The PDB Situation Report | September 26th, 2026: Iran’s Economy Is Starting to Fall Apart
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Welcome to the PDB Situation Report. I'm Mike Baker. Your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First up, Washington is tightening the screws on the Iranian regime with new sanctions and, of course, the continuing blockade of Iranian ports. We'll be joined by Miod Naleki of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies to examine the sanctions campaign, the blockade's effectiveness, and what else the U.S. could do as it looks to force change in the Iranian regime. Later in the show, as Washington increases the economic pressure on Tehran, we'll look at the impact that that pressure is having on the Iranian people and whether that strain could translate into new unrest. We'll get an inside look from Ali Reza Jafrizadeh of the National Council of the Resistance of Iran.
But first, today's Situation Report Spotlight. Washington is turning up the economic pressure on Iran, and the latest move is aimed at something very visible, keeping Iranian aircraft on the ground. The Treasury Department is warning foreign airports, fuel suppliers, ground handlers, and ticketing companies that servicing sanctioned Iranian carriers could expose them to U.S. penalties. Some countries have already begun restricting flights, while others, including China, well there's a surprise, are resisting the pressure. The question now is how effective this campaign can be, how much further Washington can push it, and whether Tehran can find enough willing partners to keep its airlines operating.
Joining me now is Miad Maleki. He's a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a former senior sanctions official at the U.S. Treasury Department. During his time at Treasury, Miad helped oversee sanctions targeting Iran and the network of groups that it supports across the Middle East. And it's quite the network of groups, including Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, and Iraqi militias. Miad, thank you very much for taking the time to join us here on the Situation Report. Thanks for having me. Great to be with you. I appreciate that very much. And let me ask you a question. It's going to sound very simplistic, but I think a lot of people probably think the same way that I do. I pride myself on my simplistic ways.
I want to ask you questions about the airline sanctions that have been put into place that Treasury Secretary Scott Besson talked about. But in the world of sanctions, and I realize every situation is somewhat different, But with Iranian regime sanctions, you look at all the different things you could do. And I guess my question is, why don't we just do it all at one time? It seems like there's a never ending supply of other sanctions that we can layer on when perhaps when we're talking about an organization like the Iranian regime, maybe we just say, let's just do them all at once.
That actually is not a simple question. That's a very nuanced question. And here's my response to that. You know, sanctions... work when they're enforced. These aviation sanctions that you use as an example, these sanctions have been in place for a very long time. What Secretary Besant is doing is bringing the operational aspect of sanctions, the enforcement, Yes, he's expanding the scope of sanctions. There are new sanctions that are being added. But the most important part of it is the enforcement. And why it's important? Sanctions are not, they don't work when you add a name to the list of sanctions. Sanctions work when compliance officers in companies, when bankers, when CEOs of corporations that are involved, for example, in this case, in service providing provision of services to aviation companies, catering.
Those companies, those individuals, they make decisions to stop Iran business. And they make those decisions when they see there is a risk of being sanctioned. So you create that risk by enforcing, by showing them that there is a high level of risk if they get engaged, if they get involved in bypassing those sanctions. So what Secretary Besant is doing is what... For example, President Biden administration didn't do.
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:07–5:07
2
What new U.S. sanctions are targeting Iranian aviation and how do they work?
5:07–15:30
3
Why does Miad Maleki argue that sanctions must be fully enforced to be effective?
15:30–35:00
4
How is China influencing the success of U.S. sanctions on Iran?
35:00–1:02:13
Speakers
2 identifiedMore from The President's Daily Brief
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