Mike Baker

First up, the U.S.-Iran deal is now official.

Well, according to President Trump.

As of the time when we put this episode together, there was no official confirmation from the Iranian regime that they've agreed to a deal.

And we have seen how that's played out before.

But from what we've seen and heard so far, we'll examine some of the reported provisions in this supposed deal and the major questions that remain about sanctions relief, Iran's nuclear program and other key deal points.

Later in the show, European efforts to crack down on Russia's shadow fleet continue, as British forces intercept an oil tanker in the English Channel.

Plus, President Trump says U.S.

forces killed the leader of Venezuela's Trenderagua, or TDA, gang in a joint operation with Caracas.

And in today's Back of the Brief, one of the possibly strangest intelligence stories of the year, there have been a few, as Beijing warns of foreign intelligence services deploying spy turtles and spy fish to its territorial waters.

But first, today's PDB Spotlight.

President Trump has now announced that a deal has been finalized, declaring on Truth Social that, quote, the deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete, end quote.

The president simultaneously announced the immediate removal of the U.S.

naval blockade, as well as the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shabazz Sharif later confirmed that an agreement had been reached, saying both sides had agreed to an immediate and permanent cessation of military operations and that a formal signing ceremony, that sounds like fun, is scheduled to take place in Switzerland on the 19th of June.

Now, as mentioned, as of this writing, there was no actual confirmation from the Iranian regime that they've definitely agreed to a deal.

And that does seem like an important missing element here and a consistent one over the past couple of months.

As you've no doubt noticed, the entire negotiating process has been characterized by optimistic statements from the U.S.

side claiming an agreement is within reach or just days away, only to have those statements shot down by the failure of the Iranian regime to follow through or to negotiate in good faith.

So the question is, if the president says there's a deal, and the mediators say there's a deal, but the Iranians say nothing, is there actually a deal?

Well, perhaps the next 12 or 24 hours will bring clarity, perhaps confirmation from the Iranians.