The President's Daily Brief - February 21st, 2024: Iran’s Enrichment, Russian Oil for India, & Putin’s Present to Kim

Episode Date: February 21, 2024

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: We begin with a critical update from the International Atomic Energy Agency, reporting Iran's continued enrichment of uranium close to weapons-grade levels, challenging UN mandates and escalating global tensions. Our focus shifts to new sanctions against Russia in response to the death of Alexei Navalny, a prominent critic of Vladimir Putin, amidst revelations of India's financial boon to Russia by becoming its largest crude oil purchaser. Delving into the shadows, we explore the possible involvement of Russian Intelligence Services in the assassination of a man in Spain, believed to be a defector and former Russian helicopter pilot who sought refuge in Ukraine. In tonight's Back of the Brief, we discuss Russian President Vladimir Putin’s latest gift to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. 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

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up their stockpile of nearly weapons-grade uranium. Later, we'll discuss Russia's subsistair. substantial oil profits since the war with Ukraine began. How did they get that cash? As the U.S. plans to hit Moscow with major sanctions following the death of prominent critic Alexei Navalny. Given that Russia is flush with cash now, despite the existing sanctions, Putin may not be overly concerned with the threat of additional ones. Plus, we'll take a look at a mysterious murder in a coastal town in Spain that has the Russian intelligence services fingerprints all over it. And today's back of the brief. In his latest flirtation with the North Korean regime, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has reportedly gifted Kim Jong-un a luxury Russian-made limousine.

This bromance, frankly, is getting out of hand. Next thing you know, they'll be double dating. But first up, the PDB spotlight. Let's begin with the latest regarding Iran's nuclear ambitions, as the country's leaders flagrantly brag about their ability to launch an attack against Israel. International Atomic Energy Agency Chief Rafael Grossi warned on Monday that Iran is continuing to bulk up their stockpiles of nearly weapons-grade uranium. He issued the warning after briefing EU foreign ministers on the threat, telling them Iran's enrichment goes well beyond the needs for commercial nuclear use, according to a Reuters report.

He noted that while the pace of enrichment has slowed slightly since the end of last year, they are still operating at a, quote, elevated rate, averaging roughly seven kilograms of uranium per month enriched to 60% purity. Iran now has ample stores of 60% enriched uranium, putting them alarmingly close to the 90% threshold that is considered weapons grade. Nuclear experts note that it would be relatively easy for Iran to further enrich their supplies from the 60% to the 90% threshold. The heavy lift is getting to 60%.

We should note that while Iran denies any intention of building nuclear devices, well, we should take their assurances then at hand. No other country has reached the same enrichment threshold without developing nuclear weapons capabilities. IAEA Chief Grosy said he hopes to make his own. first visit to Tehran in more than a year within the next month to rein in Iran's belligerent behavior on the nuclear issue. No word on how Grossi intends to rein in Iran's belligerent behavior. Grossi told Reuters, quote, we seem to be drifting apart. Iran says they are not getting

incentives from the West, but I find this logic very complicated to understand because they should work with us. It should never be contingent on economic or other incentives. end quote. Despite Grossi's somewhat lofty hopes, there doesn't appear to be any reason to think Iran will pump the brakes on their regional aggression anytime soon. Recently, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the IRGC, simulated an attack on a major Israeli airbase in a demonstration of their naval capabilities. In a video, the IRGC fired at least two long-range ballistic missiles at what was a recreation of the Palmachim Air Base in Israel, a base that has served as a vital operation center for Israel's offensive in Gaza, according to Al Jazeera.

Hossein Salami, commander-in-chief of the IRGC, bragged that the test showed their naval dominance in the region and said the regime is, quote, fully prepared for naval warfare. He also threatened that, quote, there will be no safe place for any power that wants to create insecurity for us, end quote. It was reportedly the first time the regime had successfully test-launched long-range ballistic missiles from a naval vessel. And that followed another alarming boast last week from the former head of Iran's nuclear agency, who claimed that Iran has crossed, quote, all the thresholds of nuclear science and technology. He suggested that Iran has all the component parts to immediately build a nuclear device.

While it would be comforting to think that his claims were an exaggeration, the remarks echoed the recent findings of another nuclear watchdog. The Institute for Science and International Security published a report on February 5th that found the Iranian regime has enough weapons-grade uranium to build a nuclear weapon within just one week. The report added that the regime likely has enough weapons-grade uranium to produce six bombs, which they estimate would take Iran only one month to complete. The report concluded, quote, Iran's nuclear weapons capabilities are more dangerous than they have ever been, while its relations with the West are at a low point, end quote. All right, on that cheery note, coming up after the break, we'll discuss U.S. plans to hit Russia with major sanctions following the death of Putin critic Alexina Volney, as well as a mysterious death in Spain, which may be the latest demonstration of the long arm of Russian intelligence service.

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Got that right. Welcome back. The fallout from the mysterious death of Russian opposition leader Alexi Navalny continues. Was it really that mysterious? With the White House announcing its preparing new sanctions against the Russian Federation. On Tuesday, National Security spokesman John Kirby said, quote, whatever story the Russian government decides to tell the world, it's clear that President Putin and its government are responsible for Mr. Navalny's death. In response, and at President Biden's direction, we will be. be announcing a major sanctions package on Friday of this week to hold Russia accountable for what happened to Mr. Navalny, end quote. The European Union is said to be considering a similar response with even the normally pro-Russian Hungarian government saying it won't veto any Navalny-related sanctions. Of course, the Russian Federation has been subject to Western sanctions now for going on two years. As a matter of fact, the EU alone has passed 13 rounds of sanctions against Russia since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine back in 2022.

