PDB Afternoon Bulletin | August 28th, 2026: Iran Is Losing Control of the Strait of Hormuz & Laser Warfare Comes to the U.S.-Mexico Border

I break down the new wars and weapons systems that are totally reshaping our world in my show Kappy Army, but we go beyond simply just telling you what happened in a war, we actually investigate deeper into the why and how. At Kappy Army, everything is informed by my experience as an average US Army infantryman in Iraq, and a war correspondent covering the front lines of the war in Ukraine. Just search Kappy Army on Apple Podcasts or Spotify to get weekly open source intelligence reports and remember to follow today. It's Friday, the 28th of August, oh look at that the last Friday in August. Welcome to the PDB afternoon bulletin, I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Alright, let's get briefed. Next up in President Trump says the battle for the Strait of Khormuz is essentially over declaring quote "that sucker is open" while there's growing evidence the traffic through the waterway is increasing slowly, you may not be surprised to know that the reality on the ground is a bit more complicated, I'll have the details. Later in the show the US military takes another step into the future using a high energy laser for what laser beam to destroy three card tell linked drones along the southern border with Mexico. But first today's afternoon spotlight President Trump says Iran has lost its most powerful bargaining chip in the war, and in typical Trump fashion, he's not being particularly subtle about it. Speaking to Axios on Thursday, the president declared that the battle for the Strait of Khormuz has effectively been won. Trump bluntly said quote "that sucker is open" the Iranian response he said is very mild. They don't want us to go back at them, that's the whole ballgame, the rest doesn't matter," end quote. Well, I guess all that's left is for President Trump to rename the Strait of Khormuz. As we reported Wednesday, Trump announced that the US military had cleared Iranian minds from the internationally recognized shipping lane running through the Strait. On Thursday night, sent com commander Admiral Brad Cooper publicly confirmed that the operation was complete. Cooper said US forces successfully cleared Iranian minds from the traffic separation scheme, as he established inbound and outbound shipping court, or running between Iran and Oman, calling it a quote "major milestone" in the 6 month war, and declaring that quote "momentum" is "building" in the Strait. According to Cooper, Navy divers, seals, drones, and US air power spent months quietly clearing the lanes under dangerous conditions. But notably, the Iranian mine threat appears to have been far less expansive and sophisticated than previously believed. American forces reportedly swept more than 200 objects, initially suspected of being mines. But, according to US officials who spoke to Axios, only 11 of them turned out to be actual mines, and just a few of those had been properly deployed. So while Iran clearly did mine the international shipping corridor, the physical minefield itself appears to have been considerably smaller than early estimates. And mines are only part of what's changed in the Strait. American officials say a two-week bombing campaign substantially degraded the revolutionary guards' ability to attack commercial shipping. The US and the United Arab Emirates, the UAE, have also been escorting vessels through a separate southern route under American air protection while Washington maintains its tight blockade on Iranian ports. The result, according to the US administration, is that Iran has lost much of its control over the waterway, while the US now effectively controls, they say, most of it. St. Gems' American forces have helped nearly 1,500 commercial vessels transit the Strait over the course of the month's long operation, carrying roughly 750 million barrels of crude oil to global markets. Now, 750 million barrels, I'm no math genius, but the average oil super tanker carries I believe about 2 million barrels, so we're talking about 375 tankers or so. Before the war, more than 20 million barrels pass through Hormuz every day, and despite the recent improvement, current traffic remains far below anything resembling normal. US officials speaking to Axios claim that between 20 and 30 tankers are now moving through the southern channel each night, carrying roughly 9 to 10 million barrels of oil or about half the pre-war volume. But independent tanker trackers are skeptical that the numbers are that high, although US officials argue that they're undercounting. According to preliminary data from Kapler, a maritime and energy intelligence provider, only 7 commodity vessels crossed Hormuz on Thursday, compared with a recent 10-day average of 15. Before the war, total daily ship traffic through the Strait was well into the triple digits. And the insurance industry certainly isn't acting as though that sucker is open. Or that the danger has passed. Ship owners, charterers, and insurers continue to treat the Strait of Hormuz as a high-risk transit. War risk insurance remains extremely expensive, and some insurers have reduced the amount of coverage that they're willing to provide, given Iran's continued attacks on ships, even if the attacks have become less frequent. US officials say that the regime's ability to accurately target vessels has been badly degraded, with only about 2% of ships transiting the Strait over the past month actually being hit. Still, that's enough to keep the industry spooked. For example, a Greek-linked tanker was struck by a projectile in the Omani Court, or this week. And maritime intelligence analysts say at least three tankers have recently been turned around rather than complete their transit. So despite Trump's declaration of victory, the picture remains, well, more complicated. Washington has significantly weakened Iran's grip on Hormuz. The principle shipping lanes aren't reportedly mind-free, Tehran's ability to attack vessels has been degraded, and more oil is moving through the Strait. But traffic remains severely depressed, ships are still being attacked, and the private insurance market continues treating the Strait like a war zone. And as we reported yesterday, Iran and Oman are discussing a new framework that the Iranian regime hopes will give it a larger role in managing the Strait. U.S. officials are now dismissing those negotiations as largely irrelevant with the American blockade, firmly in place. Regional