Latest / The President's Daily Brief / PDB Evening Bulletin | November 6th, 2026: Iran's Economy in Crisis & Trump's Venezuela Military Deal

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PDB Evening Bulletin | November 6th, 2026: Iran's Economy in Crisis & Trump's Venezuela Military Deal · The President's Daily Brief

0:12
It's Friday,
0:13
the 6th of November.
0:14
Well,
0:14
congratulations,
0:15
we've made it to the end of another work week.
0:17
Welcome to the PDB
0:19
afternoon bulletin.
0:20
Alright,
0:21
to be fair,
0:21
it is
0:22
the evening bulletin for today.
0:25
Thanks to the joys of air travel.
0:28
I'm Mike.
0:29
Your eyes and ears
0:30
on the world stage.
0:32
All right,
0:32
let's get briefed.
0:33
First up,
0:33
Iran's economy continues to take a beating
0:37
with tens of billions in business losses,
0:39
soaring inflation,
0:40
and a government
0:42
struggling to keep basic necessities somewhat affordable.
0:45
But,
0:46
well,
0:46
you'd never know it from listening to the Islamic Republic's leadership.
0:50
In their minds,
0:51
they've handed the US both a military and a political defeat.
0:55
Later in the show,
0:56
the Trump administration moves to
0:58
formalize military cooperation with Venezuela,
1:01
negotiating an agreement that could pave the way
1:04
for a long-term American troop presence.
1:06
But first,
1:07
in today's afternoon spotlight,
1:09
as President Trump weighs whether to
1:11
launch another round of military strikes against
1:13
Iran or continue the economic pressure campaign or give diplomacy more time,
1:19
we're getting a clearer picture of just how badly Iran's economy is suffering.
1:23
New reporting from inside Iran shows businesses
1:26
losing tens of billions of dollars,
1:28
industrial prices rising at an extraordinary pace,
1:32
and families struggling with the cost of basic food items.
1:36
What's particularly revealing is where some of these figures are coming from
1:40
Iranian government agencies and the country's own business organizations.
1:45
Now let's start with the big number.
1:46
According to an assessment by Iran's Chamber of Commerce,
1:49
government-ordered business shutdowns and other disruptions
1:53
have cost Iranian businesses an estimated $34 billion with a B
1:58
during the Iranian year,
2:00
and the Iranian year,
2:01
by the way,
2:01
ended in March.
2:03
Their chamber recorded 61 days of mandatory business closures,
2:07
along with another 190 days
2:09
when at least one serious disruption interfered with normal operations.
2:13
It estimates that businesses lost roughly 22% of
2:16
their potential operating time over that period.
2:19
Now,
2:20
that's not the same as saying that Iran's entire economy shrank by 22%,
2:24
but it is
2:25
a striking measure of how difficult it's become.
2:28
Aside from the obvious disruptions of a war and the ongoing sanctions,
2:32
Iranian companies have been dealing with
2:34
chronic electricity and natural gas shortages,
2:37
internet shutdowns,
2:38
pollution-related closures,
2:39
political unrest,
2:41
and disruptions associated with the war.
2:44
A factory might have orders waiting in a.
2:46
Employees ready to work,
2:47
but no reliable electricity to run their machinery,
2:50
or they might have power,
2:52
only to find the communications are shut down or
2:55
a supplier has been forced to close its doors.
2:58
For larger industrial operations,
3:00
stopping and restarting equipment can of course become extremely expensive.
3:04
And when one manufacturer shuts down,
3:06
the damage can spread to all the businesses that depend on its products.
3:11
Keep in mind that the chamber's estimate
3:13
covers a year ending in March,
3:15
so not just the months since the latest American blockade.
3:19
The problems have been building for some time,
3:21
and the war,
3:22
of course,
3:23
has added significantly to them.
3:25
But even when Iranian factories do manage to stay open,
3:28
there's another problem,
3:29
and that's the cost of producing anything,
3:31
and that is soaring.
3:33
According to the Statistical Center of Iran,
3:35
industrial producer prices in the summer
3:38
were 147% higher
3:41
than during the same period a year earlier.
