Mike Baker

It's Wednesday, the 25th of March.

Welcome to the President's Daily Brief.

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

And yes, still on the road.

All right, let's get briefed.

First up, the Strait of Hormuz is effectively shut down, with hundreds of tankers sitting idle.

And reopening it may be far more difficult than Washington is letting on.

I'll explain the challenges behind getting tanker traffic moving again in the Strait.

Later in the show, Gulf nations weigh direct military action against Iran as repeated attacks push the region closer to a widening conflict.

Plus, Israel announces plans to take control of parts of southern Lebanon, suggesting a broader push against Hezbollah is underway.

And in today's Back of the Brief, the Taliban, remember them, releases a U.S.

citizen after more than a year in captivity in a rare moment of cooperation with Washington.

But first, today's PDB Spotlight.

Hundreds of oil tankers are now sitting idle on either side of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical artery of course for the global energy market that has effectively been choked off as the conflict with Iran continues.

As the New York Times reported this week, nearly 500 vessels are currently stalled, waiting for some reassurance that it's safe to move again.

As we've been reporting, oil prices are surging, prices at the fuel pumps are rising, markets are rattled, and President Trump has vowed to reopen the Strait, quote, one way or another.

But here's the reality.

Reopening the Strait of Hormuz is far more complicated than it may sound.

Let's start with the geography.

I mean, after all, who doesn't love a good geography lesson?