Latest / The President's Daily Brief / September 28th, 2026: Trump Rejects Iran’s Deal & Explosives Arrests Near U.S. Air Base

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September 28th, 2026: Trump Rejects Iran’s Deal & Explosives Arrests Near U.S. Air Base · The President's Daily Brief

0:12
It's Monday,
0:13
the twenty-eighth of September.
0:15
Welcome to the President's Daily Brief.
0:17
I'm Mike Baker,
0:18
your eyes and ears on the world stage,
0:20
and yes,
0:21
still on the road,
0:22
and well,
0:23
yes,
0:23
I'm still recovering from the weekend's painful
0:26
Ole Miss loss to Florida.
0:29
But to be fair,
0:30
to give them credit,
0:30
Florida played
0:31
a very fine game,
0:33
and as they say,
0:35
hotty toddy.
0:36
All right,
0:36
let's get briefed.
0:37
First up,
0:38
President Trump shuts down Iran's latest peace proposal.
0:42
Rejecting a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz as US officials say that
0:46
renewed American strikes could follow the midterm elections.
0:50
Later in the show,
0:50
British police arrest several men on
0:53
suspected terrorism charges near RAF Fairford.
0:56
That's the air base used by the US
0:59
to strike targets in Iran.
1:01
Plus,
1:02
President Trump presses Zelensky and Putin
1:04
to make a deal as Russia and Ukraine intensify their long-range strikes.
1:09
Hitting cities and infrastructure and oil facilities far from the front.
1:13
And in today's back in the brief
1:15
we revisit a tragic event
1:17
that has mostly disappeared from the headlines,
1:20
an update on the deadly floods in Nepal,
1:23
where thousands remain missing
1:25
a month after the disaster.
1:27
But first,
1:28
today's PDB spotlight.
1:30
President Trump has reportedly rejected Iran's latest proposal
1:34
to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and begin winding down the war,
1:38
apparently betting
1:39
that Washington has more leverage right now and that there's little reason
1:43
to give that leverage away.
1:45
The proposal was fairly straightforward.
1:46
Iran offered a 7 day pause in the fighting,
1:49
7 days,
1:51
along with reopening the Strait of Hormuz
1:53
and beginning broader negotiations that could possibly
1:57
sometime
1:58
include its nuclear program.
1:59
In return,
2:00
the regime wanted the US to lift its naval blockade,
2:03
ease sanctions on Iranian oil,
2:05
and unfreeze some Iranian assets.
2:08
Trump's answer.
2:09
It was no.
2:10
Speaking to reporters Saturday,
2:12
the president said he had rejected the deal
2:14
and argued that Iran was coming forward because its economy was being squeezed.
2:18
His position,
2:19
at least publicly,
2:20
is that Tehran needs an agreement more urgently than Washington does.
2:25
As we've been reporting here on the PDB,
2:27
the US blockade has sharply restricted Iran's
2:29
ability to move oil and generate revenue.
2:32
Sanctions are adding to the pressure.
2:34
Inflation is running at extraordinary levels.
2:37
The Iranian currency has fallen sharply.
2:39
Fuel prices have climbed,
2:41
and the country's broader economy has been deteriorating.
2:44
So from the administration's perspective,
2:47
the pressure campaign appears to be doing exactly what it was designed to do.
2:51
Make the cost of continuing this war
2:53
increasingly difficult for Tehran to absorb.
2:56
That helps explain why Trump may see no reason to lift the blockade
3:00
simply because Iran has offered to reopen the strait.
3:04
And there's another factor here.
3:06
Washington has spent months trying to reduce the leverage that Iran gained
3:10
by choking traffic through the strait.
3:12
The US and its partners have managed to keep
3:14
some shipping moving
3:16
despite Iranian threats,
3:17
which means the pressure for Washington to strike a deal
3:21
may not be what it was earlier in the conflict.
3:24
The Wall Street Journal reports that
3:26
President Trump has privately told aides he
3:29
believes that renewed US bombing of Iran
3:32
is likely after the November midterm elections.
3:35
Now that doesn't mean that a decision has been made.
3:38
The same reporting says that Trump remains reluctant
3:41
to launch another major combat operation
3:43
in part because Washington wants to conserve munitions
3:47
for other possible contingencies.
3:49
And at the same time talks are reportedly still continuing through mediators,
3:55
so what we're saying is not necessarily Trump abandoning diplomacy.
