Latest / The President's Daily Brief / PDB Afternoon Bulletin | October 19th, 2026: Iran Helping Direct Houthi Attacks & Romania Downs Drones as NATO Threats Mount

Transcript

PDB Afternoon Bulletin | October 19th, 2026: Iran Helping Direct Houthi Attacks & Romania Downs Drones as NATO Threats Mount · The President's Daily Brief

• 0:11
  It's Monday,
• 0:12
  the 19th of October.
• 0:14
  Welcome to the PDB afternoon bulletin.
• 0:16
  I'm Mike Baker,
• 0:17
  your eyes and ears on the world stage.
• 0:20
  Alright,
• 0:21
  let's get briefed.
• 0:22
  First up,
• 0:23
  in news that should surprise absolutely no one,
• 0:27
  new reporting reveals that Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps,
• 0:30
  the IRGC,
• 0:32
  is helping the Houthis coordinate deadly attacks against Saudi Arabia.
• 0:37
  Later in the show,
• 0:38
  Romanian F-16s bring down two suspected Russian drones inside NATO airspace,
• 0:44
  and officials believe they're among Moscow's newer,
• 0:47
  faster drone models.
• 0:49
  The mounting incursions,
• 0:50
  coupled with attacks on shipping,
• 0:51
  are pushing the alliance to bolster its Black Sea defenses.
• 0:55
  But,
• 0:56
  as the White House says,
• 0:57
  at least Vladimir Putin is easier to deal with than Ukraine's President Zelensky.
• 1:02
  So,
• 1:03
  there's that.
• 1:04
  First up,
• 1:04
  today's afternoon spotlight.
• 1:06
  We've been tracking the Iran-backed Houthi offensive in Yemen
• 1:10
  and the increasingly destructive attacks against Saudi Arabia.
• 1:13
  Now,
• 1:13
  new reporting confirms what we've been reporting here on the PDB for some time.
• 1:18
  Iran's role goes well beyond supplying weapons and training and money.
• 1:23
  According to new reporting from the Wall Street Journal,
• 1:25
  officers from Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps,
• 1:27
  the IRGC,
• 1:29
  are operating inside Yemen,
• 1:31
  helping Houthi forces select targets,
• 1:33
  plan military operations,
• 1:34
  and direct drone and missile strikes
• 1:37
  against Saudi Arabia and its allies.
• 1:39
  The findings come from people briefed on Saudi and Houthi intelligence,
• 1:43
  and one of the more interesting reports
• 1:45
  involves two flights from Iran to Yemen back in July of this year.
• 1:50
  Officially,
• 1:51
  the Mahan Air aircraft were transporting Yemeni pilgrims and Houthi officials
• 1:56
  traveling to and from Tehran for funeral events
• 2:00
  honoring Iran's former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
• 2:03
  But according to the journal sources,
• 2:05
  The flights were also carrying IRGC officers,
• 2:08
  drone components,
• 2:09
  missile guidance systems,
• 2:11
  and detonators.
• 2:12
  I wonder if that all fits in the compartment above your seat or
• 2:15
  if you have to put it underneath the seat in front of you.
• 2:17
  Do you mean to tell me
• 2:19
  that there's gambling going on at Rick's cafe?
• 2:22
  Shocked.
• 2:23
  Mahan Air has long been under American sanctions for
• 2:26
  transporting weapons and personnel and money for the IRGC.
• 2:30
  Saudi allied forces reportedly discovered the cargo
• 2:33
  and bombed the runway at Sana'a Airport
• 2:36
  to prevent the second flight from landing.
• 2:38
  That confrontation helped ignite the current round of fighting,
• 2:41
  ending a 4-year truce.
• 2:43
  The Houthis dispute the account.
• 2:45
  Well,
• 2:45
  if they say so,
• 2:46
  or
• 2:47
  if the IRGC tells them to say so,
• 2:49
  then I'm sure there's nothing to it.
• 2:51
  A senior Houthi official who says he was aboard the 2nd flight
• 2:54
  accuses Saudi Arabia of exaggerating the Iranian connection
• 2:58
  to justify the attack.
• 3:00
  But the allegations don't end with those flights.
• 3:03
  The Journal reports that
• 3:05
  IRGC officers subsequently helped the Houthis
• 3:08
  establish positions along Yemen's Red Sea coastline,
• 3:11
  assisting with radar systems,
• 3:13
  missile deployments,
• 3:13
  and battlefield planning.
• 3:16
  When the Houthi offensive began in September under
• 3:18
  the guidance and at the behest of Iran,
• 3:20
  Saudi-backed forces were caught off guard.