Any new sanctions are likely to be symbolic. For example, the EU has suggested that Russian prison officials linked to Navalny's death could be added to the list of those subjected to asset freezes and travel bans. It's not exactly a move that's going to bring the Russian Federation or Putin to its knees. Now, the sanctions have had some impact on Russia. They've made it more difficult to move money throughout the international banking system they've frozen the assets of Russian oligarchs and Putin loyalists, and made it harder for the Russian military to stockpile and replace weapons they've lost on the battlefield. However, Western sanctions

have clearly fallen short of their goal at putting a major squeeze on the Russian economy. In fact, it appears the Kremlin is now swimming in cash, thanks in large part to one of America's most important strategic partners, and that would be India. According to our report on CNN, India purchased $37 billion worth of Russian crude oil last year, and that's over 13 times its pre-war purchasing amounts. That huge volume of sales has turned Russia into India's largest oil supply, accounting for around 30 percent of imports in 2023. More importantly, it also helped the Russian government replace crude purchases by Western buyers, which had been significantly reduced by sanctions.

Now, some of these sales involve Russia's so-called shadow fleet. It's a group of crude oil tankers used by Moscow to disguise the origin of crude oil in order to dodge sanctions. To make matters worse, some of that crude oil, which is then refined in India, ultimately makes its way into the EU and United States. In essence, we're helping to keep Russia afloat. And part of the problem here is also basic domestic politics. If the U.S. were to be aggressively sanctioning Russian energy sales and actually negatively impacting their ability to sell oil, that would, of course, impact global oil prices, which in turn would raise gas prices, which would, in turn, create voter unhappiness at home in an election year. So that's a problem. Okay, the next story I want to bring to you today demonstrates what we might call, quote, the long arm of Russian. security services. Last week, the body of Maxim Kuzmanov was found in an underground garage in a small coastal town in southern Spain. According to local police, the body had been riddled with bullets,

and a car allegedly used by the suspects in the hit was later found burnt and abandoned in a nearby town. Now, it took some time for authorities to identify the body, as the Russian Kuzmanov had been living in Spain with a Ukrainian passport under an assumed name. You see, Maxime Kuzmanov was a former helicopter pilot in the Russian military and was the man at the center of Operation Sniezia. Back in 2023, while he was still under contract with the Russian armed forces, Kuzminov contacted members of the Ukrainian intelligence services, informing them of his intention to defect. Now, think of him as a more modest version of Captain Marco Rameas from the hunt for Red October. Instead of bringing a submarine, he flew into Ukrainian territory and handed over the keys to his MIA transport helicopter.

In exchange, Kuzmanov was promised a reward of half a million dollars, security guarantees, and eventual Ukrainian citizenship. Unfortunately, unlike Captain Rameas, Kuzmanov didn't get his happy ending. Kiv made good on the cash reward and the citizenship. But apparently, they couldn't do the same with their security guarantees, especially in the far-flung Spanish countryside. Sergei Naryshkin, the head of Russia's Svr Foreign Intelligence Service, said of the murdered Kuzmanov, quote, This traitor and criminal became a moral corpse at the very moment

when he planned his dirty and terrible crime, end quote. Nuriskin wouldn't confirm or deny that Russian intelligence was involved in Kuzmanov's demise. I mean, seriously. When was the last time that Putin's apparatus reached out and killed an opponent or a dissident? Uh, yeah, well, there was that Navalny fellow a few days ago. But, I mean, other than that, oh, well, there was Giovanni Purghetti Progoshan and his cronies in that plane crash a few months back, but, okay, so maybe there is a pattern here. All right, coming up in today's back of the brief, we'll discuss Russian dictator Vladimir Putin's latest flirtation with North Korean despot Kim Jong-on.

and I'll give you a hint. Putin has pimped Kim's ride. I'll be right back. In today's back of the brief, in a sign that the cozy relationship between Russia's Vladimir Putin and North Korea's Kim Jong-un is drawing even closer, reports emerged Tuesday

that Putin had recently gifted the North Korean tyrant a luxury limousine. The car was delivered to Kim's Sunday by a Russian delegation for his personal use. It's believed to be a version of the same Russian made Aris limousine that Putin uses. Kim reportedly took a shine to the vehicle after his summit with Putin in September, that's according to a report by CBS News. The chief spokesperson for the Kremlin said the idea to make a gift of it came after Putin gave Kim a personal tour of the vehicle,

this is my vehicle, with Kim expressing his keen interest. Kim's sister, Kim Yo-Jong, offered her thanks to Putin on her brother's behalf, saying, quote, the gift serves as a clear demonstration of the personal relations between the top leaders of North Korea and Russia. She also added, It's super sweet. Check out the spinning rims and the sound system is fire. Kim is well known for his love of luxury cars, often using an armored Mercedes-Mabakh and in a black rolls Royce. We should note, the gift is a violation of UN sanctions barring the import of vehicles or luxury goods into North Korea, although you can get around the sanctions by not. including floor mats or cup holders. Now, this does follow a bit of a pattern, as Putin gifted Kim

with a bulletproof vest and a set of drones during his six-day visit to Russia in September. The limo is a definite upgrade, though, and makes you wonder how Putin's going to top this presi. I mean, what do you give the despot who's already got drones, a hardened vest, and now a limo? Western officials have grown increasingly concerned over the relationship between Russia and North Korea, In exchange for ballistic missiles and military equipment for use in Ukraine, Russia is reportedly providing the Kim regime with tech know-how and assistance for their ballistic missile and reconnaissance satellite programs. Putin is reportedly expected to make an in-person visit to North Korea sometime later this year,

at which point Kim is no doubt hoping Putin will get serious and put a ring on it. And that, my friends, is the president's daily brief for Wednesday, 21 February. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at PDB at thefirsttv.com. I'm Mike Baker. I'll be back later today with the PDB afternoon bulletin. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.