations of targets being located within Bushehr, Bandar Abbas, Chabahar, and Jask, all of which are major naval bases. Most of the Gulf islands have also been struck, with Qeshm and Kish Islands being targeted heavily this afternoon.Conversely, Iran has conducted their own strikes in Jordan, Bahrain, Qatar, and Kuwait. In Kuwait, Iranian forces have conducted counter-battery fire on American HIMARS missile launcher sites, with multiple ballistic missile strikes taking place at most of the US bases and missile launch sites all day.Analyst Comment: Over the past 24 hours, the war in the Middle East has returned to the level of fighting first observed during the height of the war back in March. How long this is planned to continue is unknown, but this is not a slight increase in targeting; the war appears to be fully back on once again.United Kingdom: This morning Counterterrorism police released more details regarding a high-profile murder case that took place last week. On Thursday, Ann Widdecombe was found murdered in her home in the town of Haytor in Devon. After her murder was discovered, local authorities immediately referred the case to counterterrorism, and one suspect has already been arrested in conjunction with this case. This suspect has been charged for the murder, and as of this morning terrorism offenses have been added to the list of charges.Analyst Comment: This case is noteworthy as most of the information so far indicates this was a political assassination, and the speed at which authorities have immediately declared this to be a terrorism incident is very, very unusual. Widdecombe was a former Member of Parliament, and in her later years was a familiar conservative political commentator known to weigh in on political issues throughout the nation. More details may or may not come to light in due time regarding the identity of the suspect, but due to the high-profile nature of this murder, this case will be in the headlines for a while.-HomeFront-Washington D.C. - Yesterday a total of five New York Times reporters have been subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury, to testify regarding their reporting on the alleged security breaches onboard the new Air Force One. Last week, President Trump flew to Turkey for the NATO summit on the new airframe, but during the trip, an undisclosed security issue prompted the Secret Service to switch back to the older platform.Analyst Comment: The details of exactly what the alleged crimes are, have not been disclosed. The New York Times has a history of publishing content which could lead to security issues, but in this case nothing they wrote in their original report appears to have been classified. However, they did explicitly state that they had a source who had classified knowledge of the defenses (or rather, the alleged lack of defenses) on the new Air Force One platform, which is probably why the harsh crackdown on the New York Times. They also made the claim that the new airframe has not had enough time to install the anti-missile countermeasures of the older platform, though no detail on this was provided. Regardless, talking to journalists in any capacity about any of the protection measures used by the White House is a huge no-no, and one of the most sensitive issues that always results in a very heavy-handed response.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comments: As the war in the Persian Gulf rages on, concerns are growing regarding the apparent widening of the war to include the Red Sea region. The mutual targeting between the Saudis and the Houthis in Yemen has continued to some degree, though it's too soon to tell if either party is committed to turning this into a more protracted fight. If that is the chosen course of action, the situation is likely to get very serious.While the Strait of Hormuz remains a hot warzone that has restricted the flow of about 20 million barrels per day out of the region, the Saudi East-West Pipeline system has been working to reduce this deficit by pumping roughly 7 million barrels per day during most of this conflict. This has eased the burden of Hormuz being cut off, and has been one of the main factors keeping oil from reaching $200 per barrel. However, this pipeline runs from the Gulf, across the desert, before terminating in Yanbu at a major oil export terminal. This terminal....is within missile range of the Houthis. Somewhat interestingly, there are also very little air defenses in the southern regions of Saudi Arabia despite the Saudis fighting the Houthis for a couple of decades at this point; nearly all missile defenses are on the northern coastline or in the vicinity of American bases. So far during this conflict, the Iranians have successfully struck the Yanbu oil terminal using extremely long-range (and slow-flying) drones. The Houthis have a much higher chance of success in threatening Yanbu, and if they are able to strike this facility, the global oil crisis will go from worse to worst.Analyst: S2A1 Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground NomadNet: 5fa68c88be727a0e1a250a75e5e79269 Disclaimer: No LLMs were used in the writing of this report. //END REPORT//