3:58
It looks more like an effort to keep all three options open at once
4:02
keep negotiating in some fashion,
4:04
maintain the economic squeeze,
4:06
and preserve the threat of another military campaign
4:09
if Iran refuses Washington's terms.
4:12
The other question,
4:13
and one we've raised here before on the PDB,
4:16
is who exactly has the authority in Tehran
4:19
to make those terms for a deal.
4:21
Iranian President Massoud Pazashkian
4:24
says his government is ready to negotiate,
4:26
but is he in charge?
4:28
Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi has been carrying proposals to mediators
4:31
and arguing publicly that diplomacy is the way out.
4:35
But
4:36
does Aragchi have any juice in that new regime?
4:39
But Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps,
4:41
the IRGC,
4:42
has taken on an increasingly powerful role since this war began,
4:46
and the IRGC
4:47
is sending a very different message.
4:49
According to the journal,
4:51
Iranian diplomats have acknowledged the
4:53
country's deepening economic problems and
4:55
presented several proposals for ending the war,
4:58
but the IRGC has said it's prepared for a long conflict
5:02
and is resisting new formulas for an agreement.
5:05
Not to mention,
5:06
of course,
5:06
the issue of Mushtab ur Khamenei,
5:09
the clawed reins of ayatollahs,
5:11
neither seen nor heard from
5:13
since being named the new Supreme Leader.
5:16
That leaves a basic question unanswered,
5:18
of course.
5:19
When Iran's diplomats put an offer on the table,
5:21
does it mean anything
5:23
if those diplomats aren't actually in charge?
5:25
And that uncertainty complicates Washington's calculation.
5:29
The administration may believe that enough economic pressure will
5:33
eventually force the regime to accept more favorable terms.
5:36
But if different factions inside the Iranian leadership have different
5:40
ideas about how much pain the country should absorb or
5:43
What concessions Iran can make,
5:45
then squeezing harder
5:47
does not automatically produce an agreement.
5:50
But
5:50
for now,
5:51
Trump seems willing to maintain the pressure.
5:55
All right.
5:56
Coming up next,
5:57
arrests near the British air base used by the US for strikes on Iran,
6:02
and President Trump pushes Presidents Putin and Zelensky to sit down and make a deal
6:06
while Russia and Ukraine
6:08
continue their long-range bombing campaigns.
6:11
I'll be right back.
6:14
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Welcome back to the BDB.
7:21
British counterterrorism police are investigating a
7:23
major security incident outside RAF Fairford.
7:27
That's a key air base
7:29
American bombers have been using in the war against Iran.
7:32
Now 5 men were reportedly arrested early
7:34
Sunday on suspicion of explosives offenses.
7:38
After police received reports of 3 suspicious vehicles near the base,
7:43
authorities evacuated dozens of nearby homes,
7:45
established a security cordon,
7:47
and brought in an Army explosive ordinance team
7:50
to examine the vehicles.
7:52
Footage from the scene.
7:53
Showed 3 white vans near the base with a bomb disposal robot moving around them.
7:58
Armed police blocked roads into the area.
8:01
Helicopters were overhead and roughly
8:03
30 emergency vehicles reportedly responded.
8:06
Police say the immediate situation appears to be contained,
8:09
but counterterrorism investigators are now trying to determine
8:12
exactly what the men were doing there,
8:14
what was inside those vans,
8:15
and
8:15
whether
8:16
the air base was actually their intended target.
8:20
RAF Fairfoot is one of the most important American bomber facilities in Europe.
8:24
It serves as a forward operating base for US Air Force Global Strike Command,
8:29
allowing American long-range bombers
8:31
to deploy much closer to potential targets and particularly in the Middle East.
8:37
During the war with Iran,
8:38
Britain authorized the US
8:40
to use Fairford for strikes against Iranian missile sites,
8:43
including
8:44
targets connected to attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
8:48
American B-1 bombers have operated from the base,
8:50
and
8:51
a B-1 was sitting on the flight line there Sunday
8:54
as police worked outside the perimeter.
8:57
Iran has also specifically threatened bases like RAF Fairford.
9:01
Back in July,
9:02
Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps,
9:04
the IRGC,
9:05
warned that
9:05
any foreign base used to launch attacks against Iranian territory
9:09
could be considered a legitimate target.
9:12
Britain responded at the time by saying its armed forces
9:15
were prepared to defend the country against threats at home or abroad.
9:19
So investigators are going to be
9:21
looking very closely,
9:22
of course,
9:22
at whether there is any connection between Sunday's arrest
9:25
and the broader threat environment.
