June 17th, 2025: Why Iran’s Failure Is A Huge Black Eye To Putin & Trump Shifts ICE Strategy
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It's Tuesday, the 17th of June. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. And yes, apparently still on the road. All right, let's get briefed. We'll start things off with a look at how Israel's war with Iran is sending shockwaves far beyond the Middle East, delivering a major blow to Russia. We'll break down why Israel's military campaign is turning into a serious embarrassment for the Kremlin.

Later in the show, Israel's Operation Rising Lion continues racking up results. The IDF now says it's taken out one-third of Iran's surface-to-surface missile launchers. Plus, a staggering report out of Ukraine. More than half of the North Korean soldiers sent to help Russia have been taken off the battlefield, dead or wounded. And in today's back of the brief, President Trump is pulling ICE agents off the farms and hotels beat...

and sending more into Democrat-run cities. But first, today's PDB Spotlight. As the war between Israel and Iran continues into its fifth day, its ripple effects are already stretching far beyond the Middle East. And one country in particular is watching with growing concern, and that would be Russia. Over the weekend, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone with President Trump for just under an hour.

According to the Kremlin, the conversation focused on the hostilities between Israel and Iran, with Putin reportedly urging Trump to help bring the conflict to an end.

Putin's foreign policy advisor, Yuri Ushakov, said that his boss condemned Israel's military campaign and expressed concern about the risk of escalation. Yes, because, as we know, Putin and his minions are all about peace and building a community of nations. Okay, well, no they're not. Which is why that reaction from the Kremlin shouldn't come as a surprise.

It's no secret that Moscow and Tehran have formed an increasingly close partnership over the past several years, especially after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine back in February of 2022. Now, facing crippling Western sanctions and diplomatic isolation, Russia turned to other outcast regimes for support, and Iran, long sanctioned and experienced in playing the pariah, stepped in with a critical offering, and that would be drones.

Hundreds of Iranian-made Shahed drones have been used by Russian forces to attack Ukrainian cities, to overwhelm their air defenses, and to stretch out their dwindling missile stockpiles What began as a stopgap has become a central pillar of Russia's air campaign In return, Russia has offered Iran advanced military technology, economic cooperation, and diplomatic cover in international forums

The relationship might have started as a marriage of convenience, but it's evolved into a full-blown strategic alliance, one that's now facing a serious stress test. Because over the past week, Israel has done more than just retaliate against Iranian aggression. It's exposed the vulnerabilities of the Russian-Iran partnership in dramatic fashion.

So let's start with air supremacy. Iran's air defenses include the Russian-made S-300 system. That's a long-range surface-to-air missile platform that Moscow delivered to Iran all the way back in 2016. It was supposed to be a game-changer, capable of defending Iranian skies against advanced aircraft and missiles. But over the past several days, Israel has punched straight through it. Using a combination of stealth fighters, mostly American-made F-35s,

electronic warfare and precision intelligence, Israeli forces have destroyed key targets deep inside Iran with minimal resistance. In fact, Israeli officials say they now have total air supremacy over Iran, including over the capital, Tehran. Israeli fighter jets are operating with virtual impunity day and night. And that's not just bad news for Tehran, it's deeply embarrassing for Moscow.

Russia markets its air defense systems globally as reliable deterrents to Western air power. Countries across the Middle East, Africa, and Asia have purchased or are considering purchasing these systems, banking on their ability to defend against the kind of modern aerial assault Israel just carried out. But this past week, the S-300 and Iran's air defense network more broadly failed to stop the assault. That underpinning

undermines Russian credibility as a weapons supplier and reinforces the technological superiority of Western and Israeli military systems. For the Kremlin, the optics are somewhat brutal. Its closest military partner in the Middle East was left wide open even after being armed with Russian technology. And it

it doesn't stop at air defenses. Another major problem for Russia is the vulnerability of Iran's drone program, which has become essential to Russia's war in Ukraine. Israel is now actively targeting Iran's long-range strike capabilities, including factories that produce the Shahed drones that Russia has relied on. To make matters worse for Moscow, the man responsible for overseeing these drones

Iranian Aerospace Commander Amir Ali Hajizadeh was killed in an airstrike on June 13. Hajizadeh was a senior figure in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the IRGC, and played a central role in Tehran's military exports to Russia, including the drone shipments. His death, well, could throw the entire supply chain into disarray.

