The President's Daily Brief
May 22nd, 2025: Leaked Intel: Israel Poised To Strike Iran’s Nuclear Sites & Ukrainian Official Assassinated
Thu, 22 May 2025
In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: Startling new intelligence suggests Israel is preparing to strike Iranian nuclear facilities, even as the U.S. pursues diplomacy with Tehran. A gruesome discovery in Mexico—authorities uncover a suspected cartel “death camp” where victims were tortured, incinerated, and buried. A political assassination in Spain—A former Ukrainian official with ties to the pro-Russian regime is gunned down outside an American school in Madrid. And in today’s Back of the Brief: Canada is in talks to join President Trump’s “Golden Dome” missile defense system. We’ll explore what that means for North American security. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President’s Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief Birch Gold: Text PDB to 989898 and get your free info kit on gold Kikoff: Build credit fast and get your first month for just a dollar at https://GetKikoff.com/mike today. Thanks to Kikoff for sponsoring us! Jacked Up Fitness: Go to https://GetJackedUp.com and use code BAKER at checkout to save 10% off your entire purchase Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chapter 1: What new intelligence suggests Israel is preparing to strike Iran?
It's Thursday, the 22nd of May. 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 kick things off with revealing new intelligence. U.S.
officials believe that Israel is preparing to strike Iranian nuclear facilities, setting the stage for possible conflict, even as Washington pursues a diplomatic path with the mullahs. Later in the show, a shocking look at cartel brutality south of the US border.
Officials have uncovered another suspected death camp in rural Mexico, this time a 40-acre ranch where victims were allegedly tortured, murdered, and incinerated. Plus, a murder mystery in Spain. A former top Ukrainian official with deep ties to the pro-Russian regime is gunned down outside an American school in Madrid, Spain.
Chapter 2: What gruesome discovery was made in Mexico?
Chapter 3: What happened to the former Ukrainian official in Spain?
And in today's back of the brief, Canada is considering joining President Trump's ambitious new missile defense program, dubbed the Golden Dome. We'll take a look at why Canada wants in and what it means for North American security. But first, today's PDB Spotlight.
We'll begin today with reports that Israel may make good on their threat to go it alone against Iran if the Trump administration attempts to pursue a new nuclear deal that Jerusalem views as too weak. Newly intercepted intelligence shared exclusively with CNN by multiple U.S. officials
suggests Israel was already making preparations to strike Iranian nuclear facilities, a move that could kick off a fresh conflict in the Middle East and would represent a serious break with President Trump, who's still hoping to find a diplomatic solution to Tehran's nuclear ambitions.
Chapter 4: What is the significance of Canada's potential role in missile defense?
Of course, well, not to put too fine a point on it, but the Iranian regime doesn't represent an existential threat to the U.S. It does, however, represent an existential threat to Israel. So, Israel and the U.S. naturally view Iran from different perspectives, which, of course, earns me the PDB statement of the obvious award for the day.
The officials stressed that it remains unclear if Israeli leaders have made a final decision on whether or not to attack, but said the likelihood, quote, has gone up significantly in recent months, particularly as Jerusalem grows increasingly frustrated with the Trump administration's approach to Middle East diplomacy.
Chapter 5: What preparations is Israel making regarding Iran's nuclear facilities?
They point to recently intercepted Israeli communications along with observations of Israeli military movements that suggest that a strike could be imminent.
According to sources familiar with the intelligence, the Israeli military has been quietly redeploying munitions and other assets to strategic locations and just recently completed a round of air exercises that may have simulated possible strikes against Iranian nuclear sites. Some U.S.
officials said the moves may simply be geared at sending a message to Iran of the consequences that they'll face if they don't abandon their uranium enrichment program. But others, well, are concerned that the activity means Israel may choose to act unilaterally.
They note that Israeli officials have routinely expressed their desire in private to take out Iran's nuclear capacity, fearing the mullahs are attempting to use diplomacy as a distraction as they increase the enrichment efforts.
In April, the UN's nuclear watchdog warned that Iran now possesses roughly 605 pounds of uranium enriched up to 60%, which they could theoretically convert into weapons-grade material within one to two weeks. Leaders in Israel also reportedly see Iran's nuclear sites as uniquely vulnerable due to the collapse of their once-strong proxy network over the past year.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz bluntly warned the mullahs earlier this month that if they continue to wage a proxy war on the Jewish state, they'll meet the same fate as their other regional allies like Hezbollah, Hamas, and the now-deposed Assad regime. He added that Israel was prepared to act alone.
The sources said Israel's decision will ultimately come down to what kind of nuclear deal ends up materializing, if any. One person familiar with U.S. intelligence told CNN, "...the prospect of a Trump-negotiated U.S.-Iran deal that doesn't remove all of Iran's uranium makes the chance of a strike more likely."
As a reminder, the Trump administration has been conducting diplomatic talks with the Islamic regime since early April of this year. While U.S. officials described the fourth round of negotiations on the 11th of May in Oman as encouraging, the discussions have yet to yield any concrete results.
