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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | May 23rd, 2025: Will Iran Walk Away From Nuclear Negotiations? & Russia, Ukraine To Swap 2,000 Prisoners In Largest Exchange Of The War
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It's Friday, the 23rd of May. 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, another round of nuclear talks between the US And Iran took place today in Rome, but the Iranian regime is signaling that they may walk away from the negotiating table over the Trump administration's demands to end all uranium enrichment. We'll have those details later in the show. Despite the diplomatic deadlock over the war in Ukraine, leaders in Kyiv and Moscow are conducting the largest prisoner swap of the more than three year old conflict. Some 2,000 soldiers are involved in this exchange. But first, today's afternoon spotlight. We begin today with the latest on the U. S. Iran nuclear talks as leaders in Tehran reportedly grow skeptical that they'll be able to reach a new deal with the Trump administration. Well, actually, to be honest, maybe if they quit pursuing nuclear weapons and also stopped funding and training and otherwise supporting their various terrorist proxies, they could probably reach a new deal. The fifth round of negotiations played out earlier today in Rome, led by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Arakchi and US Middle east envoy Steve Witkoff. They spoke indirectly through Omani mediators. The talks ended without any major breakthroughs, but Oman's foreign minister said progress was made towards at least establishing a framework for a potential future deal. That's diplomatic speak for we didn't really get a lot done and said he hopes to, quote, clarify the remaining issues in the coming days. While the White House remains hopeful that they can find a diplomatic off ramp to the Islamic regime's nuclear ambitions, two Iranian sources exclusively told CNN on Friday that the mullahs may decide to walk away from negotiations entirely, the impasse is reportedly over whether or not Iran will be allowed to continue their domestic enrichment of uranium at a lower level for what they dubiously claim are civilian purposes, President Trump has repeatedly insisted that any deal must include Iran's full abandonment of enrichment activities. That's an outcome that Iran's leadership continues to reject. Witkoff reiterated that message in a recent interview with ABC News stating, quote, we cannot allow even 1% of an enrichment capability, calling that red line non negotiable. As we've previously discussed, Iran has been rapidly expanding their nuclear program in recent years with the enrichment of uranium to 60% purity. Now, that's far above civilian energy needs and dangerously close, frankly, to the 90% weapons grade levels. They now have enough material reportedly to produce six nuclear weapons and reportedly hold nearly all the components needed to assemble a bomb. In a joint message, the Iranian sources told cnn, quote, that media statements and negotiating behavior of the U. S has widely disappointed policy making circles in Tehran. Oh, it's a shame to disappoint them when the US Knows that accepting zero enrichment in Iran is impossible and yet insists on it. It is a sign that the US Is fundamentally not seeking an agreement and is using the negotiations as a tool to intensify pressure, end quote. Iran claims that they are willing to commit to never developing a nuclear weapon, getting rid of their stockpiles of highly enriched uranium and allowing international inspectors to supervise the process in exchange for the US Lifting all sanctions on the regime and allowing low level domestic enrichment to continue. The Iranian sources told CNN that their participation in the Rome talks was not aimed at pursuing a potential diplomatic breakthrough, but solely to gauge whether there is any wiggle room with the Trump administration on the question of enrichment. The Iranian foreign minister made his demands plain in a statement ahead of Friday's talks, saying figuring out the path to a deal is not rocket science. Zero nuclear weapons equals we do have a deal. Zero enrichment equals we do not have a deal. Time to decide, end quote. But it goes without saying that assurances from Iran that they'll not flout the terms of any potential agreement, well, they're not really worth much. The 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or jcpoa, because as you know, everybody loves a good acronym. In theory, it limited Iran to enriching uranium to 3.67%. That's far below the 90% levels that are considered weapons grade. But Iran was quickly accused of covertly violating the terms of the deal to continue their pursuit of nuclear weapons, which is in part what prompted President Trump to pull out of the deal in 2018 during his first term. Still, the White House projected their usual optimism ahead of Friday's talks, with Press Secretary Caroline Levitt telling reporters that Trump believes the negotiations are, quote, moving in the right direction. We should mention that looming over the ongoing discussions are reports from earlier this week that Israel is making preparations to potentially strike