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PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 11th, 2026: Chaos In The Strait Of Hormuz & Moscow’s Advice To Iran
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It's Wednesday, the 11th of March. 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, the Strait of Hormuz is turning into a war zone. Several cargo ships are struck by projectiles as Iran ramps up attacks on commercial shipping in the narrow waterway. Later in the show, new reporting raises fresh questions about Russia's role in the conflict as intelligence sources say Moscow may be advising Iran on drone tactics. But first, today's afternoon spotlight. The Strait of Hormuz is rapidly becoming one of the most impactful flashpoints in the war with Iran. And today, the chaos in that narrow stretch of water escalated yet again. According to maritime authorities, at least three commercial vessels were struck by projectiles near the strait on Wednesday. One bulk carrier was hit roughly 50 nautical miles northwest of Dubai. Another cargo ship caught fire after being struck near Oman's Musindam Peninsula, forcing the crew to abandon the vessel. And a third cargo ship reported damage off the coast of the United Arab Emirates. All told, maritime officials now say 13 vessels have been attacked in the Persian Gulf region since. Since the current round of fighting began on 28 February. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the IRGC, has already claimed responsibility for today's attacks. Oh, well, nice of them to clear that up. According to Iranian state linked media, the IRGC says it fired on a Thai flagged bulk carrier called the Mayuri Neri and a Liberian flagged vessel named Express Rome after the ships allegedly ignored warnings from Iranian naval forces. Now the message from Tehran is becoming increasingly clear. Iran intends to turn the Strait of Hormuz into a battlefield. Now we already know how critical this strait is for global energy trade. What's worth focusing on today is the geography, because the geography is what makes the waterway so vulnerable. At its narrowest point, the Strait of Hormuz is only about 21 miles across. But the actual shipping lanes used by tankers and, well, they're far smaller, just a couple of miles wide in each direction, separated by a narrow buffer zone. That means hundreds of massive commercial vessels are funneled through an extremely tight corridor every day. And critically, much of the northern shoreline of that corridor belongs to Iran. And that gives Tehran a significant tactical advantage. For years, Iranian military planners have studied how to disrupt traffic through the strait using asymmetric tactics. Everything from fast attack boats and anti ship missiles to drones and naval mines. And that last weapon mines may be the real concern right now. A recent report from the US Congress estimates that Iran possesses somewhere between 5,000 and 6,000 naval mines. But Iran doesn't need to lay thousands of mines. Even a relatively small number of them in the narrow shipping lanes of the strait could create a serious disruption. Clearing mined waters is a slow and painstaking process that can take days or even weeks. And that helps explain why the US is already taking aggressive action. US Central Command confirmed this week that American forces sank 16 Iranian vessels believed to be capable of laying naval mines near the Strait of Hormuz. But here's the important point. Iran doesn't need to formally close the strait completely to achieve its goals. Commercial shipping companies rely heavily on insurance to operate in conflict zones. If insurers determine that the risk has become too great, or if ship crews begin refusing to sail through the region, tanker traffic will grind to a halt. Even if the strait technically remains open. In other words, a handful of well timed attacks could have an outsized impact on the global energy market. And that is what we're seeing currently. And it's worth noting that the vessels targeted so far have not been American warships. They've been commercial cargo ships flying flags from countries all over the world. That means the economic consequences of this confrontation extend far beyond Washington and Tehran. China, Europe, India, Japan. Many other countries rely heavily on oil shipments that pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Which brings us to the broader strategic picture. For much of this war, the focus has been on airstrikes and missile attacks inside Iran. And the Iranian regime fully understands their inability to fight toe to toe with the US And Israel. And that's why, increasingly, the waters of the Persian Gulf and especially the Strait of Hormuz are grabbing the headlines. It's one of the few ways that Iran has to threaten the global economy directly and pressure the international community to their advantage. The regime likely understands the impact that rising fuel prices and global economic instability will have on the Trump administration's thinking. In a sense, the Iranian leadership appears to be betting that this is Trump's weak point and the most effective way to get him to declare victory and end the military operation. Coming up next, new reporting suggests Russia may be helping Iran refine its drone attacks, raising new questions about Moscow's role in the conflict. I'll be right back. Hey, Mike Baker here with an important message for homeowners. Now, look, if you're a homeowner like me, you. You know that things never break around the house when, when it's conven, like the heater that conks out in the dead of winter or the AC system that gives out in the middle of summer. Well, look, we, we ensure our health and we insure our cars, but our biggest investment often isn't covered for everyday breakdowns. 