actors, meanwhile, have renewed their efforts to find a diplomatic solution, in part because of the economic hit that some of them are taking as a result of the Strait of Hormuz's problem. Pakistan's army chief traveled to Tehran on Sunday to revive mediation efforts. Oman's foreign minister followed this week, and on Thursday, Qatar's prime minister arrived in Tehran for talks at Iran's request. Trump says the regime is now "begging to make a deal," we've heard that before, but that he's in no hurry to return to the negotiating table, as Washington ramps up its campaign to squeeze Iran financially. Again, President has said in the past that the Iranian regime is begging to make a deal. Coming up next, the U.S. military uses a high-energy laser to destroy three cartel-linked drones along the southern border with Mexico. I'll be right back. Dave Mike Baker here, "With a pro-tip for looking your best. Now if you're searching for a simple way to upgrade your hair and skin care routine, let me tell you about this great red light therapy company. It's called I Restore, I Restore. If you like me, look, you want products that are easy to work into everyday life, and that's what stands out about I Restore. For example, for hair, their I Restore Elite is incredibly simple to use, right? You just put it on your head. It's like putting on a simple bicycle helmet, you just wear it for a short while, and bobs your uncle simple as that. The I Restore Elite combines 300 lasers with 200 LEDs to support thicker, healthier looking hair. You can wear it while you're working, reading, watching TV, or relaxing. There is no major time commitment." 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I break down the new wars and weapons systems that are totally reshaping our world in my show Kappy Army, but we go beyond simply just telling you what happened in a war. We actually investigate deeper into the why and how. At Kappy Army, everything is informed by my experience as an average US Army infantryman in Iraq and a war correspondent covering the front lines of the war in Ukraine. Welcome back to the PDB afternoon bulletin. The US has taken another step into the future of warfare, this time along America's southern border. The US military says it's used a high energy laser to destroy three drones linked to Mexican drug cartels in the Rio Grande Valley. The operation took place during the overnight hours of Tuesday and Wednesday and was carried out by joint task force southern border which operates under the US northern command. According to the military troops used a system known as the Army multi-purpose high energy laser. Now what are the odds that that thing has an acronym? Well of course it does. Come on. Amphel. AMPHEL. Amphel. Well they used it to track and defeat all three aircraft. Officials classified the drones as hostile because they were being used to direct support of activities that posed a physical threat to American troops and customs and border protection personnel. Precisely what that threat involved remains unclear. The military has not said whether the drones were armed, what type of aircraft they were or which cartel was controlling them. It also declined to disclose exactly where the engagements occurred or whether the drones were destroyed over American or Mexican territory. And that last question could prove particularly sensitive. Mexican President Claudia Scheinbaum has repeatedly warned that any unilateral American military action inside Mexico would constitute a serious violation of her country's sovereignty. US northern command says the operation was coordinated with partners working along the border. The American task force also thanked the Mexican Army for its cooperation against criminal organizations. But officials have provided no additional details. Major General Curtis Taylor, who commands joint task force southern border says cartels are increasingly using drones to support human smuggling operations and spy on American military and law enforcement personnel. And that is part of a much larger threat. Cheap commercial drones have transformed warfare in Ukraine, the Middle East, and other conflict zones. Cartels and criminal organizations are now adopting many of the same tools for surveillance, smuggling, and attacks against their rivals. The US is responding with technology developed for the battlefield. The app-house system reportedly uses a vehicle-mounted 20 kilowatt laser produced by the defense company Aeroveironment. Instead of launching a missile or firing conventional ammunition, the weapon directs concentrated energy at an aircraft until one of its critical components fails. That can offer a major advantage against inexpensive drones. A laser doesn't require a costly interceptor for every target, and it can continue firing as long as it has sufficient power. But these systems also have limitations. They require an unobstructed line of sight, and their effectiveness can be reduced by rain or fall, dust, or other atmospheric conditions. This is not the first time that the system has attracted attention along the border. As we reported here on the PDB back in February, it's used near Fort Bliss, contributed to a seven-hour shutdown of air traffic around El Paso, after the Federal Aviation Administration raised concerns about risks to civilian aircraft. That episode exposed poor coordination between agencies and raised questions about how these experimental weapons could be safely deployed near populated areas. This week's operation is considerably more consequential. Roughly 8,000 American service members are now assigned to the Southern border mission, covering nearly 2,000 miles of difficult terrain. Their responsibilities include surveillance flights, detection patrols, construction of physical barriers, and support for federal law enforcement. And now, that mission includes using directed energy weapons against aircraft that the military says are assisting drug cartels. It seems that the tech arms race that's reshaping battlefields overseas has reached the U.S. Mexico border. That's the end of this episode of our weekend show, the PDB's situation report, hits the airwaves this evening at 10 p.m. on the first TV. You can also catch it and past episodes on our YouTube channel, all you have to do is stop on by YouTube and search up at President Staley Brief. Then, of course, you can find the show on podcast platforms everywhere. I'm Mike Baker and I'll be back over the weekend with the PDB's situation report. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.