Iranian nuclear facilities. It remains unclear, however, if Israeli leaders have made a final decision on whether or not to attack. The Iranian foreign minister warned the Trump administration, oh, now they're issuing warnings, not just demands, but warnings. They will hold the US Personally responsible for any military action taken by Israel and will adopt special measures to protect its nuclear sites and material if such threats continue. A separate statement from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the IRGC threatened a, quote, devastating and decisive response should Israel strike. A spokesman for the IRGC said, quote, they're trying to frighten us with war but are miscalculating as they are unaware of the powerful popular and military support the Islamic Republic can muster in war conditions, end quote. Well, for now, talks will continue. But it does appear that between Iran's hardline stance towards enrichment and Israel's concerns over the Islamic regime's true end game, the Trump administration may have a difficult time finding a viable diplomatic solution. And by that I mean, well, they will have a difficult time finding any viable diplomatic solution. All right, coming up next, Russia and Ukraine are carrying out the largest prisoner swap of the more than three year old war, which will see some 2,000 soldiers freed. I'll be right back. Hey, Mike Baker here. Now, this July, and maybe you've heard about this, but there's going to be an important global summit of BRICS nations and it'll be held in Rio de Janeiro. Now, the block of emerging superpowers, it includes Russian, China and Iran and India, they're meeting with the goal of displacing the US Dollar as the global currency. And they're calling that little effort the real reset. It's quite the catchy name. As the BRICS nations push forward with their plans, demand for US Dollars could decrease. And of course, that would bring down the value of the dollar. While the transition won't happen overnight, of course, the Rio reset does mark a pivotal moment when BRICS objectives move from possibility to toward reality. So you ask yourself what can you do to help protect your hard earned dollar savings? And I would suggest one thing you could do is check in with the professionals over at Birch Gold Group. Now, Birch Gold can help you move your hard earned dollar savings into a tax sheltered IRA in precious metals. Claim your free information kit on gold by texting PDB to the number 989898. It's that simple. With an A plus rating with the Better Business Bureau and tens of thousands of happy customers. Let Birch Gold arm you with a free information kit on owning gold before July. And that Rio reset. Just text PDB to the number 989898 today, Mike Baker here. I want to take just a few seconds of your time to tell you about a great home fitness company. I'm talking about Jacked Up Fitness. 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And when you're ready to purchase your own Power Rack Pro X, just use my promo code Baker Baker to save 10% at checkout. Again, that's Get Jacked Up. Hey, Mike Baker here. Let's talk about trees, shall we? And plants. Oh, and don't forget shrubs. Now did you know that Fast Growing Trees is the biggest online nursery in the us? It's true. With thousands of different plants and over. Get this, 2 million happy customers. They have all the plants your yard needs, like fruit trees, privacy trees, flowering trees, shrubs, and so much more. Whatever plants you're interested in, Fast Growing Trees has you covered to get your dream yard delivered directly to your door. Now, it's an excellent business and this spring they have the best deals. Up to half off on select plants. And now, listeners to our show get 15% off their first purchase when using code PDB at checkout. That's an additional 15% off at fast growing trees.com using the code PDB at checkout. Fast growing trees.com code PDB and don't forget, with springtime in full swing, now's the perfect time to plant. Use PDB to save. Today we're offer is valid for a limited time. Terms and conditions may apply. Packages by Expedia. You were made to be rechargeable. We were made to package flights, hotels and hammocks for less. Expedia made to travel welcome back to the afternoon bulletin. While diplomatic efforts to end Russia's war in Ukraine appear to be deadlocked, Moscow and Kyiv are moving forward with the largest prisoner exchange of the more than three year old conflict. Russia and Ukraine both confirmed that they had completed the first phase of the prisoner swap on Friday, with each side returning 390 soldiers and civilians. The exchanges will continue through Saturday and Sunday, with a total of 2000 prisoners of war expected to be freed by the end of the weekend. That's according to a report from Reuters. The agreement for each side to release 1,000 prisoners was reached during negotiations in Istanbul last week as the first direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv since the early months of the war. It was, however, the only significant outcome of the otherwise ineffective bilateral peace talks. Ukrainian President Zelensky celebrated the moment in a statement on Friday saying, quote, we are bringing our people home. The