The President's Daily Brief - May 22nd, 2024: Life After Raisi, Sabotage in Poland & Mourning the Butcher

Episode Date: May 22, 2024

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: Thousands of mourners gather in Tehran to greet the coffin of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. I’ll explain what’s next for the regime after the death of the 63-year-old president. The Kremlin’s shadow war against Europe continues as Polish authorities arrest a dozen individuals on suspicion of links to foreign sabotage efforts. The latest on the nation of Georgia’s controversial “foreign agents” law as the country’s government signals a willingness to potentially scrap the legislation in exchange for warmer US relations. In today’s Back of the Brief, with days of funeral ceremonies beginning for Ebrahim Raisi, we’ll take a look at some surprising gestures of grief and respect for a man dubbed “The Butcher of Tehran.” 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. Email: [e-mail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is brought to you by Patriot Gold Group. Protect your retirement assets. Speak to the experts at Patriot Gold. As they say, they're Patriots protecting Patriots. Top-rated gold IRA dealer for seven years in a row. Go to PatriotGoldgroup.com or call 1-888-621-3856 for a free investor guide. It's Wednesday, 22 May. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief.

I'm Mike Baker. your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. Today, we begin in Tehran, where thousands of mourners gathered to greet the coffin of Iranian President Abraham Reisi. We'll look at what's next for the regime after the death of the 63-year-old president, fondly remembered by his opponents and detractors, as the butcher of Tehran. Later in the show, we continue our look at the Kremlin's shadow war against Europe, as Polish authorities announce another wave of arrests of individuals with suspected lengths to Russian sabotage efforts. Plus, we'll have the latest on the nation of Georgia's controversial

and rather Putin-esque foreign agents law, as the country's government signals a willingness to potentially scrap the law in exchange for warmer U.S. relations. And in today's back of the brief, with days of funeral ceremonies beginning for Abraham Reisi, we'll take a look at some surprising gestures of remembrance and respect for a man responsible for the deaths of thousands of Iranians and the brutal repression of women's rights. But first, today's PDB spotlight. Thousands of dutiful mourners have gathered in Tehran to take part in days of funerals and processions for Iran's late president, Abraham Reisi, who was killed when a helicopter carrying him, the nation's foreign minister, and five others crashed this weekend.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khomeini has declared five days of public mourning with events planned in major cities across the country. Today, a large ceremony will take place in the capital city, with Khomeini expected to lead the prayers and foreign dignitaries in attendance. Now, Raisi will be buried in his home city of Moshad later this week. The cause of Sunday's crash is still under investigation, but most signs point to either a technical failure or weather conditions or both. Iran's foreign minister, Javad Zarif, blamed the accident, of course, on the United States, claiming sanctions were preventing Iran from having a more modern aviation industry. Now, Zharif failed to note that the sanctions are the result of of Tehran's support and funding of terrorism, their terrible human rights record, and their

ongoing effort to develop nuclear weapons. But maybe all that simply slipped his mind. Anyway, Reisie was traveling in a 40-year-old American-made Bell 212 helicopter. As we've previously reported here on the PDB, Reisci was succeeded by his first vice president Mohamed Mokber, who will serve as acting president until new elections are held on June 28th. Iran's guardian counsel, the 12-member body responsible for organizing the elections, said that the next president will run the country for a new four-year term, not just for the remaining years of Rice's term. Now, Rice's death won't have much, really, of an impact on the regime's policies in the short term,

especially when it comes to foreign policy. Most of the power in the country remains in the hands of the nation's supreme leader, Hamini, who acts as Iran's command. and chief. However, it's in the race to succeed the Supreme Leader, where we may see some interesting developments. The ultra-conservative Reisie was seen by many to be the top contender for the position. He was a dutiful toady for Khomeini, and by all appearances was being groomed to be the regime's next grand famage. Reisie was a protégé of the 85-year-old Khomeini and had received his backing during the 2021 presidential election.

During his presidency, the two had worked closely on both domestic and foreign policy matters, with Reisi happily cracking down on any dissent within the country, hardening religious laws, and increasing the powers of the infamous morality police. How inclusive of him. Reisi's rivals are now likely to scramble to fill the vacuum as death is left,

and one of those rivals is Mostaba Khomeini, a hardline cleric who also happens to be the supreme leader's son. All right, coming up after the break, Russia's shadow war against Europe continues as Polish authorities announced another wave of arrests of individuals suspected of working for Russian intelligence to carry out acts of sabotage. Plus, the latest on Georgia's controversial foreign agents law and suggestions that it could be dropped in exchange for economic and security support from Washington. I'll be right back.

