The President's Daily Brief - PDB Afternoon Bulletin | July 10th, 2026: Israel Warns Trump Of Iranian Assassination Plot & Zelensky Reveals China's Warning To Putin

Episode Date: July 10, 2026

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin:  First—For years, Iran has openly vowed to kill President Trump. But this week, those threats may have taken on a far more dangerous dimension. Israel has reportedly warned Washington that Tehran could be considering a new assassination plot. Later in the show—President Zelensky says China privately warned Vladimir Putin against using nuclear weapons. We'll examine the surprising claim—and why it doesn't appear to have changed Putin's broader war strategy. 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 Goldbelly: Impress your family and friends - get free shipping and 20% off your first order at https://GOLDBELLY.com with code PDB. Lean: Get 20% off plus free rush shipping when you go to https://TAKELEAN.com and use code PDB Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My name is Peter Parker, but I'm also Spider-Man. This July, we're faced with a threat. That can be anyone. The world may have forgotten Peter Parker. I'm just a neighbor, friendly neighbor. But he hasn't forgotten them. Sometimes Spider-Man has to do the hard thing. That's my responsibility.

Talk to Banner? I didn't know you could get that big. Spider-Man, brand-new day in theaters, July 31st. It's Friday, the 10th of July. Welcome to the PDB afternoon bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First up, for years, Iran has openly vowed to kill President Trump. But this week, those threats may have taken on renewed urgency. Israel has reportedly warned Washington that the Iranian regime could be considering a new assassination plot. I'll have the details.

Later in the show, President Zelenskyy says China privately warned Vladimir Putin against using nuclear weapons. We'll examine the surprising claim and what it may mean for Putin's broader war strategy. But first, today's afternoon spotlight. Israel has reportedly warned the U.S. that Iran may be developing a new plan to assassinate President Trump. It's an allegation that, if confirmed, would represent a dramatic escalation in the confrontation between Washington and Tehran, and would seriously throw a wrench in that whole memorandum of understanding thing. But precisely what Israel uncovered and how seriously American intelligence officials are treating it, well, that remains unclear.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Israel recently shared new intelligence with the U.S., indicating that Iranian officials were considering a new effort to kill the president. CNN later confirmed that warning through two sources familiar with the matter, with one saying it was delivered this week and concerned a specific plot. However, other officials have offered a more cautious assessment. Two U.S. officials told Israel's Channel 12 that the intelligence described broader discussions among Iranian officials about potentially assassinating Trump rather than a fully developed or active operation. CNN also reports that American intelligence agencies had not independently verified the specific Israeli warning and were not tracking that particular plot before receiving the information. President Trump also appeared to cast doubt on reports of a new assassination plot in an interview with the New York public.

on Friday, saying Israel had, quote, come up with nothing new, while adding that Iran has wanted him dead for years. So at this point, we need to draw an important distinction. There is, of course, little doubt that Iran would like to see President Trump dead. The regime has openly threatened retaliation since January of 2020, when Trump ordered the drone strike that killed Qasem Soleimani, at the time the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps's Quds force. Soleimani was one of the most powerful figures in the Islamic Republic and the architect of Iran's network of proxy forces across the Middle East. By the way, he also had a tremendous amount of blood on his hands. Iranian leaders have repeatedly vowed to avenge his death, and U.S. intelligence agencies have

long warned that current and former American officials could also be targeted. Those threats have become even more explicit since the latest war began. During funeral ceremonies for Iran's late supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamini, mourners chanted for Trump's death and displayed a banner declaring, quote, we will kill Trump. The president referenced the latest threat while speaking to reporters at the NATO summit, Nagara, on Wednesday. Trump said, quote, they want to take out the U.S. leader, me, I'm glad he cleared that up. He continued, quote, I'm on every list. I saw this morning, I'm on every single one of their lists. And so far, I guess I've been a little bit lucky, but that maybe doesn't last very long, end quote. Now, there is an important distinction between Iranian

officials discussing an assassination, considering possible options, and actively preparing to carry one out. That's exactly what U.S. intelligence agencies will now be working to determine as they evaluate and attempt to corroborate the Israeli intelligence. Complicating matters, however, several American officials have reportedly questioned whether Israel may be using the warning, at least in part, to influence President Trump's decisions about Iran. That doesn't mean the intelligence is fabricated. Countries routinely share valid intelligence, while also understanding that the information may shape the policies of an ally. Both things, of course, can be true at once. But the timing is impossible to ignore. The warning arrived as Trump weighs just how far to take

renewed American military operations against Iran, following Tehran's attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and subsequent strikes targeted U.S. military facilities across the region. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has considered. consistently favored a more aggressive campaign aimed at further weakening the Islamic Republic and preventing it from rebuilding its military and nuclear capabilities. Trump, however, has repeatedly signaled that he wants to avoid returning to full-scale war, partly because of the risks to American forces, regional stability, and the global economy. Those differences have reportedly strained the relationship between Trump and Netanyahu in recent weeks, even as the two countries

continue sharing intelligence and coordinating military operations. That said, the two leaders spoke again Thursday and agreed to maintain their tight coordination, that's according to Netanyahu's office. So from Israel's perspective, intelligence suggesting that Iran may be actively plotting to kill the American president would make an extremely powerful argument for maintaining military pressure. And all of this comes as the Trump administration continues sending seemingly contradictory signals about negotiating or diplomacy.

As we've been tracking this week on the PDB, Trump said the ceasefire with Iran was effectively over after the regime once again started attacking commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. But on Friday, while reiterating that the ceasefire is over, the president said Iran had asked to continue negotiations and that the U.S. had agreed, keeping the diplomatic process alive in some form.

