The Middle East : Dissecting the Geo-Strategic Intricacies (Part 2) - Jerusalem Studio 821
As the year 2023 prepares to bid us farewell, the Middle East is left with the burden of one full-scale war, several smaller confrontations and the ever-present risk of regional conflagration.
Israel battling Hamas, Hezbollah itching for a fight, threats to Red Sea shipping and of course the common Iranian denominator always at play. So how are global and regional powers handling these geo-strategic intricacies? Joining us for the second part of this conversation we have:
Panel:
- Host : Jonathan Hessen
- Editor at Large : Amir Oren : Host of Watchmen Talk and Powers in Play
- Prof. Uri Rosenthal : former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands
The program offers the viewer deeper understanding about current events in Israel. The topics vary from domestic and foreign policy to social changes, archaelogy and religion.
The program is hosted by TV7 Israel News anchor Jonathan Hessen.
Syria’s Profound Internal and Foreign Challenges – Jerusalem Studio 907
Less than two weeks after Bashar el-Assad fled Damascus for Moscow and the IDF destroyed the bulk of the Syrian air, naval, missile, and research and development power, future prospects for Syria both internally and externally remain vague. Who will eventually control it? Will Syria become a sovereign nation in fact and not only in…
Iran’s Nuclear Race : On a Collision Course - Jerusalem Studio 906
For more than twenty years now, ever since the American invasion of Iraq made the Tehran leadership fearful of a follow-up move against Iran, its military nuclear program has been advanced but constrained, lest an attack by either Israel or the US or both destroy this precious investment so dear to the Regime’s heart. But…
The first strategic challenge in considering Syria’s future has to do with its very nature - will it be a nation-state, with a central government and institutions - both military and civilian - or will it split into several entities, along ethnic and geographical lines? Then there is the challenge of Islamist and Jihadist forces…
The Fall of the Assad Regime : What’s Next? Jerusalem Studio 904
The rapid collapse of the Assad regime at the onslaught of rebel forces has left Syria in a fluid condition, with a transformation back to solid-state sure to take some time, if at all. Regional as well as global players are jockeying for influence over the emerging composition of the provisional government, its leaders and…
Iran’s Nuclear Proliferation in Defiance of Global Concerns - Jerusalem Studio 903
Some 45 days before Joe Biden’s movers vacate the White House for the new tenant, returning to the place he reluctantly left four years earlier, the looming Trump Presidency has an evident impact on Middle Eastern dynamics. A major topic, as always, is the Iranian nuclear project. Trump’s record is known in Tehran, but so…
Syria at War : Dissecting the Strategic Landscape - Jerusalem Studio 902
The basic facts about Syria are as simple as the situation there is not. Syria borders Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan and Israel. It is of major strategic importance for Russia. For the last 54 years the Syrian regime was held by the Assad family, but since 2011 the country has been torn apart by civil…
Israel’s seven front war: How does victory look like? - Jerusalem Studio 901
Israel’s national security and peaceful co-existence in the Middle East has not been guaranteed for a single moment since the Jewish State was established 76 years ago. It triumphed over its enemies in several wars and countless campaigns and battles but could never be satisfied that it is finally and irreversibly victorious. So now that…
Iran’s Nuclear Proliferation: Inching toward Weaponization - Jerusalem Studio 900
Strategically, Iran is evidently on course to reaching military nuclear power, as circumstances permit. Tactically, it is taking the measure of both the outgoing Biden administration and the incoming Trump Presidency, in order to maximise benefit and minimise cost. How does it go about it, in the two months ir so left for the transition…
Iran versus Israel: Seven Mideast Fronts of Active Warfare - Jerusalem Studio 899
The so-called “Ring of Fire” around Israel, which was conceived by Qassem Soleimani in the long years he headed the Revolutionary Guards Qods Force, was supposed to consist of Iranian proxies throughout the Middle East, ready to spring into action when ordered by Tehran. The first part, build-up, was essentially completed, but rather than wait…
The Mideast Strategic Woes: Facing Iran's Belligerent Behavior on Multiple Fronts – JLM Studio 898
With Donald Trump’s resounding election victory, the Iranian regime is facing a pressing dilemma as it prepares for the handover from the Biden administration. Trump abrogated the JCPOA and ordered the killing of Qassam Soleimani, but is now excluding from his foreign relations and national security team the mastermind of maximum pressure, Mike Pompeo. So…