//The Wire//2300Z July 13, 2026// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: GULF WAR REIGNITES AS MAJOR STRIKES REPORTED THROUGHOUT MIDDLE EAST. HOUTHIS JOIN THE WAR AS MILITARY BASES STRUCK IN SAUDI ARABIA. USA/IRAN CONTINUE MUTUAL TARGETING WITH MANY MILITARY INSTALLATIONS TARGETED THROUGHOUT THE DAY. SENATOR LINDSEY GRAHAM PASSES AWAY UNDER UNCLEAR CIRCUMSTANCES IN WASHINGTON.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE------International Events-Middle East: Over the weekend the war continued to escalate with major attacks being reported throughout the region. On Saturday, the Iranians allegedly struck a containership in the Strait of Hormuz for attempting to sneak through the waterway without their permission. The crew of this vessel abandoned ship, and the vessel is reportedly sinking in the Strait.After this initial strike, the United States struck several dozen targets within Iran. One of the most significant strikes conducted by the United States was an airstrike at the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant. One of the buildings a few feet away from the reactor core was struck, and the status of the power plant is unknown. At least one of the attacks this morning involved the United States conducting several Unmanned Surface Vessel attacks on the port of Bandar Abbas, targeting an Iranian submarine and several other warships. Analyst Comment: Other more traditional airstrikes also continued regularly throughout the day, with Iranian retaliatory strikes being reported at nearly every US base in the region, from Kuwait to the UAE. Full battle damage assessment will take some time due to the sheer volume of locations struck by both the United States and Iran.Red Sea/HOA: Following last night's targeting efforts to the north in the Persian Gulf, the Houthis and Saudi Arabia engaged in mutual targeting early this morning. Houthi rebels launched several ballistic missiles toward targets in Saudi Arabia, and the Saudi's responded by conducting airstrikes throughout the Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.Analyst Comment: These targeting efforts in Yemen have complicated maritime shipping through the Bab El Mandeb Strait, elevating concerns that another major maritime choke point might be turning into a warzone. During the American campaign to combat the Houthis in March of last year (dubbed Operation ROUGH RIDER), the Houthis demonstrated the ability to disrupt shipping through the Strait, to the point that nearly all maritime shipping chose to re-route around the continent of Africa. Though that military operation departed the news headlines after a few weeks, even as of a year later (even before the Iran war began), many maritime shipping companies were avoiding the Red Sea a full year after the strikes. Everyone has been waiting for the Houthis to enter the current war on the Iranian side, and last night's strikes may be an indication that relationship is growing.-HomeFront-Washington D.C. - Saturday night, Senator Lindsey Graham reportedly died after suffering a cardiac incident at his home on Capitol Hill, after returning from his trip to Ukraine. Initial statements claim that he suffered a tear of his aorta, and died instantly.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comments: As one might expect based on current events, the theories surrounding Graham's death largely focus around his trip to Ukraine. Normally, the trip into Ukraine for diplomats involves flying into Poland, then taking a train into Kiev. This trip usually takes most of the day. Also, on the same day as Graham's trip, Russia conducted two major strikes in Kiev. Some claims have been made that both of these strikes targeted both the drone factory that Graham visited, but also the hotel where he was staying during his visit. These claims will take some time to verify independently.Due to the timing of Graham's alleged departure, it's possibly mathematically questionable that Graham would have had enough time to transit back to the United States before his death was reported. As always, there's enough discrepancy in the timing to make it technically possible for Graham to have arrived home from Ukraine and immediately had a cardiac incident, but this timing would have been incredibly tight. In short, the theory that Graham was actually killed in Ukraine holds some weight at this present moment, based on the evidence we have right now, even as speculative as it is. Further investigation will indicate whether or not more credence should be granted to this possibility.Perhaps the biggest bit of evidence countering the theory of Graham being killed in Ukraine, is the sheer logistics of such a coverup operation. There's very little chance that his remains would have been located, recovered, identified, and transported back to the United States if he was killed during the strikes on a Ukrainian drone factory. These attacks would have made it challenging to identify anyone's remains, and similarly to the concerns of Graham possibly not having enough time to arrive back in the US, timing is the main issue. If Graham was observed alive after his departure from Ukraine, this would obviously dispel any of the more nefarious theories, but as it stands, it is not known which flight he took from Poland to the United States (which was likely a military or government flight).All things considered, the suspicious and coincidental circumstances of Graham's death can certainly be verified either way in due time, but Graham's death coupled with Senator Mitch McConnell's questionable status, means that Washington has been host to several shakeups involving key wartime decision makers this week.Analyst: S2A1 Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground NomadNet: 5fa68c88be727a0e1a250a75e5e79269 Disclaimer: No LLMs were used in the writing of this report. //END REPORT//

