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It's Monday, the 12th of January. Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First up, new reporting from Iran indicates coordinated state violence against protesters, with the regime shutting down the Internet nationwide to conceal the scale of their crackdown. Later in the show, Hamas claims it's ready to dissolve its governing authority in Gaza under a US Brokered plan. But as you might imagine, key details on governance, enforcement and timing remain unresolved. Now, if you'll recall, Hamas also claimed for years leading up to their 7th of October, 2023 attacks against Israel that they were just interested in peace and bettering the lives of Gaza civilians. That, of course, turned out to be a well planned disinformation campaign designed to lull the Israeli government into complacency. I'm not saying that you can't trust the Iranian backed terror group, but if it walks like a terrorist duck and talks like a terrorist duck, it may well be a terrorist canard. But first, today's BDB Spotlight. Today, the picture coming out of Iran is no longer just one of political unrest and street protests. It now reflects deliberate organized violence carried out by the state against its own citizens, much of it obscured by a nationwide Internet blackout, according to stark warnings issued by the center for Human Rights in Iran. It's an independent New York based nonprofit that documents human rights abuses in the country. A massacre is currently unfolding across Iran. The group says it's received multiple eyewitness accounts and what it describes as credible reports indicating that hundreds of protesters have been killed during the ongoing crackdown. Because the regime has effectively severed Iran from the outside world, confirming exact numbers is, well, currently next to impossible. The descriptions coming in of the regime's methods are indicative of large scale violence. Witnesses report hospitals overwhelmed with casualties, blood supplies critically low, and bodies piling up as security forces continue to fire on demonstrators. The number of dead, they say, is rising by the hour. And this is not random violence. Eyewitnesses describe protesters being shot in the head. They report the use of snipers and surveillance drones. It doesn't appear to be a government just struggling to restore order. It appears to be a regime attempting to crush dissent through fear. Multiple outlets, including the Washington Post, report that the death toll has climbed sharply over the past several days. But even those figures come with an asterisk. The blackout makes independent verification nearly impossible. And human rights groups warn that the true number of casualties is almost certainly higher than what has been publicly acknowledged. Some estimates have the number at approximately 500 dead, while others are putting the casualties in the thousands. What makes this moment especially significant is that President Trump publicly set a red line. He warned that the US Would not stand by if the Iranian regime carried out mass violence against its own citizens. Well, that warning was not subtle. And over the last few days, it does appear that the red line has been crossed. As we reported earlier today, President Trump is now weighing his options, including potential military strikes. Officials describe it as contingency planning. That's the language that Washington always uses. Whether Trump chooses to act is ultimately his decision. But the conditions he warned about, well, are now in place. During a press gaggle yesterday, the president told reporters that Iran had reached out about negotiations. Oh, look at that. That claim was echoed today by Iran's foreign minister, who said the country was, quote, ready for negotiations and that communication channels between Tehran and Washington remain open. Now, for what it's worth, the Iranian regime is essentially buying time by suggesting negotiations, time to crush the protests. While publicly appearing to be looking for a peaceful resolution. It's difficult to understand what exactly there is to negotiate. While security forces of the Iranian regime gun down civilians in the streets and shut off the Internet to hide the evidence. Iran isn't at war with the US it's at war with its own people. Short of a surrender or an orderly exit from power, there doesn't seem to be any credible negotiated diplomatic off ramp. Now, the Internet blackout itself is telling. Iran's leadership understands that images and videos and live reporting are powerful weapons in the modern world. Cutting off access is not about stability. It's about concealment. Again, as with the offer of negotiations, it's about buying time to finish the crackdown before the full scope of the violence becomes undeniable. And yet, despite the violence, witnesses say the protests are not slowing. And in some areas, they are reportedly growing. That more than anything speaks to the depth of public rage and to the regime's desperation. Coming up next, Hamas signals that it may step aside in Gaza. But with no timeline and no realistic alternatives yet, well, there are obviously major questions about whether ceasefires, phase two, can move forward. I'll be right back. Hey, Mike Baker here. Now, let me take a moment of your time to talk about security, specifically your. Your online security, and to tell you about Deleteme. 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