first part of the agreement to exchange 1000 for 1000 has been implemented. He added, quote, we will definitely return everyone, every one of our citizens, end quote. Officials in both countries said the first phase included the release of 270 soldiers and 120 civilians who were transferred at the Ukraine Belarus border. The Russian Defense Ministry said their soldiers and civilians were now in Belarus where they're being provided with psychological and medical assistance before being brought back to Russia. The Ukrainian prisoners were brought to a hospital in northern Ukraine near the Belarus border for examination, after which they'll return to their families. Most appeared thin and pale with shaven heads, though pictures released by Zelensky showed them smiling and draped in Ukrainian flags. President Trump took to Truth Social to congratulate both sides on the negotiated swap and suggested that this quote could lead to something big. It appears both Russia and Ukrainian officials may agree that in a rare sign of potential progress towards a ceasefire, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Friday that once the full swap is completed on Sunday, the Kremlin will hand Ukraine a draft quote outlining the conditions for achieving a sustainable long term comprehensive settlement agreement. Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustam Umarov, meanwhile, called the exchange the first stage of a potential ceasefire with Russia. He said, we achieved 1000 for 1000 after this if it will be successful. As I said, first is exchanges, second is the ceasefire, end quote. Still, as we discussed on this morning's pdb, the road to a potential peace looks like it will still be a long one. While Ukraine has already agreed to a proposal from President Trump for an immediate 30 day ceasefire in order to allow time for more substantive negotiations to begin, Putin on his part continues to resist these efforts instead of a ceasefire. Putin said earlier this week that Russia is ready to work with the Ukrainian side on a memorandum on a possible future peace accord. Well, that sounds like he's kicking the can down the road which would define the principles of settlement and the timing of a possible peace agreement. He added that the main thing for us is to eliminate the root causes of this crisis. Now the mention of root causes is telling, as it is a phrase commonly used by the Kremlin to place blame on Kiev for the war. Despite the inconvenient truth for Putin that this is Putin's war, Putin is sticking to his long held demands calling for Ukraine to end their pursuit of NATO membership, officially cede Crimea and four occupied regions in eastern Ukraine to Russia, and withdraw their military from the front lines. Moscow also continues to demand a halt to all Western military aid to Kiev as a condition for a ceasefire, and Putin reportedly wants a pony. These terms, of course, remain non starters for Ukraine, except for perhaps the pony. Russia, of course, knows that which you could argue suggests that Putin is not serious about ending the war at this time. I know that's shocking. And that, my friends, is the PDB Afternoon bulletin for Friday 23rd May the now if you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me@pdbhefirsttv.com and to listen to the show ad free. Well, you can do that and it's very simple. Just become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting PDB premium.com now. If you glance at the calendar, you'll notice that once again it's Friday and your reward for making it through another week is a brand new episode on of our ever popular extended weekend show, the PDB Situation Report. This week's guests include Benham Ben Taliblu from the foundation for the Defense of Democracies, along with author of the terrific book Winning Space and all around smart guy Brandon Weickert. We're talking about a possible Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear infrastructure, the ongoing talks between the US And Iran, the recently announced Golden Dome missile defense shield for the US hypersonic weapons, and of course, laser beams. As always, new episodes hit the airwaves at 10pm every Friday on the first TV and can easily be found on our YouTube channel at President's Daily Brief as well as podcast platforms everywhere. By the way, the Situation Report just celebrated its one year anniversary. It is crazy how time flies. As Ferris Bueller said, life moves pretty fast if you don't stop and look around once in a while you could miss it. Hopefully you're not missing the situation report. Stop and check it out. 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. Hey, Mike Baker here. Now, for those of you in the U.S. well, yes, memorial Day is here. Now, as you know, Memorial Day isn't just a long holiday weekend, right? First and foremost, it is an opportunity to thank all those who have sacrificed and served. But yes, you're right, it is also a long holiday weekend and it is the kickoff traditionally to grilling season. Now, let me tell you something. If your grill could talk, it would definitely be asking for something better than grocery store beef. That's why I want to tell you about Tritails Beef. 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