The President's Daily Brief
January 8th, 2025: Iran Retreats From Syria & Zelensky’s Approval Crisis
08 Jan 2025
In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: We begin in Syria, where the nation struggles to return to normalcy as Iran largely withdraws—marking a major setback for Tehran’s regional ambitions. Later, trouble for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose approval ratings have plummeted to their lowest point since the Russian invasion began, fueling growing doubts among Ukrainians. Plus, the latest from South Korea, where rival government forces face off outside the presidential compound as impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol remains inside—refusing to comply with detention and search warrants. And finally, in today’s Back of the Brief, a new UN report reveals a sharp rise in executions in Iran last year, including about 40 in just one week in December. 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Full Episode
It's Wednesday, 8 January. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. Today, we begin in Syria. As the country struggles to return to normalcy, Iran has largely withdrawn, signaling a major setback for the Iranian regime's regional ambitions. We'll have all the details ahead.
Later in the show, trouble for Ukrainian President Zelensky. His approval ratings have plummeted to their lowest point since the Russian invasion began, as doubts continue to grow among Ukrainians.
Plus, the latest from South Korea, where an ongoing standoff between rival government forces continues outside the presidential compound as the nation's impeached president remains inside, refusing to comply with detention and search warrants.
And in today's back of the brief, a new United Nations report reveals an alarming rise in executions in Iran last year, including about 40 in a single week in December. But first, today's PDB Spotlight.
We'll begin with an update out of Syria, where some semblance of normalcy appears to be returning to the war-torn nation following the overthrow of Iranian-backed dictator Bashar al-Assad in early December.
Officials from the rebel coalition now governing the country announced that international flights in and out of Syria's main airport in Damascus would resume this week and that Syria was now ready to begin welcoming visitors from all over the world.
It's actually a significant development, as most international airlines suspended service to the country after the Syrian civil war kicked off back in March of 2011. Qatar Airways was the first major airliner to respond to the news, announcing that flights to Damascus had resumed on Tuesday for the first time in nearly 13 years.
Following the news, Jordan's flagship carrier also announced that flights to Syria would resume this week.
While there are still concerns about the stability of the new government, of course, which is being led by the Islamist group known as HTS, the rebels appear eager to open their doors back up and normalize ties with their neighbors, particularly now that Iran's stranglehold over the country appears to have been broken.
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