PDB Afternoon Bulletin | August 26th, 2026: Iranian State TV Discusses How Barron Trump Could Be Killed & Saudi Arabia’s Nuclear Deal

It's Wednesday, the 26th of August. Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. And rest in peace to Dolly Parton. American country music has lost one of its brightest stars. All right, let's get briefed. First up, an Iranian state television video openly discusses how Barron Trump could be killed, claiming the president's son is under surveillance and that a $10 million bounty has been offered for his murder. I'll have the details. Later in the show, President Trump sends a nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia to Congress, opening the door to billions in reactor deals while raising new fears of a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. But first, today's afternoon spotlight. Iranian state television has broadcast a three-minute video openly discussing where and how President Trump's youngest son, Barron, could be killed. The video appeared on Channel 3 of Iran's state-controlled television network. The material reportedly originated with media affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, that's the IRGC, the branch of Iran's military, responsible for many of the regime's covert operations abroad. The video's title was, quote, Where and How Should We Kill Barron Trump, end quote. It used AI-generated imagery to depict the president's 20-year-old son at locations associated with his daily life. The report claimed Barron was being, quote, fully monitored. It referenced his university, vehicles used by his security detail, and the purported location of Secret Service personnel assigned to protect him. The video also claimed that a woman had penetrated Barron's social circle, attended a private meeting with him, and passed information to the program's producers. It alleged that Barron uses Xbox to communicate privately through voice and text, supposedly beyond the reach of his security detail. And the video concluded by claiming that a $10 million reward had been offered in connection with Barron's killing. The claims about his movements, communications, and personal relationships have not been independently verified. But the threat is obviously being taken seriously by the U.S. Secret Service. A spokesperson for the agency confirmed that it is aware of the video, adding that the Secret Service investigates anything that can be perceived as a threat against the people under its protection. The agency declined to provide any additional details, citing concerns about operational security. And the White House has not offered a separate, substantive response. Now, this video does not appear to be an isolated incident. In July, an outlet affiliated with the Revolutionary Guard Corps released a similar production targeting First Lady Melania Trump. That video also examined locations she was known to visit in New York and presented alleged weaknesses in her security. Iranian state media has previously broadcast material purporting to map President Trump's travel routes between airports and his homes in Florida and New York. And in July, a billboard displayed in Tehran depicted Trump dead in a coffin beneath the words, quote, We Will Kill Trump, end quote. Iran's threat campaign against the president dates back to his decision to authorize the January 2020 drone strike that killed Revolutionary Guard Commander Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad. The regime repeatedly vowed to avenge Soleimani's death, and those threats have intensified during the current conflict following the killing of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. And Iran has a documented history of attempting to turn threats like these into operations on American soil. In 2024, the Justice Department charged an Iranian asset accused of being ordered by the Revolutionary Guard to develop a plan to assassinate Trump. According to federal prosecutors, the operative used a network of criminal associates inside the U.S. to conduct surveillance and arrange killings on behalf of the regime. And this past March, a federal jury convicted another Iranian operative of murder for hire and attempting to commit an act of terrorism. The Justice Department said that man admitted the IRGC to the U.S. to arrange political assassinations. He ultimately approached people he believed were professional killers, but who were actually working with American law enforcement. There have also been more recent intelligence warnings. Israel has reportedly warned Washington several times that Iran may be plotting to assassinate Trump. One such warning contributed to the recent decision to secretly move the president from Air Force One to another military aircraft during a trip to Turkey. American and Turkish intelligence has also warned the U.S. to assassinate Trump. The U.S. intelligence agency reported that the U.S. intelligence agency could not independently verify some of those Israeli warnings, and at least one was considered low confidence by U.S. officials. Bottom line, we shouldn't confuse Iran's latest propaganda video with evidence that an assassination team is currently stalking Barron Trump. But an Iranian state broadcaster has openly identified the American president's son as a target, discussed his supposed vulnerabilities, and advertised what he described as a multi-million dollar reward. Now, that message may be designed to show resolve or strength to their population. It may also be an invitation to criminal groups, Iranian sympathizers, or unstable individuals willing to act without direct orders from Tehran. All right, coming up next, President Trump moves to help Saudi Arabia build a civilian nuclear program, despite concerns that the agreement could leave Riyadh with a pathway toward nuclear weapons. I'll be right back. 