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The President's Daily Brief
September 1st, 2025: Israel’s ‘Red Wedding’: How Iran’s Top Leaders Were Eliminated & A Murder Mystery in Ukraine
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New report reveals a surprising weakness that opened the door to those operations. We'll have those details later in the show. A murder mystery in Ukraine. A top politician is gunned down in broad daylight and the assassin may have been hiding in plain sight. Plus, the US Takes an unprecedented step, blocking Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and numerous Palestinian officials from attending the upcoming UN General assembly in New York. Well, I suppose they could get around that problem by relocating the UN To Switzerland. And in today's Back of the brief, a US Appeals court delivers a blow to the Trump administration's trade agenda, ruling that most of his tariffs are illegal. I honestly had no idea that an appeals court could set or determine US Foreign trade policy. But first, today's PDB Spotlight. One of the more astounding results of the 12 day war against Iran is was the Israeli military and intelligence services ability to take out numerous high ranking Iranian leaders, military commanders, nuclear scientists, and those responsible for protecting the regime's top decision makers. Well, this weekend, the New York Times revealed just how Israel did it. The operational weakness that allowed for those targeted operations, the bodyguards. The operation had a dramatic codename, Red Wedding. If you're familiar with the HBO show the Game of Thrones, well, you know the reference. But for those of you who don't, the Red Wedding was one of the most infamous betrayals in that Series a massacre carried out in what was supposed to be a safe gathering. The Israelis clearly chose the name on purpose. They intended to wipe out as many of Iran's top figures as possible in one decisive stroke, assuming that they'd never have another chance to hit them that way again. So here's how it reportedly went down. First off, Iran's senior officials are a very cautious group, and with good cause, considering just how good Israel's intelligence apparatus is. They don't carry cell phones, they don't announce their movements. They know full well that Israel has some of the finer intelligence capabilities on the planet and that a single slip could get them targeted. However, their bodyguards, well, that's another story. The men assigned to protect Iran's elite were often less disciplined. They carried their phones, they sent messages, some even posted on social media. And Israel was watching. For years, Israeli intelligence had been quietly hacking into those phones, mapping routines, tracing travel patterns, and using that digital trail to build a target list. By the time the war broke out In June, the IDF's decapitation team, as they called it, had already narrowed down hundreds of potential Iranian nuclear scientists and commanders to a core list of about 20 to 25. The plan was brutal and efficient. Hit them all at once before they realized what was happening. And, well, it worked. On the very first day of the war, Israeli jets killed multiple top commanders and scientists, guided not by the phones of the targets themselves, but by the phones of the men standing outside their doors. Among the dead, Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the head of the Revolutionary Guards Aerospace Force, one of the most senior officers in the country. Alongside him, more than 30 other senior commanders and nuclear experts were eliminated in just days. Perhaps the most dramatic moment came on 16 June. Deep under a mountain slope outside Tehran. Iran's Supreme National Security Council met in a bunker, desperate to plot a path forward. The attendees were some of the heaviest hitters in the regime. The president, the speaker of the Parliament, the head of the judiciary, the ministers of defense, Intelligence and interior. Well, they took no phones, they used separate cars, and the meeting was classified at the highest level. And yet, minutes after the session began, Israeli jets dropped six bombs directly on the bunker entrances, sealing off the exits and collapsing the building around them. Now, by sheer luck, or perhaps by the structural strength of the bunker itself, none of the leaders inside were killed. They clawed their way out through debris and dust, some injured but alive. When they emerged, they found the bodies of their guards. And that was the key. Israeli intelligence hadn't followed the officials. It had followed the Guards waiting outside their phones. Bones had betrayed the entire meeting. In the days that followed, Iranian leaders scrambled to explain the scale of the breach. They quietly arrested dozens of officials and security personnel. One nuclear scientist was executed on charges of spying for Israel. The Revolutionary Guard Corps, the irgc, was thrown into chaos. Their elite Ansar Al Maidi protection unit exposed as sloppy and careless and compromised. Israel, meanwhile, neither confirmed nor denied its involvement. But Israeli officials told reporters that this was precisely the point of Operation Red Wedding. To show that no matter how deep underground Iran's leaders thought they were, no matter how many layers of security they built, Israel could still reach them. The broader message? Well, in a decades long shadow war between Israel and Iran, Israel currently has the upper hand. For years, sabotage of enrichment facilities and mysterious explosions slowed Iran's nuclear work, but not enough. So Israel shifted