Now, yes, Russia does have a domestic production facility for Shahed drones. It's located in the Tartastan region, far from the Ukrainian front lines. But now, even that facility has come under threat. Ukrainian forces reportedly struck it this past weekend, showing that Russia's own production capability is also at risk. In short,

This war between Israel and Iran is exposing cracks in the Russia-Iran axis, and it's definitely not the sort of marketing that Putin wants out there for his military-industrial complex. It's humiliating for Russian military technology, it threatens a vital supply of Iranian drones, and it makes Moscow look weak and ineffective as a strategic partner.

It's another reminder of just how interconnected the world has become Nothing happens in a bubble This current escalating conflict between Israel and Iran reaches far beyond the Middle East

All right, coming up next, Israel claims it's destroyed a third of Iran's missile launchers. And turning to Putin's war in Ukraine, over half of North Korea's troops sent to Russia by little rocket man Kim Jong-un are reportedly dead or wounded. I'll be right back.

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Sticking with our coverage of the war between Israel and Iran, it appears that within just a few short days of their initial attack, the IDF has managed to decimate Iran's missile stockpiles and severely hinder the regime's ability to strike back. Officials with the Israeli military said Monday that Operation Rising Lion has resulted in the destruction of more than 120 of Iran's surface-to-surface missile launchers, or roughly one-third of

of their offensive capabilities. IDF spokesman, Brigadier General Effie Deferin, said they carried out another wave of targeted strikes overnight, hitting around 100 military sites in and around Isfahan. That's situated in central Iran, according to the Israeli news outlet Yannet.

Now, the latest strikes, which involved some 50 Israeli fighter jets, targeted missile storage sites and command centers belonging to the Iranian military and the IRGC's Quds Force The damage wasn't limited to Isfahan, with the IDF reporting that critical military targets in the capital of Tehran were also hit, including surface-to-surface launchers being used to fire on Israeli cities

Deferin said that the Israeli Air Force took out more than 20 Iranian missiles in real time just before they were set to be launched at Israel. In one case, they identified a missile launch crew that was preparing to fire but were able to destroy their launcher and neutralize the crew before they could act. In a video statement, Deferin said that the IDF had shifted its focus to eliminating these launchers as Iran escalates their retaliatory strikes against the Jewish state.

As we discussed on yesterday's PDB, these launchers are central to the Iranian regime's efforts against Israel. Iran fired roughly 40 missiles at Israel overnight, killing eight people across several cities, including the port hub of Haifa. There were also multiple direct impacts reported in Tel Aviv. Now, earlier on Sunday evening, the Islamic regime had fired a salvo of 30 missiles. No casualties were reported in that wave.

Regarding their targeting of Iran's launchers, Deferin said, quote, These strikes caused the regime to launch only half of the missiles it had planned in last night's barrage, end quote.

Additionally, the IDFs of the Quds Force command centers that had hit Sunday night were being used to actively plan terrorist attacks against Israel through Iran's regional network of proxy forces. Officials also confirmed a strike on the heavily fortified underground Iranian nuclear facility in Fordow, though it's unclear exactly what damage was done there.

Additionally, we should note that Israel confirmed they'd taken out another key leader of the Iranian military In a strike on Sunday, the IDF killed Mohammad Kazemi, the head of the IRGC's intelligence unit, along with his deputy and several other senior operatives, dealing a significant blow to the Iranian regime's intelligence apparatus and their ability to coordinate proxy attacks on Israel

Satellite images reviewed by the BBC confirm the widespread damage that Israel has dealt to Iran's missile bases, as well as to military airport infrastructure and fuel depots. One of the sites devastated by Israel's air campaign is the Kermanshah Missile Base, one of Iran's oldest ballistic missile facilities. Satellite images show that multiple structures at the base have been completely destroyed, and there appears to be significant damage near two tunnel entrances

up against the mountainside Those tunnels were likely holding extensive supplies of critical munitions including ballistic missiles which the regime is known to bury deep in underground silos across the country With every wave of Israeli strikes Iran's arsenal is rapidly shrinking and their ability to launch and sustain counterattacks is diminishing

and Israeli leaders have made it clear, well, they have no plans to slow the pace of their operations. Still, as I mentioned, some of Iran's ballistic missiles have penetrated Israel's defenses. In a separate update on Monday from the government press office of Israel, officials confirmed that so far, Iran has launched some 370 ballistic missiles at Israeli territory and have identified 30 impact sites.

Israeli casualties have now reached 24, with another 592 people reported injured. Of the injured, 10 are described as being in serious condition and 36 in moderate condition, while 546 are said to have suffered minor injuries. On the Iranian side, the regime's health ministry has said 224 people have been killed thus far, though one human rights group puts the death toll closer to 400.

