The President's Daily Brief - September 25th, 2026: China’s Secret Lifeline to Iran’s War Effort Exposed & Trump-Xi Summit

Episode Date: September 25, 2026

In this episode of The PDB Description:• New reporting reveals the scale of China’s support for Iran’s war effort, including drone and missile components, satellite imagery, and financial assistance helping Tehran sustain its military operations.• President Xi Jinping is in Washington for talks with President Trump, with Taiwan, trade, and the future of U.S.-China relations on the agenda as Beijing’s support for Iran faces growing scrutiny.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/@presidentsdailybriefBubs Natural: Live Better Longer with BUBS Naturals. For A limited time get 20% Off your entire order with code PDB at https://Bubsnaturals.comHexClad: Find your forever cookware @hexclad and get 10% off at https://hexclad.com/PDB#hexcladpartnerTax Relief Advocates: End your tax nightmare today by visiting us online at https://TRA.com or call 800-583-6515

It's Friday, the 25th of September. Welcome to the president's daily brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. And yes, still on the road, coming to you from, well, a hotel room somewhere. And look at the suit. Check out Mr. businessman, as David Burns sings. All right, let's get briefed. First up, U.S. and Iranian negotiators are indirectly, through mediators, discussing a phased deal. They could reopen the street of Hormuz. and end Washington's blockade of Iran. It seems like we've heard that story before. I'll have the details. Later in the show, Yemen's government forces

claim that they've repelled the latest Houthi offensive, while Saudi Arabia says it intercepted six ballistic missiles aimed at Saudi targets, including an important red sea port. Plus, more suspected Russian sabotage in Europe. This time, after Poland says a fire at a Starlink station supporting Ukraine's military was deliberately set. And in today's back of the brief, the Pentagon is trying to recover F-35 fighter jet parts that were accidentally diverted to Hong Kong and seized by Chinese authorities. Ah, has anyone seen my F-35 parts? I ordered them like a week ago. All right,

first, today's afternoon spotlight. After nearly seven months of war, the U.S. and Iran may finally be discussing a deal that could begin bringing the conflict to an end. Tehran would reopen the Strait of Qomuz, and Washington would lift its blockade of Iranian ports. According to Reuters, negotiators in New York are exploring a phased arrangement built around those two pressure points. Iran would allow commercial shipping to move through Qomuz again, while the U.S. would begin easing the blockade that has choked off Iranian oil exports and put severe pressure on the regime's economy. Of course, the talks are still preliminary,

and of course, we've seen plenty of false starts in supposed negotiations over the past several months. Now, the biggest complication is that the same leverage that brought both sides back to the table, or close to the table, is also what neither side wants to give up first. For Iran, the Strait of Khomew remains one of its most powerful weapons, closing the waterway, has allowed Tehran to put pressure not just on the U.S., but on global oil markets and America's allies in the Gulf.

For Washington, the blockade of Iranian ports has become its strongest economic weapon against Iran. We've spent weeks documenting what that pressure has done. Iranian oil exports have been squeezed, overland alternatives have run into bottlenecks, and Washington has continued adding sanctions aimed at cutting Tehran off from additional sources of revenue and trade. Now, for the first time, those two pieces are really. reportedly being discussed together as part of a potential deal. A senior Iranian official told Reuters that one possible first step would be relatively straightforward, reopen Homoos, lift the blockade, and potentially give Iran access to some of its frozen assets. After that, the two sides

could move on theoretically to harder issues in later stages. Now that's the theory. So the U.S. gets the straight back to what it was prior to the conflict, while the Iranian regime remains firmly in control, gets economic relief, and potential access to its frozen assets. I'm sure there's a win in there somewhere for the U.S. administration, but it's a bit hard to see. Tehran had been pushing for ships using the Strait of Hormuz to pay transit fees, something that Gulf states rejected. Now, according to regional sources cited by Reuters, Iran may be willing to move that demand out of the main agreement and into a side arrangement instead, because getting the blockade lifted appears to have become the more urgent priority. That does not mean that Tehran is giving up its broader claims over the

