Ninth Night of U.S. Strikes on Iran, Russia’s Largest Missile Barrage on Kyiv, Starship Flight 13 Scrubbed | Your News Talk America | July 20, 2026

Your News Talk America July 20, 2026: ninth night of U.S. strikes on Iran, Strait of Hormuz, record Russian barrage on Kyiv, Starship Flight 13 scrub

Your News Talk America with Jake Smith

Monday, July 20, 2026 · 9:00am to 12:00pm ET

Ninth night of U.S. strikes on Iran · Russia's largest ballistic barrage on Kyiv · Starship Flight 13 scrubbed · The networks and the president's address

Today's Guests

Paul Davis is Vice President at the Institute of World Politics. Bio

EJ Kimball is Director of Policy for the U.S. Israel Education Association, where he works directly with members of Congress and their staffs on Israel policy. U.S. Israel Education Association

Brigadier General Blaine Holt, USAF (ret) is host of the Dangerous Intellectuals Podcast. Episode 45, The Fight for Cognitive Liberty, is out now. DangerousIntellectuals.com

Christopher Lee Jones is founder and president of Satellite Orbital Access and Removal (SOAR), a Florida startup developing technology to capture small pieces of orbital debris. A retired Miami-Dade Fire Rescue firefighter and paramedic, Jones moved into the space sector after researching orbital debris and the Kessler syndrome. He is the author of Mars Mission I: Surviving the Kessler Effect and is working with the University of Texas at El Paso on a patented passive debris capture system aimed at improving the long term sustainability of the orbital environment. SOAR

Dennis Kneale is a veteran business journalist, a proud Florida resident, and author of The Leadership Genius of Elon Musk. His latest book is Oregoners. Oregoners

Dr. James Robbins is Dean of the Institute of World Politics and a former Senior Advisor to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Bio

Rabbi Michael Barclay hosts the radio show and podcast The Rabbi's Table: Dialogue Not Debate on CRN Digital Talk Radio, where he leads bold conversations on religion, freedom, Israel, America, and today's most pressing cultural issues. The Rabbi's Table

Christine Balling is Senior Vice President for Professional Affiliations at the Institute of World Politics. Institute of World Politics

9:00 · Show Open: Ninth Straight Night of U.S. Strikes on Iran

Jake opens on the widening fight over the Strait of Hormuz. CENTCOM says the newest wave of strikes on Iran began at 7 p.m. ET, the ninth consecutive night of the campaign, with the stated aim of degrading the Iranian capabilities being used against commercial vessels and civilian mariners moving through the strait.

  • CENTCOM says the strikes will continue degrading Iranian military capabilities used to attack commercial vessels and civilian mariners transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
  • Tehran says the U.S. hit a nuclear power plant under construction in southern Iran and calls the strike a clear violation of international law, according to The Times of London.
  • Iranian media reported explosions in Tabriz, Chabahar, Konarak, Bandar Mahshahr, and Bandar Imam Khomeini.
  • Iran has been answering back by targeting U.S. bases and other infrastructure in neighboring countries, The Jerusalem Post reports.
  • The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency logged a report of a vessel on fire roughly 8 nautical miles northwest of Kumzar, Oman, from a source it described as verified.

Guest: Paul Davis, Institute of World Politics

9:20 · Escalation, American Casualties, and the Iraq Energy Play

A source tells the Jerusalem Post that the president is leaning toward escalation, with one official saying that barring an unexpected development the odds of a diplomatic solution with Iran are now close to zero. Paul Davis walks through what that means for American forces spread across the region.