Washington still appears willing to pursue a broader agreement even while using military and economic pressure to deter further Iranian attacks. But a credible assassination plot against Trump, well, that could make that already difficult balancing acts even more difficult. Coming up next, a surprising claim out of NATO. Zelensky says China warned Putin against using nuclear weapons as the war in Ukraine continued to escalate. Well, that was very nice of them, very neighborly. I'll be right back. Hey, Mike Baker here with a pro tip for everybody out. there who loves delicious food and who doesn't love delicious food. Look, here's the thing. Have you

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Learn more at VolvoCars.caps.caps slash safety. Here we go. Someone's already claiming this is our year. Someone else said that last year too. A round of James and ginger and lime arrives at the table. Smooth enough for kickoff, smooth enough for extra time. New friends pulling up a stool. Debates about whether that was a handball.

Cheers rising like a roar around the room. Because match days are about the shared moments. How did Jameson to your match day lineup? Jameson, it's what you bring. Please enjoy our products responsibly. Welcome back to the PDB afternoon bulletin. As we've been discussing throughout the week on the PDB, the war in Ukraine appears to be entering another dangerous phase.

But while Russia may be preparing to intensify the conventional war, but Ukrainian President Zelensky says China may have quietly helped prevent something even more dangerous. Speaking to reporters Thursday, Zelensky revealed that European leaders at this week's NATO summit Nakhra told him, Beijing had directly warned Moscow against using nuclear weapons in response to Ukraine's expanding long-range strikes inside Russian territory. According to Zelensky, Chinese officials delivered what he described as an ultimatum-like message to the Kremlin, that there could be, quote, no thought whatsoever of using nuclear weapons. Now, it's important to emphasize that this account comes from Zelensky, who says he learned

of China's intervention from European leaders. He also reportedly discussed the topic with President Trump, but did not elaborate on the specifics of their conversation. Beijing has not publicly confirmed the discussions, and the Kremlin has not commented on Zelensky's claim. Even so, if accurate, it would offer a rare glimpse into China's private role behind the scenes. publicly, Basing has tried to portray itself as a neutral party, while at the same time maintaining close political and very important economic ties with Moscow. But China has also consistently opposed the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine, warning throughout the conflict that such an escalation would be unacceptable. That may help explain why President Putin, despite increasingly vocal calls

from some Russian politicians to use nuclear weapons against Ukraine, has repeatedly stopped short of embracing that option. Just last month, a member of the St. Petersburg legislature publicly urged the Kremlin to launch a nuclear strike to force Kiva into accepting peace. Putin rejected the idea, yeah, that's a smart move, saying Ukraine's attacks had not caused sufficient damage to justify such a response. But while Zelensky's comments suggest China may be helping keep one of the war's most dangerous scenarios off the table, there is little indication that Putin is preparing to wrap up his overall invasion efforts. In fact, an exclusive Reuters report paints the opposite picture. According to three sources close to the Kremlin, Putin has become even more determined to

continue the war, despite President Trump's renewed push for negotiations. Two of those sources say there is now a high probability that Russia will escalate the conflict in the coming months rather than move toward a ceasefire. As we've been tracking throughout the week, Ukraine's expanding campaign of long-range drone strikes has inflicted growing costs on Russia, targeting oil refineries, porch, logistics hubs, and military infrastructure deep inside the country. But according to Reuters' sources, those attacks have not convinced Putin to negotiate. Instead, they appear to have reinforced his determination to press ahead. One source who reportedly meets regularly with the Russian president said Putin is, quote,

dug in his heels, remaining focused on capturing the rest of Ukraine's Donbass region. The same source, said Putin recently rejected suggestions from advisors that Russia consider freezing the conflict along the current front lines. That assessment is broadly consistent with Russia's recent military actions. Over the past week, Moscow has launched repeated large-scale missile and drone attacks against Ukrainian cities, while Putin has publicly argued that Ukraine's cross-border strikes require Russia to seize additional territory along the frontier to create what he calls a, quote, security zone. Now, Putin, never won for self-reflection, apparently doesn't see the irony. in Russia invading a country and then suggesting they'll need more territory in order to have a

security zone within the country that they've invaded. If Zelensky's account, though, is accurate, China may have helped discourage the most catastrophic form of escalation. That, of course, would be nuclear war. But that does not appear to have changed Putin's broader strategic objective. For now, the Kremlin still seems determined to continue the conventional war, even as President Trump pushes to revive negotiations, and Ukraine's long-range strikes bring the conflict home to more and more Russians. And that, my friends, is the PDB afternoon bulletin for Friday, the 10th of July. Now, if you have any questions or comments, and I hope you do, just reach out to me at PDP at thefirsttv.com. And to listen to the show ad-free, you can do that, it's very, very simple,

just become a premium member of the president's daily brief by visiting PDBprem.com. And if you've been paying attention, you'll know that today is Friday. And we've made it to the end of another week. And as always, your reward is a brand new episode. Oh, good. Of everyone's favorite weekend news podcast, you know which one I'm talking about, the PDB Situation Report. That's right, it's our extended weekend show.

I don't know if it's actually everyone's favorite, but according to analysts at the podcast Daily Gazetteer, eight out of ten podcast consumers rank the Situation Report as their preferred source for weekend news. stuff. In full disclosure, I just made up that stat, but it could be true. You can catch the latest episode this evening at 10 p.m. on the first TV, and as always on our YouTube channel at President's Daily Brief and podcast platforms all over podcast land. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back over the weekend with the PDB Situation Report. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool. If you want a $3,000

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