The President's Daily Brief - March 3rd, 2026: Trump Lays Out His 4 Objectives For Operation Epic Fury & Tehran Replaces Its Supreme Leader

Episode Date: March 3, 2026

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: First up — six Americans are now dead as Operation Epic Fury enters day four. President Trump lays out the clearest explanation yet of the war’s objectives: dismantle Iran’s missile industry, annihilate its navy, permanently block its path to a nuclear weapon, and sever its terrorist proxy networks. But what may be most telling is what’s not on that list. Later in the show — following the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, Tehran moves quickly to stabilize power. We break down the three-man interim council now in charge and what it signals about the regime’s future. Plus, U.S. embassies face violent unrest across multiple countries as anger over the strikes spills into the streets. And in today’s Back of the Brief — France announces a major shift in European nuclear posture, offering to expand its nuclear deterrent footprint across allied territory for the first time. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President’s Daily Brief by visiting https://PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief QUO: Make this the season where no opportunity slips away. Try QUO for free PLUS get 20% off your first 6 months when you go to https://Quo.com/PDB Acre Gold: Start building physical gold with simple monthly payments and enter to win two Ancient Collection gold bars at https://GetAcreGold.com/PDB  Goldbelly: Discover iconic meals from legendary restaurants delivered nationwide with Goldbelly—get 20% off your first order at https://Goldbelly.comusing promo code PDB. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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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. First up, six Americans are now dead as Operation Epic Fury enters day four, and President Trump lays out the clearest statement yet of what this war is meant to achieve. But what may be most telling is what's not on that list of objectives. Later in the show, following the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah, harmony, Iran is already moving to fill the leadership void. We'll take a look at the three-man

council that supposedly now is in charge. Plus, U.S. embassies are under siege in multiple countries as pro-Iranian regime Islamists take to the streets. And in today's back of the brief, we'll turn our attention to Europe, where France has just made a major announcement regarding its nuclear program and the EU. But first, today's PDB spotlight. It's day four. of Operation Epic Fury. U.S. Central Command confirmed last night that six American service members have now been killed since the start of the operation. All six fatalities stemmed from the same incident in Kuwait over the weekend when the Iranians struck Camp Arifjan, and we reported on that yesterday. It was a number of others remained seriously wounded from that incident.

Meanwhile, CENTCOM says American forces have struck more than 1,250 targets inside Iran since Saturday morning's opening strikes. Now, one thing worth focusing on today is something that President Trump said during an address yesterday, where he outlined the U.S. objectives more clearly than at any point since this conflict started. According to Trump, the first goal is to destroy Iran's missile stockpiles and eliminate their missile industry. That doesn't simply mean taking out launchers. It means dismantling the infrastructure, the factories, the fuel depots, storage sites, and supply chains that allow Tehran to replenish its arsenal. To that end, the Pentagon has confirmed the deployment of B-2-Spirit bombers armed with 2,000-pound munitions to hit hardened underground facilities. Now, if that

sounds familiar, well, it should. These were the same stealth bombers used during last year's quote, midnight hammer operation, when 14 GBU57 bunker busters were dropped on three major Iranian nuclear facilities. This time, the targets include Iran's so-called missile cities. These are the massive underground storage complexes carved deep into the mountains. The second military objective, well, that's to destroy Iran's navy. And on that front, early indicators suggest considerable success. Satellite imagery shows multiple Iranian vessels destroyed in the Gulf of Oman. Yesterday, U.S. Central Command posted bluntly on social media, quote,

two days ago, the Iranian regime had 11 ships in the Gulf of Oman. Today, they have zero, end quote. But there is some new. that matters here. Iran has never relied solely on a traditional blue-water navy. Its real strength lies in asymmetrical warfare, swarms of small fastboats designed to harass commercial shipping and threaten the Strait of Hormuz. Even without larger surface ships, Iran retains the ability to disrupt maritime traffic. In fact, Tehran even claimed yesterday that it had closed the strait and warned that any vessel attempting to transit would be, quote, set ablaze.

Now, U.S. officials dispute that claim, though shipping traffic suggests many commercial vessels are steering clear for now. Those first two objectives are somewhat conventional. They're the things you can achieve from the air. But the third and fourth objectives that President Trump laid out yesterday are where things become a little more complex. President Trump says the U.S. aims to ensure Iran can never obtain a nuclear weapon, and that it can no longer arm, fund, or direct terrorist proxies across the region. Now, those goals go well beyond airstrikes, preventing nuclear ambitions permanently would require either total dismantlement of Iran's program or a government that fundamentally changes its strategic intent.

Likewise, cutting off support to proxy groups like Hasbullah, Hamas, and the Houthis would demand a structural shift in regime behavior. Those are the four objectives now that President Trump laid out, but there's something that's notably missing from that list, and that would be regime change. Secretary of War Pete Hegeset made that explicit yesterday, telling the media, quote, this is not a so-called regime-change war, but the regime sure did change, end quote. Now, I suppose that could be considered a careful distinction. Earlier in the conflict, President Trump publicly encouraged the Iranian people to rise up.

