The President's Daily Brief - PDB Afternoon Bulletin | August 25th, 2025: Iran's Supreme Leader Sends Warning To Donald Trump & Israel Retaliates Against The Houthis

Episode Date: August 25, 2025

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin:  First—Iran’s supreme leader has fired off a warning to President Donald Trump, dismissing any possibility of direct talks with the US. But behind the scenes, it appears the Islamic regime may finally be prepared to back down on their uranium enrichment program. Later in the show—Israel unleashes a wave of airstrikes against the Houthi militants in Yemen after coming under repeated attacks in recent days by the Iranian-backed terror group. 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 Jacked Up Fitness: Get the all-new Shake Weight by Jacked Up Fitness at ⁠https://JackedUpShakeWeight.com⁠ Birch Gold: Text PDB to 989898 and get your free info kit on gold American Financing: Disclaimer: NMLS 182334, ⁠https://nmlsconsumeraccess.org⁠. APR for rates in the 5s start at 6.327% for well qualified borrowers. Call 866-885-1881 or visit ⁠http://www.AmericanFinancing.net/PDB⁠, for details about credit costs and terms Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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may, possibly, could be prepared to back down on their uranium enrichment program. Later in the show, Israel unleashes a torrent of airstrikes against the Houthi militants in Yemen after coming under repeated attacks in recent days by the Iranian-backed terror group. We'll have those details. But first, today's afternoon spotlight, despite their ongoing defiance and their constant anti-Western bluster, it appears the mullahs of Iran might be willing to back down on their enrichment of near-weapons-grade uranium. As we've been tracking here on the PDB, in the aftermath of the 12-day war with Israel in June, punctuated by U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities,

leaders in Tehran have continued to publicly resist calls to halt uranium enrichment and strike a new deal with Washington for sanctions relief. Instead, they've moved to rearm their regional proxies, they vowed to rebuild their damaged nuclear sites, and had their leading clerics issued death threats against President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. On Sunday, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamini issued a fresh warning to Trump, saying the Islamic regime will respond to any,

Western efforts to rein in their nuclear ambitions. He accused Trump of wanting, quote, Iran to be obedient to the U.S., something that he said will never happen. In his statement, Hamini added, quote, the Iranian nation feels deeply offended by such a grave insult. I'm sorry about that. And it will stand with all its might against anyone who has such a wrongful expectation of it, end quote. Hamini also dismissed the possibility of direct talks of the White House as naive, bluntly stating that this is not a matter that can be resolved. But behind the scenes, a different picture appears to be emerging, one of a battered regime desperate to avoid another conflict that could fast-track the Islamic Republic toward a potential collapse. The Mullus are already grappling with a serious deteriorating

water crisis, runaway inflation, industrial stagnation, and capital flight, which all have left their economy in freefall. And Britain, France, and Germany recently joined Washington, in warning that unless the Iranian regime re-engages with the International Atomic Energy Agency, the IAEA, by the end of this month, they'll trigger the UN's snapback mechanism to restore the heaviest of international sanctions against the regime. As a result, Iranian leaders are reportedly anyway, privately considering scaling back uranium enrichment from 60%, which is near the 90% weapons-grade threshold, down to 20%. That's according to an exclusive report from the UK telegram.

paragraph. Unnamed Iranian officials that spoke to the papers said the leader of the Iranian Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larajani, is spearheading an effort to soften Tehran's hardline stance on enrichment, hoping that it will be enough to avoid the snapback sanctions and prevent further airstrikes on Iran's infrastructure by Israel and the U.S. The sources said, quote, Alarajani is trying to convince the system to reduce the level of enrichment to avoid another war, end quote. But deep internal divisions reportedly remain. Officials told the telegraph that the initiative has been met with strong opposition from leaders in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the IRGC, though they added Iran's top military brass or at least open to deepening their

diplomatic engagement with Western powers. Indeed, Iranian foreign minister Abbasarachi and his French, British, and German counterparts agreed on Friday to resume direct talks over Iran's nuclear program. But those efforts got off to a rocky start. According to an Axios report, Friday's discussion was confrontational in nature, and European foreign policy chief, Gaya Kalas, said they failed to yield any progress. In a statement, Kalas said that while Europe is committed to finding a diplomatic solution, the Mullahs are running out of time. Callas warned, quote, with the deadline for the snapback mechanism fast approaching, Iran's readiness to engage with the U.S. is crucial. Iran must also fully cooperate with the IAEA. It remains unclear if Iran's foreign

