The President's Daily Brief - April 19th, 2024: Israel Strikes Back, Russian Hackers, & Zelensky’s Close Call

Episode Date: April 19, 2024

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: Israel launches its retaliatory strike, striking a target inside the territory of Iran. A pivotal moment at the United Nations Security Council as members prepare to vote on a Palestinian bid for full UN membership. What are the stakes and potential outcomes of this critical vote? Alarming developments in cybersecurity as a report uncovers Russian military hackers targeting water treatment facilities in the U.S., Poland, and France, with a possible breach in Texas. In the Back of the Brief, we delve into Russia's covert operations against Ukraine, including a foiled assassination attempt on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky by a Polish-based operative. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President’s Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. Email: [e-mail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's Friday, 19 April. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. Israel has struck back, launching attacks against at least one target inside of Iran. The strike comes as the U.S. slaps new sanctions on Iran following Saturday's large-scale missile and drone attack on Israel. Later in the show, the United Nations Security Council is headed for a showdown today as the world body. moves to vote on the Palestinian request for full U.S. membership. Now, it's a bit of performative art, as the U.S. has already advised that it will veto the membership application. Plus, a new report shows that hackers, associated with the Russian military, known for politically motivated cyber attacks, have targeted water systems in the U.S., Poland, and France, and may already have successfully done so in the state of Texas. And in today's back of the brief, we bring you more

details on Russia's ongoing shadow war against Ukraine, as prosecutors in Poland reveal they've disrupted a plot to assassinate Ukrainian President Zelensky. But first, today's PDB spotlight. Israel has launched its retaliation for last weekend's attack, carrying out a strike inside the Islamic Republic of Iran. As always, a reminder that it's still early in the game, and we're only going to bring you information here in which we have high confidence. Reporting from Iran's Fars News indicates that at least three explosions were heard near an airbase located in the northwest part of the city of Isfahan. That city is in central Iran, some 200 miles south of Tehran. According to a senior U.S. official speaking to ABC News, the strike was carried out

using missiles, likely fired from Israeli warplains and possibly unmanned aircraft or drones. It's worth noting that Isfahan is the site of the Isfahan Nuclear Technology and Research Center, Iran's largest atomic scientific facility, which is suspected of being the center of Iran's clandestine nuclear weapons program. Israel has attacked Iran's nuclear program in the past, but never directly. Historically, those attacks have been limited to target. assassinations of scientists as well as cyber attacks. This week, Iran has rightly been concerned that Israel could use this as an opportunity to attack nuclear facilities directly. Now, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander, in charge of nuclear security,

has warned that Iran would reciprocate any attack on nuclear facilities by striking Israel's facilities. The general said, quote, the nuclear facilities of the Zionist enemy have been identified, and all the necessary information from all targets is at our disposal, end quote. However, at least at this early stage of assessing Israel's response, it looks like cooler heads may have prevailed, and Israel's targets were not nuclear facilities inside Iran. As of right now, Iran seems to be downplaying the attack. Despite early reports of explosions, Iranian State TV later reported that three drones were observed over the sea. sky in Isfhan, and that they were destroyed after the country's air defense system was activated.

The Israeli military has so far declined to comment, and we'll have more up-to-date information on Israel's retaliatory strike in today's PDB afternoon bulletin. Meanwhile, the United States is revealing its response to this weekend's attacks in Israel. On Thursday, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced that it is introducing a series of new sanctions targeting pivotal sectors in Iran's economy that generate billions in revenue annually for the Islamic Republic's economy. It makes you wonder why these sanctions weren't already in place. Specifically, the Treasury Department has designated 16 individuals and two major entities involved in the Iranian UAV program. Now, these sanctions directly address the people behind Iran's

