It's Thursday, the 3rd of September. Welcome to the president's daily brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First up, the Trump administration puts a new punitive tanker for tanker policy in place in the state of Hormuz. Telling the Iranian regime, every time you attack a vessel in the strait, the U.S. will target a regime oil tanker. And they've already put the new policy into action. I'll have the details. Later in the show, two suspected sabotage attempts strike Germany's electricity grid within 24 hours, putting authorities on alert for a coordinated attack against critical infrastructure. Plus, Ukraine puts international airlines on notice, warning that its expanding drone campaign is making Russian airspace unsafe. And in today's back of the brief, American authorities, penetrating Hamas's scriptocurrency network, seizing its money, fundraising websites, and information about thousands of donors. But first, today's PDB spotlight. Yesterday, we told you that two super tankers carrying Saudi Arabian oil had been attacked while leaving the strait of Hormuz. Well, that attack turned out to be deadlier and more consequential than initially reported. Saudi Arabia now says Iran was responsible, and two Filipino sailors aboard the Saudi-owned tanker Asidir were killed. The sitter was carrying approximately two million barrels of crude oil when it was struck by an unidentified projectile near the coast of Oman, laid on Monday. Another super tanker carrying roughly the same amount of Saudi oil was hit only minutes later. Initial reports indicated that the crews aboard both vessels were safe. The sitter's operator, though, has now confirmed those two deaths while the Saudi government has publicly assigned responsibility to Tehran. In response, during Tuesday's major operation against approximately 100 targets inside Iran, American forces also attacked to Iranian government tankers. According to US officials who spoke with Axios, the tankers were anchored off of Iran's coast, North of the American naval blockade line. American trawls reportedly fired missiles into their engine rooms. We do not yet have complete damage assessments, and there's been no confirmed information about casualties aboard either vessel. But the target selection is obviously significant. Previous American operations against Iranian tankers were intended to prevent vessels from violating the US blockade. These attacks were, of course, different. Officials say they marked the first use of a new policy approved by President Trump that they're calling "tanker for tanker." The concept is relatively straightforward. If Iran attacks a commercial tanker moving through the state of Hummus, the US will retaliate by attacking one of Iran's own tankers. Washington is no longer limiting its response to intercepting weapons, escorting commercial ships, blockading ports, or destroying the "launchers" and radar systems and maritime facilities that Iran uses to threaten the waterway. It's now placing Iran's own oil fleet in the crosshairs. And that matters because, of course, oil remains one of Tehran's most important sources of hard currency. Iran needs tankers to move that crude. Well, there is a statement of the obvious, and replacing a disabled super tanker is considerably more difficult than replacing a missile launcher or an attack drone. The policy also gives the US a response that is proportional, clearly understood, and focused on the same economic pressure point that Iran is targeting. American officials believe Tuesday's broader strikes also damaged enough of Iran's radar, missile, and drone infrastructure to reduce the threat to commercial shipping for at least a month. But Iran, the regime, is showing no indication that it intends to abandon its effort to control shipping through the waterway. Tehran has added another 11 vessels to its black list of ships accused of violating Iranian navigation rules, bringing the total on its black list to 56. Now that list includes crude oil tankers, natural gas carriers, and vessels transporting refined petroleum products. Iran says blacklisted ships could be fined, detained, or now their cargo is confiscated if they attempt to pass through or moves. The Iranian regime is also threatening the black list vessels that cooperate with them through ship-to-ship transfers. Oil companies and refiners are already avoiding some of the affected vessels, demonstrating that the regime can disrupt shipping without firing missiles or launching drones. And despite President Trump's insistence that the US controls the straight, now visible traffic remains extremely limited. Preliminary ship tracking data recorded only four commodity vessels crossing the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, down from 10 the previous day, and well below the recent daily average. Now some ships may have crossed with their location transponders turned off, so those figures likely don't capture everything that's moving through the waterway. But they do show that commercial operators are still treating the Strait of Hormuz as an active conflict zone. And that brings us back to the tanker for tanker policy. The Trump administration is betting that Iran will reconsider attacking foreign shipping once its own oil fleet becomes a target. For the Iranian regime, every disabled tanker, of course, means less crude, reaching foreign buyers, and less money flowing into an economy, already being squeezed by sanctions and the American blockade. For Washington, the policy offers a way to punish Iran at sea, without automatically committing the US to another prolonged bombing campaign. All right, coming up next, Germany investigates back-to-back attacks on its power grid, while Ukraine warns civilian airlines to reconsider flying in Russian airspace. I'll be right back. Hey, Mike Baker here. Now we have all heard those radio ads about the IRS, right? You know the ones I'm talking about. They tell you to be afraid, and then they try to frighten you into calling. Well, tax relief advocates, they're different. If you owe money to the IRS, whether it's $5,000, $50,000 or $500,000, TRA has a solution to your tax problem. Hey, look, here's the thing. 