Facing Islamist Anti-Semitism in the West: Threats and Opportunities – Jerusalem Studio 897
The Amsterdam riots and near-lynching perpetrated by Moslem hooligans against Israeli soccer fans shocked many in Israel, Europe and around the world. That this barbarism took place in one of the West’s premier cities, in a nation with a mixed World War 2 record but indeed a staunch supporter of Israel, was cause for enhanced…
U.S. President Donald Trump's Victory: Implications for Israel and the Mideast -Jerusalem Studio 896
As the votes in the U.S. elections are counted, the trends - though not just yet the final results – are evident towards a Republican success in the Presidential and Senate contests. Though the fight focused on domestic issues, there will obviously be global and regional repercussions. What are they expected to be? Panel -…
Pre-election results. Israel At War – Jerusalem Studio 895
American citizens have been going to the polls today, and indeed for several weeks now, to make their choices In Presidential, Congressional and various State and local contests. As we are all waiting for the results and their implications, one fact is already clear: neither the fears nor the hopes that in the run-up to…
Israel’s post-strike posture vis-a-vis Iran - Israel At War – Jerusalem Studio 894
Early Saturday morning, October 26, dozens of military and industrial targets throughout Iran have been hit by a meticulously planned and precisely executed Israel Air Force counter-offensive, in retaliation for an Iranian missile barrage four weeks ago. Israeli officials expressed satisfaction at both the tactical success of the mission and the strategic impact. The initial…
Countering Iran’s belligerent strategy - Israel At War – Jerusalem Studio 893
When the Islamic Republic of Iran set out to expand its reach throughout the Middle East, its ambition was to have it both ways, as cost-free as possible. Tehran developed a wide network of proxies to do its work for it, but also to pay in their own blood and livelihood should the intended victims…
Israel’s strategic objectives for Lebanon - Israel At War – Jerusalem Studio 892
The War of Attrition Hezbollah waged on Israel since last year’s October 8 has suddenly been transformed into a mid-September into an intensive IDF counter m-attack across several sectors of Lebanon, from the Shiite terror organization's headquarters in Beirut to its offensive infrastructure across from the Upper Galilee. But the military campaign is supposed to…
Policy after Polls : Israel at War – Jerusalem Studio 891
There are many public opinion polls in the run-up to the November 5 elections in the United States, but the only ones which really count will close that night, with the ballots counted and the winners in the Presidential, Congressional and State races declared, hopefully soon thereafter. Once the new or returning office-holders are inaugurated,…
Israel Vs. Iran - what Cycle? Israel at War – Jerusalem Studio 890
As Iran has been bracing for the retaliation promised by the Jerusalem Government for the missile barrage launched at Israel two weeks ago, the two questions are: 1) what exactly this counter-attack will entail and 2) once it is over, how are the Iranians going to respond? The Iranian response needs to weigh in the…
Iran's nuclear weapons program: On the verge of breakout, Israel At War – Jerusalem Studio 889
With less than four weeks to go before the U.S. elections, tension is rising vis-a-vis the Iranian Nuclear project. For the first time, President Biden spoke publicly about the military option against it, and though he said he would not support an Israeli retaliation against these facilities, he did not banish the idea as unthinkable.…
A Year of War: Israel versus Iran's Axis of Evil. Israel At War – Jerusalem Studio 888
When Yahia Sinwar ordered his Hamas subordinates to attack Israeli military positions and civilian communities and massacre and abduct as many Israelis - and other nationals - as possible, he expected other members of the Iranian-led Axis to immediately jump into the fray. It did not happen exactly the way he hoped, but over the…
US and European Policies vis-à-vis the Middle East : Israel at War – Jerusalem Studio 887
As far as the US is concerned, the Middle East is a major arena. It may wish to focus on other theatres, especially China-Taiwan and Russia-Ukraine, but too much is at stake here for it, so totally withdrawing appears to be out of the question. Hence in times of crisis the US bolsters the reduced…
Prospects of a Wider Conflagration: Israel vs Iran : Israel at War – Jerusalem Studio 886