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Restrictions apply. Welcome back. I want to bring you the latest regarding Vladimir Putin's shadow war against NATO as Poland warns that Russia is engaged in an intense campaign to destabilize the country through infiltration and acts of sabotage. Well, frankly, that's just Putin being Putin. As we've regularly covered on the BDB, Russia's shadow campaign targets not only Ukraine, but also its supporting nations. This covert conflict involves everything from espionage and cyber attacks to targeted assassinations and political strong-arming. In the latest example, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk

said Tuesday that authorities had arrested three men with suspected links to Russian intelligence services who were reportedly plotting acts of sabotage on behalf of the Putin regime. Recently, Polish officials said they've jailed roughly a dozen people on allegations of plotting on behalf of Moscow, and that's according to a report from the Associated Press. The problem has been plaguing Poland and other NATO countries since the war broke out, and by breakout, I mean, since Putin invaded. A man arrested in Poland back in April was accused of collaborating with Russian intelligence to orchestrate an assassination attempt on Ukrainian President Zelensky. Tusk said Russia recruits people from the criminal underworld as well as sympathetic nationals of Ukraine,

Belarus, and Poland, who then worked to so political and social discord in the country, engaging in beatings and arson and politically motivated attacks, among other crimes. He added that the Baltic states, specifically Lithuania and Latvia, remained particularly vulnerable to Russian infiltration and influence, and said NATO members must do more to counter the threat. In that spirit, Tusk also announced on Tuesday the reestablishment of a commission to monitor Russian and Belarusian influence operations, according to a report from U.S. News and World Report.

It marked quite a turnaround for Tusk, who opposed the commission when it was formed last year by Poland's previous nationalist law and justice government. At the time, Tusk feared it would be leveraged to ban certain politicians from office. Now, Tusk and other senior Polish officials, however, were reportedly caught off guard earlier this month by the defection of a Polish judge to Belarus, a key ally of Russia. That incident, along with the repeated attempts to recruit Polish citizens for sabotage attacks, has apparently influenced Tusk to take more comprehensive action. Tusk remained positive, telling reporters, quote,

our services are working really efficiently when it comes to attempts at sabotage in Poland and neighboring countries, end quote. Given Putin's current military offensive, the announcements out of Poland serve as a timely reminder that, while the war continues on the battlefields of Ukraine, Russia is concurrently doing everything it can from the shadows to destabilize NATO. Okay, now, I want to turn our attention to the nation of Georgia, where a bitter fight over a legal overhaul that critics say is reminiscent of the tactics of the Putin regime has led to widespread protests in a divided government. As a reminder, the Russian-inspired law would mandate that any organization receiving more than 20% of its funding from foreign sources register as a quote foreign agent. A recent amendment has expanded the purview of the legislation

to private individuals as well. Now critics of the legislation have warned the law would potentially cripple nonprofit organizations and independent media and generally be used to stamp out dissent. Well, that does sound very Putin like. George's parliament, which is dominated by the Kremlin-friendly Georgian Dream Party overwhelmingly approved the legislation in a vote last Tuesday, but on Saturday, Georgia's president vetoed the law, saying it contradicted the Constitution and all European standards and was, quote, fundamentally Russian. By Monday, however, the Speaker of George's Parliament and a leading member of the Georgian Dream Party vowed to override the president's veto, which would take only a simple majority. Party officials have repeatedly,

painted the widespread protests of the law, which have drawn hundreds of thousands of citizens, as attempts by agitators to overthrow the government, while accusing the West of trying to pressure Georgia into becoming involved in the war in Ukraine. They also accuse Western-funded NGOs of regularly attempting to undermine Georgia's government. Now, the fight over the foreign agent's bill will have far-reaching consequences, as Georgia's bid for membership into the European Union hangs in the balance. Georgia was granted EU candidate status last December, and polls show that roughly 80% of the country supports joining the European Union. EU leaders have previously said that the foreign agents bill poses a significant threat to Georgia's membership bid, potentially isolating it