3:44
That's an increase in the prices received by industrial producers,
3:47
not the inflation rate faced directly by shoppers.
3:50
It offers a revealing measure of the
3:53
pressures moving through Iran's industrial economy.
3:56
The year over year increase had been 109% in the spring.
4:00
By summer,
4:01
it was nearly 150%,
4:04
and prices rose another 28% in that summer quarter alone.
4:08
For a manufacturer,
4:09
that can mean paying dramatically more for the materials and products that it needs
4:13
while trying to sell to customers who have less and less money.
4:17
There's a conundrum.
4:19
Food prices,
4:20
the cost of basics,
4:21
are hitting the Iranian population particularly hard,
4:24
although My guess is that the
4:25
regime's leadership and the Revolutionary Guard Corps senior commanders,
4:30
well,
4:30
they're not struggling to buy basics like milk.
4:33
Speaking of milk,
4:34
according to Iranian market reporting,
4:36
milk prices have increased by 70% just over the past two months.
4:41
Other dairy products have seen steep increases as well.
4:44
Industry representatives say consumption of milk and dairy
4:47
products has fallen sharply over the past year as
4:50
Iranian households struggled to afford them.
4:53
And how are the authorities responding?
4:56
Well,
4:56
on Friday,
4:57
the head of Iran's dairy cooperatives union,
5:00
did you know they had one,
5:01
announced that processors are barred from
5:03
raising dairy prices without official permission
5:06
and warned that violators could face prosecution.
5:09
Of course,
5:10
threatening producers doesn't make cattle feed or
5:12
packaging or transportation or energy any cheaper.
5:16
Those,
5:16
of course,
5:16
are the costs that
5:17
dairy producers say are driving prices higher.
5:21
Now,
5:21
turning to the White House and their efforts to deal with the Iran conflict,
5:26
according to Axios,
5:26
President Trump met with his national security
5:28
advisors on Thursday to weigh options,
5:31
including
5:32
renewed military action,
5:33
a diplomatic settlement of,
5:35
uh,
5:35
some sort,
5:36
or continued economic pressure.
5:38
Some in the administration reportedly believe
5:40
that keeping the economic pressure on Tehran
5:43
could eventually force concessions
5:46
without another major bombing campaign.
5:48
The economic figures being reported by various Iranian agencies
5:51
certainly do show a country under immense strain,
5:54
but there's a difference
5:56
between making life more difficult for Iran's government
5:59
and convincing that government to change its behavior,
6:02
particularly
6:03
when the regime's leadership is more than happy to
6:05
pass that pain down to the average citizen.
6:08
And there's one more distinction worth remembering.
6:11
An economy can be in terrible shape
6:13
while its military and security forces still
6:16
remain capable of causing serious trouble.
6:18
It doesn't take a wealthy industrial sector
6:21
necessarily to lay naval mines or launch
6:23
relatively inexpensive drones or threaten commercial tankers
6:27
passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
6:30
So Iran's economy may be circling the drain,
6:32
but that does not mean that Tehran
6:35
has run out of ways to make life difficult for the US,
6:37
its allies,
6:39
and international shipping.
6:41
All right.
6:42
Coming up next,
6:43
just 10 months after US forces captured Nicolas Maduro,
6:47
Washington is negotiating a deal with the interim government
6:51
that could put American troops on Venezuelan soil.
6:54
I'll be right back.
6:56
Hey,
6:56
Mike Baker here,
6:57
with another holiday shopping tip,
6:59
because,
7:00
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7:00
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7:02
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7:09
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7:10
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7:12
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7:14
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7:17
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8:13
Hey,
8:13
Mike Baker here,
8:14
with an important message for all you pet owners out there.
8:17
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8:18
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8:33
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9:00
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9:01
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Welcome back to the afternoon bulletin.
9:30
Earlier this week,
9:32
we reported on a US backed drone strike inside Venezuela
9:36
that showed a new level of military cooperation between Washington and Caracas.
9:41
Now,
9:41
it appears that the Trump administration
9:43
is looking to make that relationship more official
9:46
with negotiations underway
9:48
that could eventually allow American troops to
9:50
maintain a long-term presence inside Venezuela.