focus to the people, the scientists and generals, the decision makers. For Iran, the implications have been massive. Their intelligence minister admitted that infiltration has reached the highest levels of government security. Protocols have been rewritten. Smartphones are now banned for guards as well as commanders. Walkie talkies only. But even so, officials admit they're still chasing shadows. Operation Red Wedding will be remembered as one of Israel's most audacious intelligence successes. And for Iran's leadership, it will serve as a permanent reminder. In the digital age, the bodyguard at the door might be more dangerous than the enemy over the horizon. All right, coming up next, a brazen assassination shocks Ukraine and Washington, shuts the door on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and a host of Palestinian personnel ahead of the UN General assembly meetings in New York. I'll be right back. Hey, Mike Baker here. Well, you probably noticed Labor Day is. Well, it's here. And Labor Day is that one American holiday where we celebrate hard work by not working, not laboring. 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Welcome back to the pdb. Another high profile Ukrainian figure has been assassinated. Andrey Parubi, the ex speaker of Parliament and the defining face of the maiden protests, was gunned down in Lviv on Saturday, fueling suspicions, of course, of a Russian hit. According to prosecutors, the 54 year old politician, who also once served as secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, was murdered in broad daylight by a gunman disguised as a courier on an E bike. The assassin blended into the western Ukrainian city like any other delivery rider before pulling out a firearm and firing, striking Perubi at close range before vanishing into the busy streets. Ukraine's Prosecutor General's office reported, quote, an unidentified man fired several shots at the politician, killing Andrei Poruby on the spot. As of now, authorities have launched a murder probe, but no motive has been officially suggested. Ukrainian President Zelensky denounced the killing as a, quote, horrific murder, vowing that, quote, all necessary forces and means would be deployed to hunt down the perpetrator. Former President Petro Poroshenko went further, calling it a shot fired at the heart of Ukraine and praising Perubi as, quote, a great man and a true friend. As some of our viewers may know, Perubi's political career was deeply entwined with Ukraine's westward turn. He first rose to prominence during the 2004 Orange Revolution when protesters challenged election fraud engineered by pro Russian elites to install a Kremlin backed candidate in the country. Nearly a decade later, Perubi emerged as one of the central organizers of the 2013-2014 Maidan uprising that toppled pro Moscow President Viktor Yanukovych after his decision to abandon an EU trade pact in favor of closer ties with Russia Little wonder then, that suspicion of his murder quickly shifted toward Moscow. Of course, one Ukrainian lawmaker labeled the assassination as terrorism, pointing to a broader pattern of targeted killings since Russia's 2022 invasion. Just last month, as we reported here on the pdb, a senior Ukrainian intelligence officer, Colonel Ivan Voronich, was also killed in a daylight ambush, this time in Kyiv, an operation Ukraine later blamed on Russian agents. The Kremlin backed assassination duo is tracked by Ukraine's intelligence service, the sbu, later resulting in their deaths. Kyiv and Moscow have long accused each other of waging a covert war of spies and assassins, one that runs parallel to the conventional battlefield where targeted hits have become commonplace. The timing of Puubi's death only magnified the shock. He was cut down. Just as European foreign ministers convened in Copenhagen to weigh further pressure on Moscow. EU foreign policy chief Gaia Kalis told reporters that Russia was clearly not preparing for peace. Well, there's a statement of the obvious, citing ongoing missile and drone attacks. Yet the minister stopped short of imposing fresh sanctions in the meeting. Okay. Turning to the U.S. the State Department has barred Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas from this month's UN General assembly, revoking visas for him and dozens of his officials in a move that underscores Washington's red line on Palestinian statehood. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the decision last week, charging Abbas and his leadership with undermining peace efforts by chasing, quote, the unilateral recognition of a conjectural Palestinian state, end quote. Does anybody know what that means? Rubio insists the ban is rooted in United States law requiring that the Palestine Liberation Organization, the PLO and Palestinian Authority, the pa, to renounce terrorism and strip radical incitement from their education system before they can be treated as a legitimate partner for peace. A State Department official confirmed the restrictions apply to about 80 PLO and PA figures. Jerusalem wasted no time applauding the move. Foreign Minister Gideon Sar hailed the decision as perfectly aligned with Prime Minister Netanyahu's rejection of a two state solution, which he's repeatedly dismissed as a reward for Hamas monstrous terrorism. For Washington, it's a clear break from precedent. Throwing its weight squarely behind Israel while cutting off Abbas bid for symbolic recognition on the world stage. Under the UN Headquarters agreement, the US is generally expected to grant entry to all officials attending the world body, irrespective of the relations between