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 five star Google reviews and an A 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 number 800-583-6515. Tax relief advocates, real solutions for real people. Welcome back to the PDB. Yesterday, I told you about an apparent attempt to sabotage Germany's power grid. Well, German authorities are now investigating a second attack against the country's electricity network, carried out on the same day hundreds of miles away and using remarkably similar equipment. The first attack occurred Tuesday morning at a substation in the eastern state of Brandenburg. Investigators say someone used homemade launching devices to fire conductive material into extra high voltage power lines, creating two short circuits. One generating unit at the nearby Yenshevolda power plant was temporarily disconnected, although the broader electricity supply remained stable. Then, roughly 12 hours later, authorities discovered a second operation in Bergenright, that's west of Cologne, and on the opposite side of Germany. The equipment was hidden inside a cornfield near another major substation. Once again, investigators say pyrotechnical launching devices were used to propel conductive material onto overhead power lines, deliberately causing short circuits. Witnesses reported saying flashes and hearing several loud explosions. In this time, while the disruption was considerably larger, five generating units at two major power plants were knocked off the grid. Together, those units have a maximum capacity of approximately 4,200 megawatts and were supplying roughly 3,000 megawatts when the attack occurred. Germany's grid absorbed the loss without widespread outages, but restoring all five units is expected to take several days. That incident demonstrates something important. The devices may have been relatively crude, but they temporarily knocked a substantial amount of generating capacity offline. North Rhine was folly, a interior minister, Herbert Ruhl was blunt about what happened, saying, quote, "That was no broken switch. That was intentional. That was a crime," end quote. Investigators are now examining whether the two attacks were connected. Huh, the timing is suspicious, and so is, of course, the similar apparent method. Both operations targeted extra-high voltage infrastructure both relied on pyrotechnical launchers and conductive material, and both appear to have been designed to create short circuits without requiring anyone to physically enter a heavily secured substation. Well, if only we had clues as to whether the two incidents were somehow related. But German authorities have not yet established that the attacks were coordinated, and they have not yet blamed Russia. Investigators are reportedly considering several possibilities. And close.
including an operation directed by a foreign government, or a tax carried out by domestic extremists. Germany's radical left has previously targeted power infrastructure, meaning that Moscow is not the only plausible suspect, although that is the point of hybrid warfare to cast out on who was responsible, plausible deniability. These attacks came just as Berlin formally blamed Moscow for last month's explosive drone incursion at Leapsig-Halla Airport, which appeared to target a Ukrainian cargo aircraft. Russia, you might be surprised to learn, denies responsibility for that incident. But one of the Kremlin's most prominent officials is now openly threatening Germany. Dimitri Medvedev, you remember him, Russia's former president, current deputy chairman of its security council, and Vladimir Putin's chief nuclear saber rattling minion, he responded to Berlin's accusation by saying Germany deserves, quote, "a direct strike on all German military equipment production facilities," end quote. Well, he was referring to factories that are supplying Ukraine, and he suggested that other locations in Berlin could also be attacked. Again, Medvedev's signature move is, to be fair, issuing extreme threats. He's like the schoolyard bullies little buddy who stands behind him saying things like, "Yeah, you tell him boss," but still, it is a senior Russian security official publicly discussing attacks against the factories and possibly the capital of a key NATO member. Moscow is also some in Germany's top remaining diplomat, accused Berlin of fabricating the Leapsig incident, and promised an unspecified response to Germany's retaliatory measures. Alright, and turning now to another growing danger this time in the skies over Russia. Ukrainian President Zelensky is warning civilian airlines that Kiev's expanding drone campaign is creating an increasingly serious risk in the skies over Russia. Now while neither side has achieved a decisive breakthrough along much of the front, the war in the skies has been accelerating. And we've talked quite a bit on the PDB about Russia's escalating drone and missile campaign against Ukraine. Those attacks are intensifying, and at a time when Kiev is already struggling with severe shortages of the air defense interceptors that it needs to stop them. Ukraine, meanwhile, is answering that Russian escalation by taking the war much deeper into Russian territory. Kiev has dramatically expanded its long-range campaign using drones and missiles to target military bases and energy facilities and logistics networks, helping keep Vladimir Putin's war machine running. And that's where Zelensky's warning to civilian airlines comes in. It's telling airlines that the growing number of Ukrainian drones penetrating Russian airspace has fundamentally changed the risk of operating there. As he put it in his Tuesday night address, quote, "The Russian sky is becoming completely dangerous. Drone and festive skies are no place for civilian aviation." And Ukraine isn't simply putting out a public warning and leaving it there. Kiev has taken the issue directly to the International Civil Aviation Organization. Does that have an acronym? Yes, it does. It's I-C-A-O. Checking the world's aviation watchdog to encourage its members to fully prohibit civilian aircraft from operating in Russian airspace. And that's a reason that Ukraine is taking that risk so seriously. In 2014, Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine by a Russian-made missile fired from territory controlled by Russian-backed separatists. All 298 people aboard were killed. In 2024, another passenger aircraft found itself caught in the middle of Russian air defenses responding to Ukrainian drones. And Azerbaijan Airlines flight approaching the Russian city of Grozny was damaged and forced to divert across the Kaspian Sea before crash landing in Kazakhstan, killing 38 people. Putin later acknowledged that two Russian missiles had detonated near the aircraft after Ukrainian drones entered Russian airspace. So when Ukraine warns about the possibility of another civilian aviation disaster, well there is tragic precedent. But there's also