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PDB Afternoon Bulletin | June 6th, 2025: China Secretly Helps Iran Rebuild Ballistic Missile Arsenal & Putin Unleashes Brutal Revenge Strikes Across Ukraine
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- [00:00]
Chipotle Representative
At Chipotle, we also have a playlist. Guacamole as it's being hand mashed. The sizzle of adobo chicken on the grill, the chopping of onions and cilantro. We call our playlist Real Order now. Chipotle for real.
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Mike Baker
It's Friday the 6th of June. Hmm. It's the 81st anniversary of D Day. Now, my father was in the Army Air Corps in World War II. They call his the Greatest Generation. You'll get no argument from me. They absolutely were. 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, Iran is reportedly rebuilding their military arsenal with the assistance of China, recently ordering thousands of tons of ballistic materials that could produce up to 800 missiles. We'll have those details. And later in the show. Russia unleashes one of their largest drone and missile barrages against Ukraine of the three year war in retaliation for Ukraine's shocking drone assault on Moscow's strategic bomber fleet. But first, today's afternoon spotlight. We'll begin today with Iran, where it appears that the mullahs are attempting to restock their diminished military supplies and bolster their battered proxy network, all while sort of engaging in discussions or something resembling discussions with the Trump administration on their nuclear program. And China is playing a key role in Iran's restocking efforts. According to an exclusive report from the Wall Street Journal, Iran has ordered thousands of tons of ballistic missile materials from China in recent months. Specifically, sources said the Islamic regime is importing ammonium perchlorate, which is used to produce solid fuel missiles. The Chinese are reportedly providing enough of this critical compound to the Iranians to produce as many as 800 ballistic missiles. Now, sources familiar with the transaction told the Journal that some of the materials will be likely distributed to Iran's network of proxies, including regional militias such as Hezbollah and the Houthi militants of Yemen, who continue to bombard Israel with missile attacks. Much of the material, however, is expected to stay inside Iran's borders. As the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the IRGC works to rebuild missile production plants that were damaged or destroyed by Israeli retaliatory strikes last October. The Journal said that the purchase orders were made by the IRGC through a Hong Kong based firm. Ah, hello. Yes, I'd like to buy some ballistic missile materials, please. Those orders were likely placed before the Trump administration began nuclear negotiations with the mullahs. The activity suggests that leaders in Tehran are actively preparing for renewed conflict across the region. The new shipments follow orders of roughly 1,000 tons of sodium perchlorate, that's a precursor for producing ammonium perchlorate that were delivered from China to Iran in mid February and late March. Those orders provided enough materials reportedly to fuel roughly 260 short range missiles. Now the Mullis are reportedly eager to re establish their so called axis of resistance, which was largely laid to waste by Israeli military operations over the past 18 months. Some experts fear that they're using the slow drawn out nuclear negotiations with the US As a distraction to bide time for these rebuilding efforts. As we've been tracking here on the pdb, those negotiations, if you can call them that, aren't really progressing. On Tuesday, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejected a revised nuclear proposal from the US that would allow the regime to continue low level uranium enrichment for civilian use in exchange for phased sanctions relief. Khamenei blasted the proposal, saying, quote, the rude and arrogant leaders of America repeatedly demand that we should not have a nuclear program. Who are you to decide whether Iran should have enrichment, end quote. Well, somebody's feeling feisty. President Trump later walked back the reported proposal saying his administration will, quote, not allow any enrichment of uranium. After Khamenei's fiery remarks, Trump also warned that, quote, time is running out on Iran's decision pertaining to nuclear weapons, hinting that he may soon ditch diplomatic efforts in favor of decisive military action against Iran's nuclear facilities. That would likely be done in coordination with Israel, which has long advocated for targeted strikes to cripple Iran's enrichment capabilities. Leaders in Israel see Iran's nuclear sites as uniquely vulnerable due to the collapse of their once strong network of proxy groups over the past year and say the time to act is now before Iran has a chance to rearm. While recent reports suggested Israel was gearing up for unilateral strikes against Iran, a report from Axios on Thursday revealed that Israeli officials recently told the White House they would not take action unless President Trump signals that nuclear negotiations have failed. China, meanwhile, is feigning ignorance over the matter. A spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that they were unaware of any contract between the Hong Kong based firm and the Iranian regime, adding, quote, the Chinese side has always exercised strict control over dual use items in accordance with China's export control laws and regulations and its international obligations. Oh, end quote. Coming up next, Russia unleashes one of their largest drone and missile barrages against Ukraine since the war began. I'll be right back. Hey, Mike Baker here. Well, Let me take just a little bit of your time to talk about your personal finances and and your hard earned savings and and how to protect them. Now did you know that in the last 12 months gold's value has jumped 30%? That's right. And central banks, well they're buying gold in record amounts. Look, with the usual ups and downs in the stock market and general uncertainty over the global economy and trade wars and those pesky brics nations pushing hard to replace the US Dollar as a global reserve currency, it's no wonder that thousands of Americans are turning to the Birch Gold group because in times of uncertainty gold can offer peace of mind. Birch Gold makes it easy to convert your IRA or your 401k into a tax sheltered IRA and physical gold. Or like a lot of folks, you can buy gold to store at home. Just text PDB to the number 989898 and Birchgold will send you a free information kit on gold. There's no obligation if you it's just useful information with an A rating with the Better Business Bureau and tens of thousands of happy customers. Take control of protecting your Savings today. Text PDB to the number 989-898. Mike Baker here. Well, let me take just a few seconds of your time to talk about everyone's favorite subject and of course that would be weight loss. Right now you're going to think that what I'm about to describe involves weight loss injections, but that is not the case. These remarkable weight loss testimonials that I'm about to share with you came from a doctor formulated weight loss supplement called Lean. That's L E A N Lean. Now Patty, no last name, just Patty said, I finally found a weight loss product that works. I wanted to lose 20 pounds and lean really curbs my appetite. And Kelly, well perhaps you know Kelly, she said amazing. I immediately noticed an energy boost and a healthy weight loss and weight. I would promote this product to anyone. End quote. Look, Lean was created by a doctor and university researcher to target the goals of GLP1s but without the injections. The studied ingredients in Lean are shown to lower blood sugar, radically reduce appetite and burn fat by converting it into energy. If you're struggling to lose weight, well then Lean is for you. Let's get you started. With 20% off, just use code PDB28clean.com that's code PDB20akelean.com again that's takelean.com results vary. These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and the product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease and is not a substitute for care from a healthcare provider. NBC Nightly News legacy isn't handed down or NBC News. I'm Tom Brokaw. Hope to see you back here.