  • American service members were killed defending against an Iranian ballistic missile and drone attack on a base in Jordan. Full report
  • Iran's supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is no longer inside Iran, according to an Israeli security source cited by the Saudi outlet Al Hadath. Should Israel expect to rejoin the fight? (Fox News)
  • The IDF says Israel is ready to resume fighting after Iranian missile debris came down near Eilat.
  • The U.S. Embassy in Bahrain issued a security alert Sunday warning that Iran may target unspecified locations in central Manama, and urging Americans to stay vigilant and follow the guidance of local authorities.
  • Manama sits on Bahrain's northeastern coast, east of Saudi Arabia, and is home to the headquarters of the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet.
  • BP and ConocoPhillips are partnering on a giant Iraqi oilfield, following the Oval Office meeting between President Trump and Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi. OilPrice.com

Guest: Paul Davis, Institute of World Politics

9:35 · Monologue: From Deescalation to Escalation

Jake takes the hour to the front of the story. A ceasefire that was supposed to wind the war down has instead produced nine straight nights of American strikes, dead U.S. service members in Jordan, and a shipping lane that much of the world's energy depends on turned into a shooting gallery. How did the off ramp become the on ramp?

9:45 · Where Is Iran's Supreme Leader, and Is Israel Coming Back In?

EJ Kimball is in regular contact with offices on Capitol Hill. Jake asks him how members and staff are reacting to a conflict that has swung back to escalation, and what the reporting on Iran's leadership vacuum means for the next phase.

  • An Israeli security source cited by Saudi outlet Al Hadath says supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei is not in Iran, and that statements issued in his name are being drafted by IRGC leadership. (Fox News)
  • The IDF says Israel is ready to resume fighting after Iranian missile debris crashed near Eilat.
  • How is Congress reading the collapse of the diplomatic track, and what does it want to see before the next tranche of support moves?

Guest: EJ Kimball, U.S. Israel Education Association

10:00 · Two Wars, One Information Battlefield

Brigadier General Blaine Holt takes the wide view: the Iran campaign, the largest ballistic missile barrage Russia has thrown at Kyiv, and the fight over what people are allowed to think about either one.

  • CENTCOM's ninth consecutive night of strikes on Iran, with explosions reported in Tabriz, Chabahar, Konarak, Bandar Mahshahr, and Bandar Imam Khomeini.
  • Tehran says the U.S. struck a nuclear power plant under construction in southern Iran and calls it a violation of international law. (The Times of London)
  • Russia launched one of its largest ballistic missile attacks of the war overnight into Sunday. Ukraine's air force described a massive combined strike using attack drones and air and ground launched missiles, with Kyiv as the main target.
  • President Volodymyr Zelensky said the enemy fired more than 40 missiles of various types, most of them at the capital, along with 120 attack drones.
  • If Keir Starmer answers to the City of London, some argue he is effectively its mayor. Was Burner installed?
  • Dangerous Intellectuals Podcast Episode 45 is up and ready to consume: human cognition under attack in fifth generation warfare, with the goal of controlling all human thought.

Guest: Brigadier General Blaine Holt, USAF (ret), host of Dangerous Intellectuals Podcast, Episode 45: The Fight for Cognitive Liberty

10:30 · Mission Aborted: Starship, Space Debris, and the Kessler Effect

SpaceX called off the launch of Starship Flight 13 after an automated system caught a problem during engine ignition seconds before liftoff. Christopher Lee Jones joins Jake on what the scrub says about the program, and on the orbital debris problem that could close space to everyone.

  • Elon Musk said the issue involved Raptor engines that will be removed and replaced before the next attempt, which he expects within days.
  • The mission was set to test Starship's latest upgrades and deploy 20 next generation Starlink satellites, a key milestone for reusable spaceflight, lunar missions, and Mars.
  • The scrub also weighed on newly public SpaceX stock, which slipped after the delay.
  • What are the biggest obstacles standing between us and a successful crewed mission to Mars?
  • What is SpaceX getting right about the future of space exploration, and what still has to be solved?
  • Critics say SpaceX moves too fast. Supporters say that is the only way to innovate. Where does Jones come down?
  • What is the Kessler Effect, and why should anyone outside the space industry care about debris?
  • How do we keep the benefits of satellites without wrecking the orbital environment?
  • What should the public understand about the opportunities and the risks of becoming a multiplanetary civilization?
  • Could Starship itself become part of the fix by flying debris removal missions, and could a future flight carry SOAR technology?
  • What is Mars Mission I: Surviving the Kessler Effect about?

