It's Monday. Welcome to the P.D.B. After the afternoon bulletin. I'm Mike Baker. Your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed.

First up, Iran issues a threat to have missile strikes across the region,

betting its arsenal can deter U.S. military action.

Their belliger and attitude might, and I'm just saying might,

be the result of getting away with their crackdown without any real response from

the international community. Regardless, we'll walk through what's real, what's rhetoric, and how

the White House is weighing its next move. Later in the show, a mixed message out of Venezuela,

as prisoner releases are quickly followed by a troubling re-arrest. We'll explain why it's casting

doubt on the government's reform

push. But first, today's PDB spotlight. With the U.S. carrier group still parked at its doorstep,

Iran remains defiant, floating the threat of a missile barrage across the region, language

clearly aimed at forcing President Trump toward a decision point in the Middle East.

Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Iraqi, said that if the U.S. attacks Iran,

Tehran, would retaliate directly against U.S. military bases across the region,

making clear that American forces, not just Israel, would be in the line of fire.

He also flatly rejected U.S. demands to curb

Iran's missile program, reiterating that missiles are not negotiable under any circumstances.

Now, this might sound like odd bluster from a weakened regime that's dealing with an economy

currently swirling on the toilet and an angry population.

But it's the core of Iran's deterrent strategy. Right now, it's the strongest card the regime

believes it has left to play. Iran's missile program was built out of weakness decades ago,

when the country lacked a credible air force and faced regional isolation. Today those missiles have become the backbone

...