The President's Daily Brief - PDB Afternoon Bulletin | July 20th, 2026: Iran's Government Is Tearing Itself Apart & China's Maritime Escalation

Episode Date: July 20, 2026

In this episode of The PDB Description: Iran's government is facing a growing internal revolt as hardliners accuse President Masoud Pezeshkian of betraying the Islamic Republic, fueling fears that Tehran's own political infighting could derail any hopes for a lasting ceasefire with the United States. Taiwan is sounding the alarm after a sharp increase in Chinese coast guard and research vessels operating around the island, raising new concerns that Beijing may be expanding its pressure campaign into the Pacific. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President’s Daily Brief by visiting https://PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief Poncho Outdoors: Gear up for summer with Poncho and grab $10 off plus free shipping at https://ponchooutdoors.com/PDB Acre Gold: Turn your pocket change into physical 24-karat gold and enter to win a limited-edition Hot Wheels gold bar at https://GetAcreGold.com/PDB HomeServe: Protect your home systems from expensive repairs with https://HomeServe.com/dailybriefand get 50% off your first year of coverage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's Monday, the 20th 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, Iran's government is reportedly facing a growing internal revolt as hardliners accused President Mossud Boschkin of betraying the Islamic Republic. The hardliners are reportedly demanding a return to war with the United States. But to be honest, if you don't call the current situation a war, I'm not sure what you're going to be. call it. Later in the show, Taiwan is sounding the alarm after a surge in Chinese coast guard and research vessels around the island raises new concerns about Beijing's ambitions in the Pacific. But first, today's afternoon spotlight. The war with Iran has claimed another American life. According to reports, a U.S. service member was killed Saturday in northern Iraq during a controlled detonation involving a down-der- Iranian attack drone. According to U.S. Central Command, the service member was helping dispose of unexploded ordinance recovered from the drone. A second American serviceman was wounded in the incident and is now receiving medical treatment. The Pentagon has not yet

publicly identified either of the troops involved. The death adds to what has already been one of the deadliest weeks for American forces since the war began. As we reported this morning, two other U.S. service members were killed Friday while defending an American position in Jordan from an Iranian missile and drone attack. And while American troops, continue facing the consequences of Iran's campaign across the region, another conflict is supposedly unfolding inside the regime, although reporting is somewhat thin when it comes to the machinations and goings on inside the Iranian leadership. According to new reporting, though, from CNN, Iran's most radical factions are now openly turning against President Massoud Bushechian

and other senior officials, accusing them of betraying the Islamic Republic by negotiating with the Trump administration. The anger erupted into public view during the long-delayed funeral for former Supreme Leader Ali Khomeini, who was killed, of course, in the opening American and Israeli strikes against Iran back in February. As Pasechian walked alongside Hamini's coffin, some of the black-clad mourners surrounding him began chanting, quote, death to the compromiser. Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghi received an even more violent reception. Arraqqi helped negotiate the agreement, of course, with Washington that briefly, sort of reopened the strait of Hormuz and provided Iran with limited sanctions relief. Now, as an aside,

it's currently estimated that during the easing of the U.S. blockade and sanctions, Iran was able to move some $6 billion dollars worth of oil, and importantly, were able to free up some of their storage capacity. Now, when Arachi appeared at the funeral, a mob reportedly belted him with rocks while chanting that he was a traitor and a sellout. He was ultimately forced to flee the gathering. The confrontation reflects a theory that's been spreading among Iran's ultra hardliners. Of course, it's a theory possibly being spread by the hardliners, that the political leadership is using the war and the continued disappearance of Iran's new supreme leader to carry out what they describe as a political coup.

At the center of the mystery, of course, is Moshaba Khomeini, the late Supreme Leader's son and successor. Moshaba has remained entirely hidden from public view. He did not appear at his father's funeral, has not addressed the Iranian people directly and has not visibly asserted his authority over the officials negotiating and fighting in his name. That absence has left President Poseshkin, foreign minister of Basaraggi, and parliament speaker Mohamed Bakr Ghalibov as most visible faces of Iran's post-war leadership. However, it is debatable as to how much influence they actually

exert, particularly over the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the IRGC leadership. Nonetheless, Iran's most radical lawmakers may believe that those men, the political leaders, are attempting to consolidate power while sidelining both the Supreme Leader and the Parliament. One hard-line legislator recently asked his supporters, quote, is a coup on the way. Others claim the government is elevating Iran's Supreme National Security Council, which has taken control over some of the country's most sensitive wartime decisions while weakening the authority of the clerical leadership. Now, all evidence to date points to that being true

that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has assumed control over decision-making. IRGC commanders are key members of the Security Council and typically hold the key positions on that council. And as an indication of the IRC's grip on the regime, some reporting indicates that the written statements that have been attributed to Mostabah Khomeini have actually been written by RRGC leadership. Now, there's no clear evidence that Posseschian or his allies are attempting to overthrow

Khomey, nor is there any evidence that suggests they could somehow supplant the IRGC leadership. Posseschian and his allies have, according to a number of reports, been marginalized during the course of the conflict. In fact, if I was a cynical person, I would attribute the coup rumors to an IRGC disinformation campaign designed to further cement the IRGC's position. But that would just be me being cynical. The hardliners believe the agreement with Washington amounted to surrender. Instead of negotiating sanctions relief, they want Iran to avenge Ali Khamuni's death and resume an unrestricted war against the U.S. and Israel. Some are now threatening Iranian officials directly. During a recent ceremony, a regime-linked religious singer warned President Poschian, quote,

If the leader's conditions are not fulfilled, then it will be us, the blade, and your throat. He then promised to bring hell upon the president. The public death threat was widely criticized inside Iran, but the man who made it is not known to have faced any legal consequences. Other hardliners are openly proposing attacks on American troops. Former Iranian foreign minister Manushear Motaki suggested during a televised interview that Iranian forces should raid a U.S. base somewhere in the region, capture 100 American service members, and bring them back to Iran.

