The President's Daily Brief - PDB Afternoon Bulletin | January 18th, 2024: Pakistan Retaliates Against Iran & US Launches Fourth Wave Of Strikes On Houthis

Episode Date: January 18, 2024

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin:     Pakistan has retaliated against Iran following their attack on Tuesday, carrying out airstrikes early on Thursday against insurgents inside Iran��s borders. The U.S. has launched its fourth wave of strikes on Houthi militants in Yemen, which comes on the heels of the Biden administration announcing that the Houthis would once again be designated a terror organization. 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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It's Thursday, January 18th. Welcome to the PDB afternoon bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. First, Pakistan has retaliated against Iran following their attack on Tuesday, carrying out air strikes early on Thursday against insurgents inside Iran's borders. Also, the U.S. has launched its fourth wave of strikes on Houthi militants in Yemen, which comes on the heels of the Biden administration, announcing that the Houthis would once again be designated

a terror organization under the label of specially designated global terrorists. But first, our afternoon spotlight. We'll begin in the Middle East, where tensions continue to rise as now Pakistan retaliates against Iran for a missile strike on Tuesday that reportedly killed two children and injured three others. Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced Thursday that they had carried out a series of air strikes inside Iran against insurgents in the border province of Sistan Balukistan. Officials said the strike came after receiving intelligence of impending large-scale terrorist activity,

according to a report by the Wall Street Journal. Pakistani military officials said the strikes, which used aircraft and missiles to target Pakistani separatist bases in the region, took out 20 purported terrorists. Iran claimed the strikes killed at least nine non-Iranians, including three women and four children. Pakistani security officials described the bombardment as, quote, a series of highly coordinated and specifically targeted precision military strikes against terrorist hideouts, end quote. Pakistan and Iran have long accused each other of harboring militant groups within their respective borders. A statement from Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said a number of terrorists were killed during the intelligence-based operation.

This action, they said, is a manifestation of Pakistan's unflinching resolve to protect and defend its national security against all threats. Now, Pakistani officials were quick to note that their strike was a limited operation targeting their own nationals operating within Iran's borders, and this mirrors Iran's claims following their strike on Tuesday in Pakistan, which said they had only targeted Iranian nationals linked to terrorist operations. Yeah, it's complicated. We're going to bomb your country, but only in an attempt to kill our own people. Officials with Pakistan's foreign ministry stressed that they do not seek further conflict with Iran. They said, quote, Iran is a brotherly

country. We have always emphasized dialogue and cooperation in confronting common challenges, including the menace of terrorism, and will continue to endeavor to find joint solutions. Well, to be fair, a solution could probably be found if the Iranian regime wasn't the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism. But Pakistan's remarks attempt to strike a delicate diplomatic balance aimed at keeping the tit-for-tat air strikes between the two countries from escalating into a larger conflict. A disgruntled Iran condemned the Pakistani airstrikes and responded Thursday by summoning Pakistan's Charger de Ferre, and that's its most senior diplomat in Iran, to demand an explanation.

The Charger de Ferre, and providing that explanation, said, well, you bombed us, so we bombed you. That was my quote. He didn't actually say that. Iran did appear to downplay the incident, noting that the strikes didn't target Iranian citizens. Now, as we discussed yesterday on the PDB, Iran launched a missile and drone strike in Pakistan on Tuesday, targeting the group Jai'Ishal Adal, a Sunni militant group operating in Pakistan's remote western province of Balukistan, which shares a border with Iran. Pakistan recalled its ambassador from Iran following those strikes and condemned the violation of its sovereign borders. While Tehran claimed only Iranian jihadists were targeted, Pakistan said civilians had gotten caught in the carnage. In their retaliation,

Pakistan targeted ethnic Baloch insurgents, including a group called the Even Belokok Liberation Army. These groups, like the Malok militants targeted inside Pakistan by Iran, have long been at the heart of ongoing border tensions between the neighboring countries. Despite the strikes, Pakistan said it fully respects the sovereign integrity of Iran. We just decided to bomb you. Officials said the sole objective of today's act was in pursuit of Pakistan's own security and national interest, which is paramount and cannot be compromised. All right. Coming up after the break, we'll discuss the latest updates regarding Houthis in Yemen, where the U.S. has launched its fourth wave of strikes against the Iranian-backed militant group.

I'll be right back. Welcome back to the afternoon bulletin. Less than 24 hours after announcing that the Houthis would once again be designated a terror organization, the U.S. military has executed another round of missile strikes against Houthi-controlled sites in Yemen. This latest action marks the fourth such operation within a week, directly targeting the group. Originating from the Red Sea, these strikes were a response to an incident involving a U.S. owned vessel in the Gulf of Aden, which came under attack from a drone launched by Houthi forces. U.S. Central Command has confirmed that American forces targeted 14 Houthi missiles in Yemen,

poised for launch. CENTCOM stated, quote, these missiles on launch rails presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and U.S. Navy ships in the region and could have been fired at any time. This assessment prompted the U.S. forces to take defensive action to neutralize the perceived threat. Now, this latest series of retaliatory strikes was initiated just hours after the attack on the Gencoe Picardy and a bulk carrier owned by New York City-based Gencoe Shipping and Training Limited. The vessel was struck by a bomb-laden drone deployed by the Houthis. This attack is the second in recent days to target vessels with direct links to America, following previous U.S.-led strikes against

the Houthi forces. The drone strike occurred approximately 70 miles southeast of Aden, where it collided with the Gencoe Picardy, the vessel in question, as reported by the United Kingdom maritime trade operations, and that's a branch of the British Navy that monitors Middle Eastern waterways. Jenko's shipping and trading limited, has confirmed that all crew members aboard the vessel are safe and unharmed. An initial assessment, by the crew suggested the damage to the vessel is limited, and the Gencoe-Pocardi's remained stable, and, according to the company, has continued to its next port of call under its own power. Earlier this week, we reported on a similar incident involving a Houthi missile strike on the

US-Gibraltar Eagle. So far, the counter-strikes carried out by the U.S. and allies have failed to deter the Iranian-backed Houthis from attacking ships, both commercial and military in the Red Sea. And that, my friends, is the PDB afternoon bulletin for Thursday, 18 January. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at PDB at thefirsttv.com. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.