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The President's Daily Brief
February 19th, 2025: Russia Plays Hardball In Riyadh & Iran Vows Another Attack On Israel
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- [00:00]
Ryan Reynolds
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Mike Baker
3 month plan equivalent to $15 per month Required intro rate first 3 months only, then full price plan options available, taxes and fees extra. See full terms@mintmobile.com they will be just about. It's Wednesday the 19th of February. Welcome to the president's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. Today we're starting with the negotiations between the US And Russia over ending the war in Ukraine. Now, Moscow appears to be playing hardball. There's a surprise demanding that the west scrap Ukraine's NATO ambitions and rejecting any talk of NATO peacekeepers. Oh, is that all you want, Putin? We'll examine Russia's stated position, which essentially appears to be that they get what they want and Ukraine doesn't. Later in the show, Iran is vowing yet another attack on Israel, while Tehran claims that the U.S. and Israel, quote, can't do a damn thing to stop its nuclear ambitions. Okay, well, technically that's not correct. The question is whether the US And Israel have the political will to do a damn thing regarding Iran's nuclear ambitions. We'll tell you what's behind the Iranian regime's threats. Plus, more hostage news in Israel as Hamas says it's returning the bodies of four hostages, including the youngest victims of the brutal 7 October attacks. And in today's back of the brief, North Korea. We haven't heard from them for a short while. Well, they're making bold new promises to expand their nuclear Arsenal, brushing off U.S. denuclearization efforts. But first, today's PDB Spotlight. Senior U.S. and Russian officials convened Tuesday in the capital of Saudi Arabia that would be Riyadh, for landmark talks on reviving their diplomatic and economic ties and bringing the Putin regime's war on Ukraine to an end. But Moscow is already playing hardball, using the discussions to escalate their demands regarding a potential settlement. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov led the Kremlin's delegation opposite U.S. secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. national Security Adviser Mike Waltz, and Middle east envoy Steve Witkoff. Both Rubio and Lavrov said the initial discussions, which lasted nearly five hours proved productive and that both sides listened to each other's concerns. That's nice. That's according to a report from Reuters, Witkoff was even more effusive, describing the talks as positive, upbeat and constructive. That sounds downright chummy, adding, quote, everybody was there to get to the right outcome, end quote. Well, yeah, the invading country that would be Russia is certainly there to get what they would like. Rubio told reporters that they agreed to pursue three broad goals. Restoring staffing at their respective embassies in Washington and Moscow, exploring economic cooperation, and of course, pursuing high level negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. But Rubio stressed that the talks served only as a starting point and that the road to achieving these ambitious goals would be a long one, particularly after more than three years of frozen diplomacy due to Putin's invasion of Ukraine. With that in mind, Rubio said restaffing the embassies will be the first priority, noting that, quote, for us to be able to continue to move down this road, we need to have diplomatic facilities that are operating and functioning normally now. The talks have alarmed leaders in Kyiv who were not invited to participate, along with their NATO allies, also not invited, who fear Putin is trying to use the bilateral talks to foist a dictated peace on Europe. And when was the last time you heard anybody say the word foist? But Rubio told reporters on Tuesday that no one was being sidelined, that the EU and Ukraine would join the negotiating process as discussions progress and that any settlement would need to be approved by all parties. Despite these assurances, however, remarks by Russian officials prove that Kyiv is right to be wary of Moscow's motivations. Lavrov and the Russian delegation used Tuesday's talks to harden their stance regarding a negotiated settlement to the war, outlining concessions they suggested are non negotiable. Now their chief objection is Ukraine's pursuit of NATO membership. Lavrov said that Moscow's long standing concerns regarding NATO membership for Ukraine could not be resolved simply with promises that Kyiv will not be granted access to the alliance. Instead, the Kremlin says NATO must go further and officially disavow a promise that it made at a summit in Bucharest back in 2008 that Ukraine would be granted entry at a future unspecified date. During that same summit, the same promise was made to Georgia. A spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry said that without the public assurance, this problem will continue to poison the atmosphere on the European continent, end quote. Really? Well, to be fair, Russia's invasion of Ukraine has pretty much poisoned the atmosphere on the continent. Lavrov later underscored Moscow's opposition to Ukraine's future accession to the alliance, telling the porters gathered in Riyadh, we explained to our colleagues today what President Putin has repeatedly stressed, that the expansion of NATO, the absorption of Ukraine by the North Atlantic alliance, is a direct threat to the interests of the Russian Federation. Furthermore, Lavrov dismissed a proposal by French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to deploy a European coalition of peacekeeping troops to Ukraine to enforce any potential ceasefire deal. He stated flatly that the Kremlin would not support the deployment of NATO troops regardless of what flag they are operating under. Calling the scenario unacceptable, Lavrov's comments suggest that Moscow will continue to push for further concessions from Ukraine even before leaders in Kyiv have a chance to join the evolving discussions. But Rubio, for his part, said that the public discussions of concessions were premature, telling reporters, quote, we're not going to pre negotiate an end to this conflict. These are the kinds of things that have to happen through hard and difficult diplomacy in closed rooms over a period of time. That said, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz suggested the negotiating process will move at an accelerated pace, stating President Trump is determined to move very quickly. With the first round of talks out of the way, the focus is now on organizing a face to face summit between Trump and Putin, which would mark the first meeting between a US President and the Russian strongman since the war began. While a timeline for a meeting remains unclear, Waltz suggested that it could be arranged in the coming weeks. Alright, coming up next, Iran is vowing another attack on Israel. And Hamas says it's returning the bodies of four hostages, including its youngest victims. I'll be right back.