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Tom Brokaw
I'm Lester Holt. It's carried forward. Tom Yamatz is there for Firefighters are still working around the clock. As the world changes, we look for what endures. We are coming on the air with breaking news. Right now we look for a constant and from one era to the next. Trust is the anchor for NBC Nightly News. I'm Tom Yamas. A new chapter begins NBC Nightly News with Tom Yamas. Evenings on NBC.
- [09:14]
Tom Yamas
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- [09:40]
Chipotle Representative
On.
- [09:43]
Mike Baker
Welcome back to the afternoon bulletin. As we discussed earlier on the pdb, Vladimir Putin had vowed swift retaliation against Ukraine over their surprising drone assault on Moscow's strategic bomber fleet and then followed through with his revenge. On Friday, in a brutal assault, Russia launched one of their largest barrages of missiles and drones of the war to date, killing at least three civilians and damaging buildings across the country. The attack began after midnight and lasted for roughly five hours, with the Ukrainian capital Kiev and taking the brunt of the vicious bombardment. The Ukrainian Air Force said Moscow launched a total of 407 drones and decoys, along with nearly 40 cruise missiles and six ballistic missiles at cities and towns throughout the country. That's according to on the ground reports from Reuters and the New York Times. It was officially the second largest drone assault of the war, following an attack last weekend that saw Russia launch nearly 500 drones. Friday's attack killed at least three people, all of them first responders who had rushed to the scene of one of the strikes and left another 49 people injured nationwide. Russia's Defense Ministry said in a statement that the assault was retaliation for what they described as terrorist acts by Ukraine, referencing last Sunday's crippling drone blitz on Russian airfields. We should note, however, that Ukraine's operation targeted strategic military aircraft regularly used in cruise missile attacks on Ukrainian cities and reportedly did not result in any injuries to military or civilian personnel. Moscow's response on Friday, meanwhile, well put civilians directly in the line of fire. Ukrainian President Zelensky denounced the attack in a statement saying, quote, russia doesn't change its stripes. Another massive strike on cities and ordinary life. They targeted almost all of Ukraine, end quote. Ukraine's foreign minister echoed that statement, saying Russia responded to its destroyed aircraft by attacking civilians in Ukraine. Several multi story buildings were reportedly struck and civilian energy infrastructure was severely damaged during the bombardment. Ukrainian officials said that over the past several months, Russia has launched an average of more than 1,000 drones per week at military and civilian targets. Zelensky reiterated his call for Ukraine's Western allies to ramp up pressure on Russia in the wake of the attack. The Trump administration has been reluctant to slap Russia with fresh sanctions despite the urging of Kyiv and EU leaders favoring continued diplomatic engagement such as it may be. In what could be read as a swipe at the White House, Zelensky said Friday, quote, if someone is not applying pressure and is giving the war more time to take lives, that is complicity and accountability. We must act decisively, end quote. As we discussed earlier on the pdb, Trump says he'll reassess within two weeks whether Putin is serious about reaching a negotiated settlement, though it remains unclear what metrics he's using to gauge Putin's sincerity. Seriously, there's no metric sensitive enough to identify even a hint of sincerity in Putin. And that, my friends, is the BDB Afternoon bulletin for Friday 6 June. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at PDB the first tv.com and to listen to the show ad free. Well, it's simple. Just become a premium member of the President's Daily brief by visiting pdbpremium.com and remember to tune in to the first TV this evening at 10pm for the latest episode of our extended weekend show, the PDB Situation Report. You can also catch it, of course, in past episodes on our soon to be critically acclaimed YouTube channel. You can find our YouTube channel at President's Daily Brief and of course, podcast platforms throughout Podcast Land. We're diving deep this week into the Ukrainian drone operation that targeted Russia's bomber fleet and examining the possibility of a civilian uprising in Gaza as Hamas battles rival militias looking to exert control. I'm Mike Baker and I'll be back over the weekend with the PDB Situation Report. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.