Shahed 131 UAVs. These were the drones used in Saturday's attack, and their also prominent for their use by Russia against Ukraine, which, again, leads you to ask, well, why weren't they sanctioned prior to now? In addition to the UAV manufacturers, the Treasury is imposing sanctions on five companies across various sectors that provide support for Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps. Well, you know what question I'm going to ask here. Why were these companies sanctioned previously? Now, that includes companies that work with Iran's second largest steel company, and several subsidiaries of the Iranian automaker Bauffman Group. In addition to the United States, the United Kingdom announced its own sanctions against

the Islamic Republic. The UK is sanctioning seven individuals and six entities, including the Armed Forces General Staff and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy. The European Union has also decided to expand its sanctions regime against Iran, though it has yet to announce the specifics. Now, notably absent from any of this are sanctions on the Iranian oil sector, which is the lifeblood of their economy. As we reported earlier this week, President Biden is, well, unlikely to issue any sanctions on Iran's crude exports for fear of upsetting China, which is the largest buyer of Iranian oil. And here's the bigger fear, the fear of causing gas prices to spike as we head into election

season. As an aside, in what could be interpreted as another effort to keep gas prices low for U.S. voters ahead of November, the White House has now lifted sanctions on the Venezuelan energy industry. All right, coming up after the break, a pivotal moment at the United Nations Security Council as a vote looms on a Palestinian bid for full membership. Honestly, given that the U.S. has already vetoed the membership, the U.N. is essentially just putting on a show. Plus, a great, a good, a vote. concerning cyber threat report, hackers linked to the Russian military have their sights on vital water systems across the U.S. and Europe, with Texas potentially already compromised. I'll be right back. Welcome back. I want to turn the focus to the Israel-Kamas conflict as the United Nations Security Council

prepares to hold a vote on granting the Palestinian request for full UN membership on Friday. The U.S. has already, for all intense purposes, vetoed the motion, as it would effectively grant Palestinian statehood, even as the war in Gaza rages on. While the Biden administration has previously signaled support for a two-state solution for the region in the future, officials have said that it must be done through direct negotiations, not by U.N. Fiat, according to a Reuters report. Linda Thomas Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., said Thursday, quote, see that doing a resolution in the Security Council will necessarily get us to a place where we can find a two-state solution moving forward." The 15-member Security Council is due to vote on the matter

on Friday, but frankly without unanimous support, the exercise will be largely symbolic. It appears, however, that the Biden administration is attempting to woo other members into opposing the measure so that the U.S. does not have to use its veto. Unclassified State Department cables obtained by the Intercept show that the U.S. has been mounting a pressure campaign to build opposition to the effort. Specifically, the U.S. has asked Ecuador to help convince Malta, France, and several other countries to oppose Friday's vote. In the diplomatic cables, the State Department argues that normalizing Israel's relationship with the rest of the Arab world is the fastest route towards regional stability and a future

Palestinian state. Any actions outside of direct negotiations, they argue, will only inflame tensions and deepen the divide in the region. In one cable reviewed by the intercept, the State Department says, quote, premature actions at the UN Security Council, even with the best intentions, will achieve neither statehood nor self-determination for the Palestinian people. Such initiatives will instead endanger normalization efforts and drive the parties further apart, heighten the risk of violence on the ground that could claim innocent lives on both sides." As for Israel, their leaders voted in February to formally oppose the unilateral creation of a Palestinian state. While it was a symbolic vote, it sent a clear message

to the international community that Israel fundamentally rejects foreign dictates from bodies such as the UN on the matter of Palestinian statehood. All right, shifting gears to Russia. The Putin regime appears to be significantly escalating their cyber attacks against the West, targeting critical infrastructure in the U.S. earlier this year for the first time. Researchers at security firm Mandjand warned on Wednesday that a hacking group behind recent infiltrations of water systems in the U.S., Poland and France, has direct connections to the Russian military, specifically Russia's GRU Military Intelligence Agency,

and that's according to our report by Axios. The hacking group, known as Sandworm, a catchy name, reportedly also has deep ties with a larger hacktivist network that appears to operate on behalf of the regime in Moscow. According to the report from Mandjian, the Sandworm Group is believed to have the ability to direct and influence the wider operations of this hacking collective. While it didn't gain much attention at the time, the hacking collective is suspected of carrying out a cyber attack in January against a waterfront. facility in Texas, causing a tank to overflow and spill tens of thousands of gallons of water