9:54
According to The New York Times,
9:56
Secretary of State Marco Rubio
9:58
is leading discussions with Venezuela's interim government on what's known as a
10:02
status of forces agreement or SOFA because of course there's an acronym.
10:07
These agreements establish the legal ground rules for
10:10
American military personnel operating in foreign countries.
10:13
They can cover everything from
10:15
training exercises and intelligence cooperation
10:17
to joint military operations and humanitarian missions.
10:21
The US has similar arrangements with more than 100 countries.
10:25
In some cases,
10:26
they support large American military installations.
10:29
In others,
10:30
they cover relatively small contingents of troops or military advisors.
10:34
For now,
10:35
the negotiations with Venezuela are still in their early stages.
10:39
No agreement has been finalized,
10:40
and questions about how many American troops might deploy,
10:43
where they would operate,
10:44
and how long they would remain,
10:46
of course,
10:47
have yet to be answered.
10:48
A senior State Department official told the Times that discussions about
10:52
establishing permanent American military bases were still a long way off
10:56
and that no such negotiations were currently taking place.
11:00
Nevertheless,
11:01
the discussions represent another major change in relations
11:04
between the two countries.
11:06
As we reported earlier this week,
11:08
American drones were reportedly involved in an October 30th strike
11:12
against a camp belonging to Colombia's National Liberation Army,
11:15
known as ELN
11:17
inside Venezuela along the border with Colombia.
11:20
The operation reportedly carried out with Venezuelan cooperation.
11:24
Reportedly killed more than 20 people,
11:26
although the precise casualty figures remain unconfirmed.
11:30
For years,
11:31
Venezuela had been accused of
11:32
providing sanctuary to Colombian guerrilla organizations,
11:36
allowing them to operate along the border and establish
11:39
networks involved in drug trafficking and other criminal activities.
11:43
Now
11:44
Venezuelan forces are reportedly working alongside the Americans
11:47
to dismantle some of those same networks.
11:50
What the Trump administration appears to be
11:52
pursuing now is a formal legal framework
11:55
that could make those operations easier to coordinate
11:58
and potentially expand,
12:00
and geographically,
12:01
Venezuela,
12:02
of course,
12:02
has considerable strategic value.
12:05
The country has a long Caribbean coastline and borders Colombia,
12:08
Brazil,
12:08
and Guyana.
12:09
A sustained American military presence
12:12
could potentially support counter-narcotics missions,
12:14
intelligence gathering,
12:15
and
12:16
other regional security operations.
12:19
But there are obstacles.
12:21
Venezuela's military infrastructure has deteriorated considerably,
12:24
and American forces have had little direct engagement
12:27
with the Venezuelan military for nearly a decade.
12:31
There's also the question of how
12:32
Venezuelans themselves would respond to American troops
12:35
operating inside their country.
12:37
Supporters of the former Maduro government
12:39
remain very influential within the military and security services,
12:43
and any expanded US presence
12:45
could provoke domestic opposition.
12:48
Then of course there's the larger political question.
12:51
The government negotiating this agreement with Washington
12:53
may not be the government leading Venezuela a year or two from now.
12:57
Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado
12:59
returned to Venezuela late last month,
13:01
of course,
13:02
after nearly 10 months in exile.
13:04
She's been pressing for presidential elections
13:06
while the Trump administration
13:08
continues working closely with Dulcie Rodriguez,
13:11
Nicolas Maduro's former VP.
13:14
Rubio has encouraged political reforms intended
13:16
to prepare Venezuela for elections,
13:18
but no date has been established,
13:21
and that raises an interesting question.
13:23
Is Washington building a long-term military partnership with
13:26
an interim government whose political future remains uncertain?
13:30
And also,
13:30
how interested
13:31
is the Trump administration
13:33
in pursuing elections and a change in government?
13:36
Trump has often talked about how well the business
13:38
dealings have been progressing with the interim government,
13:41
of course,
13:41
again,
13:41
led by Maduro's former vice president.
