It's Monday, the 31st of August, while congratulations for making it to the end of another month. Welcome to the PDB afternoon bulletin. I'm Mike Baker from your eyes and ears on the world stage. Now, let's get briefed. First up, a month-long pause in fighting between the US and Iran is over, with American forces striking inside Iran, the Iranian regime firing missiles at US positions, and President Trump threatening another punishing response. I'll have the details. Later in the show, Russia unleashes nearly 1,500 drones against Ukraine in the past four days, including hundreds of faster Iranian-designed weapons that Keeve is struggling to intercept, as Moscow prepares an even larger assault. But first, today's afternoon bulletin. The US and Iran are trading missiles and drones once again, ending a month-long pause in direct military action. The latest round began yesterday when American forces struck two Iranian rocket launchers on Lyric Island, which sits inside the Strait of Hormuz, just off Iran's southern coast. US Central Command says personnel from Iran's revolutionary guard corps, the IRGC, were observed preparing to fire rockets carrying sea mines into the Strait. US officials described the attack as a limited-precise action against an imminent threat to commercial shipping. Washington says this was not the opening attack in a broader campaign. It was a preemptive strike, intended to enforce a red line that President Trump established last week. As reported last week, on the PDB, the US military claims it recently completed an operation to clear Iran's mines from the main international shipping lane through the Strait of Hormuz. Afterward, Trump warned the regime that any Iranian ship or boat attempting to place new mines would be immediately destroyed, calling it a zero-tolerance policy. According to sent-com, the Iranian launchers on Lyric Island were preparing to violate that policy, and potentially undo weeks of dangerous American mine clearing work. Iran, as you might have guessed, is giving a very different account of what happened. Iranian media says American drones struck Iranian territory, killing two people and wounding several others. The IRGC called the attack an act of aggression and promised what it described as the "punishment of the aggressor." The retaliation came within hours. Iran launched ballistic missiles toward two installations in Jordan, the King Hussein and Al-Azraq air bases, where American forces have reportedly been stationed. The IRGC explicitly described the attack as retaliation for the American strike on Lyric Island. Jordan says its air defenses intercepted eight Iranian missiles that entered its airspace. American officials initially reported no significant damage and no casualties. President Trump later said all but one of the missiles were intercepted. According to the president, that remaining missile was deliberately allowed to continue because American defenses determined that it was not headed toward anything important. Some Jordanian security sources offered a slightly different account, telling ABC News that more than one missile may have penetrated the defenses, but they likewise reported no casualties. And Tehran didn't limit its response to Jordan. The UAE, the United Arab Emirates, says its Air Force intercepted an Iranian drone approaching over Emirati territorial waters. Iran claimed a targeted Al-Minhad air base near Dubai, which American forces have used in the past. The UAE denied that the base was attacked and reported no damage. Emirati officials condemned the drone in coercion as a dangerous escalation and a direct threat to the country's sovereignty and security. So at first glance, this looks like a relatively contained tit-fertate exchange as a technical term tit-fertate. The United States destroyed two launchers around responded by firing missiles and a drone and American positions and regional partners. Now if both sides wanted an exit ramp, they could theoretically draw a line at that point under the incident. But President Trump is signaling that the exchange may not be over. Speaking to Fox News, Trump promised another American response, saying, "We're going to hit them hard." And that turns what might have been a completed tit-fertate there's that technical term again into something more dangerous. A strike, a counter-strike, and now the threat of a counter-counter strike, which is sort of like triple-secret probation, I suppose. The escalation also comes at a revealing moment. Just days ago, the Trump administration said it was shifting away from major military operations and toward an economic campaign designed to isolate Iran, choke off its oil revenue, and force the regime back to the negotiating table. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant is currently asking G20 governments to help enforce that pressure by severing their remaining business connections with Iran. But the fundamental military dispute over the state of Hormuz never disappeared. The US says international shipping has the right to move through the strait without Iranian interference. Iran continues treating control of the waterway as its strongest source of leverage against Washington and the wider international community. And despite Trump's declaration that the strait is open, actual commercial traffic remains far below normal levels. Both governments may believe they're engaging in controlled escalation, responding forcefully enough to maintain deterrence without returning to full-scale war. But every supposedly limited response creates justification for the next one. And the economic consequences of this winter are already becoming visible. Brent Crude, climbed back above $90 per barrel, as traders reacted to the renewed fighting around the world's most important energy chokepoint. Iranian President Masood Pazashkin, while he continues insisting that the regime wants a negotiated solution and does not seek a prolonged war. But he also says Iran will respond decisively to aggression. And of course, Pazashkin may not actually speak for whomever is leading the regime at this point. All right. Coming up next, Russia hits Ukraine for a fifth consecutive day with waves of jet-powered drones killing dozens and raising fears at Moscow. Is preparing its most punishing winter campaign yet. I'll be right back. Hey, Mike Baker here. With a tip on how to jumpstart your day. Now, here's what I've been doing. 