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Welcome back to the pdb. A senior commander in Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the irgc, has issued a stark warning. The regime is preparing for a third direct strike on Israel, a move that would, of course, further escalate hostilities and and directly challenge U S Israeli assertions that Iran's military strength is weakened. On Monday, IRGC Deputy Commander Ali Fadhavi declared that, quote, Operation True Promise 3 will occur at the right time. Oh, it's a sequel. Though he offered no specific timeline, his remarks reinforce Iran's defiance in the face of Israeli airstrikes and Western pressure, signaling that Iran remains undeterred despite repeated attempts to weaken its military infrastructure. This latest threat from the regime follows two prior missile barrages on Israel. You'll remember that back In April of 2024, Iran launched Operation True Promise 1, firing over 300 missiles and drones at Israeli military installations in retaliation for the targeted killing of two IRGC generals in Damascus, Syria. The attack, though largely stopped by Israel's air defense, marked Iran's first direct military engagement with Israel. Later that year. In October, the Iranian regime followed up with Operation True Promise Number two, since they couldn't be bothered to come up with a brand new name for the operation, unleashing roughly 200 missiles on Israeli positions after the assassination of high profile Iranian aligned figures, including, of course, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, Israel has continued to press its advantage in the region, most notably with its retaliatory strike just weeks later, codenamed Operation days of repentance. U.S. and Israeli officials hailed that operation as a devastating blow to Iran's military, claiming that it severely crippled Tehran's ability to project power in the region. However, the Iranian deputy commander dismissed such assessments as Western propaganda, casting the conflict in ideological terms, stating, quote, not a single day has passed without the world's evildoers waging war against us, referring to America as, quote, the Great Satan. His statement, of course, evoked rhetoric reminiscent of Iran's first Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, who famously labeled the U.S. as, quote, the Great Satan during the Iranian revolution. That was back in the day when people were coming up with very catchy names for their nemesis. The timing of Iran's latest warning is no coincidence. It comes just a day after Secretary of State Rubio met with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu in Jerusalem to discuss strategies to contain Iran's regional influence and curtail its nuclear ambitions. Netanyahu, bolstered by President Trump's backing, vowed to, quote, finish the job, insisting that Israel had inflicted substantial damage on Iran's military apparatus. Predictably well, Iran blasted the high level U. S. Israeli meeting as a provocation. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman decried it. He decried it as a violation of international law, accusing both nations of conspiring to dismantle Iran's nuclear program. The spokesman stated, quote, they cannot do a damn thing, end quote, emboldening Tehran's long standing defiance against Western pressure. Meanwhile, Israel is reportedly weighing preemptive airstrikes on Iran's nuclear sites, a move that would dramatically escalate an already volatile situation. In response, Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei reaffirmed the regime's resilience, warning that any attack would be met with severe retaliation. With both sides locked in an escalating cycle of military posturing and potential counterstrikes, Iran's vow to launch operation True Promise 3 has pushed the prospect of a direct confrontation with Israel to the near future. Alright. Shifting to the ongoing Israel Hamas ceasefire, the Iran backed terror group has announced plans to return the bodies of four hostages on Thursday, including the two youngest captives taken during the 7 October 2023 terror attacks. In pre recorded remarks released Tuesday, a top Hamas negotiator claim that the remains will include members of the Bibas family, Shiri and her two young children who were just nine months and four years old when they were abducted the terror group had previously asserted, without evidence, that the family was killed in an Israeli airstrike, a claim that the Israeli military is not confirmed. Instead, Israeli officials have maintained that they remain gravely concerned for the family's well being. Notably, the children's father was released earlier this month. An Israeli official told Reuters that the bodies will undergo formal identification before any names are