April 15th, 2025: Iranian Leaders Drop The Mask: “We Want the Bomb” & Israel’s Veterans Demand Peace
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It's Tuesday, the 15th of April. Ooh, well, for those of you in the U.S., it's tax day. I'm sorry to remind you of that. Now, it may be painful if you have to write those checks to the IRS, but at least you can console yourself knowing that the U.S. government always spends your tax dollars wisely. So I hope that helps. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed.

We'll start things off with Iran and the U.S., headed for another round of nuclear talks this coming weekend. But at the very same time, senior Iranian officials are now openly calling for the bomb. Hmm. Well, that seems contradictory. I'll have the details. Later in the show, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia are reportedly preparing to ink a nuclear cooperation deal, marking a major step in Riyadh's push for atomic energy.

Plus, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu facing renewed pressure over the war in Gaza. Thousands of Israeli veterans, former Mossad agents and elite paratroopers are now demanding an end to the conflict in Gaza, even if it means cutting a deal with Hamas.

And in today's back of the brief, satellite images reveal that North Korea may be building its largest warship ever. Little Rocket Man is always up to something. But first, today's PDB Spotlight.

We're learning more details about the nuclear talks that are underway between the U.S. and Iran, and what the next phase of those negotiations could look like. The next round of talks is set for this Saturday in Rome, according to a source in the Italian government who spoke to the associated press. This follows last weekend's discussions between the two lead negotiators, U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Arraghchi. Now,

Sources are saying that their initial meeting on Saturday, the direct meeting between the two of them, lasted roughly 45 minutes. That's significantly longer than had initially been publicly reported. The bulk of the discussions between the two nations were handled indirectly, with Omani mediators shuttling messages between the two sides, like middle school kids passing notes in class.

A source described the brief direct dialogue between Witkow and Arakchi, the highest level direct contact between U.S. and Iranian officials in eight years, as, quote, substantive, serious, and excellent. On the U.S. side, negotiators have a clear goal in mind, to compel Tehran to take meaningful steps in the short term to move its nuclear program away from potential weaponization. Now, that's a lot of words to say that the goal is no nukes for Iran.

Meanwhile, Iran's objectives are just as clear. According to statements from their foreign ministry spokesman over the weekend, they want sanctions lifted. And they don't want a transparent, full, and comprehensive inspection regimen by the international community over all their facilities. But there's a stark contrast emerging between Tehran's conciliatory language at the negotiating table...

well, sort of conciliatory language, and the increasingly hardline rhetoric being used by senior officials back home. Until recently, Iran officially maintained for years the line that its nuclear ambitions were strictly peaceful for civilian purposes. But as negotiations have restarted, influential figures within the Iranian regime have begun openly advocating for nuclear weapons.

Let's look at some recent examples, translated and reported by MEMRI, an organization that monitors Middle East media. In late March, Ali Laranjani, a senior advisor to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and a member of Iran's powerful Expediency Council, warned Iranian television viewers that if the U.S. or Israel made what he termed a, quote, mistake regarding Iran's nuclear program, Iran would be forced into nuclear action in self-defense.

He declared explicitly that such military aggression would not weaken Iran's nuclear capabilities, but would instead pressure the regime to reconsider its position on developing nuclear weapons, even overriding Ayatollah Khamenei's religious decree against them.

And Larajani isn't alone. On March 31st, Ahmed Naderi, an influential member of Iran's parliament, wrote on social media that nuclear deterrence had safeguarded North Korea against former President Trump's threats, strongly hinting Iran should follow Pyongyang's example.

Now, Naderi stated bluntly that the demand to publicly develop nuclear weapons is becoming widespread among senior officials determined to protect the Islamic revolution. Well, determined to protect their own self-interests and their grasp on power. Just days later, on April 8th, another Iranian lawmaker, Mohammad Reza Sabagin, took to the floor of Iran's parliament and delivered an even stronger call to arms.

stating, quote, Now, these statements are just a small sampling of the kind of provocative rhetoric increasingly heard from influential Iranian officials on the home front. And it raises important questions about Iran's true intentions, of course, as the regime engages with the U.S. at the negotiating table.

