The PDB Situation Report | September 19th, 2026: Iran’s Targeting of U.S. Forces May Be Getting More Dangerous & Putin’s Wartime Election
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What new evidence suggests Russia and China are helping Iran target U.S. forces?
Welcome to the PDB Situation Report. I'm Mike Baker with your eyes and ears on the world stage. And yes, thank you again for noticing I am back on the road. Let's get briefed. First up, new reports suggest that Russia and Chinese companies may be helping Iran sharpen its targeting of American forces across the Middle East. Open source intelligence analyst and great friend of the show, Ryan McBeth. He joins us for more on that. Later in the show, Russia holds parliamentary elections this weekend. Ooh, I wonder who's gonna win, with growing strain from the war, but virtually no opposition, of course, to Putin's ruling party. We'll be joined by good friend of the show, Konstantin Samoilov, of the YouTube channel Inside Russia, for some insight into that.
But first, today's situation report spotlight. This week, new reports emerged that Russian and Chinese companies may be helping Iran improve its targeting of American forces across the Middle East, basically providing intelligence or targeting data to make the Iranian regime's attacks more lethal. Most recently, investigators found that 14 Russian satellites passed over Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia in the days before an Iranian strike. uh wounded US personnel and damaged key American aircraft. That follows separate reporting, linking Chinese satellite imagery to another Iranian attack on US forces in Jordan. So what exactly is Iran getting from these foreign partners and how much of a difference could it be making on the battlefield?
Joining us now is great friend of the show. I didn't say good, I said great, Ryan Macbeth. Now you know him, right? Ryan's an open source intelligence analyst. He won't tell us what that actually means. You can check out his YouTube channel. It's at Ryan McBeth Programming or at Substack. He also won't Tell us what that is. It's at Ryan Macbeth.substack.com. If you're not paying attention to Ryan, I don't know what you're doing with your time. Ryan, thank you, man, for being back here on the situation before.
Thank you so much for reminding me. It's always a great time.
Yeah. Well, look at you going and sprite out of the gate with a compliment. Uh
I feel pretty good. I'm in Florida today. I'm going to a cigar factory in a couple of hours to shoot a commercial. Life uh life isn't so bad right now. I if the Bullet Iranians would stop messing with our our video connection, we would have been able to do this a half hour ago be out smoking cigars.
Yeah, no, you know what, you're not wrong about that. Um yeah. You're uh the guy with the most interesting backdrop uh in podcast land. And uh so that explains that you're traveling right now, which explains why your backdrop is is is so generic uh as opposed to mine. Which yeah, you
know. I've got I've gotta go to Durral on uh I gotta go to Durrale this weekend. I gotta go to Tampa next weekend. You know, uh us guys up at Fort Meade, we we have to work for a living. We can't just steal gold bars from our employer like you do at Langley, you know? Some just
well. Tell me tell me about it. You know what? People think that people work at the agency simply for patriotic reasons. It's really because we can just abscond with anything. You walk in, you say you you you you need a couple of high-end luxury sports cars for an operation, and they say, well, why? And you say it's secret. Can't tell ya. Next thing you know, you got forty million dollars in gold bars stashed away at your home. Yeah, that's a story and a half right there. We'll talk about that some other time, possibly over a drink and a cigar. But first, you know, there's some stuff going on out there in the world, man. And we should talk about that. Uh, what do you know and what can you tell us about uh Russian and Chinese targeting support for the Iranian regime?
That's a that's a very good question. I can tell ya that the there is a non zero chance that Russia and China are providing targeting assistance to uh Iranian uh targeters. The question becomes how actionable is that intelligence? Because if I if a ship is moving at thirty knots
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What new evidence suggests Russia and China are helping Iran target U.S. forces?
0:07–8:20
2
How does Ryan McBeth explain the impact of foreign satellite data on Iranian attacks?
8:20–16:44
3
What is synthetic‑aperture radar the key technology behind Iran’s improved targeting?
16:44–23:20
4
How have the Houthis’ recent Red Sea moves surprised regional powers?
23:20–30:51
5
What does Konstantin Samoilov say about the lack of real opposition in Russia’s parliamentary election?
30:51–37:50
6
How might Putin use a post‑election mass mobilization to shore up the war effort?
37:50–44:31
7
What are the economic and social signs that Russia’s population is reaching a breaking point?
44:31–52:20
8
What future threats could arise from Russia’s hybrid warfare against NATO and the EU?
52:20–57:45
Speakers
2 identifiedMore from The President's Daily Brief
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September 18th, 2026: China Is Being Pulled Into Saudi Arabia’s Houthi War & Russia’s Parliamentary Election
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | September 17th, 2026: Iran’s Plan to Beat the U.S. Blockade Is Failing & Russia’s Satellite Help to Tehran
September 17th, 2026: U.S. Destroys Iranian Boats & China Supercharges Cyber Spying
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | September 16th, 2026: Inside America’s Secret Meeting With the Houthis & Attacks on U.S.-Bound Tankers
September 16th, 2026: Ukraine Launches a New Ground Offensive Against Russia & NATO Faces New Baltic Tensions