• 3:23
  The militants pushed down the coast,
• 3:25
  seized the port city of Mocha,
• 3:26
  and advanced towards strategic territory surrounding the Babel Mandeb Strait.
• 3:31
  Their attacks combined infantry assaults with
• 3:33
  coordinated missile and drone strikes.
• 3:35
  They also used
• 3:36
  first-person view drones
• 3:38
  guided by fiber optic cables,
• 3:40
  which of course makes it more difficult to disrupt
• 3:43
  using conventional electronic jamming.
• 3:46
  Sources familiar with the fighting attribute
• 3:48
  some of that improved coordination to
• 3:50
  Iranian training,
• 3:51
  resources,
• 3:51
  and on the ground intelligence support.
• 3:54
  One government official says Revolutionary Guard personnel
• 3:56
  were operating near the front lines,
• 3:59
  directly assisting with drone and missile attacks.
• 4:01
  Of course,
• 4:02
  the actions of the Iranian regime and their proxy
• 4:04
  group extend well beyond the borders of Yemen.
• 4:07
  The Houthis have struck Saudi oil infrastructure,
• 4:10
  commercial shipping,
• 4:11
  and airports.
• 4:12
  Last weekend,
• 4:13
  an attack at Riyadh's international airport
• 4:15
  killed at least 13 people.
• 4:17
  Iran denies directing the group,
• 4:19
  oh well,
• 4:20
  if they say so,
• 4:21
  and Houthi officials reject claims
• 4:23
  that Iranian assistance explains their recent successes.
• 4:26
  But the intelligence described by the journal
• 4:28
  points to a close operational relationship.
• 4:32
  For the Iranian regime,
• 4:33
  having the Houthis engaged in this conflict with the Saudis
• 4:36
  offers a strategic advantage.
• 4:39
  We've spent considerable time
• 4:40
  here on the PDB discussing Iran's efforts to use the Strait of Hormuz
• 4:44
  as leverage against Washington and its Gulf allies.
• 4:48
  The Houthis now,
• 4:49
  of course,
• 4:49
  threaten another vital passage,
• 4:51
  that would be the Babel Mandeb Strait,
• 4:53
  which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden.
• 4:56
  Pressure at both choke points raises risks for commercial shipping,
• 5:00
  energy exports,
• 5:01
  and international trade,
• 5:03
  and all of this
• 5:04
  serves the agenda of Tehran,
• 5:06
  exerting additional pressure on the US,
• 5:08
  the region,
• 5:09
  and global energy markets.
• 5:11
  As we've discussed previously here on the PDB,
• 5:14
  you cannot separate the Iran conflict
• 5:16
  from what their proxy group is doing in Yemen.
• 5:20
  And the regional response is growing.
• 5:22
  This morning,
• 5:23
  we did mention that Egypt is considering military assistance to Saudi Arabia.
• 5:27
  Separately,
• 5:28
  the Guardian reports that the United Arab Emirates,
• 5:31
  the UAE
• 5:32
  has agreed to resume funding
• 5:34
  to allied Yemeni forces.
• 5:36
  Egypt,
• 5:37
  for their part,
• 5:37
  says any involvement would be defensive,
• 5:39
  but the prospect of additional Arab military support
• 5:43
  shows just how widely the conflict's consequences are being felt.
• 5:47
  For Yemen's civilians,
• 5:49
  renewed fighting means still more displacement and pressure
• 5:52
  on already strained humanitarian services.
• 5:55
  And for Washington,
• 5:56
  the dilemma is becoming increasingly complicated.
• 5:59
  The Trump administration wants to bring the war with Iran
• 6:02
  to an end in order to stabilize energy markets.
• 6:05
  But even though the White House seems to want
• 6:07
  to treat Yemen and Iran as two separate issues,
• 6:11
  Tehran is helping the Houthis intensify attacks that threaten Saudi Arabia.
• 6:15
  The region,
• 6:16
  a critical shipping route,
• 6:17
  and global energy markets.
• 6:21
  Alright,
• 6:21
  coming up next,
• 6:22
  another incursion into NATO airspace ends with Romanian
• 6:26
  F-16s shooting down two suspected Russian drones.
• 6:29
  Now,
• 6:30
  allies are heading into talks on how to confront
• 6:33
  the growing threat in and around the Black Sea.
• 6:35
  I'll be right back.
• 6:37
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• 6:37
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• 9:13
  Welcome back to the PDB afternoon bulletin.
• 9:16
  A NATO country once again had to scramble its fighter
• 9:19
  jets to confront suspected Russian drones inside its own airspace.
• 9:23
  Romanian F-16s shot down two drones over the Black Sea Saturday,
• 9:28
  adding to a growing list of incursions
• 9:30
  that continue to test the alliance's defenses and patience.