We can only speculate why Iran's hardliners are now becoming so vocal. Perhaps they sense vulnerability in the West, or maybe they're trying to leverage nationalist sentiment at home to strengthen their negotiating hand. Either way, their newfound openness about pursuing nuclear weapons sets a troubling tone for the critical talks ahead, and underscores the stakes, of course, for the U.S. and its allies.

All right, coming up next, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia move toward a nuclear deal, while thousands of Israeli veterans and national security officials ramp up pressure on Netanyahu to end the war in Gaza. I'll be right back.

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Turning to Iranian rival Saudi Arabia, the U.S. and the oil-rich kingdom are reportedly inching closer to inking a preliminary nuclear cooperation deal, marking a major step toward Riyadh's push for atomic energy.

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, on his first official visit to Saudi Arabia, said Sunday that Riyadh and Washington are on a, quote, pathway to reaching an agreement that would allow the kingdom to develop a commercial nuclear power industry and potentially enrich uranium.

Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, has long desired to develop a civil nuclear energy industry, with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman making it a cornerstone of his Vision 2030 reform plan to reduce emissions. That's according to a report from the New York Times. Such an agreement would see the U.S. government and companies cooperate with the kingdom on developing the necessary infrastructure to develop civil nuclear capabilities.

A deal has long been pursued by past administrations, with the Biden administration seeking to tie it to broader U.S. security guarantees for Saudi Arabia and the normalization of relations between the Kingdom and Israel. But concerns over Saudi Arabia using the technology to develop a nuclear weapons program has always stymied past talks. As Crown Prince bin Salman has said, if Iran moves to develop nuclear weapons, Saudi Arabia will follow suit.

U.S. Energy Secretary Wright said he met with Saudi Arabia's energy minister over the weekend to discuss the prospects of a deal that would address concerns around nuclear proliferation, and said he expected to announce, quote, meaningful developments later this year. Speaking to reporters in Riyadh, Wright said, quote,

We've not reached the details on an agreement, but it certainly looks like there is a pathway to do that. That's very diplomatic. He added that, quote, the issue is control of sensitive technology. Are there solutions to that that involve enrichment here in Saudi Arabia? Yes, end quote. Absent from Wright's statement, however, was the mention of a broader security guarantee for Saudi Arabia or normalization of ties with Israel.

As we've previously discussed, Saudi Arabia has historically conditioned any official recognition of Israel on Jerusalem's acceptance of a Palestinian state. Now, given the ongoing war against the Hamas terrorists in Gaza and Jerusalem's opposition to Palestinian statehood, a deal that involves Israel does not appear likely at this time.

Speaking of Israel, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is facing an unprecedented internal uprising over his decision to return to full-scale war in Gaza last month. Notably, the outcry isn't coming from a political faction, but directly from the men and women charged with defending Israel at home and abroad.

Late last week, a group of 1,000 current and former Israeli Air Force reservists sent shockwaves through the government when they signed an open letter calling for an immediate end to the war in Gaza. The letter called for the government to prioritize the release of the remaining hostages being held by Hamas. As a reminder, the Israeli government believes that 24 of the remaining 58 hostages that were taken captive during the 7 October attacks are still alive inside the enclave.

That's according to our report from The Guardian. The "Pilots' Letter," as it's being called, condemned the expansion of airstrikes and ground operations since the ceasefire with Hamas collapsed back on March 18, accusing Netanyahu and his governing coalition of putting the lives of soldiers and the hostages at risk and pursuing continued conflict for "political and personal interests."

The letter stated in part, quote, only an agreement can return hostages safely, while military pressure mainly leads to the killing of hostages and the endangerment of our soldiers.

A furious Netanyahu initially slammed the signatories of the letter as a, quote, group of fringe extremists funded by politically motivated foreign NGOs attempting to, quote, break Israeli society from within, end quote. He ordered the immediate dismissal of all active duty reservists who signed the letter, though the number of firings was not disclosed. But since the letter's publication last Thursday,

A wave of other military and intelligence personnel have joined the chorus calling for an end to the war. On Monday, a similar letter was signed by some 1,600 former IDF paratroopers and infantry soldiers, including two former IDF chiefs of staff, demanding that the government reach a deal with Hamas to bring the hostages home, even if it means ending the war. There

Their statement read, quote, We are soldiers who have served our country all our lives. We have driven tanks, commanded troops, and paid a heavy price. It's precisely this experience that pushes us today to call for a ceasefire. The letter asked, quote, Why do we continue to sacrifice human lives for unattainable objectives?

