The President's Daily Brief - January 30th, 2025: Iran Warns Proxies: Don’t Provoke Trump & Syria Demands Reparations From Russia

Episode Date: January 30, 2025

In this episode of The President’s Daily Brief: Iran has ordered its proxy forces across the Middle East to lay low, as the regime grows increasingly concerned about the threat it faces following Donald Trump’s return to the White House. Syria’s new government is demanding reparations from Russia in an effort to “rebuild trust” after a high-stakes meeting between Damascus’ new leadership and a Moscow delegation. A Massachusetts man is in custody after allegedly threatening to assassinate top Republicans, including newly confirmed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. And in today’s Back of the Brief, the Trump Administration is revoking temporary protected status for over 600,000 Venezuelan migrants, a major shift in U.S. immigration policy. 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

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. It's Thursday, 30 January. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. We'll start things off today with reports that Iran has ordered its proxy forces across the Middle East to lay low as the regime grows increasingly concerned about the threat it faces following Donald Trump's return to the White House. Later in the show, the new rebel-led government in Syria is making major demands of Russia, calling for reparations to, quote,

rebuild trust after a high-stakes meeting between Damascus's new leadership and a Moscow delegation. It kind of makes you wonder what the price tag is for. for trust in that relationship. Plus, a Massachusetts man is in custody now after allegedly threatening to assassinate top Republicans, including newly confirmed Treasury Secretary Scott Besant and Defense Secretary Pete Hegeseth. And in today's back of the brief, the new U.S. administration makes another major move on immigration, revoking temporary protected status for over 600,000 Venezuelan migrants. But first, today's BDB spotlight.

We'll begin in Iran, where a pervasive sense of paranoia is reportedly gripping the country due to Donald Trump's return to the White House. The leaders of Iran's Islamic regime have given orders to their regional proxy forces to exercise restraint and tread carefully when it comes to the U.S., fearing that angering President Trump could spark a crisis of the U. in the Middle East that threatens the longevity of their weakened regime. Specifically, Iranian officials have told their remaining militias to lay low and avoid any provocations that could escalate regional tensions, and that's according to an exclusive report from the telegraph.

As regular PDB listeners know, the Mullahs have a complicated history with Trump, the man who they've spent years trying to assassinate over the 2020 killing of Kud's force commander Kassem Soleimani. Trump engaged in a, quote, maximum pressure campaign against Iran during his first term after pulling the U.S. out of the Iranian nuclear deal, resulting in sanctions that crippled their economy. Given their history and Trump's pension for holding a grudge, well, they likely have good reason to fear his return to the Oval Office. Adding to their concerns, their regional position has been catastrophically weakened due to their proxy war against Israel, which, has laid waste to Iran's once powerful axis of resistance over the past 15 months. Iran's chief regional ally Bashar al-Assad has also been ousted from power in Syria, cutting off a key weapon smuggling route for their terrorist proxies.

Due to these concerns, Iranian-backed proxy commanders have been told to maintain their defensive positions, but to cease any activity that could be interpreted as aggressive by the U.S. and its regional allies. A senior Iranian source told the telegraph, quote, The regime feels an existential threat with Trump's return. In Iraq and Yemen, forces have been told not to target any American assets, and if they do, they're explicitly warned against using Iranian weapons, end quote. Meanwhile, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini is reportedly fearing for his own life. At a recent funeral for two judges who were assassinated last week,

Khamenei was spotted wearing a bulletproof vest. The senior Iranian official told the telegraph, quote, The fall of Assad has intensified fears in the regime. There are now fears that they may not be able to hold onto the country after witnessing what happened to Assad, which no one here expected, end quote. The source added, quote, a large-scale operation is underway to identify and arrest Israeli spies and infiltrators, and there are concerns that they may have infiltrated high-ranking offices. end quote. In a rare admission, or actually a statement of the obvious, Iran's vice president

publicly acknowledged last week that Israel has managed to extensively infiltrate their military and civilian operations. He blamed the impact of international sanctions for leaving the regime vulnerable. Additionally, Iran's foreign minister has publicly conceded that Tehran's regional proxies have been dealt, quote, several serious blows by Israel and won't be of much use to Iran until they can rebuild their forces. All of these developments have left Iran feeling cornered, prompting the regime to floor the gas on their pursuit of a nuclear weapon. But they're also growing concerns that the U.S. and Israel could strike their nuclear facilities, which would, of course, eliminate their last bargaining chip. Senior Iranian sources said their leaders are currently engaged