Guest: Christopher Lee Jones, founder and president, Satellite Orbital Access and Removal (SOAR)

10:50 · The Media Had No Right to Hide Trump's Thursday Night Speech

Dennis Kneale on the networks that passed on the president's prime time address, and what the decision says about who now controls the flow of information to the American public.

  • Did the networks abandon their duty to inform the public by declining to carry a presidential address?
  • When does legitimate editorial judgment become information control?
  • Why not carry the speech and then challenge its claims afterward?
  • Have journalists moved from reporting the news to deciding what Americans are permitted to hear?
  • What the preemptive dismissal of the address reveals about political bias inside national newsrooms.
  • How media gatekeeping keeps deepening the crisis of trust in journalism. (Publius)

Guest: Dennis Kneale, author of The Leadership Genius of Elon Musk and Oregoners

11:00 · Two Fronts: The Strait of Hormuz and the Skies Over Kyiv

Dr. James Robbins on the strategic picture as the Iran campaign runs into its ninth night and Russia escalates against Ukraine's capital in the same 24 hours.

  • CENTCOM's ninth consecutive night of strikes, aimed at Iranian capabilities used against shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
  • Tehran says a nuclear power plant under construction in southern Iran was hit and calls it a violation of international law. (The Times of London)
  • American service members killed in the Iranian missile and drone attack on a base in Jordan.
  • An Israeli security source cited by Al Hadath says Mojtaba Khamenei is out of the country, and the IDF says Israel is ready to rejoin the fight. (Fox News)
  • Russia's overnight barrage on Kyiv: more than 40 missiles of various types and 120 attack drones, in one of the largest ballistic attacks since the invasion began.
  • Does Moscow read American focus on the Gulf as an opening?

Guest: Dr. James Robbins, Dean, Institute of World Politics

11:20 · Back From Israel, and Two Ugly Stories From New York

Rabbi Michael Barclay has just returned from Israel. Jake asks him how the Israeli government is reading the return to escalation with Iran, and then turns to two stories out of New York City that landed hard over the weekend.

  • What is the mood inside Israel as the fight with Iran heats back up?
  • The Jerusalem Post reports the IDF has publicly stated it is ready to rejoin the fight. Was that statement meant for Tehran's ears?
  • An Israeli security source cited by Al Hadath says supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei is not in Iran. (Fox News)
  • A vandal threw motor oil and feces at a pair of Queens synagogues, according to police sources and a neighborhood safety group. Worshippers found the mess Friday morning outside the two houses of worship, said Steven Saphirstein, community outreach coordinator for Queens Shmira. New York Post
  • A 96 year old Auschwitz survivor says he now hides his Star of David chain because of spiraling antisemitism in New York City. Jerry Wartski says the Democratic Party and the Democratic Socialists of America are being infiltrated by antisemites, and that the climate has Jews feeling unsafe on the street. New York Post

Guest: Rabbi Michael Barclay, host of The Rabbi's Table: Dialogue Not Debate

11:30 · Russia Pounds Kyiv With the Largest Missile Attack of the War

Christine Balling closes the show on the two theaters at once: nine nights of American strikes on Iran, and a Russian barrage on Kyiv that Ukrainian officials describe as the biggest ballistic attack of the war.

  • CENTCOM's ninth consecutive night of strikes on Iranian military targets and air defenses as the conflict keeps escalating.
  • Tehran says the U.S. hit a nuclear power plant under construction in southern Iran. (The Times of London)
  • American service members killed in the Iranian attack on a base in Jordan.
  • An Israeli security source cited by Al Hadath says Mojtaba Khamenei is no longer in Iran, and the IDF says it is ready to resume fighting after debris fell near Eilat. (Fox News)
  • Are the attacks on Kyiv a sign that Putin is himself under pressure to end this war?

Guest: Christine Balling, Senior Vice President for Professional Affiliations, Institute of World Politics

11:50 · Salute the Troops

Jake closes the show honoring the men and women in uniform, with American service members killed in action in Jordan this week and thousands more standing watch across the region.

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