The President's Daily Brief - January 8th, 2025: Iran Retreats From Syria & Zelensky’s Approval Crisis

Episode Date: January 8, 2025

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: We begin in Syria, where the nation struggles to return to normalcy as Iran largely withdraws—marking a major setback for Tehran’s regional ambitions. Later, trouble for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose approval ratings have plummeted to their lowest point since the Russian invasion began, fueling growing doubts among Ukrainians. Plus, the latest from South Korea, where rival government forces face off outside the presidential compound as impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol remains inside—refusing to comply with detention and search warrants. And finally, in today’s Back of the Brief, a new UN report reveals a sharp rise in executions in Iran last year, including about 40 in just one week in December. 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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show, trouble for Ukrainian President Zelensky, his approval ratings have plummeted to their lowest point since the Russian invasion began, as doubts continue to grow among Ukrainians. Plus, the latest from South Korea, where an ongoing standoff between rival government forces continues outside the presidential compound as the nation's impeached president remains inside, refusing to comply with detention and search warrants. And in today's back of the brief, a new United Nations report reveals an alarming rise in executions in Iran last year, including about 40 in a single week in December. But first, today's PDB spotlight.

We'll begin with an update out of Syria, where some semblance of normalcy appears to be returning to the war-torn nation following the overthrow of Iranian-backed dictator Bashar al-Assad in early December. Officials from the rebel coalition, now governing the country, announced that international flights in and out of Syria's main airport in Damascus would resume this week and that Syria was now ready to begin welcoming visitors from all over the world. It's actually a significant development as most international airlines suspended service to the country after the Syrian Civil War kicked off back in March of 2011. Qatar Airways was the first major airliner to respond to the news announcing that flights to Damascus,

had resumed on Tuesday for the first time in nearly 13 years. Following the news, Jordan's flagship carrier also announced that flights to Syria would resume this week. While there are still concerns about the stability of the new government, of course, which is being led by the Islamist group known as HTS, the rebels appear eager to open their doors back up and normalize ties with their neighbors, particularly now that Iran's stranglehold over the country appears to have been broken. Speaking of Iran, according to an exclusive report from our friends at the Wall Street Journal, the Mullahs have pulled out nearly all of their forces from Syria in the aftermath of the rebel victory over Assad, once their strongest ally in the Middle East. The news represents a significant

blow to the Iranian regime's regional strategy for projecting power and dominating the Middle East. It marks a collapse of a year-long effort by Iran to use the Iran. To use the power of the war. It's Syria as a central hub for their activities of their once powerful axis of resistance, which has been devastated by Israel over the past year. Leaders in Tehran had poured billions of dollars into this effort, sending thousands of military personnel and allied fighters to Syria after the bloody civil war broke out again in 2011. Notably, Syria served as a strategic base of operations for the IRGCs, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps' elite Kuds Force, which would coordinate the activities of proxy groups like Khazbalah,

Hamas, and the Houthis from inside Syria, providing Iran with some diplomatic cover. It also provided a land bridge for smuggling large amounts of weapons to Khazbalah fighters in Lebanon. Additionally, Iranian-backed armed groups inside Syria have launched attacks on U.S. forces in the region and aided in attacks on Israel over the past year. At the height of their activity in Syria, Iran was believed to have at least 10,000 IRGC members stationed in the country, who controlled some 55 military bases.

But an unnamed senior U.S. official said Tuesday that virtually all members of the Kuds Force have now fled back to Iran, and the militia groups that they once armed have disbanded. When asked if the Iranians were completely out of Syria, the State Department, government's top Middle East official simply said, quote, pretty much yes, it's extraordinary, end quote. Adding to the Iranian regime's embarrassment, the hasty evacuation of their personnel forced them to leave behind a significant amount of military equipment and weapons. Hmm, sounds like the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, doesn't it? Now, some of this equipment was reportedly destroyed in Israeli airstrikes, while much was captured by the HTS rebels. While U.S. officials

told the journal that Iran will likely attempt to reestablish its forces across the region. Those plans may prove untenable given their weakened position and HTS's hostility toward the Mullahs. They view Iran as a major regional threat and keeping Tehran from rebuilding its military presence in the country is one of their top priorities. HTS's rebel leader, Ahmed al-Shara, formerly known as Abu Muhammad al-Jolani, previously said that by deposing Assad, his forces had, quote, set the Iranian project in the region back by 40 years, end quote. Still, concerns remain largely revolving around the stability of Syria's new rebel-led government. Shirah has pledged to shift away from militia-style governance and to