strait. Iran still wants to preserve what it describes as administrative control over the Strait of Hormuz, while Gulf states remain strongly opposed, of course, to any arrangement. That would allow the regime to turn the waterway into a permanent instrument of pressure. But the fact that Iran may be willing to possibly defer one of its demands is in itself notable. It suggests that, at least in part, perhaps, the economic pressure is beginning to shape the negotiations. Or, conversely, Iran believes that they have dragged this conflict out long enough that they can now extract some concessions from the U.S. The regime still appears to believe that it's negotiating for a position of strength, despite the undeniable pressure that its economy is under. The White House, as it has on numerous occasions,

is saying that Iran is desperate for a deal, that President Trump holds the stronger hand, and that the blockade has helped drive the Iranian economy toward collapse. That is the administration's assessment. Again, the Iranian regime believes that it's the other way around, that the Trump administration is keen for a deal to get this conflict resolved and off the radar ahead of the upcoming midterm elections. Former U.S. negotiator Dennis Ross told Reuters that both sides may actually have more incentive to make progress before the election. For Trump, reopening Hormuz could help contain politically sensitive gasoline prices and reduce uncertainty in the Middle East. For Iran, the calculation may be that Trump has more incentive to make a deal now than he might after the

election. After the midterms, of course, depending on the outcome, that could change. Trump may feel less political pressure to compromise and more freedom to increase sanctions or resume military action. So the election may not be a deadline for an agreement, but it could be a deadline for the current balance of incentives. Then, of course, there's the caveat that if the Republicans do not do well in the midterm elections, and Trump loses the House and possibly the Senate, that could be exactly what the Iranian regime is calculating. Now, despite the diplomacy, Tehran is making clear that it's preparing for the possibility the talks fail. One senior Iranian official told Reuters, quote, our fingers are on the trigger, and said the chances of diplomacy succeeding remain very low

if Washington maintains what Tehran considers excessive demands. Now, just to clarify, you probably shouldn't put more than one finger on the trigger, and it's just a safety message to the Iranian regime. Meanwhile, the Gulf states are caught in the middle. They want the Strait of Hormuz reopened and the fighting brought under control, but they also reject the idea that Iran should gain lasting control over who can move through the strait. That leaves negotiators with a fairly simple problem to describe and a very difficult one to solve. Iran doesn't want to reopen Hormuz until it gets meaningful economic relief. Washington does not want to lift the blockade until it knows that commercial shipping will remain safe, and neither side, of course, wants to surrender its

strongest bargaining chip first. All right, coming up next, Yemen's government says it repelled another Houthi offensive, and Poland investigates suspect and sabotage at a Starlink station that's supporting Ukraine. I'll be right back. Hey, Mike Baker here. Now, if you're like me, you appreciate products that are easy to work into everyday life, right, into your daily routine. And that's why you'll love to hear about I Restore. The I Restore Elite combines 300 lasers with 200 LEDs to support thicker, healthier-looking hair. And it's very simple to use. You can wear it, while working, watching TV, or relaxing, so it doesn't require a major time commitment. And the Illumina Face Mask by I Restore is designed to make skincare just as convenient.

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And when you shop with iristore, remember to let them know that the PDB sent you. Welcome back to the PDB. Yemen's Saudi-backed government says its forces have repelled the latest Houthi offensive, stopping an overnight push toward a critical supply route, connecting the southern city of Aden with Taiz. The fighting centered around Hachad al-Avd, a steep mountain pass that has become increasingly increasingly important as the Houthis try to expand beyond the Red Sea coastline that they seized earlier this month. The road is a lifeline for government forces and civilians in Taiz,

carrying supplies north from Aden and providing one of the few remaining routes out of the area. So if the Houthis were able to seize portions of that road, well, they could further tighten their grip around Taiz and put additional pressure on Yemen's internationally recognized government, which, of course, has struggled to regain its footing since losing the western coast. Now, we should note that the details are coming from the Saudi-backed side, and Reuters has not independently verified the battlefield claims. But if they hold, it would represent one of the first meaningful setbacks for the Houthis