13:44
It's unclear
13:45
if the White House views the opposition,
13:47
Machado,
13:48
and elections as the way forward,
13:50
or a possible disruptor or impediment.
13:52
To the growing business dealings with the interim government,
13:56
for now what we can say
13:57
is that the relationship between Washington and Caracas
14:00
has undergone a dramatic transformation.
14:03
American forces went from capturing Venezuela's president in January
14:07
to conducting military operations with his former government
14:10
by the fall.
14:12
And now the White House appears interested in making that cooperation
14:16
a more permanent feature of America's security strategy in Latin America.
14:20
We'll be taking a closer look at all of this on this weekend's PDB situation report
14:25
when I'm joined by Rick de la Torre,
14:27
the CIA's former station chief in Caracas.
14:30
We'll discuss the growing military partnership between the US and Venezuela,
14:33
as well as the return of opposition leader Maria Corina Machado and
14:37
what it could mean for the country's political future.
14:39
You can catch it and past episodes
14:42
on our YouTube channel at President's Daily Brief
14:45
and of course on podcast platforms
14:47
everywhere.
14:48
And that,
14:49
my friends,
14:49
is the PDB.
14:51
Well,
14:51
for today evening bulletin,
14:53
again,
14:54
apologies for the late upload,
14:56
but that is the joy of delayed flights on a day of travel.
15:00
And that's the evening bulletin for Friday,
15:02
the 6th of November.
15:03
If you have any questions or comments,
15:04
please reach out to me
15:05
at PDB@hefirsttv.com and to listen to the show ad-free,
15:10
it's easy.
15:11
Just become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief
15:14
by visiting PDBpremium.com.
15:16
I'm Mike Baker and I'll be back over the weekend with the PDB situation report.
15:21
Until then,
15:22
stay informed,
15:23
stay safe,
15:25
stay cool.
15:39
Hey,
15:40
Mike Baker here.
15:40
Let me take just a minute to talk to you about an incredibly important subject.
15:44
It's the absolute key to your health.
15:45
Of course,
15:45
I'm talking about
15:47
sleep,
15:47
how to get good sleep.
15:48
Let me ask you a question,
15:49
do you snore?
15:50
Well,
15:50
I know it's a personal question,
15:51
but as a result,
15:52
did somebody,
15:53
I don't know,
15:53
maybe your partner hand you a CPAP machine,
15:56
and then,
15:56
well,
15:57
did you just stop using it?
15:58
CPAP users know,
15:59
right?
15:59
The mask never quite seals,
16:01
the hose is tugging at you every time you roll over,
16:04
and eventually,
16:04
like the rower and the exercise bike,
16:07
the machine ends up sitting abandoned.
16:08
In a closet.
16:10
Well,
16:10
here's your answer.
16:11
Excite OSA works a different way.
16:14
It treats the root cause instead of just managing the noise,
16:16
and
16:17
you use it while you're awake.
16:18
It's an FDA cleared prescription device for
16:20
primary snoring and mild obstructive sleep apnea.
16:24
20 minutes once a day,
16:25
maybe while the coffee brews,
16:26
or you'll watch an episode of something,
16:28
and daily for 6 weeks,
16:30
and then a lighter routine to keep it.
16:32
Most people notice a change in 4 to 6 weeks.
16:34
In clinical studies,
16:36
90%,
16:37
that's 90,
16:37
90%.
16:38
80% of patients saw a reduction in snoring,
16:41
and getting started is straightforward.
16:42
There's no sleep lab,
16:43
no appointments,
16:44
no sitting around a waiting room.
16:45
You answer a few questions online,
16:47
a licensed provider reviews them,
16:49
and it ships to your door.
16:50
See if it's right for you.
16:51
Get Excite OSA at springsleep.com/PDB and use code PDB for 20% off.
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Again,
16:58
that's
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17:03
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17:04
thanks very much to Spring Sleep for sponsoring this episode.
17:07
Disclaimer,
17:09
Excite OSA is an FDA cleared prescription-only device
17:12
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17:15
It's not for everyone.
17:16
Individual results may vary.
17:18
Check out the risks and benefits at springsleep.com.