The President's Daily Brief - January 24th, 2025: Russian Spy Ship Taunts Britain & Trump Floats New Iranian Nuclear Deal

Episode Date: January 24, 2025

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief:     We'll kick things off in Europe, where threats to the continent's critical undersea cables are intensifying, as Britian warns that a Russian spy ship recently passed by the English coast for the second time in three months. Later in the show: Trump sets his sights on Iran, tapping Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff to lead efforts to rein in Tehran’s expanding nuclear program, while suggesting he is open to brokering a new nuclear deal. Plus, Syria’s new rebel led government is reportedly incorporating Islamic law into their new administration, raising concerns about their commitment to protecting Syria’s many ethnic and religious minorities. In our 'Back of the Brief' segment, an update on the devastating wildfires still burning in Los Angeles, as strong winds and bone-dry conditions fuel new blazes that are spreading rapidly. 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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I'm Mike Baker. Your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right. Let's get briefed. We'll kick things off in Europe, where threats to the continent's critical undersea cables are intensifying, as Britain warns that a Russian spy ship

recently passed by the English coast for the second time in three months. Later in the show, President Trump sets his sights on Iran, tapping Middle East envoy Steve Whitkoff to lead efforts to reign in the Iranian regime's expanding nuclear program while suggesting that he's open to brokering a new nuclear deal. Plus, Syria's new rebel-led government is reportedly incorporating Islamic law into their new administration, raising concerns about their commitment to protecting Syria's many ethnic and religious minorities.

And in today's back of the brief, an update of the brief. on the devastating wildfires still burning in Los Angeles, as strong winds and dry conditions fuel new blazes that are spreading rapidly. But first, today's PDB spotlight. Russian provocations in the waters surrounding Britain are escalating tensions between Moscow and London, as a Russian spy ship equipped to potentially sabotage undersea cables was observed in nearby waters earlier this week for the second time in three months. British Defense Secretary John Healy addressed the situation with Parliament on Wednesday,

calling Russia, quote, the most pressing and immediate threat to Britain, end quote. Healy revealed that Royal Navy ships tracked a Russian spy ship, the Yantar, off the coast of the UK for two days before it departed for Dutch waters. His remarks, directly aimed at Russian President Putin, were clear, stating, quote, We see you, we know what you are doing, and we will not shy away from robots. best action to protect this country." The Defense Secretary also announced updates to Britain's naval rules of engagement, allowing for more aggressive monitoring of Russian vessels.

The Yantar, developed by Russia's main directorate for alleged deep-sea research, is equipped with submersibles, capable of targeting critical undersea cables. That's a vulnerability that Western intelligence has repeatedly warned that Moscow could exploit. According to the private intelligence firm Siboline, which has been tracking the ship's movements for a decade, its primary mission is locating and mapping infrastructure for potential sabotage or intelligence gathering. The timing of this activity coincides with NATO's intensified focus on undersea security following a series of recent incidents of suspected sabotage in European waters. As we previously reported on the PDB, NATO deployed warships, patrol aircraft,

and drones in the Baltic Sea after several undersea cables were severed late last year. Finnish investigators are nearing completion of their probe into the Russian tanker Eagle S, accused of dragging its anchor for over 60 miles and damaging multiple undersea cables back in December. The tanker, part of the shadow fleet used by Moscow to circumvent Western sanctions, was seized and its crew detained for customs violations. While intent has not been conclusively proven, investigators view this as part of a broader pattern of maritime disruptions linked to Russia. Germany, meanwhile, continues to investigate a Chinese-flagged ship implicated in slicing two data cables late last year. Though no evidence directly links Beijing or Moscow to deliberate action, the incident underscores the growing risks to maritime global communications infrastructure.

Russia's interest in undersea cables is frankly longstanding. These cables, which transmit some 99% of worldwide data, and that's a lot of the worldwide data, including $10 trillion in daily financial transactions, while they're vital to the global economy. Back in November, the Yantar was spotted near Irish waters. That's a major hub for transatlantic data arteries connecting Europe and North America. The ship's activities prompted Irish authorities to send an escort vessel to shadow its movements. Similarly, in 2022, mobile services in Scotland's Shetland Islands were disrupted after an undersea cable was damaged, and act widely attributed to Moscow.

