The President's Daily Brief - February 19th, 2025: Russia Plays Hardball In Riyadh & Iran Vows Another Attack On Israel

Episode Date: February 19, 2025

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: Russia is playing hardball in negotiations with the U.S. over ending the war in Ukraine, demanding the West abandon Ukraine’s NATO ambitions and rejecting NATO peacekeepers. Iran is vowing another direct attack on Israel while taunting the U.S. over its nuclear program—what’s behind Tehran’s latest threats? Hamas says it will return the bodies of four hostages, including the youngest victims of October 7th, but what does this move signal? And in today’s Back of the Brief: North Korea is making bold new promises to expand its nuclear arsenal, dismissing U.S. efforts to curb its ambitions. 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. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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It's Wednesday, 19 February. 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. Today, we're starting with the negotiations between the U.S. and Russia over ending the war in Ukraine. Now, Moscow appears to be playing hardball, there's a surprise, demanding that the West scrap Ukraine's NATO ambitions and rejecting any talk of NATO peacekeepers. Oh, is that all you want, Putin? We'll examine Russia's stated position, which essentially appears to be that they get what they want, and Ukraine doesn't. Later in the show, Iran is vowing yet another attack on Israel,

while Tehran claims that the U.S. and Israel, quote, can't do a damn thing to stop its nuclear ambitions. Okay, well, technically, that's not correct. The question is whether the U.S. and Israel have the political will to do a damn thing regarding Iran's nuclear ambitions. We'll tell you what's behind the Iranian regime's threats. Plus, more hostage news in Israel has Khamas says it's returning the bodies of four hostages, including the youngest victims of the brutal 7 October attacks. And in today's back of the brief, North Korea, we haven't heard from them for a short while, while they're making bold new promises to expand their nuclear arsenal, brushing off U.S. denuclearization efforts. But first, today's PDB spotlight.

Senior U.S. and Russian officials convened Tuesday in the capital of Saudi Arabia, that would be Riyadh, for landmark talks on reviving their diplomatic and economic ties and bringing the Putin regime's war on Ukraine to an end. But Moscow is already playing hardball, using the discussions to escalate their demands regarding a potential settlement. Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, led the Kremlin's delegation, opposite U.S. Secretary of State Marker Rubio,

U.S. national security advisor Mike Walts, and Middle East envoy Steve Whitkoff. Both Rubio and Lavrov said the initial discussion, which lasted nearly five hours, proved productive, and that both sides listened to each other's concerns. That's nice. That's according to a report from Reuters. Whitkoff was even more effusive, describing the talks as positive, upbeat, and constructive. That sounds downright chummy, adding, quote, everybody was there to get to the right outcome, end quote. Well, yeah, the invading country, that would be Russia, is certainly there to get what they would like.

Rubio told reporters that they agreed to pursue three broad goals. restoring staffing at their respective embassies in Washington and Moscow, exploring economic cooperation, and of course pursuing high-level negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. But Rubio stressed that the talks served only as a starting point and that the road to achieving these ambitious goals would be a long one, particularly after more than three years of frozen diplomacy due to Putin's invasion of Ukraine. With that in mind, Rubio said restaffing the embassies will be the first priority, no quoting they, quote, for us to be able to continue to move down this road, we need to have diplomatic

facilities that are operating and functioning normally. Now, the talks have alarmed leaders in Kiev, who were not invited, along with their NATO allies, also not invited, who fear Putin is trying to use the bilateral talks to foist a dictated peace on Europe. And when was the last time you heard anybody say the word foist? But Rubio told reporters on Tuesday that no one was being sidelined that the EU and Ukraine would join the negotiating process as discussions progress, and that any settlement would need to be approved by all parties. Despite these assurances, however, remarks by Russian officials proved that Kiev is right to be wary of Moscow's motivations. Lavrov and the Russian delegation used Tuesday's talks to harden their stance regarding a negotiated

settlement to the war, outlining concessions they suggested are non-negotiable. Now, their cheap objection is Ukraine's pursuit of NATO membership. Lavrov said that Moscow's longstanding concerns regarding NATO membership for Ukraine could not be resolved simply with promises that Kiev will not be granted access to the alliance. Instead, the Kremlin says, NATO must go further and officially disavow a promise

that it made at a summit in Bucharest back in 2008 that Ukraine would be granted entry at a future unspecified date. During that same summit, the same promise was made to Georgia. Georgia. A spokesman for the Russian foreign ministry said that without the public assurance, quote, this problem will continue to poison the atmosphere on the European continent, and quote, really? Well, to be fair, Russia's invasion of Ukraine has pretty much poisoned the atmosphere on the

continent. Lavrov later underscored Moscow's opposition to Ukraine's future accession to the alliance, telling the porters gathered in Riyadh, quote, we explained to our colleagues today what President Putin has repeatedly stressed that the expansion of NATO, the absorption of U.S. Ukraine by the North Atlantic Alliance is a direct threat to the interests of the Russian Federation, end quote. Furthermore, Lavrov dismissed a proposal by French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Kier Starmor to deploy a European coalition of peacekeeping troops to Ukraine to enforce any potential ceasefire deal. He stated flatly that the Kremlin would not support the deployment of NATO troops, regardless of what flag they are operating under, calling the scenario, quote, unacceptable.