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Welcome back to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. What began as concerns that Russia might be sharing drone targeting information with Iran now appears to be expanding. New intelligence suggests Moscow may be helping the regime refine its drone tactics against US Assets, drawing on its experience from Putin's four year invasion of Ukraine. Now, if you've been following our coverage of the US Israeli conflict against Iran, you may recall that we talked about an earlier report suggesting that Moscow had already been passing along targeting information to the Iranian regime, specifically information about the movements of American warships, aircraft and other military assets operating across the Middle East. At the time that raised a serious question. Had a major US Adversary quietly begun helping the regime target American interests and the US Allies in the region? At the time, the Trump administration dismissed those reports, stating that even if Russia was providing that support, it would have no impact on U.S. operations. Well, it now appears, according to further reporting, that Moscow's support to Iran may be more extensive than originally claimed. According to an exclusive report from cnn, what may have started as intelligence sharing could now be evolving into something more operational. In other words, the issue may no longer be whether Russia is helping Iran locate targets. The bigger question now is whether Moscow is helping the regime figure out how to strike those targets more effectively. What we're learning now is that Russia may be assisting Iran with advanced drone tactics, specifically the kind that Moscow has refined during its four year war against Ukraine using the same Iranian designed shahed drones. In other words, what goes around comes around. Iran over the past four years has provided Russia with extensive drone support. And Russia may now be returning the favor because those drones, which have since been mass produced by Russia, have proven to be far more effective than military analysts initially expected at penetrating air defenses, particularly across the Gulf region. And that's the part that should get Washington's attention. The new reporting suggests something more specific. Tactical guidance on deploying Iranian made drones in ways that make them harder to intercept. According to a Western intelligence official who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the intelligence. Exactly which tactics are being shared remains unclear. But if you look at how Russia has used shahed drones against Ukraine, now the picture starts to come into focus. Moscow has repeatedly launched those drones in coordinated waves, sending multiple aircraft at once and sometimes altering their flight paths mid course to complicate interception and overwhelm air defense systems. Now, US Special envoy Steve Witkoff said Russia denied sharing intelligence with Iran about American military assets in the Middle East. Well, okay, I mean, if they deny it, then I'm sure that's the case. According to Witkoff, that denial was conveyed during President Trump's phone call on Monday with Russian President Putin. Witkoff said the message was later reiterated in a separate conversation between himself, senior Trump adviser Jared Kushner, and Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov. Well, I suppose if they've said it more than one time, then it must be true. Witkoff noted that the administration could take Moscow at its word, but he also acknowledged that the real answer would ultimately come from the intelligence community. I'm sorry, did Witkoff say that the White House could take Moscow at its word? I mean, at least to be fair, he acknowledged that they might want to check to see what the intel community thinks. And right now, the emerging intel is telling a different story. Gulf air defenses are facing Iranian drones that appear to be benefiting from those operational methods that Russia has deployed to deadly effect against Ukraine. Now, in the category of for what it's worth, it does not appear to be a stretch of the imagination to believe that the Kremlin is aiding Tehran. Nor is it a stretch to imagine that the White House is not keen to widen this conflict with by acknowledging Russia's role in supporting Iran. And that desire to avoid making Russia part of an already complicated conflict may account for their willingness to dismiss the reporting and pretend publicly that this isn't happening. And that, my friends, is the PDB afternoon bulletin for Wednesday 11th March. Now, if you have any questions or comments, and I hope you do, please reach out to me@pdbhirstv.com and to listen to the show ad free. You can do that. It really is very simple. Just become a premium member of the President's Daily brief by visiting PDB premium.com I'm Mike Baker and I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool. Hey, Mike Baker here with an important tip for home safety. Now, if you own a handgun, this message is for you. Look, handgun owners know this that often your weapon storage options likely fall into two frustrating categories. Locked away and out of reach, or unsecured and vulnerable. And neither is acceptable. And that's where Stopbox comes in. Stopbox USA solved this with the Stopbox Pro. It's a mechanical, keyless safe that offers fast, secure access without batteries or keys. Its push button locking system ensures reliability when every second counts. The Stopbox Pro drastically reduces response time while keeping your firearm protected and stored securely. With StopBox USA, you no longer have to choose between security and readiness. The Stopbox Pro delivers both efficiently. 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