As one of Ukraine's most steadfast allies, Britain's tensions with Russia have remained high since the Kremlin's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The tensions reached a fever pitch in 2024 when Ukraine fired British-made storm shadow missiles into Russia's cursed region. While the Russian embassy in London has dismissed allegations of targeting undersea communications as, quote, untenable, hmm, the Kremlin's track record of exploiting vulnerabilities in Europe's critical infrastructure, well, leaves little room for doubt. Moscow's interest in undersea cables underscores its willingness to weaponize Europe's reliance, on this invisible yet vital infrastructure. As Healy warned Parliament, the stakes are too high to ignore, and Britain and NATO remain prepared to take decisive action against Moscow. All right, coming up next.

Trump taps Middle East envoy Steve Whitkoff to lead diplomatic efforts to rein in Tehran's expanding nuclear program. Plus, in a concerning development out of Syria, the rebel-led government is reportedly incorporating Islamic law into their new administration. 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. Welcome back to the PDB. It appears that President Trump is going to try to get a story. diplomacy a try with the mullahs of Iran before turning to military options. According to White House sources who spoke exclusively with the Financial Times on Thursday, Trump is tapping his Middle East envoy, Steve Whitkoff, to spearhead efforts to address Iran's expanding nuclear program as part of a broader effort to, quote, stop the wars in the region.

Whitkoff is a close confidant to Trump who just helped secure the historic ceasefire deal in Gaza, leaving him well situated to make inroads. The news came as Trump's signal that he would prefer to broker a new nuclear deal with Iran rather than engage in a direct military confrontation. As we've been tracking here on the PDB, Iran has vastly accelerated their enrichment of near-weapons-grade uranium since Trump's re-election in November, boosting production capacity sevenfold in December. Iran now has a stockpile of at least 440 pounds of, 60% enriched uranium, and that's enough to produce at least five nuclear weapons if further enriched to

90%. Their activity has alarmed the international community, of course, and prompted Israeli officials to consider mounting their own preemptive strikes on Iran's nuclear sites. Trump was asked by reporters on Thursday whether he would support preemptive strikes by Israel, and while he refused to roll out the possibility, Trump said, quote, it would be really nice. if the Iranian nuclear crisis can be solved without military force. Well, yes, that would be nice. Trump added, quote, hopefully that can be worked out. Iran will hopefully make a deal, and if they don't make a deal, that's okay, too, end quote. As a reminder in 2015, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or Nuclear Deal, was reached between Iran, the U.S., and five other world powers. The deal

restricted Iran's nuclear capabilities in exchange for sanctions relief and extensive UN oversight, though Iran was quickly accused of flouting the terms of the deal. Trump withdrew from the agreement in 2018, reimposing sanctions as part of a maximum pressure strategy that left the Iranian economy in tatters. In an effort to force meaningful concessions from the Iranian regime on their nuclear program, Trump is preparing a return to that maximum pressure campaign seen during his first term. Senior National Security advisors are reportedly crafting a new sanctions package targeting the regime's oil interests that could be unveiled by early February. Wickev, for his part, has also publicly expressed hopes that diplomacy can win the day,

but has also warned that the Trump administration is prepared to employ military options should the Mullahs balk at good faith negotiations. In a recent interview with Fox News, Whitkoff said, quote, the president will not allow a bomb to be gotten by the Iranians, not going to happen. He added, quote, the president is all about solving it diplomatically,

if that's possible, and if people are going to adhere to their agreements. But if not, then the alternative is not necessarily a good one, end quote. All right. Next up, Syria's rebel-led government. is reportedly incorporating Islamic law into their new administration, raising concerns in the West that the country could once again be consumed by sectarian violence. Syrian authorities, led by the Sunni Muslim Islamist group HTS, are working to build a new

national police force to replace deposed dictator Bashar al-Assad's notoriously corrupt and brutal security forces. But they're apparently using Islamic teachings as a foundation of their training program, asking recruits questions about their religious beliefs and Islamic Sharia law, according to sources who spoke exclusively with Reuters. As we've discussed on the PDB, HTS is historically associated with radical Islam, long-serving as an arm of al-Qaeda during the bloody Syrian civil war. But the group has attempted to rebrand itself in recent years as a moderate liberation force rooted in the values of pluralism and tolerance.

HTS has pledged to shift away from militia-style governance and to create a new system that features broad representation and protections for Syria's many ethnic and religious factions. But the decision to put religion at the center of policing has left many doubting whether HTS can be trusted. A Syrian expert at the Middle East think tank Century International told Reuters, quote, there are many Syrians who will find this concerning,

not just minorities, the Christians, Alawites, and Druze, but also quite a lot of Sunni Muslims in places like Damascus and Aleppo, where you have a fairly large, secular, cosmopolitan population that's not interested in religious law, end quote.

