The President's Daily Brief - PDB Afternoon Bulletin | January 16th, 2024: Iran's Ballistic Missile Attack & Trump Takes Iowa Caucus

Episode Date: January 16, 2024

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin:     Iran launched ballistic missile strikes into Iraq and Syria on Monday, targeting what they referred to as Israel’s "spy headquarters." We’ll discuss the fallout and what this means for the widening regional conflict. We’ll break down the results of last night’s Iowa caucus, which saw former President Donald Trump defeat his Republican rivals in a landslide. 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

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See you on the roof. This podcast is sponsored by Blackout Coffee. Get your day started off right with a great cup of American-made Blackout Coffee, family-owned, premium coffee fresh-roasted, and shipped out within 48 hours of roasting. Go to blackout coffee.com, promo code PDB for 20% off your first purchase. It's Tuesday, January 16th. Welcome to the PDB afternoon bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage.

Let's get briefed. First, the already explosive situation, in the Middle East continues to deteriorate as Iran launches strikes into Iraq and Syria. We'll discuss the fallout and what this means for the widening regional conflict. Also, we'll break down the results of last night's Iowa caucus, which saw former President Trump defeat his Republican rivals by a historic margin. But first, our afternoon spotlight. We'll begin in Iraq, where Iran escalated the widening Israel,

Hamas conflict by launching a barrage of missiles at what the Iranian regime referred to as Israel's spy headquarters in Iraq's Kurdistan region. Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, the IRGC, took credit for the ballistic missile strikes on Monday evening against what they called anti-Iranian terrorist groups. The targets were in the city of Erbil, the capital of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region of Iraq. The IRGC also said they, quote, fired a number of ballistic missiles in Syria and destroyed the perpetrators of terrorist operations, and there they're referring to the Islamic State or ISIS. Iranian officials said it was a dual revenge strike aimed at both Israel and ISIS. Now, ISIS recently took credit for a suicide bombing in Iran's southeastern Kermon city that killed 86 people and left scores injured during a memorial service for slain IRGC commander Kassem Soleimani.

Despite ISIS's admitted involvement in that suicide bombing, Iranian leaders have continued to baselessly imply Israel had a role in the attack, vowing retaliation. They've also repeatedly accused Israel of committing war crimes in Gaza. In a statement, the IRGC said, quote, In response to the recent atrocities of the Zionist regime, causing the killing of commanders of the guards and the acts, axis of resistance, one of the main Mossad espionage headquarters in Iraq's Kurdistan region was destroyed

with ballistic missiles. They continued by saying we assure our nation that the guard's offensive operations will continue until avenging the last drops of martyr's blood, end quote. Now, officials in Kurdistan were quick to note that there are no Israeli bases or operations in their region. The strike in Iraqi Kurdistan reportedly hit near the U.S. consulate in her though U.S. officials said American personnel and facilities were not targeted. Officials for the Kurdistan Region Security Council said that the strike killed at least four civilians and wounded six others. A statement from the U.S. State Department Monday night said, quote, The United States strongly condemns Iran's attacks in Urbiel today and offers condolences to the families of those who were killed.

We oppose Iran's reckless missile strikes which undermine Iraq's stability. end quote. While Iran's IRGC is claiming the strikes successfully eliminated the purported Mossad base, the reality on the ground suggests otherwise. A White House spokesperson said initial indications are that this was a reckless and imprecise set of strikes. Now, Peshra Dizawi, a multimillionaire Kurdish businessman, appears to have been one of the fatalities, along with members of his family, after one of the missiles hit his home, according to Iraqi security officials. He reportedly had close ties to Kurdistan's ruling Barzani clan.

Another rocket reportedly fell in the home of a senior Kurdish intelligence official, while another reportedly hit a Kurdish intelligence center, according to our Reuters' report. Iraqi Kurdish Prime Minister, Masroo Bhazani, issued a statement Monday night condemning the attack and calling it a crime against the Kurdish people. The strike promises to inflame an all of the war. already volatile situation in the Middle East, and it also threatens to cause a widening fissure between Iran and Iraq. Iraq National Security Advisor Kassim al-Araji condemned the strike,

saying that he was, quote, astonished by what happened because the Iraqi government was not informed. Now, adding to the complexity, it's reported that one or more of the Iran-backed militias that operate in Iraq and loosely form part of the overall Iraq security apparatus. was involved in the planning or execution of the missile strikes. The Iraq National Security Advisor also addressed Iranian claims regarding the supposed Mossad base, saying, to respond to the claim that there is a Mossad headquarters, we visited the targeted place and toward every corner of the house, and everything indicates that it is a family home belonging to an Iraqi businessman from Erbil. Iraq has since recalled their

ambassador to Iran in protest and promised to take all legal steps to address the unprovoked strikes within its borders. The Kurdistan Region Security Council said in the statement, the Revolutionary Guard said that the attack targeted several sites of Iranian opposition groups. Unfortunately, they always use baseless excuses to attack or bill. Coming up after the break, we'll break down the results of last night's Iowa caucus and what it means for the GOP presidential field. I'll be right back. How many discounts does USAA auto insurance offer?

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garnering the support of 51% of caucus goers. This 30-point victory is an unprecedented margin for the contest, surpassing the previous record of 12.8 percentage points set by Bob Dole in 1988. As for Trump's rivals, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis came in second with 21 percent and former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley close behind at 19%. Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy finished in a distant four, claiming just under 8% of the total vote. Now, after his disappointing showing, Ramoswamy dropped out of the race on Monday night and promptly

endorsed President Trump. Also, just today, the only other candidate in the field, former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, also announced that he is dropping out of the race. In a significant turnout development, approximately 110,000 Republicans participated in Monday's Iowa caucuses. This figure, according to preliminary results from the state Republican Party, is on track to be the lowest level of GOP turnout since 2000. It's a stark contrast to the record high of 187,000 Republicans who turned out to caucus in 2016. Now, whether the low turnout is due to the extreme weather that Iowa is currently facing, or it's due to a lack of enthusiasm for

the candidates, well, that's a matter for debate. The three remaining candidates are now moving on to New Hampshire, with the state's Republicans set to choose their nominee next Tuesday. Polls in New Hampshire show a tighter race. The latest polls show Trump holding a single-digit lead over Nikki Haley, with Ronda Santis trailing in a distant third. New Hampshire has a decidedly different voter makeup than Iowa, with a larger number of Republicans identifying as moderate, and those voters are likely to fall into Haley's camp, which explains the tighter poll numbers. And that, my friends, is the PDB afternoon bulletin for Tuesday, 16 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.