PDB Afternoon Bulletin | October 23rd, 2024: White House Denies Iranian Link To Israeli Intel Leak & Putin Hosts Landmark BRICS Summit
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It's Wednesday, 23 October. Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. First, an update on the leak of classified intelligence detailing Israel's plans to strike Iran.

as the White House denies reports that they are investigating a Pentagon staffer who's been linked to Iranian influence operations. Well, look, not to tell the White House how to conduct counterintelligence investigations, but if you've got a leak of intel related to Iran that benefits Iran, and you've got a Pentagon appointee still in position who has previously been linked to Iranian influence operations, then

Well, that could be a clue. Then, Russian President Putin is holding a landmark summit for the BRICS bloc of developing economies in the East, a meeting that he hopes will serve as a rallying point to strengthen opposition to the West amid his ongoing war against Ukraine. But first, our afternoon spotlight.

More than four days after the leak of classified intelligence detailing Israel's plans to strike Iran, the White House is still no closer to determining how the disturbing security breach occurred.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters earlier this week that the Department of Defense is urgently investigating the incident, but cannot yet say whether the document release was the result of a hack or an internal leak. Kirby called the situation unacceptable. Well, that's good to know. And said President Biden, remember him, is actively monitoring the situation and remains, quote, deeply concerned, according to a report from The New York Post.

As we discussed on Monday's PDB, the documents first appeared online Friday via a Tehran-based telegram channel, sparking speculation, of course, about Iran's involvement. The channel previously published pro-Iran material, fueling concerns that Israel's chief adversary may adjust its military planning based on the leaks.

A military analyst with the Atlantic Council told the New York Post, quote, this weekend's leak of the U.S. assessment of Israel's readiness to conduct the attack was damaging because it provided the status of the readiness, but also what wasn't ready and would allow an adversary to focus their intelligence collection on those elements, end quote. Although

Although the leak doesn't specify Israel's intended targets, it suggests that strikes on Tehran's military and oil interests could remain on the table. Among other sensitive information, the leak included documents from the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, or NGA, detailing the movements of munitions and Israeli Air Force exercises involving air-to-surface missiles. Now, despite the lack of answers from the White House,

Kirby claimed they're confident that there will be no further surprise leaks of Israel's plans, though he didn't clarify just how they reached that conclusion. Well, we don't know where the leaks are coming from, but we're super confident that there won't be any more of them.

Okay. As the investigation continues, the Pentagon is also pushing back on reports that the leak was potentially tied to Arianne Tabatabai, a senior advisor at the Department of Defense who has allegedly worked for years on behalf of an Iranian influence operation designed to expand Tehran's soft power within the U.S.,

As we've covered here on the PDB, Tabatabai was outed last fall as the purported ringleader of what was called the Iran Experts Initiative, or IEI, which has operated within the U.S. government and inside leading international think tanks and academic institutions since 2014.

She and others allegedly liaised with an official from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the IRGC, to receive instructions to help shape public opinion in an attempt to normalize the Islamic regime in the minds of Americans. Now, mysteriously, Tabatabai has somehow managed to avoid official scrutiny and to retain her position and security clearances.

She currently serves as Chief of Staff to Christopher Meyer, the Pentagon's Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict. Now, I guess, I'm not sure, but has anybody asked why she's still in a position that provides access to classified documents?

You don't have to be a security expert to imagine that perhaps, given what's been reported about her, that she should or could be legitimately considered an insider threat. So then you have to ask, well, who's providing her top cover? A senior Pentagon source told Sky News Arabic on Monday that Tabatabai was the focus of the investigation and seen as the likely source of the leak.

But Pentagon Press Secretary Major General Pat Ryder denied those reports on Tuesday. Reuters

Reiter said, quote, it is important to let the investigation run its course. To my knowledge, this official is not a subject of interest and the department remains fully committed to supporting the investigation, end quote. Well, he's not wrong. The investigation does need to run its course. And hopefully part of that course is polygraphing anybody who was on the access list for those leaked documents. It's not rocket science.