• 9:34
  Both drones had entered the airspace over Romania's territorial waters,
• 9:38
  according to the country's defense ministry.
• 9:41
  Romania's defense minister said Sunday,
• 9:43
  quote,
• 9:43
  the ones from last night were flying at approximately 280
• 9:47
  MPH,
• 9:48
  which leads us to think they were
• 9:49
  Russian-made Garon 4 drones with turboprop engines.
• 9:53
  Now,
• 9:53
  this is the first time he said we've shot down drones like these,
• 9:57
  end quote.
• 9:58
  While a turboprop engine is not the same as a jet engine,
• 10:02
  it is similar
• 10:03
  as it does use a gas turbine core.
• 10:06
  That identification is still preliminary,
• 10:08
  but if Romanian officials are correct,
• 10:10
  their pilots encountered a faster Russian attack drone,
• 10:14
  leaving air defenses less time to identify the threat and shoot it down.
• 10:18
  Now,
• 10:18
  we've been following Russia's efforts to expand its use of these weapons.
• 10:23
  And that includes a massive new drone launch facility in the Rostov region,
• 10:27
  that's near Ukraine,
• 10:28
  where satellite imagery analyzed by Reuters
• 10:31
  showed a base taking shape in just 6 weeks,
• 10:34
  apparently to launch the newer Garon models.
• 10:37
  And as Russia expands its drone capabilities,
• 10:40
  Romania is reporting a sharp increase in incursions.
• 10:44
  Romania's defense ministry says the country has
• 10:45
  recorded 35 unauthorized drone incursions so far
• 10:49
  in 2026.
• 10:50
  That's compared with 9
• 10:52
  throughout the entire 2025.
• 10:55
  Bucharest has responded with force.
• 10:57
  Romanian troops began shooting down drones
• 10:59
  entering their airspace earlier this year,
• 11:02
  and have destroyed six so far this year,
• 11:04
  compared with none
• 11:05
  in 2025.
• 11:07
  Romania shares a roughly 380 mile border with Ukraine,
• 11:12
  much of it along the Danube River.
• 11:14
  Russia has repeatedly attacked Ukrainian ports and
• 11:17
  other infrastructure along that waterway,
• 11:20
  bringing its weapons dangerously close to Romanian territory.
• 11:24
  That geography helps explain the danger now
• 11:26
  facing commercial ships along the coast.
• 11:29
  Just days before Saturday's interceptions,
• 11:31
  drones struck two chemical tankers anchored near the Sulina Canal.
• 11:36
  That canal
• 11:37
  connects the Danube to the Black Sea,
• 11:39
  giving Ukraine an important route to move exports down the river
• 11:43
  and out into international waters.
• 11:46
  A NATO military source told Reuters that Russian drones hit both tankers.
• 11:50
  Romanian authorities
• 11:51
  are still searching for seven missing crew members.
• 11:54
  At least 5 other cargo ships have been struck near the
• 11:57
  coasts of Romania and neighboring Bulgaria over the past 2 weeks.
• 12:01
  As I've previously discussed on the podcast.
• 12:04
  Across those additional incidents,
• 12:05
  23 sailors have been reported dead or missing.
• 12:09
  Notably,
• 12:10
  most of those attacks occurred outside NATO territorial waters,
• 12:14
  but both the airspace violations
• 12:16
  and the attacks on shipping.
• 12:18
  will come before the North Atlantic Council
• 12:20
  tomorrow at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
• 12:23
  Romania's foreign minister said discussions would focus
• 12:25
  on Black Sea defense and deterrence,
• 12:28
  including how NATO can expand its military presence in the region
• 12:32
  and strengthen its surveillance capabilities.
• 12:35
  A NATO official told Reuters,
• 12:36
  quote,
• 12:37
  NATO is ready and able to react to any potential threat 24/7
• 12:42
  to safeguard our territory and protect our people,
• 12:45
  end quote.
• 12:46
  Now,
• 12:47
  no word yet from the White House as to whether they
• 12:49
  blame Zelensky for these Russian drone incursions into NATO territory.
• 12:53
  All right,
• 12:54
  fine,
• 12:54
  that makes me sound churlish.
• 12:56
  And that,
• 12:56
  my friends,
• 12:57
  is the PDB afternoon bulletin for Monday,
• 12:59
  the 19th of October.
• 13:01
  If you have any questions or comments,
• 13:02
  please reach out to me
• 13:03
  at PDB@hefirsttv.com.
• 13:06
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• 13:15
  I'm Mike Baker and I'll be back tomorrow.
• 13:17
  Until then,
• 13:18
  stay informed,
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