Mike Baker

Later in the show, Ukraine claims it has new intelligence, indicating that Russia is helping to give Iran a battlefield edge, providing satellite surveillance and cyber capabilities to refine strikes across the Middle East.

Plus, just in case you needed yet another example of just how feckless the United Nations is...

Russia and China block an effort in the UN to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

And in today's Back of the Brief, the CIA reportedly turned to cutting-edge technology to recover a downed airman in Iran using a classified system that can track the electromagnetic signature of a heartbeat.

Now, we would not know about this, except that people supposedly briefed on the program apparently can't keep their yaps shut.

Secrets are just so hard to keep.

when you have no discipline.

But first, today's PDB Spotlight.

Well, it looks like the Iranian civilization will live to see another day.

Just hours before his 8 p.m.

deadline yesterday, President Trump announced he would hold off on a major bombing campaign against Iran for another two weeks, a campaign that he stated earlier would send Iran back to the Stone Age.

The White House made the decision to back off their deadline and to not, in Trump's own words, destroy an entire civilization.

He announced an agreement.

A ceasefire is in the works with what Trump described as a brand new reasonable regime.

Trump wrote on Truth Social, "...this will be a double-sided ceasefire.

The reason for doing so is that we have already met and exceeded all military objectives and are very far along with a definitive agreement concerning long-term peace with Iran and peace in the Middle East."

He added, "...almost all of the various points of past contention have been agreed to between the United States and Iran, but a two-week period will allow the agreement to be finalized and consummated."

Now, you will not be surprised to learn that there are very few details available about these discussions or about those points of past contention that apparently have been resolved.

For now, that's where things stand.

The war hasn't ended, but at least for the moment, Trump is holding fire.