in extensive talks on how to prevent a possible strike, noting that the regime takes Trump Trump's threats about a return to a maximum pressure campaign seriously. A consensus is reportedly forming around pursuing direct diplomatic talks with the Trump administration, though disagreements among Tehran's top brass remain. As we recently discussed on the PDB, Trump reportedly favors a diplomatic approach over a direct military confrontation. While he's not ruled out direct strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities, Trump told reporters last week that he would prefer to bring Iran to the negotiating table to strike a new nuclear deal. Still, when asked in December if the U.S. could go to war against Iran, Trump responded, quote,

well, anything can happen. Meanwhile, the Iranian public is reportedly increasingly turning on the regime due to their floundering economy, and many, reportedly, are now putting their hopes in Trump. An Iranian small business owner told the Telegraph, quote, people are cursing the regime and hoping that Trump will do something, either sit down and talk with them or bring an end to their rule, end quote. All right. Coming up after the break, Syria's new leadership is demanding reparations from Russia, and a Massachusetts man is in custody after allegedly threatening to assassinate top Republicans. I'll be right back. Ryan Reynolds here from MintMobil. I don't know if you knew this, but anyone can get the same premium wireless for $15 a month plan that I've been enjoying.

It's not just for celebrities, so do like I did and have one of your assistants assistants to switch you to Mint Mobile today. I'm told it's super easy to do at mintmobile.com slash switch. Up front payment of $45 for three month plan equivalent to $15 per month required. Intro rate first three months only, then full price plan options available. Taxes and fees extra. Seeful terms at mintmobile.com. Welcome back to the BDB. Turning to Syria, where the fallout from Bashar al-Assad's ouster has left Russia in a precarious position, with the country's new leadership demanding reparations as a prerequisite for rebuilding trust. This rupture in relations between Moscow and Damascus could well reshape Russia's military posture in the Middle East.

The demand came during the first high-level diplomatic engagement since Assad fled to Moscow and decided. December. On Tuesday, Syrian officials, led by Syria's de facto leader and the head of the Islamist group HTS, Ahmed al-Shallah, met with a Russian delegation led by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. The Syrian officials insisted on reparations in the form of, quote, compensation, reconstruction, and recovery, pressing Moscow to acknowledge past mistakes and commit to transitional justice to serve the interests of the Syrian people, including accountability, for crimes committed under Assad's rule. The Russian delegation, for its part, reaffirmed its, quote,

unwavering support for Syria's territorial integrity and sovereignty. Well, that's nice. But so far resisted any suggestion of wrongdoing. Well, that is shocking. Normally, the Putin regime is very good at self-reflection and accepting responsibility for their behavior. As Syrian source familiar with the talks told Reuters that no formal agreement was reached aside from a commitment

to further negotiations. The diplomatic standoff comes at a critical moment for Moscow, which is determined to retain its military foothold in Syria. Russia operates two key military installations in the country, the Tartus Naval Base and the Hamim Air Base. Now, these bases serve as the Kremlin's primary launch points for operations in the Mediterranean and broader Middle East, as well as for Africa.

However, the Syrian government revoked Russian management of the Tartouse Naval Base last week, scrapping a 49-year investment contract in order to restrict Russia's presence further. Moscow's position has only grown more complicated in recent months. In December, during the fall of the Assad regime, Russian troops were targeted by Damascus rebel groups, led by HTS, with some units reportedly trapped during an offensive. Despite this, Russia has reiterated, its willingness to aid in Syria's post-crisis recovery, a position that underscores the stakes of maintaining its regional presence. The new leadership in Damascus is leveraging these challenges

to press its demands. A senior Syrian official, familiar with the negotiations, told Reuters that Shirah has called for Russia to return Assad as part of the talks. That's an extraordinary condition that would effectively put Moscow in the position of surrendering its longtime ally. Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov declined to comment on whether Assad's extradition was under discussion. Well, hmm, let me think about that. Now, Putin can either hold on to two key strategic military bases that further his interests in the Middle East and beyond, or he can hold on to Assad. I wonder where he's going to go with that.

Political analysts warn that serious demands could trigger a geopolitical bidding war. Alexander Jokic, a journalist and political analyst, suggested in a post, on X that the reparations push could invite the U.S. and European involvement, potentially forcing Russia to either pay a steep price to retain its bases or face total withdrawal. For now, the future of Russia's military presence in Syria, of course, remains an open question. All right, shifting stateside. A Massachusetts man was arrested on weapons charges Monday after he approached police outside the U.S. Capitol and confessed to an elaborate assassination plot targeting top Republicans, including newly confirmed Treasury Secretary Scott Besant.

