PDB Situation Report | June 20th, 2026: Israel-Hezbollah Violence Just Shook The Iran Agreement

**SPEAKER_1** (0:00)
Hi, Diva, it's Rachel.

**SPEAKER_2** (0:01)
And Jordan, yeah, hi.

**SPEAKER_3** (0:02)
Quick question.

**SPEAKER_1** (0:03)
Why are you not spending your Venmo balance?

**Joshua Philipp** (0:05)
Yeah, we're concerned.

**SPEAKER_1** (0:06)
You can like buy stuff with it.

**SPEAKER_5** (0:07)
Ugh, you love buying stuff.

**SPEAKER_1** (0:09)
And earn cash back on eligible purchases.

**Joshua Philipp** (0:11)
You love purchasing eligible things.

**SPEAKER_1** (0:14)
So the money your friend sent you yesterday, that's today's ramen or ride share or eye patches.

**Joshua Philipp** (0:19)
The skincare kind, not the pyro kind.

**SPEAKER_1** (0:21)
Spend with Venmo, and you can earn cash back with Venmo Stash.

**SPEAKER_6** (0:24)
Venmo Stash bundle terms and exclusions apply. Max $100 cash back per month.

**SPEAKER_3** (0:26)
See terms at venmo.me slash stash terms. See verification required to use a Venmo Balance.

**Mike Baker** (0:30)
On June 26th, Supergirl arrives in theaters.

**SPEAKER_3** (0:33)
Let's go.

**SPEAKER_6** (0:36)
Your powers are gonna take in now.

**Joshua Philipp** (0:39)
That's very impressive.

**SPEAKER_5** (0:40)
Get ready for a movie event unlike any other.

**SPEAKER_3** (0:43)
Superman sees the good in everyone, and I see the truth.

**SPEAKER_5** (0:46)
Get your tickets now for the most fun.

**Mike Baker** (0:49)
And fresh movie of the summer.

**SPEAKER_5** (0:50)
What are you going to do?

**SPEAKER_6** (0:51)
Something stupid. No, it's a party.

**SPEAKER_3** (0:54)
DC's Supergirl, only in theaters June 26th.

**SPEAKER_5** (0:57)
Get tickets now.

**SPEAKER_2** (0:58)
Rated PG-13 may be inappropriate for children under 13

**Mike Baker** (1:12)
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, just days after the US and Iran signed a framework agreement or a memorandum of understanding, the first round of follow-on negotiations was called off. Following a deadly exchange of attacks between Israel and Hezbollah, that didn't take long, we'll be joined by Jonathan Schanzer of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies to discuss what happens next, and it is a very fluid situation. Alright, later in the show, the battle over AI data centers is becoming a major flashpoint across America, raising questions about energy, infrastructure, and national competitiveness. Investigative journalist Joshua Philipp joins us to discuss whether China may be helping fuel opposition to these projects and what's at stake in the race for AI dominance. But first, today's Situation Report Spotlight. Just days after the US and Iran signed a framework agreement aimed at reducing tensions across the Middle East, the first major test of that deal arrived. Planned U.S.-Iran negotiations in Switzerland were abruptly called off by the Iranian side after a deadly exchange of attacks between Israel and Hezbollah left dozens dead, including four Israeli soldiers. The cancellation shows just how fragile the situation remains, of course, with key questions still unresolved about Iran's nuclear program, regional proxy groups, and whether the broader agreement can survive renewed violence on Israel's northern border. To help us break this down, we're joined by Jonathan Schanzer, Executive Director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Jonathan, welcome back to the PDB Situation Report. I suspect we have some things to talk about. Great to be back with you. Where do we even start?
Let's look at this from kind of the 30,000 foot view for now. The you know, there was a lot of sort of huzzah, look what we've done. We've signed an agreement, both sides. And shortly thereafter, you know, things started to unravel. The Iranian delegation said, we're not going for these first route of discussions because look what's happening in Lebanon. And that violates the, one of the first bullet points in this ceasefire or agreement or deal or whatever we want to refer to it as. Talk to me about where we are right now.
All right. So the deal itself, you know, we can get into the nuclear elements of it or the sanctions relief elements of it. And I think, you know, a lot of folks have questions, a lot of folks have concerns.
I would count myself among them. But what's happening right now in the collapse of the talks that were scheduled for Switzerland, I think was very predictable. And it represents a gaping hole in the MOU. And here's what I mean by that.
The Lebanese Hezbollah is an Iranian-backed terrorist organization, right? Wholly owned subsidiary of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. It is part and parcel of the regime's overall regional apparatus.
After the November 2024 beeper operation, everybody remembers grim beeper, right? Exploding beepers that killed a lot of those top commanders within Hezbollah, and a pretty amazing Israeli covert operation that led to that.
The IRGC actually moved into Lebanon, right? So now you have Iranians actually running Hezbollah. And that's been what they've been doing for the last year and a half or so. And so now we've got a deal inked by the Iranians and the United States, touted by the Vice President as sort of the road map for where we go from here. And we're saying that Lebanon is part of the ceasefire. OK, got it. Except now here's what's going on. The IRGC led Hezbollah is attacking Israel. On Friday morning, we get these reports that an entire tank crew is killed by Hezbollah, almost certainly at the direction of the IRGC. And then the Israelis respond in kind as any normal country would when they're attacked. And so then what you have is a crisis made by the Iranians. And then when the Israelis respond, the Iranians say, well, this is a violation of the ceasefire that we signed, even though it was their initial violation. And my question, my concern is, what are we doing to hold the Iranians and their proxy, Hezbollah, accountable for violations? Because they're the ones who are clearly trying to stoke this and to create a crisis that would throw the entire deal into doubt. I mean, they really do feel like they're playing arsonist and firefighter here. And I don't think that the United States should be putting up with this, not for a second.