Lavrov's comments suggest that Moscow will continue to push for further concessions from Ukraine, even before leaders in Kiev have a chance to join the evolving discussions. But Rubio, for his part, said that the public discussions of concessions were premature, telling reporters, quote, we're not going to pre-negotiate an end of this conflict. These are the kinds of things that have to happen through hard and difficult diplomacy and closed rooms over a period of time, end quote. that said, National Security Advisor Mike Walts suggested the negotiating process will move at an accelerated pace, stating, quote, President Trump is determined to move very quickly. With the first round of talks out of the way, the focus is now on organizing a face-to-face summit between Trump and Putin, which would mark the first meeting between a U.S. president and the Russian strongman since the war began.

Well, a timeline for a meeting remains unclear, while suggested that it could be arranged in the coming weeks. All right, coming up next, Iran is vowing another attack on Israel, and Hamas says it's returning the bodies of four hostages, including its youngest victims. I'll be right back. Some follow the noise. Bloomberg follows the money, whether it's the funds fueling AI or crypto's trillion-dollar swings. There's a money side to every story. Get the money side of the story. Subscribe now at Bloomberg.com.

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Book direct at choiceotails.com. See you on the roof. Welcome back to the PDB. A senior commander in Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the IRGC, has issued a stark warning. The regime is preparing for a third direct strike on Israel, a move that would, of course, further escalate hostilities and directly challenge U.S.-Israeli assertions that Iran's military strength is weakened. On Monday, IRGC Deputy Commander Ali Fadavi, declared that, quote, Operation True Promise 3 will occur at the right time. Oh, it's a sequel, that we offered no specific timeline.

His remarks reinforce Iran's defiance in the face of Israeli airstrikes and Western pressure, signaling that Iran remains undeterred despite repeated attempts to weaken its military infrastructure. This latest threat from the regime follows two prior missile barrages on Israel. You'll remember that back in April of 2024, Iran, launched Operation True Promise 1, firing over 300 missiles and drones at Israeli military installations in retaliation for the targeted killing of two IRGC generals in Damascus, Syria. The attack, though largely stopped by Israel's air defense, marked Iran's first direct military engagement with Israel. Later that year, in October, the Iranian regime followed up with Operation True Promise number two,

since they couldn't be bothered to come up with a brand-new name for the operation, unleashing roughly 200 missiles on Israeli positions after the assassination of high-profile Iranian-aligned figures, including, of course, Khazbalah leader Hassan Masrallah. Israel has continued to press its advantage in the region, most notably with its retaliatory strike just weeks later, codenamed Operation Days of Repentance. U.S. and Israeli officials hailed that operation as a devastating blow to Iran's military, claiming that it severely crippled Tehran's ability to project power in the region. However, the Iranian deputy commander dismissed such assessments as Western propaganda,

casting the conflict in ideological terms, stating, quote, not a single day has passed without the world's evildoers waging war against us, referring to America as, quote, the great Satan. His statement, of course, evoked rhetoric reminiscent of Iran's first supreme leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, who famously labeled the U.S. as, quote, the great Satan during the Iranian Revolution. That was back in the day when people were coming up with very catchy names for their nemesis. The timing of Iran's latest warning is no coincidence. It comes just a day after Secretary of State Rubio met with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu

in Jerusalem to discuss strategies to contain Iran's regional influence and curtail its nuclear ambitions. Netanyahu, bolstered by President Trump's backing, vowed to, quote, finish the job, insisting that Israel had inflicted substantial damage on Iran's military apparatus. predictably, well, Iran blasted the high-level U.S.-Israeli meeting as a provocation. Iran's foreign ministry spokesman decried it. He decried it as a violation of international law, accusing both nations of conspiring to dismantle Iran's nuclear program.

The spokesman stated, quote, they cannot do a damn thing, end quote, emboldening Tehran's long-standing defiance against Western pressure. Meanwhile, Israel is reportedly when, preemptive airstrikes on Iran's nuclear sites, a move that would dramatically escalate an already volatile situation. In response, Iran's supreme leader, Khomeini, reaffirmed the regime's resilience, warning that any attack would be met with severe retaliation. With both sides locked in an escalating cycle of military posturing and potential counterstrikes, Iran's vow to launch Operation True Promise 3 has pushed the prospect of a direct confrontation with Israel to the near

future. All right. Shifting to the ongoing Israel-Khamas ceasefire, the Iran-backed terror group has announced plans to return the bodies of four hostages on Thursday, including the two youngest captives taking during the 7 October 2023 terror attacks. In pre-recorded remarks released Tuesday, a top Hamas negotiator claimed that the remains will include members of the Bibas family. Shiri and her two young children who were just nine months and four years old. when they were abducted. The terror group had previously asserted without evidence that the family was killed in an Israeli air strike, a claim that the Israeli military is not confirmed.