The impasse is reportedly over whether or not Iran will be allowed to continue the domestic enrichment of uranium at a lower level for what they dubiously claim are civilian purposes. President Trump has repeatedly insisted that any deal must include Iran's full abandonment of enrichment activities. That's an outcome that Iran's leadership continues to reject.
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Chapter 6: What challenges does Israel face in potentially striking Iran?
Footage circulating on social media appears to show dozens of heavily armed New Generation fighters alongside members of Los Chapitos, that's a Sinaloa cartel faction, led by the sons of Joaquin El Chapo Guzman. In the video, a man off-camera declares, quote, this is just about to get started. The rumors are true. The alliance between the New Generation cartel and La Chapito is confirmed.
Though the video's exact date remains unclear, its circulation follows a DEA intelligence bulletin warning of a potential alignment between the two groups, former enemies now apparently joining forces. If confirmed, such an alliance would represent a tectonic shift in Mexico's criminal underworld.
New Generation and Los Chapitos have long been at war, both with each other and with rival similar factions like Los Mayos. American officials believe New Generation may be strategically backing Los Chapitos in a bid to outmaneuver the Mayos and consolidate control over trafficking routes.
In a memo released earlier this month, the DEA cautioned that Jalisco New Generation was, quote, capitalizing on the conflict between the Los Mayos and Los Chapitos fractions by choosing sides in favor of their former rivals, end quote. The agency warned that such a merger could dramatically, quote, expand these groups' territories, resources, firepower, and access to corrupt officials.
and the ripple effects wouldn't be confined to Mexico. The DEA cautioned that this alliance could accelerate the northbound trafficking of fentanyl and other synthetic drugs while fueling the southbound flow of firearms and cash.
Okay, shifting to Spain, Andriy Portnov, a notorious former aide to pro-Russian Ukrainian leader Viktor Yanukovych, was gunned down outside a private school on Wednesday in a killing that bore the hallmarks of a targeted political hit.
Portnov, a lawyer and the former deputy head of Yanukovych's regime, was shot multiple times by several gunmen as he approached his car outside the American School of Madrid. Spanish authorities say multiple assailants opened fire, striking him three times, including once in the head. He died shortly after emergency crews arrived. The attackers fled on foot into a nearby wooded area.
Police cordoned off the scene and launched a manhunt, but no arrests have been made. The school, which serves over 1,000 students from the U.S., Spain, and dozens of other countries, confirmed that the shooting occurred just after morning drop-off of students. Administrators notified parents that all students were safe.
The victim, they said, was believed to be the father of a student, though official identification was still pending. As investigators comb the scene, suspicions are swirling. Portnov fled Ukraine alongside Yanukovych in 2014 after the pro-European Maidan uprising ousted the government and remained in exile until returning to Kyiv in 2019.
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Chapter 7: How do cartel operations in Mexico showcase the violence in the drug war?
When you're ready to purchase your own Power Rack Pro X, just use my promo code Baker, that's B-A-K-E-R, to save 10% at checkout. That's GetJackedUp.com. In today's Back of the Brief, President Trump's ambitious plans for a futuristic space-based missile defense shield to protect the U.S. from next-generation aerial threats is catching the eye of America's northern neighbor.
As we discussed on yesterday's PDB, Trump announced Tuesday plans for a multibillion-dollar project to build a new comprehensive air defense system dubbed the Golden Dome. And it appears Canada wants in. Hmm. Canadian leaders are already in, quote, active discussions with the U.S.
on joining the endeavor as part of broader negotiations currently underway regarding trade and national security prompted by Trump's imposition of steep tariffs earlier this year. That's according to a report from the BBC.
While details of the proposed missile shield remain vague, Trump said the Golden Dome will set a new standard for regional defense, protecting against ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as, importantly, advanced hypersonic weapons.
The president teased Tuesday that Canada had expressed keen interest on being included under the new security umbrella, telling reporters, quote, We'll be talking to them. They want to have protection also, so as usual, we help Canada. The project will have an initial investment of $25 billion, but is expected to cost at least $175 billion in total. I suspect that total could rise.
It's not yet clear how Canada would participate in the system's development and how much money they would contribute toward its construction, but, as you might imagine, Trump stressed that he would be looking to ensure the Canadians, quote, "...pay their fair share."
A spokesperson for Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Wednesday, quote, Canadians gave the Prime Minister a strong mandate to negotiate a comprehensive new security and economic relationship with the U.S. To that end, the Prime Minister and his ministers are having wide-ranging and constructive discussions with their American counterparts.
The spokesperson added that, quote, these discussions naturally include strengthening NORAD and related initiatives such as the Golden Dome, end quote. A partnership on the project would be natural, frankly, as the U.S.
and Canada already collaborate through the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, a system responsible for defending North American airspace and waters from potential threats. But NORAD has long needed modernizing to better defend against increasingly sophisticated weapons such as hypersonic missiles.
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Chapter 8: What alliances are emerging among Mexican cartels?
And, of course, to listen to the show ad-free, which you can do, very simply, might I add, become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief simply by visiting pdbpremium.com. I'm Mike Bakern, and I'll be back later today with the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. Until then, stay informed, stay safe. Stay cool.