since their rapid advance along the Red Sea coast nearly two weeks ago. And while that fighting was unfolding inside Yemen, the Houthis were also launching another round of attacks against Saudi Arabia. The Saudi-led coalition says air defense has intercepted six ballistic missiles on Thursday, aimed toward the southern province of Taif and the Yanbu area on the Red Sea. At this point, there are no confirmed reports of casualties or significant damage. But the target around Yanbu is particularly important. Yanbu is home to major Saudi oil infrastructure

and serves as one of the kingdom's most important alternatives for exporting crude when traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is disrupted. Saudi Arabia has been working to increase the amount of oil moving west through its east-west pipeline toward Yanbu. That pipeline was shut down earlier this month, following drone attacks that Riyadh blamed on an Iranian-backed Iraqi militia. So just as Saudi Arabia prepared to be getting that route back online, the Houthis once again put the Yanbu region in their sights. And there was another interesting development during that attack. Greek security officials told Reuters that a Patriot Air Defense battery, operated by Greek military personnel in Saudi Arabia,

shot down a ballistic missile and a drone in the wider Yonbu region. Greece has had that U.S. made Patriot battery deployed in Saudi Arabia since 2021 to help protect the kingdom's energy infrastructure. This was reportedly the fifth time that the Greek-operated system has been used in combat since the U.S.-Iran war began back in February, another example of how this conflict has steadily pulled America's allies into the defense of Gulf infrastructure. Saudi civil defense officials also issued warnings covering a wide area, including Jeddah, Mecca, Taif, and Yanbu. Authorities issued a warning for Tabuk in northwestern Saudi Arabia,

something Reuters notes had not happened previously during this latest escalation. The Houthis, meanwhile, claimed a separate attack farther south against military sites in Jazean province, saying they used dozens of ballistic missiles and drones against command centers, weapons, and missile launch sites. Saudi Arabia has not confirmed that attack. So inside Yemen, government forces are trying to stop the Khutis from turning their rapid coastal gains into an even broader offensive. And across the border, the Khutis are continuing to use missiles and drones to pressure

Saudi Arabia directly, particularly the infrastructure that Riyadh needs to keep oil moving while the Strait of Khomews remains under threat. All right. Turning to Europe, and specifically, Russia's hybrid campaign again, against Europe, a Polish government minister says someone set fire to a Starlink station in an attempt to disrupt Internet access used by Ukraine, including its military. The fire broke out Wednesday evening at the station in central Poland, and the Polish Deputy Prime Minister says the flames engulf both the power system and backup generator. While it's not conclusive, the Deputy Prime Minister says, quote, many signs suggest this aligns

with Russia's new doctrine of attack, end quote, but authorities have not publicly presented evidence tying Moscow to this particular attack. He's much firmer about what he believes the person responsible wanted to accomplish. He called it sabotage, saying the fire was, quote, deliberately designed to disable the station, effectively cutting off the internet connection and disrupting internet access for various institutions, including the Ukrainian military, end quote. Now the station is back online, although Ukraine is not publicly said whether it lost service while the facility was down. Echoing warnings from Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk,

the deputy prime minister referred to it as, quote, an element of hybrid warfare. This apparent sabotage does matter a great deal given just how much Ukraine has come to rely on Starlink since Russia launched its full-scale invasion. Elon Musk activated the satellite internet service after Kiev asked for help in the first days of the war. Poland reportedly pays for Ukraine subscription.

Now, Warsaw has been watching for threat. like this for years. Since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Poland and other European governments have investigated fires, cyber attacks, and attempted sabotage, with Western officials attributing some of those incidents to Russian intelligence or its proxies. Russia has repeatedly denied a carrying out sabotage inside NATO countries, which of course is a shocking surprise. This is why officials keep referring to Russia's hybrid warfare. An operation can damage infrastructure or interfere with aid to Ukraine without looking like an open military attack, and the uncertainty over who carried it out makes a response much harder to agree on.