Instead, Israeli officials have maintained that they remain gravely concerned for the family's well-being. Notably, the children's father was released earlier this month. An Israeli official told Reuters that the bodies will undergo formal identification before any names are publicly confirmed. In a statement, the Bebas family acknowledged Hamas' announcement, but stressed that they had not received official confirmation, stating, quote, until we receive definitive confirmation, our journey is not over, end quote. In a surprise acceleration, Hamas also announced that it will release six living hostages on Saturday.

That's double the originally planned number. In exchange, Israel has agreed to release all Palestinian women and minors under the age of 19, who were arrested since October 2023, and to allow some rubble clearing equipment to end. enter Gaza via Egypt. As our regular PDB listeners know, the first phase of the ceasefire agreement saw Hamas release 33 hostages in exchange for about 1,900 Palestinian prisoners. As of now, 73 hostages still remain in Gaza, both living and deceased, including Israeli soldiers, civilians, as well as Thai and Nepalese nationals. Negotiations for the second phase, focused on securing the release of all remaining hostages and reaching a permanent ceasefire were set to begin earlier this month but have yet to move forward. Israeli foreign minister, Gideon Tsar, confirmed that

talks would begin sometime this week, emphasizing that Israel would, quote, not accept the continued presence of Hamas or any other terrorist organization in Gaza, end quote. Sars suggested that the ceasefire could be extended if meaningful progress is made toward a final agreement. Okay, coming up next in the back of the brief, North Korea is doubling down on its nuclear ambitions, dismissing U.S. denuclearization efforts as absurd. I'll be back with those details. USAA knows dynamic duos can save the day, like superheroes and sidekicks or auto and home insurance. With USAA, you can bundle your auto and home and save up to 10%. Tap the banner to learn more and get a quote at USAA.com slash bundle.

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In today's back of the brief, with everything going on in the world, high stakes negotiations in Riyadh in the Middle East, America's attention to its southern border, the Ukraine-Russia conflict, Kim Jong-un of North Korea, well, he might be feeling a little left out. And typically, when Kim feels ignored, you can count on him throwing his teddy out of the crib. So what better way to grab the world's attention than by threatening to expand North Korea's nuclear arsenal? This latest warning from Pyongyang comes after a high-level meeting between the U.S., Japan, and South Korea.

Over the weekend, Secretary of State Rubio met with his Japanese and South Korean counterparts at a security conference in Germany, where they reaffirmed their commitment to North Korea's, quote, complete denuclearization and vowed to keep up pressure on Kim's weapons program. Oddly, well, that didn't sit well with Kim's regime. North Korea's foreign ministry quickly fired back, calling the three-nation pledge a, quote, outdated and absurd plan. I wonder what they mean by that. they also promised an overwhelming and decisive counteraction against what they see as hostile forces.

In simpler terms, they're doubling down on their nuclear ambitions and daring the West to stop them. The timing of this threat isn't a coincidence. The U.S. and its allies recently announced plans to ramp up military exercises and boost South Korea and Japan's defensive capabilities. That's a direct challenge to Kim Jong-un, who's long viewed these drills as rehearsals for an invasion. And if history is any guide, well, North Korea doesn't just talk. It does act. We could see new missile tests in the coming days as Pyongyang flexes its military muscle just to prove a point. Under Kim, the regime has made it clear that its nuclear program isn't just for show. It's the foundation of its survival. And as long as the U.S. and its allies keep up the pressure,

Pyongyang will keep finding ways to push back. Of course, this all comes as President Trump looks to reestablish his personal diplomacy with Kim Jong-un. The two leaders, as you'll recall, met back in 2018, making history with the first ever U.S. North Korea summit. Trump has hinted at future engagement, saying he, quote, still gets along with Kim. Whether that leads to actual negotiations or just another war of words with little rocket man, well, that remains to be seen. So expect North Korea to keep rattling its saber, launching missiles and demanding attention. The question now is whether the world will respond, or if Kim's threats, we'll get lost in the noise of everything else that's happening on the global stage. And that, my friends, is the president's daily brief for Wednesday,

19 February. As always, if you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdb at thefirsttv.com. And if you happen to be joneson for an ad-free PDB experience, well, we definitely have you covered. All you have to do is become a premium member of the president's daily brief by visiting PDB Premium.com. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back later today with the PDB afternoon bulletin. Until then, stay informed, stay safe. Stay cool. Not loving your AT&T or T Mobile Bill? Yeah, we've been hearing that a lot.

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