Research Notes/Bibliography can be found here: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground Common Intelligence Picture: https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=204a59b01f4443cd96718796fd102c00 Border Crisis Map: https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=7f13eda1f301431e98a7ac0393b0e6b0 TOC Dashboard: https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/ebe374c40c1a4231a06075155b0e8cb9/ 00:00 - Global Strategic Concerns 01:12 - Washington 05:54 - Middle East 10:38 - Ukraine 14:21 - GhostNet and Reticulum Download the GhostNet plan here! https://github.com/s2underground/GhostNet The text version of the Wire can be found on Twitter: https://twitter.com/s2_underground And on our Wire Telegram page here: https://t.me/S2undergroundWire If you would like to support us, we're on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/user?u=30479515 Disclaimer: No company sponsored this video. In fact, we have ZERO sponsors. We are funded 100% by you, the viewer. All of our funding comes from direct support from platforms like Patreon, or from ad revenue on YouTube. Without your support, I simply could not do this work at all, so to those of you who chose to support my efforts, I am eternally thankful. Odysee: https://odysee.com/@S2Underground:7 Gab: https://gab.com/S2underground Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/S2Underground BitChute: https://www.bitchute.com/channel/P2NMGFdt3gf3/ Just a few reminders for everyone who's just become aware of us, in order to keep these briefings from being several hours long, I can't cover everything. I'm probably covering 1% of the world events when we conduct these briefings, so please remember that if I left it out, it doesn't necessarily mean that it's unimportant. Also, remember that I do these briefings quite often, so I might have covered an issue previously that you might not see if you are only watching our most recent videos. I'm also doing this in my spare time, so again I fully admit that these briefings aren't even close to being perfect; I'm going for a healthy blend of speed and quality. If I were to wait and only post a brief when it's "perfect" I would never post anything at all. So expect some minor errors here and there. If there is a major error or correction that needs to be made, I will post it here in the description, and verbally address it in the next briefing. Also, thanks for reading this far. It is always surprising the number of people that don't actually read the description box to find more information. This content is purely educational and does not advocate for violating any laws. Do not violate any laws or regulations. This is not legal advice. Consult with your attorney. Our Reading List! https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/133747963-s2-actual The War Kitchen Channel! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYmtpjXT22tAWGIlg_xDDPA 

//The Wire//1900Z July 10, 2026// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: HORMUZ TRAFFIC SLOWS AS AIRSTRIKES CONTINUE IN IRAN OVERNIGHT. PRESIDENT TRUMP STATES THAT THE CEASEFIRE IS OFFICIALLY OVER. WIRED-GUIDED FPV DRONE DISCOVERED IN CARTEL WEAPONS CACHE IN MEXICO. RUSSIAN AFRICA CORPS CONTINUES CONFLICT IN MALI.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE------International Events-Middle East: Yesterday's targeting continued throughout the night, with dozens of targets being struck within Iran. Much of the targeting centered around the major port of Bushehr, with a SAM site being struck and the runway being cratered again last night.Strait of Hormuz: This morning the UKMTO published a notice reaffirming their assurance that the southern Omani route remains open for use. Despite this assurance (and highlighting that sentence in red in their notice), most of the maritime community is no longer trusting this route at the moment due to Iranian targeting which kicked off the war again. No vessels transited either route overnight due to the targeting, however some ships attempted to make the crossing this morning.Far East: This morning China imposed an export ban on Helium, effective immediately. The Ministry of Commerce stated that this decision was made to allow domestic semiconductor chip manufacturing facilities to maintain their supply of the gas, which is essential for the production of computer chips.Analyst Comment: Most of the world's supply of Helium is produced as part of the process of refining natural gas in the Middle East. Since the war began, crude oil has not been the only concern, but also other distillates and byproducts such as jet fuel and helium. China halting exports is a substantial indicator of the severity of the current war. China has also been able to get more of their ships out of the Gulf than anybody else, so if even they are hurting for helium, this is not a good sign.Africa: The conflict between Russian mercenaries and FLA militants has continued to escalate, with fierce fighting being reported in the vicinity of Anefis over the past few days. The Russian Africa Corps base in Anefis has been routinely targeted by FLA, with most of the attacks taking the form of ground skirmishes or drone attacks.Mexico: During a counter-narco raid in Durango yesterday, Mexican forces located a fiber-optically controlled drone platform within a weapons cache in the Dolores del Río neighborhood. This drone was reportedly fitted with an explosive charge similar to that which has become more commonly used throughout the region for carrying out attacks between rival cartel factions.