PDB Afternoon Bulletin | April 7th, 2026: U.S. Strikes Iran’s Kharg Island & First Look at Moon’s Far Side

It's Tuesday, the 7th of April. Welcome to the PDB afternoon bulletin. I'm Mike Baker,

your eyes and ears on the world stage. Alright, let's get briefed.

First up, the US launches strikes on Carg Island as the window for diplomacy narrows while

some would argue it's shut, and President Trump's deadline to reopen the Strait of

Hormuz is fast approaching. Later in the show, an update on the Artemis

2 mission as astronauts conduct an historic flyby of the Moon's far side, capturing a

view no human has ever seen, although Pink Floyd did allude to it several decades ago.

But first, today's afternoon spotlight. The US has just carried out a major new round

of strikes on one of Iran's most critical strategic assets that would be Carg Island,

hitting more than 50 military targets. Now, as we've discussed in the past, Carg Island

is an essential part of Tehran's economy. This small outcrop in the Persian Gulf serves

as the primary gateway for Iran's oil exports, handling the vast majority, some 90% of its

crude shipments. It's a critical vulnerability, the single point of failure that if disrupted

could choke off the regime's main source of revenue almost overnight. According to

US officials, the strikes only targeted military infrastructure on the island, including

defensive systems and storage sites tied to a rod's ability to operate in and around

the Persian Gulf. US intelligence indicated that Tehran has reinforced Carg Island in recent

weeks, moving in additional personnel and air defense systems, including shoulder-fired

and surface-to-air missiles in anticipation of a possible US operation. But notably, those

strikes didn't hit any of the oil export facilities. And that distinction matters, because

what Washington is signaling here is not that it's going after Iran's oil infrastructure,

at least not yet. Instead, it's a calibrated escalation, a demonstration that the US could

reach out and cripple Iran's most important economic node while deliberately holding back

from pulling the trigger on its energy infrastructure, again, at least for the time being. The strike

comes just hours before President Trump's 8 p.m. Eastern deadline for Iran to reopen the

Strait of Hormuz. Vice President JD Vets said the operation on Carg Island does not represent

a change in strategy, but in reality, it reinforces the pressure campaign now underway, one that

combines military force with a very clear, ultimatum. Re-open the strait or face potentially

devastating consequences. Meanwhile, Iran is pushing back. According to reporting, Tehran has

cut off direct diplomatic communications with the US, following Trump's latest threats, which

included a warning about destroying Iran's quote, whole civilization, which admittedly is a

rather undiplomatic thing to say. But reportedly, talks have not completely collapsed. The state-aligned

Tehran Times initially reported that all diplomatic channels had been closed, the outlet then quickly

reversed itself, and indicated that the two sides were still engaging through intermediaries,

suggesting that while tensions are, of course, rising, both sides are keeping at least

ACOM's channel open. President Trump also seems to have left the door open to an extension

of his deadline. He told Fox News this morning that the deadline could be moved if negotiations

advance in the coming hours. Now, every other deadline has come and gone during the course of

this conflict, so extending this particular deadline would not be unusual. And one should

probably explore every possible avenue before one actually destroys an entire civilization.

At the same time, Iran is preparing for what may come next. An official on Iranian state

television has called on civilians to form human chains around key infrastructure sites,

including power plants and bridges, in an effort to deter potential US strikes.

Iran is, of course, attempting to raise the stakes, both militarily and politically,

by putting civilians into the equation. And after slaughtering thousands of their own citizens

during the January protests, it's clear that the regime isn't all that concerned

about putting their people directly in a possible firing line.

So here we are. At this point, everything hinges on Trump's deadline set to expire at 8 pm

tonight. Now, as with most things in life, there are very few options, particularly in the face

of an ultimatum, either the deadline is extended or set aside, or this conflict is about to get far

more intense and destructive. If the IRGC, which is likely in charge at this point, were actually

on the logic train, they'd be actively looking for an off ramp. But logic isn't at work here.

The regime continues to be led by ideologues and desperate to retain power.

And we know, from very recent examples, that they don't care about their citizens,

there is every possibility that those that are calling the shots are all in. They've pushed

all their chips into the middle and are going down with a ship. And yes, that's about as messy

of a mixed metaphor as you're likely to hear. All right, coming up next, an update on Artemis 2,

as astronauts complete a historic fly-by of the Moon's far side. More on that when we come back.

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Welcome back to the PDB afternoon bulletin. I want to provide you with the latest on the

Artemis 2 mission, one of the great stories of this relatively young century, because for the

first time in history, astronauts observed the entire far side of the moon, capturing a view

hidden from humanity until now. The Artemis 2 4 person crew completed a 7 hour flyby of the moon,

traveling farther in space than any human before, and laying eyes on parts of the moon that,

until now, we could only imagine with the help of Pink Floyd and some pharmaceuticals.

For those of you who have not been following this historic journey, this is the first time since

Apollo 17 back in 72 that astronauts have traveled this far from Earth. The Artemis 2 crew reached

a record distance of over 252,700 miles, which is farther than the journey of Apollo 13 by about

4,000 miles. As Artemis 2's Orion spacecraft slipped behind the lunar surface, the crew entered

a planned communications blackout lasting just 40 minutes, where they were completely cut off

from mission control. During that window, they made their closest approach, flying just a few

thousand miles above the lunar surface. Then, just two minutes later, they reached their maximum

distance from Earth, officially setting a record for human spaceflight. And as the crew moved across

that far side, they began documenting what they were seeing as it happened. The crew spent hours

observing massive impact craters, ancient lava flows, and long fractures stretching across

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billions of years. What stood out just as much were the differences in brightness and texture

in color. The crew pointed out brown and green hues along with sharply defined craters that likely

came from more recent meteor impacts. From the far side of the moon, the crew recorded what's

being called an Earth set, the moment that our planet slipped out of view behind the lunar horizon.

The image, shared by the White House on X, is already being compared to the iconic Earth rise

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a call from the White House, where President Trump congratulated the team on the historic flyby.

NASA says a significant volume of data and imagery were captured during that pass,

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returns to Earth. As of right now, the crew is on day seven of their 10-day journey,

already beyond the halfway point, and now firmly on their way home. The splashdown is scheduled

for Friday in the Pacific Ocean off San Diego, California. Godspeed to the crew,

and congratulations again to the thousands of folks who worked for years to make this happen.

And that, my friends, is the PDB afternoon bulletin for Tuesday, the 7th of April.

If you have any questions or comments, and I hope you do, please reach out to me at PDB

at thefirsttv.com. And of course, to listen to the show Add Free, you can do that. It's very simple,

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I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.

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