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Just go to joindeleteme.com/PDB and enter the code PDB at checkout. Once again, that's joindeleteme.com/PDB code PDB. Welcome back to the PDB afternoon bulletin. It's been a punishing several days in Ukraine where a Russian drone barrage that began last week has now stretched into its fifth day, killing dozens and repeatedly bringing daily life in and around Kiev to a halt. One of the deadliest moments came Friday when a Russian drone struck an ammunition depot near Kiev, setting off a chain of massive explosions that continued long after the initial attack. By Sunday, the death toll from that incident had climbed to 38, making it Russia's deadliest attack on Ukraine so far this year, according to President Zelensky. Another 20 people were injured, four remained missing, and even as those numbers were climbing, emergency crews were still trying to bring the site under control. Firefighters spent Sunday battling fires and explosions that were still burning at the ammunition depot, while bomb disposal teams worked their way through the area, clearing unexploded ordinance. This was the second time in just two months that a munitions depot near Kiev had been hit, and prosecutors have now opened a criminal investigation into why so much ammunition was being stored this close to residential neighborhoods. And while crews were still dealing with all of that, Russia's attacks kept coming. Drone waves continued through the weekend and into today, with Russia once again
target in Kiev and the surrounding districts. Four more people were injured in the latest attacks, while warehouses and apartment building and retail stores were damaged. Now to give you an idea of just how relentless these attacks have become, Zelensky says Russia launched nearly 1,500 drones at Ukraine in just the past four days, roughly 800 of them, with the jet-powered Iranian Shehaet variants. Unlike the slower propeller-driven Shehaets that Russia has relied on throughout much of the war, these jet-powered versions are significantly faster. And Zelensky says shooting them down has become Ukraine's "most difficult task." But Russia isn't simply changing the drones at sending toward Kiev, it's changing when it's sending them. Large drone waves that were once concentrated overnight are increasingly coming during the day, meaning the disruption doesn't necessarily end when Ukrainians wake up in the morning. Air raid sirens can sound for hours, and Zelensky argues that's deliberate. Quote, "Russia's current tactic is to wear down Ukraine and above all to wear down Ukrainians," end quote. And the missile barrage isn't only happening around Kiev. In the southern Odessa region, a Russian strike sparked a fire at a terminal operated by one of Ukraine's largest private delivery companies. And all of this is putting more pressure on a problem that we've talked about quite a bit. Ukraine is running dangerously low on air defense interceptors it needs against Russia's aggressive missile and drone campaign. And Moscow is already warning that an even larger campaign could be coming. Russia's defense ministry says its forces are preparing what it calls "massive strikes" against Ukraine's energy infrastructure in response to Ukrainian attacks on Russian companies and the country's oil and gas sector. If that all sounds familiar, well, it should. We've watched Putin repeatedly hammer Ukraine's power grid during previous winters, leaving Ukrainians without electricity and heat as the temperatures fall. Now, Ukrainian officials are warning that the coming winter could be the most difficult that they've faced since Putin launched his full-scale invasion over four years ago. And that, my friends, is the PDB afternoon bulletin from Monday, the 31st of August. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at
[email protected]. And of course to listen to the show ad-free, you can do that, 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 we have all heard those radio ads about the IRS, right? You know what I'm talking about? They tell you to be afraid, and then they try to frighten you into calling. Well, tax relief advocates is different, right? If you owe money to the IRS, whether it's $5,000 or $50,000 or $500,000, TRA has a solution to your tax problem, don't lose hope. TRA could reduce or even eliminate what you owe to the IRS. Their passion is taxes and helping individuals and businesses fix their IRS problems. They have over 1,000 5 star Google reviews and an 8 plus with a better business bureau. Here's the thing, you do not need to be afraid of the IRS any longer. Generous tax relief programs are now available that can give you a fresh start. So don't wait. Simply visit tra.com, that's tra.com, or call the number 800-583-6515. Once again, that's 800-583-6515. Tax relief advocates, real solutions for real people.
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