their governments and Washington. Palestinian representatives stationed at the UN mission in New York will still be permitted to attend under that framework. But the broader ban cuts off Abbas from the platform. He's long used to rally for international sympathy. A UN spokesman said the matter would be raised with the State Department this week, stressing that, quote, all member states and permanent observers must be represented, end quote. Abbas office blasted the ban as, quote, astonishing, claiming it violated both international law and the headquarters agreement. The reversal came just days after Palestine's UN envoy declared Abbas would personally attend the gathering of heads of state plans now upended of course, by Washington's move. For Abbas, who leads both the PLO and the PA, the slight is significant. Since 1974, the PLO has held the UN's mantle as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. And in 2012, Palestine's status was elevated to that of a non member observer state. But recognition has never translated into governance. Hamas still rules Gaza, Abbas's security grip on the west bank is shaky at best, and borders remain undefined as we've been tracking. France, backed by the uk, Canada and Australia is leading a push to formally recognize Palestine at the 9 September General assembly session. But with Hamas's entrenchment in the enclave, recognition would be a little more than symbolic, more political theater and performative art than practical change on the ground. By framing the ban around terrorism and incitement, Washington is sending a clear signal until Palestinian leaders confront their own dysfunction and renounce Hamas outright, they can't expect legitimacy from the U.S. okay, coming up next in the back of the brief, a US Appeals court strikes down most of President Trump's tariffs, dealing a major blow to his trade agenda, at least until the decision is overturned by the Supreme Court. More on that story when we come back. Hey, Mike Baker here. Now you've heard me talk about the great company Jacked Up Fitness and their amazing all in one home gym, right? For home fitness, it's a complete game changer. 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In today's Back of the Brief, a divided US Appeals court delivered a partisan blow to President Trump's signature trade weapon, ruling that most of his tariffs are illegal. In a 7 to 4 decision, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington ruled that the International Emergency Economic Powers act. Oh, does it have an acronym? You bet it does. It's I eapa. In other words, IEEE P A, that's the acronym. IPA does not authorize the president to slap on tariffs. The majority opinion conceded that the statute grants, quote, significant authority to the commander in Chief during a declared emergency, but stressed it does not explicitly include the power to impose tariffs, duties or the like, or the power to tax. The judges stressed it seemed, quote, unlikely that Congress intended to grant the president unlimited authority to impose tariffs. The ruling took direct aim at Trump's reciprocal tariffs unveiled in April, and his February levies on China, Canada and Mexico. Trump blasted the ruling there's a shock as the product of a highly partisan court. On Truth Social, he posted a warning, writing, if these tariffs ever went away, it would be a total disaster for the country. At the same time, he exuded confidence that a potential Supreme Court ruling will backstop his program. And for now, the reality is simple. Trump is still winning, essentially. In practice, the tariffs remain in Force through 14 October while his administration administration drafts its appeal. As we've been tracking, Trump broke new ground as the first president to wield IPA for tariffs, stretching its reach beyond sanctioning adversaries or freezing assets. He declared a national emergency in April, citing America's ballooning trade deficit as a threat to US Manufacturing and military readiness. In February, he justified levies against Beijing, Ottawa and Mexico City on the grounds that they were, quote, not doing enough to choke off fentanyl flooding across US Borders. His Justice Department insists the statute's emergency provisions, which allow a president to, quote, regulate or block imports entirely, encompass tariffs. It's worth pointing out that the decision does not touch tariffs imposed under other legal authorities, such as Trump's steel and aluminum duties. Those remain intact, preserving essentially the backbone of his trade arsenal. The lawsuits behind the ruling were brought by five small businesses and, oh, here's a shock, a coalition of 12 Democratic led states. Their case rested on a constitutional challenge. The Congress, not the president, holds the power to impose tariffs and taxes, and that any delegation of such power must be explicit and limited. The outcome of the Supreme Court's decision following the appeals court ruling could well define the scope of presidential power to deploy levies as instruments of economic and national security policy. And that, my friends, is the President's Daily brief for Monday 1st September. Now, if you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdb@the first tv.com hopefully you had a chance over this weekend to catch our latest episode of the PDB Situation Report. If not, well, you can find it and past episodes on our YouTube channel. You can find that, of course, on YouTube, at President's Daily Brief, and wherever you get your podcast stuff. I'm Mike Baker and I'll be back later today with the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.