into the streets. While the U.S. government has not commented on the matter, our report from the Washington Post on Wednesday found that it was likely the first confirmed hack into U.S. water systems by groups tied to the Russian government, marking, of course, a troubling escalation. It coincided with at least two other towns in Texas, taking for cautionary measures to guard their water systems after detecting suspicious cyber activity on their networks. In addition to U.S. infiltrations, the group is also believed to have attacked a wastewater utility in Poland in January, and just this week, France said Russian hackers had attempted to infiltrate a mill that they mistook for a hydroelectric dam. America's critical infrastructure has already been facing hacking threats

from Iran and China, prompting a warning from the Biden administration in March to state leaders to bolster security defenses of their water systems and create an action plan in the event of an attack. Now, you would have thought that perhaps those action plans were already done and sitting on a shelf. Biden's EPA said foreign hacking groups are particularly focused on water systems and other essential infrastructure due to their relative vulnerability to cyber intrusions. Most water and sewage facilities in the U.S. currently lack the resources and technical capacity to adopt rigorous cybersecurity practices. While the U.S. has so far managed to avoid a destabilizing breach of our critical systems,

the risk is ever present. As you may recall, back in November, a group of Iranian backtackers took control of a municipal water station in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, shutting down a pump on a supply line that provides drinking water to two townships in the county. During the same month, a North Texas water utility faced a four-rength. cyber attack of unknown origin, briefly disrupting service to nearly two million people. Officials have said they only expect infiltration attempts by America's adversaries to intensify. Well, and for that, those officials get today's PDB statement of the obvious award. We've discussed

this before here on the President's Daily Brief. The reality is that China and Russia in particular have been busy over the past many years testing, probing, and mapping out critical U.S. infrastructure, water facilities, power grids, transportation systems, communications networks, all to develop a playbook for a potential conflict in the future. The idea being take the fight directly to the U.S. homeland, create chaos and instability through direct attacks on infrastructure. All right, coming up in the back of the brief. Russia's shadow war intensifies with Polish authorities foiling a scheme to assassinate Ukraine's

President Zelensky. I'll be right back. How many discounts does USAA auto insurance offer? Too many to say here. Multi-vehicle discount, safe driver discount, new vehicle discount, storage discount, legacy. How many discounts will you stack up? Tap the banner or visit usa.com slash auto discounts. Restrictions apply. Yesterday, we brought you the story about a pair of German-Russian nationals that were arrested in Germany this week on suspicion of planning sabotage attacks aimed at undermining military support for Ukraine. Well, in today's back of the brief, we've got another story which highlights Russia's ongoing shadow war against Ukraine. In Poland, authorities have detained a man accused of collaborating with Russian intelligence to orchestrate an assassination attempt on Ukrainian president's.

Alensky, identified only as Pavel K. The Polish national allegedly provided critical information to Russian military intelligence facilitating their planning for the potential assassination. According to a statement from Polish prosecutors, Pavel K. admitted his readiness to act on behalf of Russian military intelligence and established contact with Russian individuals directly involved in the conflict in Ukraine. This arrest was made possible by essential evidence gathered through cooperation between Polish and Ukrainian authorities, following tips from Ukraine about the suspect's activities. Ukraine's chief prosecutor, Andrei Kostin,

revealed that Pavel K's assignment involved collecting and transmitting information about the security at Jetsho Vyonska Airport in southeastern Poland. Now, the airport is notable because this is the one that President Zelensky uses for his international travels, and it serves as a key entry point for foreign officials. and aid convoys heading to Ukraine. The suspect is currently held in detention awaiting further judicial proceedings. In a post to X, prosecutor Kostin wrote, quote, this case underscores the persistent threat Russia poses not only to Ukraine and Ukrainians, but to the entire free world. The Kremlin's criminal regime organizes and carries out sabotaged operations on the territory of other sovereign states,

end quote. Back in November, President Zelensky revealed that he'd survived at least half a dozen assassination attempts since the start of Russia's invasion. And that, my friends, is the President's Daily Brief for Friday, 19 April. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at PDB at thefirsttv.com. And to listen to the show ad-free, well, become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting pdbpremium.com. I'm I'm Mike Baker. I'll be back later today with the PDB afternoon bulletin. Until then, stay informed, stay safe. Stay cool.