publicly confirmed. In a statement, the Bibas family acknowledged Hamas announcement, but stressed that they had not received official confirmation, stating, until we receive definitive confirmation, our journey is not over. In a surprise acceleration, Hamas also announced that it will release six living hostages on Saturday. That's double the originally planned number. In exchange, Israel has agreed to release all Palestinian women and minors under the age of 19 who were arrested since October 2023 and to allow some rubble clearing equipment to enter Gaza via Egypt. As our regular PDB listeners know, the first phase of the ceasefire agreement saw Hamas release 33 hostages in exchange for about 1,900 Palestinian prisoners. As of now, 73 hostages still remain in Gaza, both living and deceased, including Israeli soldiers, civilians as well as Thai and Nepalese nationals. Negotiations for the second phase, focused on securing the release of all remaining hostages and reaching a permanent ceasefire, were set to begin earlier this month but have yet to move forward. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar confirmed that talks would begin sometime this week, emphasizing that Israel would, quote, not accept the continued presence of Hamas or any other terrorist organization in Gaza, end quote. SAR suggested that the ceasefire could be extended if meaningful progress is made toward a final agreement. Okay, coming up next in the back of the brief, North Korea is doubling down on its nuclear ambitions, dismissing US Denuclearization efforts as absurd. I'll be back with those details.
- [15:48]
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- [16:49]
Mike Baker
In today's Back of the Brief with everything going on in the world, high stakes negotiations in Riyadh and the Middle East, America's attention to its southern border, the Ukraine, Russia conflict, Kim Jong Un of North Korea. Well, he might be feeling a little left out. And typically when Kim feels ignored, you can count on him throwing his teddy out of the crib. So what better way to grab the world's attention than by threatening to expand North Korea's nuclear arsenal? This latest warning from Pyongyang comes after a high level meeting between the U.S. japan and South Korea. Over the weekend, Secretary of State Rubio met with his Japanese and South Korean counterparts at a security conference in Germany where they reaffirmed their commitment to North Korea's, quote, complete denuclearization and vowed to keep up pressure on Kim's weapons program. Oddly, well, that didn't sit well with Kim's regime. North Korea's Foreign ministry quickly fired back, calling the three nation pledge a, quote, outdated and absurd plan. I wonder what they mean by that. They also promised an overwhelming and decisive counteraction against what they see as hostile forces. In simpler terms, they're doubling down on their nuclear ambitions and daring the west to stop them. The timing of this threat isn't a coincidence. The US and its allies recently announced plans to ramp up military exercises and boost South Korea and Japan's defensive capabilities. That's a direct challenge to Kim Jong Un, who's long viewed these drills as rehearsals for an invasion. And if history is any guide, well, North Korea doesn't just talk, it does act. We could see new missile tests in the coming days as Pyongyang flexes its military muscle just to prove a point. Under Kim, the regime has made it clear that its nuclear program isn't just for show. It's the foundation of its survival. And as long as the US and its allies keep up the pressure, Pyongyang will keep finding ways to push back. Of course, this all comes as President Trump looks to re establish his personal diplomacy with Kim jong Un. The two leaders, as you'll recall, met back in 2018, making history with the first ever U. S. North Korea summit. Trump has hinted at future engagement, saying he, quote, still gets along with Kim. Whether that leads to actual negotiations or just another war of words with little rocket man, well, that remains to be seen. So expect North Korea to keep rattling its saber, launching missiles and demanding attention. The question now is whether the world will respond or if Kim's threats will get lost in the noise of everything else that's happening on the global stage. And that, my friends, is the President's Daily brief for Wednesday, 19 February. As always, if you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdb@thefirsttv.com and if you happen to be jonesing for an ad free PDB experience, well, we definitely have you covered. All you have to do is become a premium member of the President's Daily brief by visiting pdbpremium.com I'm Mike Baker and I'll be back later today with the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.