The President's Daily Brief - PDB Afternoon Bulletin | August 7th, 2024: Mossad's Explosive Assassination & Ukraine Invades Russia

Episode Date: August 7, 2024

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin:    We are beginning to learn more about how Israeli intelligence managed to infiltrate Iranian security and pull off the assassination of Hamas’s political chief inside Tehran last week, and the revelations are proving to be a major embarrassment for the Iranian regime. In a big development out of the war in Ukraine, Kyiv’s forces have flipped the script on the Kremlin and launched a surprise invasion of the Kursk region, their largest incursion into Russian territory in more than two years of fighting. 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 PDB Afternoon Bulletin.  Email: [e-mail]  Patriot Gold: https://www.patriotgoldgroup.com Say Mike Baker sent you Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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It's Wednesday, 7 August, welcome to the PDB afternoon bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. First, we're beginning to learn more about how Israeli intelligence managed to infiltrate Iranian security and pull off the assassination of Hamas's political chief inside Tehran last week. And the revelations, well, they're proving to be a major embarrassment for the Iranian regime. Also, in a major development out of the war in Ukraine, Keeves' forces have fled. flipped the script on the Kremlin and launched a surprise invasion of the Kursk region, their largest incursion into Russian territory in more than two years of fighting. But first, our afternoon spotlight. Let's start with an update on our coverage of the assassination of Hamas leader Ishmael Hanyi last week in Tehran, which has exposed some embarrassing security vulnerabilities within Iran's intelligence apparatus. The Telegraph has exclusively learned that Israel's elite intelligence agency, Mossad, managed to infiltrate a unit of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the IRGC,

ultimately paying Iranian security agents to plant sophisticated explosive devices in three separate rooms at the government guesthouse where Hanyi was staying. This comes in the wake of a report last week from the New York Times that revealed the explosive devices had been covertly smuggled into the Tehran guest house roughly two months ago. Mossad originally planned to assassinate the Hamas leader in May when he was in Tehran for the funeral of former Iranian President Ibrahim Reisi, but the plans were reportedly scrapped due to the large crowds inside the building where Hanja was staying and concerns there was a high risk the operation could fail. Two Iranian officials told the Telegraph that instead Mossad hired agents from the Ansar al-Madi Protection Unit, a division of the

IRGC, responsible for the safety of high-ranking officials to target Hanye while he was visiting Tehran for the inauguration of Iran's new president. According to the officials who have viewed CCTV footage from the guesthouse, two Iranian agents were seen stealthily entering and exiting multiple rooms in the facility as they planted three separate explosive devices. The unnamed officials told the telegraph that the agents subsequently slipped out of the country, but maintained contact with a source inside Tehran. At 2 a.m. last Wednesday, after confirming that Chania was in the room, one of the explosives was detonated remotely from abroad, killing Hanye and his bodyguard. We should note, these details remain unclear, as other reports have said Mossad assets had detonated

the explosives from Iranian soil. Regardless, the incident is a major embarrassment for Iran, as the very unit that was responsible for protecting Hadye ultimately led to his demise. An official within the IRC told the telegraph, quote, this is a humiliation for Iran and a huge security breach, end quote. That's not an understatement. During their investigation, the IRGC reportedly found two undettonated explosive devices in two other rooms at the guesthouse. Externally, Iran is attempting to downplay the security failure and is established a working

group, a working group, isn't that nice, a task force, to change the narrative. We can only assume that that's why Iran tried to claim over this past weekend that Hanya was in fact, killed by a short-range projectile instead of a bomb. The blame game and paranoia has started, as concerned mount that Iranian leaders and allies are far more vulnerable to Israeli attacks than previously thought. One official said the commander of the IRGC coulds force has been summoning people to be fired and arrested. Others could be executed. The official added, quote, the breach has humiliated everyone. Now, this may explain why the expected Iranian retaliation against Israel has not yet started. Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khomeini has reportedly

prioritized addressing the security breach over launching their retaliatory attack. As we noted, the attack has raised serious questions for the regime regarding Israel's reach and influence within Iran. But Iran maintains that the retaliation is coming, though as we discussed this morning on the PDB, the latest U.S. intelligence assessment suggests that Iran and their Lebanese proxy Khadullah are still in the planning phase. Coming up after the break, in a major development out of the war in Ukraine, Keeb's forces have flipped the script on the Kremlin

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Welcome back to the afternoon bulletin. Ukraine turned the tables on Russia this week, launching a surprise invasion of the Kersk region, deploying troops and armored vehicles in what appears to be one of the largest incursions into Russia since the war began over two years ago. While the conflict between Ukraine and Russia has seen numerous cross-border skirmishes, direct ground attacks by Ukrainian forces into Russian territory are relatively rare. previous incursions were primarily carried out by armed groups of Russian exiles with support from Kiv. This latest assault, however, seems to involve regular Ukrainian military units, marking a significant

escalation in the conflict. The region has experienced sporadic shelling and bombings, but large-scale ground offensives have been unusual. Acting governor of Kurskoblast Alexei Smirnoff reported the incursion about six miles deep into Russian territory on Tuesday. Russia's Ministry of Defense, noted that the cross-border incursion involved up to 300 Ukrainian troops from the 22nd Mechanized Brigade, supported by over 20 tanks and armored fighting vehicles. Verified videos show Ukrainian armored vehicles being struck several miles inside Russia by airstrikes, missile forces, and artillery fire. Pro-Kremlin military bloggers report that Ukrainian troops captured several settlements near the border, although these claims remain unverified. On Wednesday, Russia's Ministry of Defense

claimed to have prevented Ukrainian forces from advancing deeper into the curse, reporting 260 Ukrainian troops were killed. Of course, any statements or statistics from the Russian Ministry of Defense should be taken with a grain of salt. And in fact, casualty figures and damage assessments from both sides of this conflict have proven to be unreliable. The assault has led to civilian casualties with five reported dead and 24 injured due to Ukrainian shelling. Kiv has yet to officially comment. A Ukrainian military officer suggested on the Nesta Telegram Channel that the attack was preventative, citing the presence of an estimated 75,000 Russian troops near the border as a potential threat. Russia has sent reserves to bolster its defenses. Russian President

Putin has announced plans to meet with security services to coordinate a military response, assist resident evacuations, and establish blood donations. This rapid, unprecedented cross-border incursion from Ukrainian troops has raised questions about Keeb's objectives. Some analysts suggest it might be an attempt to divert Russian attention from the Eastern Front or to generate positive news for Ukraine. Military observers, including Matthew Ford of the Swedish Defense University, have expressed concern that this cross-border incursion could thin out Ukrainian defenses and argue that the strategy might be ineffective due to Russia's ample reserves. And that, my friends, is the PDB afternoon bulletin for Wednesday 7 August.

If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at PDB at thefirsttv.com. Now, if you're Jonesen for an ad-free experience, well, it's simple. Become a premium member of the president's daily brief by visiting pdb premium.com. I'm Mike Baker. I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool. Some follow the noise. Bloomberg follows the money.

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