The suspect, 24-year-old Ryan Michael English, approached officers outside the Capitol's south door, and unprompted, declared his intent to surrender, stating, quote, I'd like to turn myself in, leading to his immediate arrest on weapons charges. Court filings from Tuesday reveal that English was armed with knives and two homemade Molotov cocktails, fashion. from 50-millimeter vodka bottles stuffed with cloth drenched in hand sanitizer. English had reportedly considered dying by, quote, suicide by cop, after realizing that the heavy security presence would prevent him from executing his attack, and that's according to an affidavit from Capitol Police. A search of English's person uncovered a folding knife, a lighter,

and additional bomb-making materials, while a subsequent sweep of his vehicle turned up yet more equipment capable of constructing an explosive device. That's according to investigators. English's hit list included House Speaker Mike Johnson and Defense Secretary Pete Hegeseth, along with the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank that apparently he intended to set on fire. But after learning that Scott Besson's Senate confirmation vote was scheduled for Monday via an internet post, English expanded his targets to include the Treasury Secretary. The Senate confirmed Besson in a 68-29. vote, a result English viewed as further justification for his plot. He later told authorities that his

aim was to, quote, depose political leaders and to eerily, quote, send a message to whom and for what remains unknown. Federal prosecutors have charged English with multiple counts, well, that's good, including unlawful possession of a firearm and carrying a dangerous weapon and explosive device on capital grounds. While officials have not disclosed any known extremist affiliations, his explicit targeting of Republican figures and conservative institutions has heightened concerns over politically motivated domestic threats. The case remains under investigation, of course, as authorities weigh additional charges and potential extremist connections. Okay, up next, Homeland Security Secretary Christy Noam announced Wednesday that the Trump

administration is rescinding temporary protected status for over 600,000 venerated. Venezuelan migrants. I'll have those details in the back of the brief. Exema is unpredictable, but you can flare less with ebbglis, a once-monthly treatment for moderate to severe eczema. After an initial four-month or longer dosing phase, about four and seven people taking ebbglis achieved itch relief and clear or almost clear skin at 16 weeks, and most of those people maintain skin that's still more clear at one year with monthly dosing. Emglyz, Lbrichizumab, LBKZ, a 250 milligram per two-millimeter injection is a prescription medicine used to treat adults and children 12 years of age and older who weigh at least 88 pounds

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For kids who love to save the day, choose a Lego set, a gift that always clicks. In today's back of the brief, President Donald Trump is showing no signs of letting up on his immigration crackdown as he seeks to dismantle the open border policies of his predecessor and fortify the U.S. border. In the Trump administration's latest move, newly minted Homeland Security Secretary Christy Noem announced on Wednesday that their revoking temporary protected status for the more than 600,000 Venezuelan migrants currently living across the U.S. The move undoes another Biden-era policy that allowed millions of illegal immigrants to stay in the U.S. despite violating the law, and that's according to a report from the New York Post. Revoking the temporary

protected status or TPS program became a major priority for the new administration after outgoing DHS secretary Alejandro Mayorkas signed an order extending the program for 18 months just one week before Trump's inauguration. Nome chastised her predecessor for signing the extension, accusing Majorcas of attempting to undermine the Trump administration before leaving office, you think? Noam said, quote, we fought that today. We signed an executive order within the Department of Homeland Security that we are not going to follow through on what they did to tie our hands, end quote. Now, as a refresher, the Biden administration created a humanitarian parole program in 2022

that allowed migrants from Haiti, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Cuba to fly directly to the U.S. and be released with work permits and authorization to remain in the country for up to two years. Each and every one of them also got a pony. roughly 360,000 migrants were entering the U.S. each year under this program. Once here, parolees could apply for temporary protected status, which shields them from removal based on issues within their home country. The TPS program was also open to migrants from 12 other nations. But critics of the program have said the criminals have leveraged it to gain access to the U.S., pointing to the violent activity of Venezuela's Trendroagua gang or TDA in American cities.

Nome said the new order from DHS will allow federal agents to, quote, evaluate all these individuals that are in our country, including the Venezuelans that are here and the members of TDA, end quote. Well, it's not yet clear what the Trump administration will do with the 600,000 Venezuelan migrants currently living in the U.S., Nome's rollback reportedly requires that she make a decision on how to move forward by Saturday. The move comes on the heels of a slew of immigration actions from Trump, who declared a national emergency at the border on his first day in office and shut down all crossings with Mexico for migrants seeking asylum. The administration has since dismantled or suspended virtually every single Biden-era program that facilitated the influx of nearly

8 million migrants into the U.S. over the last four years. Collectively, the aggressive policies are already having a major impact, causing illegal migrant encounters at the border to drop by roughly 35% over the first week of the Trump administration. And that, my friends, is the president's Daily Brief for Thursday, 30 January. Now, as the old saying goes, to listen to the show ad-free, well, become a premium member of the president's daily brief. by simply 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. Some follow the noise. Bloomberg follows the money, whether it's the funds fueling AI or crypto's trillion-dollar swings.

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