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Trump is telling the Saudis that even if this deal clears Congress, they're not going to get it unless they do something the president has been pushing for years, and that would be to recognize Israel. As for the agreement, it was signed last month in Washington by Energy Secretary Chris Wright and his Saudi counterpart. Now, I want to spend a moment to talk about the deal, because this is a significant offer from the U.S. The deal would allow American companies to export civilian nuclear technology to the kingdom, with plans to build advanced American-designed reactors known as AP-1000s. With that, we're potentially talking about tens of billions of dollars in business for American companies and a nuclear partnership between Washington and Riyadh that could last 30 years. On one track, Trump is moving the nuclear agreement forward. The classified deal, though, was sent to congressional leaders Monday under the Atomic Energy Act, and it's expected to reach the relevant committees today, according to a Trump administration official. Now, that starts a 90-day review period, and if Congress doesn't object, the agreement can eventually go into force. Even if lawmakers reject it, Trump could veto their decision, requiring a two-thirds majority in Congress to override him. On the other track, Trump is making clear that simply getting through Congress is not enough. Saudi Arabia must normalize relations, with Israel. As a Trump official told the Associated Press, quote, the president's position has not changed, that the agreement will only move forward if Saudi Arabia joins the Abraham Accords, end quote. Now, Saudi Arabia has wanted American help developing its nuclear program for years. Trump is putting that cooperation within reach, but he's also telling Riyadh that if it wants one of the biggest prizes Washington can offer, the kingdom has to help deliver a diplomatic breakthrough that Trump has been pursuing ever since his first term. And there's another wrinkle here. The Saudis apparently were not expecting the two issues to be tied together. Riyadh agreed to the nuclear deal in July. Then just days later, Trump announced that completing it would depend on Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords. Those, of course, are the U.S. brokered agreements that Trump pushed during his first term that established diplomatic relations between Israel and several Arab and Muslim-majority countries. The UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan joined those agreements in 2020 and 2021. But Saudi Arabia would be the most significant development for the Accords. The problem is that Riyadh continues to insist that there must first be an irreversible path toward the establishment of a Palestinian state before it will normalize relations with Israel. Prime Minister Netanyahu rejects Palestinian statehood, arguing that it would threaten Israel's security. Now, this is also not Washington's first attempt. Trump worked on a similar nuclear agreement during his first term, while former President Biden later tried tying nuclear cooperation to Saudi recognition of Israel before the brutal 7 October 2023 Hamas attacks and the subsequent war in Gaza changed the entire landscape. There's one more part of this deal that I want to walk you through, because it's likely to become a major issue in Congress. Some lawmakers and nonproliferation advocates are criticizing the agreement because it reportedly does not prohibit Saudi Arabia from enriching uranium or reprocessing nuclear fuel. The Trump administration, though, says the agreement still contains the nonproliferation safeguards required under U.S. law. And that, my friends, is the PDB Afternoon Bulletin for Wednesday, the 26th of August. If you have any questions or comments, and I hope you do, just reach out to me at pdbatthefirsttv.com. And to listen to the show ad-free, it's very simple. Just become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting pdbpremium.com. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool. Now, as someone who spends time thinking about uncertainty and preparing for what might happen next, I think there's another kind of preparation that is, unfortunately, easy to overlook. And that is making sure your family has financial security. If something happens to you, it's not the happiest of thoughts, but if something happens to you, you need to be prepared for the unexpected. And that's where life insurance comes in. 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