further from Western allies and aligning it more closely with Russian influence. Anonymous EU officials told the Financial Times last week that the European Union plans to freeze Georgia's membership bid if the law is ultimately enacted. Adding a new wrinkle to the situation, U.S. officials are upping the diplomatic pressure on the Georgian Dream Party to compromise regarding the law. lawmakers in the U.S. Congress officially tabled legislation on Monday that would have opened up talks on a trade deal and eased visa restrictions on Georgia citizens in exchange for meaningful commitments to civil rights reforms. The Georgia Dream Party responded on Tuesday by issuing a charged statement saying they would not be blackmailed by the U.S. However, they also intimated

that they were open to dropping the foreign agent's law if the U.S. provides a package of economic and security support. While it appeared to be a negotiating tactic, officials didn't provide much clarity regarding their intentions. The Georgian Dream Party has yet to announce when they'll schedule the override vote, but given Russia's current belligerence, Western leaders are eager, to contain the Kremlin's influence in Georgia's affairs. All right, in today's back of the brief, as funeral ceremonies begin for late Iranian President Abraham Reisi, the man dubbed the butcher of Tehran,

is receiving a fond farewell from some, well, unexpected places. I'll be right back. Not loving your AT&T or T Mobile Bill? Yeah, we've been hearing that a lot. Good news. Bring your AT&T or T Mobile Bill to Verizon and we'll give you a better deal. So get away from that unfortunate phone bill and get to Verizon.

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regimen me the deal. Additional terms, conditions, and restrictions apply. In today's back of the brief, as we reported earlier, thousands of mourners were in Tehran to greet the coffin of President Abraham Raisi on Monday.

day. Government and military officials lined a red carpet, and many could be seen publicly weeping as a military escort carried the coffin. Now, weeping in these circumstances is considered a wise political move by the weepers. Now, you'd expect this kind of outpouring of grief among Iranian officials for the death of their president. I mean, after all, it's how you keep your job. But the response from the general public has been, well, muted. A reminder, Reisy was dubbed the butcher of Tehran due to its role in the mass execution of political prisoners in Iran in the 1980s. As a deputy prosecutor in Tehran, Reiki was a key member of what became known as the Tehran Death Commissions. These were essentially kangaroo courts tasked with identifying prisoners

who remained loyal to opposition groups and it often resulted in swift and summary executions. Estimates suggested as many as 8,000 people were executed in a matter of months, often through mass hangings. Raeisi had a personal role in interrogation, sentencing, and ultimately executing many of these prisoners. So, the Iranian public's somewhat muted reaction to his death is not particularly surprising. But given his history, it is surprising to see Raezy receiving a warm send-off from some unexpected places. First, there was a moment of silence at the United Nations. At the request of Russia, China, and Algeria, representatives stood at the UN Security Council for a minute to honor RISI, and that included United States Deputy Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood. Now, Secretary of State Antony Blinken later defended the deference that the deputy ambassador showed by standing during the minute of silence by saying, in effect, well, it's something that many administrations have done over the years.

Now, who knew? I personally wasn't aware that it was standard practice for the U.S. to honor the passing of brutal despots and architects of terrorism. I guess I just wasn't paying attention. The UN ambassador for Israel, Giladerdan, called the moment a disgrace, asking, quote, what's next? Will the council dedicate a moment of silence to commemorate Hitler? End quote. The U.N. also lowered the flag at its Manhattan headquarters to half-mast on Tuesday in honor of RISC. Isn't that special?

On social media platform X, a NATO spokesperson said that the Western Defense Alliance sends its condolences to the people of Iran for the death of President Reisi, foreign minister and others who perished in the helicopter crash, end quote. This, as Iranian-made Shad drones, rained down on Ukrainian cities, thanks, at least in part, to the late president of Iran. Not to mention the Iranian regime's not insignificant role in the medieval Hamas attack, in southern Israel on 7 October, they kicked off the current conflict in Gaza. But, hey, don't forget to send a nice flower wreath to the funeral home.

In a statement, the EU's foreign policy chief, Joseph Aborell, said, the EU expresses its sympathies to the families of all the victims and to the Iranian citizens affected, end quote. It's really like they're trying to out-stupid each other. And finally, and maybe worst of all, in Washington, D.C., the U.S. Senate, Chaplain offered a prayer for Iran's president saying, quote, Lord, we pray for the Iranian people who mourn the death of their president, end quote. Well, the Lord reportedly responded, hey, he's not here. Check with the dude downstairs. And that, my friends, is the president's daily brief for Wednesday, 22 May. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at PDB at thefirsttv.com.

And to listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member. of the President's Daily Brief by visiting PDB Premium.com. I'm Mike Baker. I'll be back later today with the PDB afternoon bulletin. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.