The hardliners occupy influential positions throughout the Islamic Republic, including Parliament, the security establishment, and Iran's state-controlled media. They've also been emboldened by Moushtaba Khomeini's disappearance, the growing power of the Revolutionary Guard Corps, and the massive crowds that attended Moshaba's father's funeral demanding revenge. Now, that creates a dangerous problem for Washington. Even if President Beshegian and Iran's negotiators want another ceasefire or whatever we're calling that agreement, it is increasingly unclear whether they possess the political authority, much less the physical power, to enforce one. All right, coming up next, China is dramatically increasing its maritime activity around Taiwan,

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PDB at checkout. That's fastgrowing trees.com code PDB. Now is the perfect time to plant and use code PDB to save today. Offer is valid for a limited time, terms and conditions may apply. Welcome back to the PDB afternoon bulletin. As we've discussed previously here on the PDB, China's Coast Guard has long been one of Beijing's go-to tools for pressuring Taiwan and advancing its territorial claims. That concern is being fueled by new data from Taiwan's Coast Guard. Officials say that a sharp increase in Chinese government

vessels operating around the self-governed Democratic island suggests Beijing may already be practicing cutting off Taiwan's Pacific supply routes, the sea lanes that would be essential for bringing in military reinforcements and supplies from the U.S. during a crisis. And the evidence of begins with the numbers. Taiwan recorded 55 Chinese government vessels around the island in June, including Coast Guard and research ships. Now, that's an 83% increase from May and a 120% jump compared to the same time last year. The figure excludes Taiwan-controlled islands just off China's coast, meaning the increase reflects activity around Taiwan itself, not isolated hotspots closer to the mainland. It's important understand that Chinese ships operating around Taiwan,

are nothing new, of course. Beijing's military and Coast Guard have maintained a near-constant presence around the island for years. It's part of a broader campaign to pressure Tai Bay and reinforce China's territorial claims. What's changing is who's taking the lead. Rather than relying primarily on naval warships, Beijing is increasingly putting its Coast Guard vessels at the forefront. As PDB listeners know, this has become an increasingly important feature of Beijing's strategy around Taiwan and throughout the South China Sea. That's significant because Coast Guard vessels occupy a legal and political gray zone. They allow Beijing to pressure Taiwan, challenge its control of surrounding waters,

and steadily expand its presence without creating the same immediate appearance of a military escalation that deploying naval warships often would. Taipei has a name for the strategy. They call it, quote, lawfare. The idea is relatively straightforward, rather than trying to seize territory outright. China uses Coast Guard patrols, legal claims, and administrative actions to gradually create the appearance that it has legal authority over waters that Taiwan says remain entirely outside Beijing's jurisdiction. Of course, Beijing considers the democratically governed island part of its

territory and rejects Taiwan's sovereignty. Officials in Taipei say they're now seeing signs that China's campaign is expanding. A senior Taiwanese official who spoke to Reuters on the condition of anonymity described the recent increase in activity as a, quote, expansion of Beijing's operations and an effort to gradually change the status quo around the island. Taiwan says Chinese Coast Guard ships are appearing off the island's eastern Pacific-facing coastline. Unlike Taiwan's western coast, which, of course, faces mainland China, the Pacific side serves as the island's primary maritime shipping lifeline. If China ever attempted to blockade Taiwan, controlling those sea lanes, would be one of the most important objectives.

A senior Coast Guard official said that Taiwan has already developed contingency plans, telling Reuters, quote, if the situation escalates to a blockade, we have plans to work with the Navy to jointly protect Taiwan's lifeline sea routes, end quote. Now, those preparations aren't just sitting on paper. The official said Taiwan has anticipated this scenario, quote, not only through tabletop exercises, but also through live drills. Tai Bay says Chinese Coast Guard vessels. have increasingly begun radio and commercial ships, asking where they entered port and where they're

headed, even though Beijing has no recognized legal authority over international shipping in those waters. So far, no commercial ships have altered course, and Taiwan has instructed merchant vessels to ignore the Chinese broadcasts and continue normal navigation. But the latest Chinese presence around Taiwan has Taipei believing that Beijing isn't simply demonstrating what a blockade might look like. Taipei fears that China is simply rehearsing for that eventuality. All right, that, my friends, is the PDB afternoon bulletin from Monday, the 20th of July. Now, if you have any questions, and I hope you do, just reach out to me at PDB at thefirsttv.com. You know what we do with your questions and comments?

Once a month, we collect a bunch of them. We smush them into one episode that we call Ask Me Anything, and then we launch that to our premium subscribers. Now, to listen to the show ad-free, just become a premium member of the president's daily brief by visiting PDB Premium.com. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed. Stay safe. Stay cool. Hey, Mike Baker here with an important message for homeowners. Now, think about the last time one of your home systems or appliances failed you, right? A pipe burst or your AC quit during a heat wave. Remember that sudden panic, scrambling for a plumber or an electrician or a repairman? Yeah, not a happy memory. Now, these home issues and break

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