create a new government that features broad representation for Syria's many ethnic and religious factions, though he's also said elections will likely not be held for many years. It remains to be seen whether Shiraz government can unify a fractured nation and address demands for accountability while also preventing deepening sectarian divisions. Andrew Tabler, a former director for Syria at the National Security Council, told the journal that while the situation in Syria is a cataclysmic failure for Iran, quote, how disastrous will depend on whether Syria stays in one piece? they could find a way back in, thanks to sectarian divisions,

there remain largely unresolved under the new regime, end quote. All right, coming up after the break, Ukrainian President Zelensky faces his lowest approval rating since Russia's invasion. Plus, the latest from South Korea, where rival government forces are locked in a standoff outside the presidential compound. I'll have those stories when we come back. 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%.

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Subscribe now at Bloomberg.com. Welcome back to the PDB. Turning to the war in Ukraine, as the brutal conflict continues to drag on, it appears President Zelensky is beginning to lose the confidence of his people. A survey released on Tuesday by the Kiev International Institute of Sociology found that Ukrainians' trust in Zelensky has plummeted. dropping from roughly 90% back in March of 2022 to just 52% as of this December. It's a significant shift for a leader who enjoyed widespread popularity following Russia's invasion

of Ukraine back in February of 2022, even drawing comparisons to Winston Churchill when he chose to remain in Kiev amid Russia's initial aerial bombardment. But as uncertainty grows over the future of the war and whether Western allies will continue to provide the necessary aid to sustain their defense, Ukrainians are growing increasingly skeptical of Zelensky's leadership. The figures reportedly began to drop precipitously in 2024, as Russian forces broke the battlefield stalemate and began a slow and bloody advance in Ukraine's eastern provinces. Now, according to the poll, 39% of Ukrainians say they actively do not trust Zelensky, a staggering increase from just 7% back in March of 2022.

The executive director for the Keeve International Institute of Sociology, pointing out the obvious, said the weakening of trust in Zelensky may jeopardize his future potential and wait as a public figure on the global stage. Yeah, you think? He warned that the evaporation of the public's trust could also deal a, quote, critical blow to the institution of the presidency in Ukraine. As his internal support erodes, Zelensky is attempting to balance his pledge to never bend to Russian aggression with President-elect Donald Trump's calls for peace talks in 2025. As we've been tracking here on the PDB, Trump is intent, it appears, on bringing the war to an end and may use Ukraine's reliance on the U.S. as a way to pressure Kiev into making concessions.

According to a report from the Wall Street Journal in early December, Trump's senior national security security, Security advisors favor a, quote, carrot and stick approach to bring Russia and Ukraine to the negotiating table, advocating boosting military aid to Kiev if Russian President Putin refuses to engage, and cutting off support to Ukraine if leaders in Kiev appear to balk at participating in discussions. Trump himself has floated seeding large parts of Ukraine's eastern territories to Russia, areas that Moscow's forces currently occupy, as well as blocking Ukraine from joining the NATO alliance for an extended period. Zelensky, for his part, has shown an openness to aspects of Trump's proposals, saying he would be willing to consider temporarily seating territories,

but only if Ukraine is offered NATO membership. It's worth noting that a diplomatic solution may be increasingly favored by the Ukrainian people after nearly three years of war. A poll conducted by Gallup in the fall found that roughly 52 percent of Ukrainians would like to see their country negotiate an end to the war as soon as possible. With Trump's return looming ever larger and public support declining inside his own borders, Zelensky finds himself in an increasingly precarious position as he enters the new year, and his legacy may hinge on just how he responds in the coming months. All right, shifting to the ongoing political crisis in South Korea,

impeached President Yun Sukyo remains defiant, refusing to surrender to detention and search warrants, ensuring a standoff between rival government forces outside his presidential compound. As we've been tracking here on the PDB, Yun, whose impeachment by Parliament in mid-December temporarily stripped above presidential powers, has faced intense scrutiny since declaring martial law earlier that month during what appeared to be a routine political impasse. Ewan's decree sent shockwaves to the nation. The declaration involved deploying troops to surround

Parliament an unprecedented move that opposition lawmakers described as an attempted rebellion. Eun defended his actions as a necessary response to what he described as legislative obstructionism by the opposition dominated parliament. However, the move fueled fierce debate over executive overreach and led to accusations of rebellion. Lawmakers, acted decisively, forcefully lifting the martial law decree just hours after it was enacted, leaving Yun politically isolated and legally vulnerable. The Constitutional Court now faces a pivotal decision, whether to permanently remove Yun from office or reinstate him, a judgment that could significantly reshape South Korea's

political landscape. The crisis deepened last week when a dramatic standoff unfolded between the anti-corruption agency, leading a joint investigation with police, in the military and Yun's presidential security forces. On Friday, an estimated 150 investigators and officers attempted to breach the barricades surrounding Yun's residents to detain Yun for questioning. However, they were met with a barricade of vehicles and resistance from 200 members of the Presidential Security Service. The confrontation, which lasted over five hours, ended without the investigators gaining entry. The agency has now suggested, it might resort to more forceful measures to detain Yun.