an important difference between the skies above Ukraine and Russia right now. Ukraine's airspace has effectively been closed to commercial aviation ever since Putin launched his full-scale invasion in 2022. Russia, however, continues to have civilian aircraft operating through its airspace, even as Ukrainian drones increasingly penetrate hundreds of miles into the country. Many American and European carriers already avoid Russian airspace because of sanctions and security concerns. But airlines from China, Turkey and the Gulf, they continue flying through it, and those are the carriers that Kiev is now putting on notice. Its message is that as Ukraine's long-range campaign grows, so does the risk of flying through Russian airspace. Putin, unsurprisingly, portrays Zelensky's warning very differently. He accused the Ukrainian President, again with Putin's typical lack of irony yourself awareness of engaging in "state terrorism." Putin said Moscow would find a way to respond if Kiev disrupted civilian aviation. Russian officials insist that they are strengthening coordination among the country's aviation, defense, and security agencies to keep commercial flights operating safely. Civilian aircraft could be threatened by Ukrainian drones, falling debris, electronic warfare, or Russian air defense systems attempting to intercept an incoming attack. The danger may also force Russian authorities to close airports or redirect flights with little warning. So this is both a public safety warning and another way, frankly for Ukraine, to increase the cost of Putin's war. Kiev wants the international aviation industry to treat Russian airspace as part of an active conflict zone and to further isolate the country from global travel. Zelensky's message is that Russia can't continue escalating its attacks against Ukraine while assuming the consequences will remain confined to Ukrainian territory. All right, coming up in the back of the brief, Hamas promised its supporters that "cryptocurrency donations were anonymous and untraceable." Well, the FBI just proved otherwise. More on that when we come back. Now the President's daily brief is brought to you by Mod. God prescribes a once or twice daily "Madaphanil" drink that can keep you energized, focused, and alert that all sounds excellent, doesn't it? Here's the deal. 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In today's back of the brief, the FBI has struck a blow against Hamas's online fundraising operation and gained information on thousands of sympathizers who tried to donate to the terrorist organization. The Justice Department announced on Tuesday that agents confiscated more than $560,000 in digital currency, intended for Hamas's military wing that would be the Al-Qasamburgades. But the money itself may not be the biggest part of this operation. Federal officials also seized websites, domains, and communications platforms that Hamas was using to raise money and recruit supporters, while obtaining information on thousands of people who contacted Hamas online trying to donate to the terrorist organization. The DOJ, the Department of Justice, of course, says that information will now be used in future FBI counterterrorism efforts. So you ask, how did the FBI get its hands on all of this? Well, that's a good question to ask. For that, we have to go back to around 2019 when Hamas began experimenting with cryptocurrency fundraising. The Al-Qasamburgades initially solicited cryptocurrency donations via Telegram before moving to direct fundraising on its own websites. Hamas officials bragged that Bitcoin donations would be untraceable. They even provided supporters with instructions for how to make those donations anonymously. According to court filings, a group chat claiming to be associated with Hamas directed supporters to a fair.
fundraising website, where prospective donors were given a rotating set of cryptocurrency addresses to send their money. There was just one problem for Hamas. Those transactions weren't actually invisible. Cryptocurrency transactions leave records on the blockchain, giving investigators a trail that they can follow, even as Hamas tries to conceal its donors and the money's destination. A major break for the FBI came last year when investigators identified a cryptocurrency financing operation, soliciting donations for the Al Qasam Brigades. A confidential source inside the U.S. also alerted law enforcement to a telegram post, asking supporters to send contributions to an email address associated with Hamas. From there, investigators worked with multiple human sources to identify and trace the cryptocurrency moving through the network, and investigators didn't make just one seizure. Short documents show investigators carried out three separate seizures in March, June, and October of last year. By the end of those operations, over half a million dollars intended for Hamas was in the hands of the U.S. government. The FBI's Albuquerque Field Office also worked with sources to identify and seize domains and servers controlled by the Al Qasam Brigades, including infrastructure behind its main website. And that gave the FBI something potentially more valuable than the money. By taking control of that infrastructure, agents were able to intercept cryptocurrency donations intended for Hamas. Now the DOJ does not say that all of the thousands of prospective donors identified by investigators were inside the U.S. FBI officials also say that part of the operation was designed to create distrust between Hamas and its donors. As anyone trying to send money to the terrorist group now has to wonder whether the website, the account or network they're using, has already been penetrated by American law enforcement. Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Eisenberg says, "The operation deprives Hamas of resources that it relies on to "recruit and radicalize individuals online" and to finance attacks like the October 7th massacres in Israel. And that, my friends, is the President's Daily Brief for Thursday, the 3rd of September. If you've got any questions or comments and I hope you do, just reach out to me at
[email protected]. And finally, if you've been wondering what it would be like to have an ad-free pdb experience, well, wonder no more. Just become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting pdbpremium.com. It really is just that simple. I'm Mike Baker and I'll be back later today with the pdb afternoon bulletin. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.
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