9:28
But at this point,
9:29
well,
9:29
there's no public evidence tying these men to Iran.
9:32
Their identities and nationalities have not been released yet.
9:35
Police have not said whether they've
9:37
found a functioning explosive device or devices,
9:40
and they've not confirmed that
9:41
RAF Fairford itself was the intended target.
9:44
And they have not publicly identified a motive.
9:48
So as you can see,
9:49
it's early days in the investigation.
9:51
British reporting says investigators are
9:53
examining materials seized after the arrests
9:56
to determine whether they were dangerous and capable of being used in an attack.
10:00
Security sources also say
10:02
authorities are considering the possibility of foreign state involvement,
10:05
including Iran,
10:06
while keeping other possibilities on the table.
10:09
Security around Fairfoot had apparently already
10:12
been tightened before Sunday's incident.
10:14
Residents told reporters that
10:16
heavy vehicles had been placed across access points in recent weeks,
10:20
and security has reportedly also been increased at other
10:23
bases used by the US in the UK,
10:26
including Laken Heath and Mildenhall.
10:28
Officials haven't said those measures were connected
10:30
to any specific intelligence about Sunday's suspects.
10:33
They may just
10:34
simply reflect the broader security environment.
10:37
Surrounding American military facilities
10:40
since the Iran War began.
10:42
Now I want to switch the focus to the Ukraine conflict.
10:46
President Trump said Saturday that he wants Presidents
10:48
Zelensky and Putin to make a deal,
10:50
telling reporters
10:51
he hopes the two leaders can reach some kind of settlement
10:55
before the winter sets in.
10:57
But there is very little sign of de-escalation right now.
11:00
Russian attacks killed 4 people across Ukraine on Saturday.
11:03
That's according to Ukrainian officials,
11:05
as Moscow continued its campaign of drone and
11:08
missile strikes well beyond the front lines.
11:11
Strikes also hit Kiev and the surrounding region,
11:13
injuring civilians and damaging homes,
11:16
offices,
11:16
and other buildings.
11:18
Russia's Defense Ministry claims one of its strikes in Kiev
11:21
damaged a data center supporting mobile
11:23
internet services and Starlink communications.
11:26
Now we've not seen the depending confirmation of that claim,
11:29
but if accurate,
11:30
It would fit Moscow's broader effort
11:33
to disrupt the communications and infrastructure
11:36
that Ukraine relies on militarily and economically.
11:40
Ukraine meanwhile continues taking the fight deep into Russia.
11:44
Kiev says its long range drones struck a
11:46
significant refinery in the southern Krasnodar region.
11:49
Russian officials acknowledged drone attacks there,
11:52
saying 3 people were killed and fires broke out at 2 industrial sites,
11:57
although they did not provide details on exactly what was hit.
12:01
Ukraine has spent months systematically targeting Russian refineries,
12:04
oil depots,
12:05
and other energy infrastructure.
12:07
Just last weekend,
12:08
a Ukrainian drone attack forced Moscow's major oil refinery
12:12
to halt crude processing.
12:14
That's according to industry sources cited by Reuters.
12:17
With repairs expected to take several weeks
12:20
for Kiev,
12:21
these attacks provide one of the few ways to impose significant costs on Russia
12:25
far beyond the front.
12:26
They force Moscow to defend facilities hundreds of miles from Ukraine,
12:30
disrupt fuel production,
12:32
and
12:32
put additional pressure on an economy
12:34
already carrying the enormous cost
12:37
of more than 4 years of Putin's war.
12:40
But there is a complication here for Zelensky.
12:43
Trump has been pressing Ukraine to scale
12:45
back its attacks on Russian energy infrastructure
12:48
as disruptions to Russian fuel production add more
12:50
pressure to already tight global energy markets.
12:54
Zelensky has indicated Ukraine could consider stopping those attacks,
12:58
but only as part of a reciprocal arrangement in
13:01
which Russia stops hitting Ukrainian energy infrastructure as well.
13:04
And so far Moscow,
13:06
no surprise,
13:06
has shown little interest in that kind of pause.
13:09
That becomes more important as winter approaches.
13:12
Ukraine is already preparing
13:13
for another Russian campaign against its power grid and heating systems
13:17
and has been asking Washington for additional Patriot air defense systems
13:21
to help protect critical infrastructure.
13:24
So when Trump says he wants Zelensky and Putin to settle,
13:27
the question is what does each side believe that
13:29
it still has to gain before sitting down.