That letter followed one from about 250 former operatives from Israel's Mossad intelligence agency, including three ex-chiefs, that also called for prioritizing the release of the hostages. Similar letters and statements have since been released by reservists from Israel's Elite Unit 8200, the IDF's biggest military intelligence unit, as well as hundreds of reservist doctors, active duty personnel, and naval reservist officers.

The letters represent rare public backlash from a military and intelligence apparatus that usually displays a united front. But criticism has been mounting in Israel that Netanyahu's decision to resume military operations in Gaza is more about appeasing far-right members of his coalition. Those members have threatened to collapse the government if Netanyahu fails to prosecute the war until Hamas is completely eradicated.

Amid this criticism, reports emerged Monday that Netanyahu had offered a new deal to Hamas that would see the release of 10 hostages in return for a 45-day ceasefire, during which negotiations would take place for a longer-term agreement. Hamas has reportedly signaled a willingness to pursue this offer, which we should note is being attributed to the pressure put on the terror group by Israel's renewed military operations.

Previously, Hamas said they were only prepared to release one hostage. But an Israeli official told the Jerusalem Post on Monday that significant gaps do remain between Hamas and Israel, particularly over Hamas's demands for guarantees for an end to the war. The official said, quote, Hamas is expected to respond again in the coming days, but if they remain firm on the issue of guarantees, it's hard to see the agreement happening, end quote. Okay.

Coming up in the back of the brief, satellite images reveal what appears to be the largest warship North Korea has ever built, perhaps twice the size of any ship in Kim Jong-un's current naval fleet. We'll have those details next.

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In today's Back of the Brief, we turn our attention to North Korea, where new satellite imagery reveals something alarming. Pyongyang appears to be constructing the largest and most advanced warship it has ever produced. Images captured on the 6th of April by satellite providers Maxar Technologies and Planet Labs show this enormous new vessel at the Nampo Shipyard on North Korea's western coast, that's about 37 miles southwest of the capital city of Pyongyang.

According to analysts, the ship appears to be entering what's known as the outfitting phase. In shipbuilding terms, this is when all the essential equipment and weapon systems are installed. It's essentially the last step before the warship becomes fully operational and ready for deployment.

If early estimates are accurate, this new frigate will be approximately 459 feet in length. Now that would make it roughly twice as large as anything currently in North Korea's naval fleet, and the largest warship ever produced domestically by Kim's regime.

To give you a sense of scale, America's frontline naval vessels, such as the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, they measure about 505 feet. The U.S. Navy's newest Constellation-class frigates, currently under construction, will measure roughly 496 feet. So, Pyongyang's new warship isn't far behind in terms of size, these state-of-the-art American vessels.

But there's more to the story. Despite crippling international sanctions intended to prevent North Korea from accessing advanced military technology, analysts believe Pyongyang is getting help from Moscow. Now, you don't have to be an analyst to draw that conclusion. Retired South Korean Admiral Kim Do-ki recently speculated that Russia might be providing critical missile technology for this warship.

Indeed, satellite images indicate sophisticated weapon systems are being fitted to the ship, systems capable of launching missiles at both land and sea-based targets. Although the ship itself is heavily camouflaged, obscuring, of course, precise details, experts say these features would significantly upgrade North Korea's naval capabilities. If true, Russian assistance, of course, would represent a dangerous escalation in North Korea's already troubling military advancement.

potentially complicating security across the entire Pacific region. And that, my friends, is the President's Daily Brief for Tuesday, the 15th of April. And for our U.S. listeners, once again, here's hoping you're getting a tax refund. If not, and if you're writing a check, well, my condolences. I'd suggest posting the check and then mixing up a nice cold martini.

Don't forget, word on the street is that you can listen to this show ad-free by simply becoming a premium member of the President's Daily Brief. And you can do that by simply visiting pdbpremium.com. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back later today with the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.