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comments: In the Middle East, yesterday evening contradictory reports circulated on social media regarding which nation actually carried out some of the strikes within Iran. Some reports claimed that the strikes in the afternoon were not conducted by the United States, but actually another nation. The most obvious culprit is Israel, but reports also claimed that the Kuwaitis also conducted attacks of their own last night as well. No matter who actually dropped the munitions, the effect is the same: the Iranians consider all attacks on their territory as originating from the same US-led coalition. What the Iranian response will be is unclear. Previously, they have been extremely forthcoming with the target list they would strike, if the US conducted more serious targeting within Iran. Desalination plants, energy production facilities, oil export terminals, and the aircraft at US bases in the region which are once again within Iranian missile range, are all likely targets if the Iranians so desire. Considering that President Trump announced that the ceasefire is officially off this afternoon (but that talks will continue) the next few days will be instrumental in determining if the war will return to it's full form, or if the attack-peace-attack cycle will continue.Analyst: S2A1 Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground NomadNet: 5fa68c88be727a0e1a250a75e5e79269 Disclaimer: No LLMs were used in the writing of this report. //END REPORT//

//The Wire//2300Z July 9, 2026// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: WAR CONTINUES IN MIDDLE EAST AS CEASEFIRE REMAINS DEFUNCT FOR NOW. MERCHANT TRAFFIC IN HORMUZ SLOWS TO A CRAWL DUE TO TARGETING.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE------International Events-Middle East: The war continued to escalate overnight, with many targeting efforts being undertaken by the United States and Iran. Within Iran, the U.S. continued to strike coastal sites and fastboat ports, in addition to striking more substantial infrastructure targets deep within Iran. These strikes continued throughout the day, with explosions being reported around the country this afternoon.On the Iranian side, many strikes were carried out on the usual sites throughout the region. In Kuwait, Ali Al Salem Airbase and Camp Arifjan were targeted, with the Iranians claiming to hit a Patriot battery at one of these sites. In Qatar, a radar installation was targeted, and a fuel depot was targeted in Bahrain. In Jordan, Muwaffaq Salti Air Base was targeted again, with the American Embassy in Amman urging all Americans to shelter in place during the strikes. Drone/missile strikes were also reported targeting U.S. positions in Erbil, Iraq, the success of which is currently unknown.-HomeFront-New York: The Department of Buildings has reported that the former Pfizer building has largely been stabilized, after severe buckling and a partial collapse of the upper floors was observed a few days ago. Various reinforcement operations continue to be undertaken to further stabilize the structure, and a third-party construction firm has been brought in to conduct additional repairs.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comments: Despite many airframes being transferred back to the United States from the Middle East, American targeting within Iran has continued throughout the day. The heavy reliance on Tomahawk munitions (as observed on the ground by Iranians) also adds weight to the theory of the US having to rely on standoff munitions due to the logistical movements resulting in fewer aircraft being available for bombing runs.Also, last night's strikes were also possibly more significant than meets the eye. Locals on the ground reported the Aq Taqeh Khan railway bridge being struck overnight, which was interesting due to it's location being in the far northeastern corner of Iran. This bridge is part of the newly unveiled China-Iran railway network, which is a series of rail lines linking Iran to western China. These lines also meander through the mountains to eventually connect to Russia via Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan. Taking out this bridge was not only interesting because it is one of the farthest-north targets struck during the entire war, but it's also a very public message to China, who has been long-suspected of shipping the Iranians materiel and supplies to carry on the fight. In the Strait of Hormuz, civilian merchant traffic continued to transit the waterway, but since last night the traffic has slowed to a halt again with very few crossings throughout the day. As a reminder, it takes up to two months for a tanker to make it's way to the US from the Middle East. Consequently, if the Iranians shut down the Strait again due to this targeting (or if companies simply decide that the risk isn't worth it), the world will only have the benefit of a handful of tankers which have been able to make the crossing over the past couple of weeks. This does not even remotely come close to alleviating the problems that prompted the MOU being signed...President Trump himself said that (at the time) the US only had about 4 weeks worth of Strategic Reserve left before shortages began. As the fighting has resumed to some degree, the status of the global energy crisis remains a very real concern, and the clock starts ticking down as the flow of petroleum slows down once again.Analyst: S2A1 Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground NomadNet: 5fa68c88be727a0e1a250a75e5e79269 Disclaimer: No LLMs were used in the writing of this report. //END REPORT//

