The President's Daily Brief - PDB Afternoon Bulletin | January 11th, 2024: Iran Stokes Regional Tensions & US Lends Guyana Support Amid Venezuelan Aggression

Episode Date: January 11, 2024

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin:     Maritime tensions are once again flaring as the Iranian Navy seized an oil tanker off the coast of Oman. The vessel that was seized, the St. Nikolas, has been at the heart of a dispute between Iran and the United States for two years. We return to the territorial dispute in South America, where the U.S. is helping Guyana bolster their military capabilities amid concerns about Venezuela’s future plans regarding the oil rich region of Essequibo. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin.     Email: [e-mail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Own it all. Pay off your home, travel for life, drive a Ferrari. In celebration of the world premiere of the Monopoly Big Board Buckslot Machine by Aristocrat Gaming, Yamava Resort and Casino at San Manuel is giving one person a $1.6 million dream package. The biggest prize in Yamava's history. Club Serrano members can earn daily instant prizes and secure a spot in the finale May 29th.

Don't pass go and own it all. Only at Yamava, celebrating its 40th anniversary. You win? Details at yamava.com must be 21-20. Please gamble responsibly. Monopoly is a trademark of Hasbro. Hasbro is not a sponsor of this promotion. It's Thursday, January 11th. Welcome to the PDB afternoon bulletin. I'm Mike Baker,

your eyes and ears on the world's stage. Let's get briefed. First, more maritime tensions, as Iran sees an oil tanker in the Gulf of Amman today. I'll give you the details of what happened and how Iran is justifying their actions. Also, we return to the territorial dispute in South America, where the U.S. is helping Guyana bolster their military capabilities amid concerns about Venezuela's future plans regarding the oil-rich region of Eskibo. But first, our afternoon spotlight. In a significant development, the Iranian Navy has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Oman. The vessel that was seized, the St. Nicholas,

has been at the heart of a dispute between Iran and the United States for going on two years now. The U.K. Marine Trade Operations disclosed on social media that four to five individuals described as, quote, unauthorized and armed and clad in military-style black uniforms with masks boarded the ship. Following this incident, communication with the vessel was lost, and the vessel was observed diverting its course toward Iranian waters. The incident is particularly noteworthy due to its location. While most of our attention has been focused on the Red Sea and the disruptions to maritime trade caused by the Houthis in Yemen, the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen, this seizure

occurred on the opposite side of the Arabian Peninsula. The St. Nicholas was approximately 50 nautical miles east of Sohar, a port city in Oman, near the strategically vital straight-up Hormuz at the mouth of the Persian Gulf. Empire Navigation, the Greek-County that manages the St. Nicholas provided further details. According to a spokesperson who spoke to CNBC, the tanker was traveling to the Turkish port of Aliaga after loading crude oil at an Iraqi terminal. The crew was made up of 18 Filipinos and one Greek national. In a statement following the seizure, the Iranian Navy declared, quote, the Navy of the Islamic Republic of Iran seized an American oil tanker in the waters of the Gulf of Oman in accordance with a court order.

Now, they accused the vessel of stealing Iran's oil on U.S. orders and transporting it to American shores. This dispute over the St. Nicholas traces back to early 2022. At that time, the St. Nicholas, then known as the Rajan, was implicated in violating U.S. sanctions. It was reportedly involved in a ship-to-ship transfer of Iranian oil nearer. Singapore. In response to this violation, Empire Navigation transported the sanction cargo to Houston where it was subsequently forfeited to the U.S. Department of Justice. As you can tell, Iran's perspective on the matter differs significantly. The nation contends that the forfeiture of its oil by the U.S. was, in fact, an act of theft by the U.S. rather than the enforcement of existing sanctions.

Look, the bottom line here is that Iran is actively disrupting free trade and commercial shipping in the region with near impunity, whether through their own direct actions or through their sponsored, trained, and resourced proxies such as the Houthi militants in Yemen. Despite stern warnings and harsh statements from the U.S. administration and allies, including the UK, and the occasional small-scale counterstrike against the proxy Houthis, There has been no actual deterrence effort made to alter Iran's increasingly aggressive actions. Now, there is no reason to believe that Iran will change its behavior as it promotes instability in the region, and there is every reason to believe that the regime is continuing its march towards acquisition of nuclear weapons as well as appropriate delivery systems. At some point, the West will need to adapt an actual deterrence strategy, and that will be easier done ahead of the day when the Iranian regime declares that they are a member of the

nuclear club. All right, coming up after the break, we return to our ongoing coverage of the territorial dispute in South America between Venezuela and Guyana, as the U.S. helps Guyana bolster their military preparedness. I'll be right back. with special guests. Get tickets Thursday, May 7th at Olivia Rodrigo.com. USAA 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%.

Tap the banner to learn more and get a quote at usa.com slash bundle. Restrictions apply. Kayak gets my flight, hotel, and rental car right, so I can tune out travel advice that's just plain wrong. Bro, Skycoin, way better than points. Never fly during a Scorpio full moon. Just tell the manager you'll sue. Instant room upgrade.

Stop taking bad travel advice. Start comparing hundreds of sites with kayak and get your trip right. Kayak, got that right. Welcome back to the afternoon bulletin. I wanted to provide an update on the territorial dispute in South America between Venezuela and Guyana. As listeners of the PDB will remember, tensions have been building ever since Venezuela voted to annex a large portion of neighbor in Guyana in the beginning of December. Guiana's government revealed Wednesday that they're seeking assistance from the U.S. to improve their defense capabilities amid concerns about Venezuela's future plans regarding the oil-rich Eskibo region of Guyana. Eskibo is a massive territory. It makes up two-thirds of Guiana's entire territory.

The announcement came on the heels of two days of talks between top Guyanese officials and Daniel Erickson, the U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Western Hemisphere. As the talks wrapped up late Tuesday, Erickson said the U.S. would be helping Guiana create a more organized, cohesive, and better-equipped military in the months ahead. Erickson did not elaborate on what the details of the arrangement would look like, but noted that security forces and specialized training teams that have already been working with Giana's military will continue to do so throughout 2024. Following the talks, Erickson told reporters, quote, one thing of great interest to us is ensuring that as Giana looks to increase its defense capacities, it does so through a plan that is strategic, nested in its overall defense institutions, and sustainable over time." Erickson added,

we do recognize that Guiana is at a turning point in terms of its own economic development, in terms of the regional role that it is capable of playing, and so we want to make sure that our defense relationship with Guiana continues to meet the times as the situation in Guyana continues to evolve. While he avoided directly referring to the situation with Venezuela in his remarks to the press, Erickson appeared to be alluding to the threat that the Moldermanent

Euro regime poses to Guiana. Hostilities between Venezuela and Guiana eased somewhat following a face-to-face meeting between the two countries' leaders on December 14th. However, the situation later intensified again as Venezuela deployed nearly 6,000 military personnel on December 28th for defensive exercises in response to an approaching British warship. British officials had sent the warship in a show of diplomatic support for their South American ally and former cons. colony. Still, both nations have pledged to keep the situation peaceful, saying in a joint statement in December that they will not threaten or use force against one another in any circumstances. They also agreed to form a joint commission that will deliver a report to address solutions

to the dispute in roughly three months. Venezuela and President Maduro and Guyanin President Irfan Ali are set to meet again in Brazil when the joint commission finishes their work. And that, my friends, is the PDB afternoon bulletin for Thursday, 11 January. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at PDB at thefirsttv.com. I'm Mike Baker. I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed. Stay safe. Stay cool.