Latest / The President's Daily Brief / PDB Afternoon Bulletin | October 26th, 2026: Trump's Iran Strike Plans Trigger an Urgent Diplomatic Intervention & Netanyahu's Clash With IDF Chief

Transcript

PDB Afternoon Bulletin | October 26th, 2026: Trump's Iran Strike Plans Trigger an Urgent Diplomatic Intervention & Netanyahu's Clash With IDF Chief · The President's Daily Brief

• 0:12
  It's Monday,
• 0:12
  the twenty-sixth of October.
• 0:14
  Welcome to the BDB afternoon bulletin.
• 0:17
  I'm Mike Baker,
• 0:17
  your eyes and ears on the world stage.
• 0:20
  Alright,
• 0:21
  let's get briefed.
• 0:23
  First up,
• 0:23
  as President Trump weighs new military strikes against Iran,
• 0:27
  Saudi Arabia,
• 0:28
  Turkey,
• 0:29
  and Pakistan
• 0:30
  launch an urgent diplomatic effort to try and prevent another war with Tehran.
• 0:36
  Later in the show,
• 0:36
  Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu reportedly clashes with his top general
• 0:41
  over a proposed military operation against Iran.
• 0:44
  But first,
• 0:45
  today's afternoon spotlight.
• 0:48
  With President Trump considering another round of military strikes against Iran,
• 0:52
  an urgent diplomatic push by regional players is
• 0:55
  underway in an effort to prevent another war.
• 0:59
  Senior defense and intelligence officials from Saudi Arabia,
• 1:01
  Turkey,
• 1:02
  and Pakistan
• 1:03
  are meeting with Iranian leaders in Tehran today,
• 1:06
  hoping to reduce tensions
• 1:08
  before the confrontation between Washington and Tehran
• 1:11
  erupts into another round of fighting.
• 1:14
  And there's an interesting twist to this diplomatic mission.
• 1:17
  These are the same three countries
• 1:18
  that recently formed a new military alliance to defend Saudi Arabia,
• 1:22
  which has been coming under repeated missile and drone attacks
• 1:25
  from Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen.
• 1:28
  Hm.
• 1:29
  So,
• 1:29
  while as a group,
• 1:31
  they're working to defend Saudi Arabia against the Iran-trained,
• 1:33
  funded and resourced Houthis,
• 1:35
  they're also trying to negotiate with Tehran over the broader US-Iran conflict.
• 1:41
  According to Reuters,
• 1:42
  the delegation includes Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman,
• 1:45
  Pakistani military chief Asim Munir,
• 1:48
  and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin.
• 1:51
  They're meeting with senior Iranian officials,
• 1:53
  including Security Chief Mohsen Rezai,
• 1:56
  to discuss the worsening regional security situation
• 1:59
  and the possibility of renewed American and Israeli military operations.
• 2:04
  Now,
• 2:04
  the talks were reportedly proposed during a visit
• 2:06
  to Tehran last week by Pakistan's military chief,
• 2:10
  who's been playing a role in efforts to mediate between Iran and the US.
• 2:15
  The Saudi involvement here is particularly interesting.
• 2:18
  As we've been reporting on the PDB,
• 2:20
  the kingdom is facing an escalating conflict
• 2:23
  with the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen.
• 2:25
  Over the weekend,
• 2:26
  Saudi air defense has intercepted another wave of ballistic missiles
• 2:29
  and drones targeting Riyadh and southern areas of the country.
• 2:33
  The Houthis have also threatened Saudi airports,
• 2:36
  oil facilities,
• 2:37
  and the kingdom's critical east-west pipeline,
• 2:39
  which allows Saudi Arabia to move oil to the Red Sea
• 2:43
  without passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
• 2:45
  And that pipeline,
• 2:46
  of course,
• 2:47
  has become especially important
• 2:48
  during the confrontation with Iran,
• 2:50
  with commercial shipping through the strait repeatedly disrupted.
• 2:54
  Meanwhile,
• 2:55
  Saudi Arabia has stepped up its own
• 2:56
  military operations against the Iran-backed Houthis.
• 3:00
  And their positions inside Yemen while the
• 3:03
  group continues attacking government controlled areas.
• 3:06
  For the Saudis,
• 3:07
  this creates a difficult problem.
• 3:09
  Even when their air defenses successfully intercept incoming missiles,
• 3:12
  the attacks themselves can still force airports to suspend operations,
• 3:16
  disrupt business,
• 3:17
  and require significant military resources.
• 3:20
  Saudi Arabia has been strengthening
• 3:22
  military cooperation with Turkey and Pakistan
• 3:25
  under their newly signed Mecca joint defense agreement.
• 3:29
  But now those same regional partners,
• 3:31
  they're all sitting down with Iranian officials,
• 3:33
  hoping to prevent the conflict from expanding.
• 3:37
  President Trump has raised the possibility of
• 3:38
  another American military operation against Iran,
• 3:41
  while the Pentagon continues preparing for potential additional strikes.
• 3:46
  Israel has also been weighing its military options,
• 3:49
  with renewed tensions emerging just ahead of tomorrow's Israeli elections.
• 3:53
  Iran meanwhile has warned that another American or
• 3:56
  Israeli attack would bring a severe response,
• 3:59
  and as we reported yesterday,
• 4:01
  American intelligence officials are warning that
• 4:03
  Iranian plots to assassinate US personnel overseas
• 4:07
  have reached advanced stages,
• 4:08
  prompting Washington to reduce its diplomatic
• 4:11
  presence in several Middle Eastern countries.
• 4:14
  Against that backdrop,
• 4:15
  Pakistan and Qatar have been working to
• 4:17
  reopen diplomatic channels between Tehran and Washington.
• 4:21
  Those two countries
• 4:22
  helped broker an interim agreement back in June of this year that was