But at this stage, it appears Washington is prepared to accept a scenario in which the regime remains, provided it is essentially neutered. In other words, the overall objective of Operation Epic Fury could be not to replace the regime in Tehran, but to remove its teeth. And ultimately, if there's going to be a fundamental change in Iran's government, that decision will not be made in Washington or Jerusalem. It will be made in Tehran and in the streets of Isfahan, Shiraz, and elsewhere across Iran. The U.S. and Israel can degrade capabilities. They can dismantle infrastructure. They can work to remove the regime's ability to threat and its neighbors. But whether the system itself survives or collapses, as we've discussed before,

well, that's up to the Iranian people. All right, coming up next, following the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomein, Iran has moved quickly to fill the leadership void. And U.S. embassies face violent protests across multiple countries from Islamists supporting the Iranian regime. I'll be right back. Hey, Mike Baker here. Now, you probably know me as the PDB host, at least Hopefully you know me as the host of the PDB. But I'm also a business owner, I've been for years. And as a business owner, I'm always focused on finding and keeping clients, right? Which is why I'm a fan of Quo.

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We're beginning to see how the Islamic Republic is moving to stabilize itself in the wake of the death of the Supreme Leader, and, of course, the deaths of a host of other officials and IRGC commanders, all killed in that decapitation strike at the opening of the war. Iran has since triggered a constitutional emergency clause, forming an interim council to hold power as the succession process unfolds. As we've been following, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamini, his death marked the most dramatic rupture in the regime's leadership since the 1979 revolution. Of course, Iran has vowed retaliation, and we've seen that as the Islamic Republic launches strikes against Israeli and U.S.

assets across the Gulf. But at the same time, the clerical establishment moved quickly to avoid a power vacuum. The regime had spent time, of course, conjuring up a succession plan well before Operation Fury began, and that planning, in part, is based on Article 1-1 of the Iranian Constitution, the mechanism designed to keep authority intact when the Supreme Leader dies, resigns, or is unfit to perform his duties. Here's the simple version. When that happens, the system immediately installs a temporary leadership council that assumes all of the Supreme Leader's constitutional powers. The Council consists of three figures. The President, the head of the Judiciary, and a senior cleric from the Guardian Council.

In other words, the executive branch, the judicial apparatus, and the clerical establishment, essentially the pillars of the regime. Now, as you might suspect, nothing about this process involves a public vote or broader consultation. These insiders collectively assume the Supreme Leader's authority, serving as a temporary head of state, while the Assembly of Experts, how's that for the name of a group? The Assembly of Experts, which is an 88-member clerical body elected under strict regime control, selects a permanent successor. It's all very controlled and is designed to eliminate dissent or opposition.

So let's take a look at the three members of this council. Ayatollah Ali Reza-Arafi is perhaps the most institutionally significant figure in the group. Appointed to the Guardian Council in 2019, he serves within the body that vets legislation for compliance with Islamic law and controls who is permitted to run for office. He also serves as deputy chairman of the Assembly of experts and leads Friday prayers in the Islamic Republic's most influential religious center. His presence ensures clerical authority remains embedded in both the interim leadership and the succession process. Next to someone we profiled before here on the PDB, and that's Iranian President Masood Boschkin, elected in 2024 on what was described as a reform-oriented platform. That's quite the

reformist. He campaigned on economic stabilization while pledging loyalty to the Islamic Republic's governing framework. A former heart surgeon, Pasechian, has attempted to balance domestic reform pressures with regional instability. But following Chamini's death, he made clear of his stance, declaring that Iran considers it a, quote, legitimate duty and right to avenge what he called a historic crime. Before you get too carried away with that reform concept, remember, he's the president in charge when they just finished slaughtering thousands of their own citizens to put down the protests. Then there is Golem-Hossein, Moulem-Hosain, al-Sanee Eiji, right? He's Iran's chief justice and longtime hardliner within the establishment.

He's led the judiciary since 2021 and previously served as intelligence minister and prosecutor general. Under his tenure, the judiciary has overseen crackdowns on protests and warned of no leniency toward unrest. Recently, amid protests tied to the collapsing Riyadh, he accused the U.S. and Israel of fueling domestic disturbances after President Trump encouraged Iranians to challenge the regime. So, you ask yourself, what does all that mean? Well, the in-arm council prevents a leadership freeze at the top during wartime, keeping authorities centralized, while the real decision of who becomes an ex-Supreme leader, whoever that may be, is negotiated behind closed doors. The Assembly of Experts must now choose that successor amid military confrontation, economic strain,

and generational tension within the clerical elite. The question is whether this transition further consolidates. dates the regime's grip or exposes fractures inside a structure built around one man's authority for nearly four decades. Okay, I want to shift focus to the American embassies in the Middle East. They've quickly become a symbol or lightning rod for radical Islamists upset with the U.S., with U.S. embassy personnel being told to shelter in place as unrest spills beyond Iran's borders. Now, that's the directive that's shelter in place from U.S. missions in Qatar and Bahrain, whose personnel remain under lockdown.