Now, it's too early to tell whether or not this heralds a return to radicalism, but the latest development has left Western governments wary about how big a role Islamic law will end up playing in serious constitution, which AST has reportedly been working to revise. An unnamed diplomat told Reuters, quote,

it's not a good sign, but it also depends on how strictly it will be implemented, end quote. Syria's de facto leader, Ahmed al-Shirah, formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, has renounced his former ties to al-Qaeda and tried to reassure Western governments that his group is truly committed to modernizing Syria and ruling with moderation. But he has also said that drafting a new constitution could take up to three years, meaning anything resembling democratic elections are not on the horizon. Many in the West remain skeptical about HTS's commitment to deradicalizing, noting that HTS is currently seeking to have the U.S. and Western allies lift the group's longstanding terrorist designation, which would free them from the crippling sanctions that come with it.

While Sirius Interior Ministry has not commented on the inclusion of a Sharia law in their police training, anonymous officials attempted to downplay its significance, with one official telling Reuters it's not about imposing Islam on the general population, but rather teaching recruits ethical behavior. For now, Western governments are keeping a close eye on the developments in Syria to see whether HTS's promises of inclusivity will translate into action. All right, coming up in the back of the brief, we'll have an update on the devastating wildfires still burning in Los Angeles as strong winds and dry conditions

fuel new blazes that are spreading rapidly. I'll be back with those details. If you're a QuickBooks customer looking to grow your business without the growing pains, you need the Intuit ERP. Upgrade to Intuit Enterprise Suite in a matter of hours. It's the AI native ERP from the makers of QuickBooks. Learn more at intuit.com slash ERP.

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of Los Angeles, is fueled by relentless Santa Ana winds, with gusts reaching 65 miles per hour, and critically low humidity, creating a formidable challenge, of course, for the 4,000 firefighters present on the scene. As of Thursday afternoon, the Hughes Fire is only 24% contained. Despite the high winds, aircraft have been deployed to combat the wildfire with helicopters scooping water from nearby lakes and airplanes dropping fire retardant to slow the blazes rapid spread. Eyewitnesses have captured dramatic video of orange skies and flames racing to the edges of nearby

water sources. On Los Angeles western and eastern flanks, the palisades and eaten fires have devastated communities over the past two weeks. Together, they've claimed 28 lives, damaged or destroyed nearly 16,000 structures, and turned 37,500 acres into ash. According to Cal Fire, containment efforts are progressing, with the Eaton fire now contained at 95%, and the Palisades Fire contained at 72%. Adding to the strain, a smaller blaze, dubbed the Sepulveda fire, ignited along the 405 freeway near the Gettie Museum on Wednesday, day, prompting a temporary closure of one of the city's busiest highways. This fire, scorching 45 acres, is now reportedly at 60% containment. Despite the relentless fire activity, some weather

relief lies ahead. Southern California, which has gone nine months without significant rainfall, could see precipitation through the weekend and into Monday. However, the shift in the weather carries its own risks. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass cautioned the rain, could trigger mudslides in areas stripped of vegetation by those fires. Bass says the city is taking, quote, aggressive action with crews installing barriers, clearing debris, and managing stormwater. President Trump is set to visit the fire-ravaged areas on Friday. In a Fox News interview on Wednesday, Trump took aim at California's wildfire management,

lambasting Mayor Bass, who was in Africa when the Palisades and Eaton fires erupted, and Governor Gavin Newsom. The president criticized Newsom's handling of forest management and accused him of refusing to release stormwater from the north to Southern California, which Trump claims contributed to fire hydrants running dry. The president warned that he might cut federal funding unless the state revises its water policies, stating, quote, I don't think we should get California anything until they let water flow, end quote. As new blazes challenged firefighting efforts, southern California will hopefully, hopefully, get some much-needed rainfall this weekend to aid containment efforts. And that, my friends, is the President's Daily Brief for Friday, 24 January. And, of course, well, it is Friday, which can only mean that a brand spanking new episode of our

extended weekend show, the PDB Situation Report, is ready for launch this evening at 10 p.m. on the first TV. The Situation Report is also, of course, available on our YouTube channel. that's much loved and critically acclaimed, and you can find that at President's Daily Brief, and all podcast platforms where you happen to get your podcast stuff. Our great guests this weekend include Mark Krikorian of the Center for Immigration Studies to discuss the Trump administration's border policies, and the Heritage Foundation's Steve Yates to discuss all things foreign policy and national security related.

It is, frankly, a humdinger of a show. I'm Mike Baker. I'll be back later today with the PDB afternoon bulletin. Until then, stay informed. Stay safe. Stay cool.