While the initial warrants against June expired on Monday, an extension was secured on Tuesday, leaving the timeline for his detention uncertain. Yun's lawyers have mounted a counteroffensive, violent complaints, against the anti-corruption agency's chief prosecutor, and the 150 investigators, alleging illegal actions during the attempted detainment. The chief of the Presidential Security Service defended his team, stating they're legally obligated to protect the incumbent president and rejecting accusations of acting as Yuan's private army. Yun, for his part, has vowed to, quote, fight to the end against efforts to oust him.

His actions have sharply divided public opinion with supporters praising his resistance and critics condemning his overreach. The standoff is emblematic of South Korea's fraught political history, where multiple precedents have often faced impeachment, arrest, or imprisonment. As South Korea grapples with this ongoing crisis, the constitutional court's decision, of course, looms large. The outcome could test the resilience of South Korea's democracy and its commitment to the rule of law, marking a pivotal moment in one of Asia's leading democracies. Okay, coming up in today's back of the brief, a new UN report reveals Iran carried out a record number of executions last year, triggering alarm among human rights groups. I'll have more on that

when we come back. Fox News is now streaming live on Fox One. When it matters most, turn to the voices you trust. We go beyond the headlines, bringing you the stories you won't hear anywhere else. Live coverage, sharp analysis, real perspective, at home or on the go, stay connected when it counts. Stream Fox News on Fox One. Download today. Choice hotels get you more of what you value. Here's a little tune to help you remember. Same drive, different day.

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Hope you like my little song, book direct at Soyshirtails.com. In today's back of the brief, Iran's use of the death penalty surged in 2024 with 901 executions, as the regime wields the death penalty as punishment and a tool of oppression, raising alarm among human rights advocates, of course. On Tuesday, the United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights decried the wave of executions as an affront to human dignity, imploring Iran to impose a more, on capital punishment. Well, I'm sure that will do it. Maybe you could add a harshly worded memo and get the job done completely. Turk stated, quote, it's high time Iran stemmed this ever-swelling tide of

executions, calling for systemic reform to address the issue. Every now and then, you just have to look at what the UN does and think, do they actually live in the real world or not? Amnesty International and other watchdog groups corroborate the crisis, placing Iran as the world's second-highest executioner behind China, where reliable data, of course, is elusive. Tehran claims the death penalty targets heinous crimes, such as murder, drug trafficking, and sexual violence. Yet activists argue that the regime has increasingly wielded it as a tool of political repression, silencing dissent and instilling fear. This harrowing trend gained momentum after nationwide protests erupted in 2022 and 2023, following the death of Masa,

Amini in police custody. The UN Rights Office revealed that while many executions in 2024 stemmed from drug-related offenses, a significant number targeted dissidents and individuals connected to those protests. The scope of repression extends further. According to the Norway-based Iran-human rights group, at least 31 women were executed in 2024, reflecting a broader pattern of societal repression under the regime. December alone saw a sharp spike, with approximately 40 individuals executed in a single week, a pace that human rights organizations, including the human rights activist's news agency, confirmed, despite Tehran's refusal to release official data. The 901 executions, recorded in 2024, represent the highest annual total in Iran since 2015.

Congratulations, you've beat your old record, when a minimum of 972 people were executed. After a brief decline following reforms to Iran's anti-919. narcotics laws in 2017, execution rates have risen sharply since 2022. A UN spokeswoman described the trend as, quote, exceptionally high and deeply concerning, end quote. Oh, deeply concerning. Calls for Tehran to abolish a death penalty grow louder and continue to be ignored as human rights organizations urge reforms. Yet for now, the regime's unrelenting execution campaign, well, does serve as a grim reminder of its determination to suppress dissent and consolidate power. All right.

That, my friends, is the President's Daily Brief for Wednesday, 8 January. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at PDB at thefirsttv.com. And, of course, to listen to the show ad-free, well, it is very easy. Just become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting PDB Premium.com. See, I told you it was easy. 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?

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