The Iranian Health Ministry said another 1,277 people were hospitalized with injuries In his update on Monday, the IDF spokesman said, "...we will reach more targets, conduct further strikes, and continue to act in pursuit of the operation's objective, to neutralize the existential threat from Iran from its nuclear project to the regime's missile array."

Now, while all eyes are focused on the conflict between Israel and Iran, it's also important to stay up to date with the latest developments coming out of Russia's war in Ukraine. As our regular listeners are well aware, the Putin regime has been increasingly relying on thousands of North Korean troops for frontline fighting, specifically in Russia's Kursk region. But according to the UK's latest defense intelligence assessment released on Monday, Kim Jong-un's fighters...

are not faring well on the battlefield, and that's putting it mildly. The assessment estimates that roughly 6,000 North Korean troops have been killed or injured during offensive operations to date. That's roughly half of the approximately 11,000 North Korean troops initially deployed to the Kursk region in the fall of 2024. UK intelligence attributes the remarkable high casualty rate to what they described as, quote, highly attritional dismounted assaults. Hmm. And

Intelligence suggests that the Hermit Kingdom has sent additional troops to plug the gaps, including some 3,000 troops that arrived in Russia in January and February, but appears they are struggling to keep up with the staggering losses resulting from what's known as Russia's meat grinder methods.

As a reminder, the two belligerent powers signed a landmark mutual defense pact back in June of 2024, which formalized the role of North Korea as a crucial supply base for Russia's military needs. In addition to troops, North Korea has supplied billions of dollars worth of missiles and artillery to resupply Moscow's dwindling stockpiles. In return, Russia has sent North Korea oil products, air defense systems, electronic warfare tools, drones, satellite launch technology, and

advanced military technology that will allow the Kim regime to update their ballistic missile program. Kim's ties to Moscow were further reinforced in late April when he hosted Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu in Pyongyang. The two reaffirmed their mutual defense pact, with Russia's deputy foreign minister confirming that discussions are underway for a future visit by Kim to the Russian capital.

Russia only officially acknowledged the presence of North Korean troops within their ranks back in late April, when President Putin formally thanked the Hermit Kingdom for their support and vowed to never forget the sacrifices of their forces. And those sacrifices continue to pile up. Okay, coming up next in the back of the brief. Ice raids are on pause in rural America, but ramping up in blue cities. I'll have those details next.

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In today's Back of the Brief, the Trump administration shifts its immigration crackdown away from farms and hotels and toward Democrat-led cities, pausing ice raids and sectors crucial to the U.S. economy while doubling down on urban enforcement. The recalibration, reported by CBS News and The New York Times, follows weeks of pressure from agriculture and hospitality executives to

who warned that ongoing raids were gutting their workforces and threatening to destabilize entire industries. These sectors, which lean heavily on immigrant labor, much of it undocumented, have become flashpoints in the administration's broader immigration strategy. President Trump addressed the shift head-on in a Truth Social post, writing, quote, Our great farmers and people in the hotel and leisure business have been stating that our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good,

longtime workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace, end quote. The commander-in-chief went on to blame what he called the, quote, very stupid Biden open borders policy for allowing illegal immigrants to slip into jobs in key economic sectors. Trump posted, quote, we must protect our farmers, but get the criminals out of the USA, end quote.

According to the White House, the new immigration directive is less about backpedaling and more about precision, one that preserves the backbone of the U.S. economy while bringing new pressure to bear on what the president has labeled, quote, Democrat power centers. The cities, such as Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago, he says, have refused to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement and protected violent offenders under the guise of sanctuary status.

The policy shift comes amid a surge in anti-ICE protests nationwide. As we've tracked here on the PDB, LA descended into chaos last week after immigration raids resulted in hundreds of arrests, including individuals with violent felony records.

Riots erupted downtown, prompting the White House to activate National Guard and Marine Corps units in the metro area Now, with enforcement operations expected to accelerate, administration officials say the goal is not just about optics, it's about effectiveness The new deportation benchmark has been raised to 3,000 removals per day, a nearly five-fold increase from the 650 daily target set earlier this year

As the administration's efforts to redirect their focus accelerate, Democrat-led cities are becoming the new front line in the White House's effort to crack down on illegal immigrants.

And that, my friends, is the President's Daily Brief for Tuesday, the 17th of June. Now, if you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdbatthefirsttv.com. And as you've no doubt seen on billboards all over town, to listen to the show ad-free, well, it's simple. Just become a premium member.

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It slaps. Or it's bussin'. Or it's the bee's knees. I really don't know what the kids say nowadays. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back later today with the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.