minister will float the notion of scaling back Iran's enrichment from 60% to 20% with European leaders, but diplomatic talks are expected to resume in Vienna on Tuesday. All right. Up next, Israel unleashes a wave of airstrikes against the Iranian-backed Khuti militants of Yemen. I'll be right back. Hey, Mike Baker here. Now, you've heard me talk about the great company Jacked Up Fitness, and they're amazing all-in-one home gym. Really, it's a complete game changer for home fitness. And now, well, I've got some more exciting news from Don and his terrific team over at Jacked Up Fitness. Look, they know that many people are short on time and they're also short on money but still want to get fit. So now,

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Welcome back to the afternoon bulletin. Israel pummeled Houthi strongholds in Yemen's capital on Sunday, unleashing fighter jets on the Iran-backed rebels just days after the terror group lobbed a cluster bomb missile toward one of the Jewish state's international airports. According to the Israeli defense forces, the IDF, more than 10 warplanes struck military infrastructure in the heart of Houthi-controlled territory, including a site housing the presidential palace, power facilities used for terror operations, and a fuel storage compound. Videos posted online show a massive fireball erupting from an oil facility, which Houthi-run media confirmed headman hit. Residents in the capital, Sanaa, described powerful explosions rattling buildings across the city as smoke blooms rose over the military academy

and Sabine Square, one of the capital's iconic public gathering places. The Houthi-controlled health ministry claims at least six people are dead and more than 80 wounded, though those figures can't be independently verified. Jerusalem cast the operation as retaliation for a growing string of Houthi provocations. Most notably, Friday's launch of a ballistic missile reportedly fitted with cluster munitions aimed at Ben-Gurian International Airport near Tel Aviv. The projectile broke apart mid-air after multiple interception attempts, causing no casualties. Still, a senior Israeli Air Force officer, speaking anonymously in line with military protocol to the Associated Press, warned that the weapon represented, quote, a new threat, a technological upgrade, likely courtesy of Iran. The missile was the

first cluster munition from the rebels that was aimed at Israel since 2023, a payload that makes aerial defense significantly more challenging. In televised remarks, Netanyahu declared that the Houthis are, quote, paying a heavy price for their aggression. Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed that Jerusalem continues to enforce a joint air and naval blockade around Yemen, though he provided no operational details. Still, the Houthis have vowed to press on. Their deputy media chief wrote in a statement, quote, our military operations supporting Gaza won't stop, God willing, unless the Israeli aggression is stopped and the siege has lifted. As a long-time PDB listeners will recall, this fight isn't new. For nearly 22 months, the Houthis have mixed attacks on Israel

with assaults on global shipping lanes and solidarity with Hamas's fight against the Jewish state. From late 2023 through the beginning of this year, the terror group struck more than 100 vessels transiting the Red Sea, a choke point that carries an estimated $1 trillion, that's with a T, in trade annually. The campaign triggered a week-long U.S. airstrike blitz ordered by the Trump administration, followed by a Washington broker deal in May that temporarily eased attacks on nearby vessels and shipping lanes. But that reprieve didn't last long. In July, the rebels announced they would target any merchant ship tied to firms doing business with Israeli ports, regardless of flag, a new phase of their war against Jerusalem. And now Sunday's strike marks the second instance in a week's time

that Israel has taken aim at Houthi infrastructure. And that, my friends, is the PDB afternoon bulletin for Monday, the 25th of August. Now, if you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdb at thefirsttv.com. And of course, if you want to listen to the show ad-free, well, you can do that, do it very simply. Just become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting PDB Premium.com. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed. Stay safe. Stay cool. Hey, Mike Baker here. Let me take just a moment of you time to talk about your personal finances. Now, if, like a lot of folks, you've been living on credit cards on occasion just to cover a variety of expenses, and you know what I'm talking about, grocery bills and gas bills and auto bills

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