Mike Baker

It's Monday, the 25th of May.

Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin.

I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage.

All right, let's get breathed.

First up, after signaling that a deal with Iran may be close, the White House is now running into the hard part as negotiations bog down over sanctions relief and Tehran's nuclear program.

Later in the show, the Pentagon releases a massive new batch of UFO investigation files, including military videos, audio recordings, and eyewitness testimony tied to encounters that officials still struggle to explain.

Now, you may or may not know that in years past, I've been involved in a number of investigations into unexplained aerial or anomalous, take your pick, phenomena, UAPs.

During a television series that I was privileged to work on, Black Files Declassified, we dug deep into a number of events, sightings, and government dealings with UAPs.

So, you can count on us here at the PDB to spend some time digging into this latest government release of files.

But first, today's afternoon spotlight.

Just hours after the White House signaled that a breakthrough agreement with Iran might be close, negotiations now appear to be slowing as both sides dig in over some of the most difficult and politically sensitive parts of the proposed deal.

Earlier today, we told you that, according to U.S.

officials anyway, Washington and Tehran had reportedly agreed in principle to a framework that could reopen the Strait of Hormuz, ease pressure on global oil markets, and reduce the risk of a wider regional war.

Under the proposed framework, Iran would reopen the strategic waterway, remove naval mines, and allow commercial shipping to move freely through the Strait of Hormuz.

In exchange, the U.S.

would begin lifting its naval blockade on Iranian ports,

and issue limited sanctions waivers allowing Iran to resume oil exports.

But as negotiations move from broad concepts to actual specifics, the talks appear to be crashing headlong into reality.

I'd like to sound surprised, but I am not that good of an actor.

According to a new report from the Wall Street Journal, negotiators are now bogged down over two major issues, Iran's nuclear program, yeah, that's a major issue, and exactly how much economic relief Tehran would receive in return for concessions.