• 4:26
  supposedly going to establish a framework for reopening the Strait of Hormuz,
• 4:30
  easing the American blockade of Iranian ports,
• 4:33
  and beginning broader negotiations
• 4:35
  over Iran's nuclear program.
• 4:38
  But that arrangement,
• 4:39
  of course,
• 4:39
  ultimately collapsed,
• 4:41
  and the two sides resumed fighting.
• 4:44
  As for this latest diplomatic push by Saudi Arabia,
• 4:47
  Turkey,
• 4:47
  and Pakistan,
• 4:48
  Iranian officials have publicly welcomed the initiative,
• 4:52
  describing it as an important opportunity
• 4:54
  to establish a regional security framework involving Middle Eastern countries,
• 4:58
  rather than relying on outside powers.
• 5:00
  Now there's no word from the Iranian regime as to whether they intend
• 5:04
  to tell the Houthis to stand down on their attacks against Saudi infrastructure.
• 5:08
  The regime would I'd like you to believe that they have no control over the Houthis,
• 5:12
  despite
• 5:12
  IRGC personnel being on the ground in Yemen,
• 5:15
  providing strategic guidance,
• 5:17
  targeting support,
• 5:18
  and other input,
• 5:19
  and despite
• 5:20
  years of financing,
• 5:22
  support,
• 5:22
  and training
• 5:23
  for the Houthis.
• 5:25
  All right,
• 5:25
  coming up next,
• 5:26
  Israel's top general reportedly pushes back against
• 5:29
  Netanyahu over a proposed operation against Iran,
• 5:32
  fearing that it could
• 5:33
  spark another war.
• 5:35
  I'll be right back.
• 5:37
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• 5:37
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  Welcome back to the PDB.
• 7:54
  What's being described as an
• 7:55
  unprecedented confrontation is reportedly unfolding
• 7:59
  at the highest levels of Israel's government and military,
• 8:01
  with Prime Minister Netanyahu and the country's top general
• 8:04
  said to be at odds over a proposed military operation
• 8:08
  that could reignite the war with Iran.
• 8:10
  And new reporting suggests the disagreement extends all the way to Washington,
• 8:14
  where President Trump reportedly rejected Netanyahu's
• 8:17
  request for a joint military strike
• 8:20
  ahead of tomorrow's Israeli elections.
• 8:23
  According to a report from Israel's Channel 12,
• 8:25
  Netanyahu recently instructed the military to carry
• 8:28
  out an undisclosed operation connected to Iran,
• 8:31
  but IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Ayal Zamir
• 8:35
  reportedly resisted that order,
• 8:37
  demanding additional discussions and written documentation.
• 8:40
  Establishing the operation's legal authorization.
• 8:44
  The precise nature of the proposed mission has not been disclosed,
• 8:46
  but Israeli security officials reportedly feared that it
• 8:50
  could trigger a rapid escalation with Tehran,
• 8:53
  and that concern
• 8:54
  appears to extend beyond the Israeli military.
• 8:57
  According to CNN,
• 8:58
  Netanyahu also approached President Trump about
• 9:00
  launching a joint American-Israeli strike against Iran
• 9:04
  before Israel's October twenty-seventh election.
• 9:07
  Citing two American officials and an Israeli security source,
• 9:11
  CNN reports that Trump declined the request,
• 9:14
  with administration officials urging Israel to
• 9:16
  wait until a broader coordinated military operation
• 9:20
  could be prepared.
• 9:21
  The report also indicates that Zamir communicated his concerns directly
• 9:25
  to the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff,
• 9:28
  warning that another attack
• 9:30
  could provoke Iranian retaliation and potentially disrupt Israel's elections.
• 9:35
  Now,
• 9:36
  both Netanyahu and his defense minister,
• 9:38
  Israel Katz,
• 9:39
  have rejected the reports of an internal confrontation.
• 9:42
  Netanyahu's office dismissed the allegations as nonsense,
• 9:45
  while Katz insisted Israel has no intention of
• 9:48
  initiating another war with Iran before the election.
• 9:52
  Netanyahu's office also denied CNN's account of his discussions with Trump.
• 9:57
  But according to Israeli media,
• 9:58
  the military's concerns go beyond the immediate political calendar.
• 10:02
  Zamir reportedly fears that even a limited operation could
• 10:06
  convince Tehran that a larger American-Israeli attack is underway,
• 10:10
  potentially prompting Iran
• 10:12
  to launch retaliatory strikes before Washington or Jerusalem
• 10:16
  is prepared for another full-scale confrontation.
• 10:19
  And the US continues preparing
• 10:22
  for that possibility.
• 10:23
  CNN reports that American military planners believe that
• 10:26
  they could launch a major operation against Iran
• 10:29
  within 96 hours of receiving authorization from President Trump,
• 10:33
  but no such order has been issued.
• 10:36
  The controversy comes as
• 10:37
  Israel prepares to vote tomorrow,
• 10:39
  with Netanyahu facing a closely contested election
• 10:43
  and renewed questions about his government's
• 10:45
  handling of the confrontation with Iran.
• 10:48
  And that,
• 10:48
  my friends,
• 10:49
  is the PDB afternoon bulletin for Monday,
• 10:51
  the 26th of October.
• 10:53
  Now,
• 10:53
  if you have any questions or comments,
• 10:54
  just reach out to me at PDB@thfirsttv.com
• 10:58
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  I'm Mike Baker and I'll be back tomorrow.
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  Until then,
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  Now,
• 11:30
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