//The Wire//2300Z July 8, 2026// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: MIDDLE EAST CEASEFIRE COLLAPSES AS MAJOR STRIKES REPORTED OVERNIGHT BETWEEN USA AND IRAN. SOMALI CLAN CONFLICT BREWING IN MINNEAPOLIS.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE------International Events-Middle East: Following yesterday's targeting of merchant vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, the United States retaliated by striking many targets within Iran. Several dozen locations were reportedly struck, ranging from naval ports to more substantial bases in the coastal region. Qeshm Island and Kharg Island were struck, in addition to many smaller ports used by IRGCN fastboats.In retaliation, the Iranians conducted strikes on Isa Air Base in Bahrain. Possible strikes were also reported at the former 5th Fleet Headquarters in Manama. Kuwait also reported intercepting 2x ballistic missiles and 13x drones. At least one American MQ-9 drone was also shot down during the night, reportedly somewhere near Bushehr. All total, Iran claims to have conducted 85x strikes in retaliation. As last night's targeting was unfolding, President Trump was still located in Turkey for the NATO summit. During a press conference, he stated that he considered the ceasefire to be over and the Memorandum of Understanding to no longer be in effect. A few hours later, Iranian representatives also stated that the MOU has concluded.-HomeFront-Minnesota: Several small arms engagements have been reported throughout Minneapolis over the past few days. Over the July 4th holiday weekend, several instances of Somali clans targeting each other with fireworks deteriorated from a general nuisance into shootings. A total of four small arms engagements took place Saturday night, and several more shootings have been reported throughout the week, at least one of which took place at a confirmed Somali fraud site, which was being used to launder money until being raided by federal agents earlier this year.Analyst Comment: After the wave of shootings over the weekend, yesterday Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher issued a statement confirming that all of these shootings were linked to the growing conflict between Somali Clans in the city. These concerns have been growing for some time, and now that the summer fighting season is in full swing, these engagements are likely to continue until the colder seasons arrive.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comments: If the ceasefire in the Middle East really is over, nobody seems to have told the Air Force, as there were a substantial number of refueling tankers on the ground at Al Udeid Airbase in Qater as of 4 days ago. Due to how vulnerable this base is to Iranian missiles, most major engagements have usually been preceded by this specific base evacuating ahead of a large bombing campaign. The major unanswered question is whether or not this was just a particularly heavy mutual targeting effort, or if this marks a true return to the more kinetic phases of the war. At the moment, it's too soon to tell, but there aren't really enough assets in region to conduct large scale bombing campaigns. Most of the B-52's that were stationed in England have already re-deployed back home to the USA, and over the past two weeks various assorted flights of fighter aircraft have also been making their way back home from the Middle East. It's possible that the MOU is being abandoned without the US returning to the full-blown bombing campaign, with the situation remaining in limbo and neither side really working toward a diplomatic solution. President Trump did threaten to invade Kharg Island again, in addition to re-imposing the US blockade in the Gulf of Oman. The blockade is doable with the US Navy vessels in the region, but Kharg Island is completely off the menu as this was not a viable military objective during the height of the "surge" leading to the war, and now that a significant drawdown has occurred it's even less feasible.Concerning merchant shipping, even though the MOU is now essentially defunct, merchant traffic has continued to flow through the Strait of Hormuz, mostly using the Iranian route. This afternoon, Iranian sources claimed that they will be closing the Strait in response to this latest wave of targeting, but as of this evening many vessels continue to transit using the Iranian route with no problems. This may change this evening as President Trump directly stated that more strikes will take place tonight. Pakistan is attempting to get Iran and the US to re-adopt the MOU and continue the framework of solutions that they had worked out. Once the smoke clears in a few days, the world may be able to determine how likely it is for the US to resume the terms of the MOU, but as the bombing has continued throughout the day, peace is not likely at the moment.Analyst: S2A1 Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground Disclaimer: No LLMs were used in the writing of this report. //END REPORT//