13:32
Ukraine views its refinery campaign as leverage.
13:35
Russia believes that
13:37
continued drone and missile attacks can increase pressure
13:39
on Kiev and further strain Ukraine's infrastructure,
13:42
setting up the population,
13:43
of course,
13:44
for another difficult winter.
13:46
And
13:46
Putin has yet to show any inclination to back off from his long-held
13:51
maximalist demands.
13:53
And that leaves Washington trying to move both governments toward negotiations
13:57
at the same time that both governments
13:59
appear convinced they can still improve their position
14:02
through force.
14:04
All
14:04
right.
14:05
And in today's back of the brief,
14:07
thousands remain missing in Nepal one month after that catastrophic flooding.
14:12
More on that when we come back.
14:16
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14:16
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In today's back of the brief,
16:38
I wanted to give an update on the situation in Nepal,
16:41
where it's been just over 1 month
16:43
since catastrophic floods tore through the Himalayas.
16:46
And while the water has receded,
16:47
the fallout from the disaster
16:49
continues to unfold.
16:51
Thousands remain missing.
16:52
Families are still trying to identify the dead,
16:54
and
16:55
the country remains caught between rescue and recovery.
16:58
That includes more than 5600 people still unaccounted for,
17:03
with some believed to be trapped inside tunnels at
17:05
six hydropower projects that were in the flood zone.
17:09
Thousands of families have lost homes,
17:10
relatives,
17:11
and livelihoods,
17:12
and
17:12
Nepal's government says recovery and reconstruction
17:15
could cost more than $4.7 billion.
17:19
Now because this happened more than a month ago,
17:21
it's worth taking a moment just to remember
17:23
how the disaster unfolded
17:25
on the morning of August 26th.
17:27
An enormous section of bedrock and glacial ice broke away high in the Himalayas,
17:33
sending a massive wall of rock and ice plunging roughly 4000 ft
17:37
into the valley below.
17:39
The impact was so powerful it generated seismic
17:42
energy equal to a magnitude 5.2 earthquake,
17:45
initially confusing regional sensors.
17:47
The deadly debris first dammed a river and created a barrier lake.
17:52
When that barrier gave way,
17:54
another surge of deadly water,
17:56
rock,
17:56
and debris rushed down stream.
17:59
Now one month later,
18:00
Nepal is still very much in the middle of this disaster.
18:03
The country is still trying to determine how many people it actually lost.
18:07
The country's disaster management agency says only
18:09
some 1450 bodies have been recovered.
18:12
Only 112
18:14
have been returned to relatives.
18:16
More than 1300 others have been temporarily
18:18
buried while authorities try to identify them,
18:21
and that identification process has now become an international effort.
18:26
At a police hospital
18:27
near the affected area,
18:29
relatives are providing DNA samples in tents set up outside the facility.
18:33
Those samples are being compared with DNA
18:35
collected from recovered remains,
18:37
with experts from India,
18:38
China,
18:39
the US,
18:39
Singapore,
18:40
and South Korea
18:41
helping with the work.
18:43
A Nepalese roads engineer told the Associated Press that crews have been
18:47
working with the country's army since the 2nd day after the floods
18:51
to reopen access to affected areas.
18:53
She says bridges are being built to
18:55
help move relief supplies into the hardest hit communities.
18:59
But even that work is difficult
19:01
because of the ongoing monsoon season.
19:04
And this is the disaster that Nepal's Prime Minister brought to the
19:07
United Nations just last week using his first address to the General Assembly
19:11
to call for greater international assistance and stronger regional cooperation,
19:16
particularly amid the growing risk of glacial disasters and extreme weather.
19:21
And then my friends,
19:22
this is the President's Daily Brief for Monday,
19:24
the 28th of September.
19:26
If you have any questions or comments,
19:27
please just reach out to me at PDB@thefirstv.com.
19:31
And I hope you had a chance to catch this past weekend's PDB Situation Report.
19:35
That of course is our
19:36
much loved extended weekend show.
19:38
If not,
19:39
you can always
19:40
catch it.
19:41
Past episodes on our YouTube channel,
19:43
just wander on over to YouTube.
19:44
It's that easy and search up at President's Daily Brief
19:47
or you can also catch it
19:49
wherever you get your podcast stuff.
19:51
I'm Mike Baker and I'll be back later today with the PDB
19:54
afternoon bulletin.
19:55
Until then,
19:56
stay informed,
19:57
stay safe,
19:58
stay cool.