PDB Afternoon Bulletin | August 19th, 2026: New Intelligence Reveals Iran’s European Targets & Ukraine’s Political Crisis

**Mike Baker** (0:00)
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**Mike Baker** (0:42)
It's Wednesday, the 19th of August. Welcome to The PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker. Your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First up, Iran is reportedly considering expanding its war with the US into Europe, potentially targeting American military assets and critical undersea cables. Later in the show, one of Ukraine President Zelensky's longtime allies turns against him, demanding elections amid corruption allegations within Ukraine's political establishment. But first, today's afternoon spotlight. Iran is reportedly preparing options to expand its war with the US beyond the Middle East, potentially targeting American military assets in Europe and the undersea cables carrying international communications through the Strait of Hormuz. According to the Financial Times, two people close to Iran's regime say that Iranian forces have assessed potential strikes against US assets in southeastern Europe if President Trump launches another major offensive against the Islamic Republic. Reportedly, the regime is in the contingency planning stage, with Tehran examining how the US could raise the cost for Washington if the conflict escalates again.
And the potential targets are notable. One is Bulgaria, where the Bulgarian government recently approved the use of Besmir airbase by American refueling aircraft. Bulgaria is obviously a member of NATO, meaning even an unsuccessful Iranian attack could introduce an entirely new alliance dynamic into this conflict.
Iran has also reportedly examined potential targets in Cyprus, where the UK operates its Akkaltiri airbase. The facility was struck by a drone in March, shortly after the US and Israel launched their war against Iran. Western officials suspected that drone was Iranian, although it may have been launched by one of Tehran's regional proxies rather than directly from Iran. Either way, the message from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the IRGC, has been consistent. Any base used to launch or support attacks against Iran could be treated as a legitimate target regardless of where that base is located. Up to this point, Tehran has largely concentrated its attacks on American military bases, energy infrastructure and commercial vessels across the Middle East, but Iranian commanders are now warning that the next phase could reach farther, into Southern Europe and potentially beyond. Now, obviously, a key question is whether Iran could actually do that, and the answer appears to be yes, but with some significant limitations. Iran possesses medium-range ballistic missiles, including variants of its Shahab series, that could potentially reach American facilities in Southern and Southeastern Europe. But the farther those missiles travel, the more difficult it becomes to carry a heavy warhead and strike a target accurately, and we've already seen those limitations. Earlier this year, Iran reportedly fired several missiles toward Diego Garcia, the joint American-British military base in the Indian Ocean, roughly 2,500 miles away. None of those missiles reached their target. Turkey has also said that NATO air defenses intercepted several ballistic missiles launched from Iran in March.
On the other hand, Tehran's capabilities do appear to be somewhat improving. Last month, an Iranian strike on an American base in Jordan killed three US service members. One Iranian insider described that as the most precise long-range attack that the Islamic Republic has ever conducted, and said it was also intended as a warning to Europe. So Iran may not be able to reliably hit every distant target that it threatens, but it only takes one missile getting through to turn a regional war into something potentially much larger. And ballistic missiles may not even be Iran's best option. Security analysts say that Tehran could have more success working through its network of proxies, including Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Shia militias in Iraq.
Those groups could launch drones from locations closer to Europe, attack military facilities, or conduct sabotage operations, while preserving some degree of deniability for the regime. Well, some degree of deniability if you're a complete moron or simply naive. Iran has also reportedly examined another form of retaliation, attacking undersea fiber optic cables in the Strait of Hormuz. Those cables carry enormous volumes of international communications and financial data between Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Damaging them would allow Iran to strike at the global economy without firing a missile at a city or military base.