Embassy personnel and American citizens across the region were told to remain indoors with food, water, medication, and essential supplies. Further guidance included avoiding demonstrations, well, yes, that's a good idea, and keeping a low profile and staying alert to changing conditions. Essentially, Washington is now shifting into a defensive posture abroad because it understands the fallout of striking the Iranian regime will not stay neatly controlled inside the Islamic Republic.

As operations in Iran continue to unfold, Israel remains in a state of emergency, warning residents to prepare for the possibility of further missile attacks. At the same time, U.S. diplomatic facilities are enduring something different, retaliation in the form of street protests. Let's start in Pakistan, because that's where the violence is most severe. Pro- regime rioters, angered by the killing of Iran's supreme leader, move beyond slogans and signage. In Karachi, hundreds gathered outside the U.S. consulate. A group of young men even scaled the outer gate, forcing their way into the consulate driveway and smashing windows in the main building. Pakistani police responded with tear gas, and according to Al Jazeera, gunfire was reported.

As it stands now, at least 10 protesters are dead, and dozens were injured in the clashes with Pakistani police. And Karachi wasn't alone. Reports of riots also erupted in Lahore. Authorities sealed off roads leading to the Red Zone, that's the heavily secured district that houses the U.S. Embassy, the Governor's House, and other Pakistani government buildings. When protesters attempted to push through those barriers leading to the American Embassy, Pakistani security forces fired rubber bullets. Witnesses there, similar to scenes in Karachi,

also reported hearing live rounds. In Islamabad, thousands gathered in the Capitol, chanting anti-American slogans and calling for revenge against Israel. Some carried placards bearing hominy's image. The protests unfolded as Pakistan's government officially condemned both the joint U.S. Israeli strikes and Iran's retaliatory attacks on Gulf states. And then there was the Islamic Republic's neighbor, Iraq. In Baghdad, hundreds of masked men, many dressed in all black attempted to breach the heavily fortified compound housing the U.S. embassy. There, rioters were seen hurling stones at security forces. One masked demonstrator told the AFP that the protest was aimed at demanding the withdrawal of American forces from Iraq in what was

likely a reference to U.S.-led coalition troops, frankly, whose presence has already been significantly reduced in the country. So while Washington and Jerusalem confront Tehran directly, U.S. diplomatic compounds in the region are facing pressure from the angry mobs of regime supporters, agitation fueled by anger over the strikes, and amplified by Iran's broader network of influence and proxies. Okay, coming up next in the back of the brief, we head to Europe, where France is expanding its nuclear umbrella for the very first time. More on that when we come back. Hey, Mike Baker here. Let me take a moment to talk about personal finances and the importance of diversifying your assets. So here's the question. Do you own physical gold? Well, in today's world, with its ups and downs and general

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will retain absolute control over its nuclear arsenal. No shared launch codes, no joint decision-making, Paris would remain fully autonomous. So, you ask, what's up with Macron's decision? Well, this is Europe, adjusting to a world that feels far less stable than it did just a few years ago. Russia's war in Ukraine has shattered long-held assumptions about European security. At the same time, doubts in some European capitals about long-term American commitment to European defense have prompted a strategic recalculation. Macron has long championed the idea of, quote, European strategic autonomy. Since the U.K. left the European Union, France is now the bloc's only nuclear power.

It maintains roughly 300 warheads, deployable from four ballistic missile submarines, at least one of which is always at sea, and from air-delivered systems via French fighter jets. Paris spends about 13% of its defense budget maintaining that deterrent. Now, France is offering deeper cooperation with countries like Germany and Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, and Sweden. Joint committees are being formed, exercises will expand, and strategic dialogue is accelerating. But let's be clear, and this doesn't replace the American nuclear umbrella. Macron said that Europe still has to coordinate, of course, with NATO and Washington.

Germany in particular reiterated that the U.S. deterrent, umbrella remains a cornerstone of European security. What this move really signals is that nuclear deterrence, something many thought was fading into the background, is once again front and center in European defense planning. And that, my friends, is the president's daily brief for Tuesday, the 3rd of March. Now, if you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdb at thefirsttv.com. And if you get a free moment in your day, I hope you'll check out our YouTube channel. Found of course on YouTube, well, that makes sense. Just search

at President's Daily Brief. If you like what you see, I hope you'll hit that subscribe button. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back later today with the PDB afternoon bulletin. Until then, stay informed. Stay safe. Stay cool.