You may remember our coverage of Germany blaming Russia for an attempted drone attack at Leipzig Hala Airport, while European Union members call for new sanctions in response to that incident. And then on Thursday, Denmark's military intelligence service warned that Russia is likely to intensify its hybrid campaign against NATO and the West in the coming news. months. It expects more frequent attacks with, quote, greater consequences for the targeted countries than in the past, end quote. The Danish assessment says Russia has increasingly moved beyond trying to frighten Europeans or weaken public support for Ukraine. It's also trying to stop that support from reaching Keev, including through sabotage, targeting defense companies and railway transport.

Denmark also raised a separate possibility that goes beyond sabotage. Its intelligence service sees, quote, a low but growing risk that Russia could launch a limited military attack against one or more NATO countries bordering Russia, potentially in the coming months. It calls such an attack a desperate move, and with that in mind, you ask what might such an attack look like? Well, Denmark's intelligence chief described isolated drone or missile strikes against infrastructure supporting Ukraine. Russia might then claim a weapon landed in NATO territory by accident, or stage a false flag attack with the Ukrainian-made drones to make Kiev appear responsible. Danish intelligence also raised the possibility of sending a small number of troops into a NATO border area, potentially under the

pretext of protecting Russian minorities. As you can imagine, the Russian embassy in Denmark rejects the assessment, saying there's no credible evidence behind the accusations and accusing Western governments of driving up tensions over Ukraine, which of course Russia invaded, thereby driving up tensions. All right, coming up in the back of the brief, F-35 parts meant for the U.S. took an unexpected detour to Hong Kong and our now-in-Chinese hands. Excuse me, we'd like our F-35 parts back? More on that when we come back. Hey, Mike Baker here. Now, we've all heard those radio ads, right, about the IRS, the ones that tell you to be afraid, be very afraid. And then they try to frighten you into calling. Well, tax relief advocates, TRA is different.

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In today's back of the brief, I want to talk about an embarrassing security problem involving one of America's most advanced fighter jets. The Pentagon is trying to recover parts from an F-35 that somehow wound up in the hands of the Chinese government back in May. And four months later, no government body in the U.S. or abroad has publicly explained how they got there. And most importantly, China still hasn't returned them. Well, they're probably still trying to calculate the postage.

The parts came from an Australian military F-35. American shipping giant UPS was taking them back to the U.S. in late May, where they were supposed to be inspected and either repaired or disposed of. Obviously, this wasn't your average package. It gets lost in the mail. Inside were a cockpit canopy and a weapons bay door from an F-35. Now, it's even more than just highly sensitive components there. People briefed on the incident told Bloomberg that both are coated with material

that helps keep the F-35 off of enemy radar. So picture the route. The shipment leaves Australia, stops in South Korea, and should be on its way to the U.S. Instead, it turns up in Hong Kong. And we still don't know why. Was someone deliberately steering it there, or was this just a colossal shipping mistake?

Neither the Pentagon nor Australian defense officials have answered that publicly. There's also no reported evidence that China arranged the diversion. But Beijing didn't have to arrange it to benefit from what happened. Chinese authorities took possession of the parts, and months later, they still haven't returned them. Now, I want to point out that Lockheed Martin calls the parts unserviceable and says they pose a low risk of exploitation. Now, that may be their assessment,

but it still doesn't excuse this as a routine shipping problem. The F-35 Joint Program Office says it is, quote, actively working with U.S. authorities and industry partners to retrieve those components, end quote. It's also investigating the incident and looking at safeguards to prevent it from happening again. Well, that's not a bad idea. Australia is also examining what happened on its end. President Xi Jinping is currently in Washington for meetings with President Trump. Maybe he knows how it all came about. There's no indication, though, that the missing F-35 components will be on the agenda for the summit. And that, my friends, is the president's daily brief for Friday, the 24th of September. Now, if you have any questions or comments, and I hope you do, just reach out to me at PDB at thefirsttv.com.

And finally, it being Friday in all, a brand new episode of the PDB Situation Report is set to beam into your homes at 10 p.m. this evening on the first TV. Terrific guests, great analysis of key world developments, and no empty calories. You can also catch it in past episodes on our YouTube channel. Just wander on over to YouTube and search up at President's Daily Brief, and of course on podcast platforms everywhere. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back later today with the PDB afternoon bulletin. Until then, stay informed.

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