Fox News reported later that Pentagon sources said Tabatabai is currently at work and still retains her security clearance. But despite the denials from the Pentagon, concerns do remain around Iran's influence within the Biden administration. Former U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton said Monday, "...a lot of people have been worried that there are Iranian sympathizers in the Biden-Harris White House. It's very disturbing, and the administration needs to come clean on this."

Coming up, Russian President Vladimir Putin is holding a landmark summit for the BRICS bloc of developing economies in the East. And that's a meeting that he hopes will serve as a rallying point to strengthen opposition to the West amid his ongoing war on Ukraine. I'll be right back.

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We shift to Russia, where President Putin welcomed China's President Xi Jinping, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and other world leaders for a landmark BRICS summit on Tuesday to strengthen ties among developing economies with the goal of diminishing Western influence.

The BRICS bloc, which was initially Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, and of course when you take the first letter from each of those countries it cleverly spells BRICS, has rapidly expanded, pulling in new members like Iran, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia. With 36 countries attending and over 20 heads of state present,

This three-day summit is, frankly, a win for Putin, who aims to deepen ties with the developing world. Nations like Turkey, Malaysia, and Azerbaijan have applied to join BRICS, signaling growing momentum behind the movement.

So what's on the agenda? At the heart of this summit is Russia's effort to sidestep Western financial constraints. Moscow is pushing for a new payment system to bypass what's known as SWIFT. That's the global bank messaging network that Russia was banned from after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

For Putin, this is about proving Russia can thrive without Western-dominated financial systems. The truth is, frankly, without the support of China, India, and Iran over the past almost three years, Putin would not be surviving, much less thriving. Putin held about 20 bilateral meetings, including talks with Xi, Modi, and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa before the official opening of the summit. Putin's

Putin praised his relationship with Xi as a, quote, stabilizing factor in world affairs. Oh, yes, very stabilizing. Vowing to strengthen their partnership and building a, quote, fair world order. Man, this dude is sucking up. Xi echoed Putin's sentiment, emphasizing, quote, the unprecedented nature of their partnership during, quote, tectonic transformations in global politics.

Their bond, cemented in 2022 via a no-limits partnership and friendship bracelets just weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine, has only grown stronger. Sounds like a Hallmark movie, doesn't it? Putin's meeting with Modi emphasized the delicate balance that India maintains between Moscow and the West. While Modi called for peace, he refrained from directly criticizing Russia's actions in Ukraine.

Modi stated, quote, we fully support the quickest establishment of peace and stability, preserving India's time-tested Cold War era ties with Russia. Putin reciprocated by praising the, quote, privileged strategic partnership between the two nations. Now, India and China have played a key role in ensuring that Putin can keep his oil revenues flowing to support his war machine.

South Africa's Ramaphosa dumbled down on Putin's call for a, quote, fair, multipolar global order and stressed the need for BRICS nations to develop independent financial systems to navigate Western sanctions. Meanwhile, Putin met with Egypt's president, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who praised the strengthening of Moscow-Cairo relations. Egypt has sought to deepen their economic ties with Russia, particularly in the energy sector. I mean,

Frankly, who doesn't love cheap Russian oil and gas? Putin is set to meet with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sometime on Thursday, marking his first visit to Russia in over two years.

Despite Guterres' criticism of Russia's actions in Ukraine, this discussion, of course, could be pivotal in assessing potential diplomatic movements. But let's not forget, the U.S. is, frankly, the definition of feckless. Russia maintains its seat on the Permanent Security Council at the U.N., despite invading another member country.

Basically, for Putin, this summit is about optics. By showcasing BRICS as a rising counterweight to Western-led organizations like NATO and the G7, Moscow is positioning itself as a leader, or at least imagining itself as a leader.

of an emerging global order, prioritizing collaboration with rising powers outside the Western sphere. The reality is, frankly, though, that Putin is dealing from a position of weakness. His economy and war machine are propped up by China, Iran, India, and North Korea. He's essentially trading cheap energy and weapons technology for economic support, munitions, and drones.

And that, my friends, is the PDB Afternoon Bulletin for Wednesday, 23 October. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdbatthefirsttv.com. And of course, as you've probably read in all the trade papers, to listen to the show ad-free, well, become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief by simply checking in with pdbpremium.com.

I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.