When the IDF operation Northern Arrows transitioned from being only defensive and added an incursion into Southern Lebanon, the concern has been raised that it will not be limited to that area and Israel’s fight against Hezbollah has naturally been heightened. Iran has been sponsoring and guiding the Lebanese Shiite militia for its own purposes.…
Israel versus Hezbollah: entering into a new stage of warfare - Israel At War – Jerusalem Studio 885
In 1970 the term “Black September” was coined in an Arab against Arab context - Jordanians against Palestinians. The PLO was beaten by the Hashemites and fled to Lebanon, destabilising it and attacking Israel from the North. Fast forward 54 years, and Hezbollah, Israel’s most potent hostile neighbour, has just suffered its own Black September,…
Europe’s Stance on Israel : the Institution VS Member States : Israel at War – Jerusalem Studio 884
Up until the end of the last decade, Israel attached great importance to the views of European institutions. Europe seemed headed toward some form of a loosely federated continent with a common foreign and security policy. There was a great deal of alignment between the membership of the EU and NATO, which was relevant to…
Jordan’s Strategic Woes and the Ramifications for Israel : Israel at War – Jerusalem Studio 883
Earlier this week, Jordan’s King Abdullah II appointed his Chief of Staff Jafar Hassan to form a new government, following last week’s Parliamentary elections. The Hashemite Monarch has commendably been trying to modernize the Kingdom’s political system, so as to better reflect the views and aspirations of a restless new generation. The problem, however, is…
The Philadelphi Corridor and Hamas' bid to Survive : Israel at War – Jerusalem Studio 882
When Israel withdrew its forces and settlements from Gaza, 19 years ago, it was a unilateral move only as far as the Palestinian Authority was concerned. There was an agreement between Israel and Egypt regarding the border between Egypt’s Northern Sinai district at Rafah and the Gaza Strip, code-named Philadelphi on Israeli maps. This 14…
Israel's Preparations for a Full-Scale Northern War : Israel at War – Jerusalem Studio 881
In the 11 months since Hezbollah launched its first attacks on Israel’s Northern communities, the IDF was restrained in its counter-offensive, limiting it to stand-off strikes, mostly from the air. The center of gravity of the multi-front war was and remains Gaza. The idea, backed by Hezbollah's declarations, was that a ceasefire with Hamas will…
Iran's Nuclear Weapons Race : Breakout Inevitable? Israel at War – Jerusalem Studio 880
Iran has invested a lot of effort over several decades to advance it’s nuclear project, giving it the option of racing towards nuclear weapons if it so chooses, which Western Intelligence claims it has not yet achieved. But if this is indeed the case, then Iran is simply a mere policy decision away from shedding…
Iran's Push for Influence in the Arabian Peninsula and Horn of Africa - Jerusalem Studio 879
When Iran looks westward, it sees only Arabs - Iraq in the North and Saudi Arabia and the Persian or Arabian Gulf in the south. Further west lies Jordan, Syria and Israel in the north and Egypt and the Horn of Africa in the south. It therefore appears to be part of the Islamic Republic’s…
Dangers Ahead? - Israel At War – Jerusalem Studio 878
Last Sunday Israel has successfully preempted and deflected an attack plan hatched by the Lebanese Iranian-proxy Hezbollah. The risk of immediate escalation into a full-scale regional war has receded for the moment, as the Iranians masters - directing the Lebanese Shi’ites - would rather wait for better circumstances, from their perspective. Nevertheless, Israel cannot let…
Israel’s Geo-Strategic Woes, amid Prospects of Escalation - Part II : Jerusalem Studio 877
In the preceding discussion we dealt with Israel’s geo-strategic problems from three points of view - its closest concern, the Palestinians; the neighboring Arab countries, Egypt, Jordan and others, all the way to Saudi Arabia; and the more distant ring of the Arabian Gulf, especially Iran as well as Yemen and Turkey. But this analysis…
Israel’s Geo-Strategic Woes, amid Prospects of Escalation - Part I : Jerusalem Studio 876
Support @tv7israelnews - https://tv7israelnews.com/donate/ Listen to TV7 Israel News latest War updates also on our podcast https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/tv7-israel-news You are welcome to join our audience and watch all of our programs - free of charge! TV7 Israel News: https://www.tv7israelnews.com/vod/series/563/ Jerusalem Studio: https://www.tv7israelnews.com/vod/series/18738/ TV7 Israel News Editor’s Note: https://www.tv7israelnews.com/vod/series/76269/ TV7 Europa Stands: https://www.tv7israelnews.com/vod/series/82926/ TV7 Powers in Play:…
West VS East vis-a-vis Mideast Intricacies : Israel at War – Jerusalem Studio 875
There was a time, not so long ago, when an appeal by the world’s leading powers would reflect a general consensus encompassing not only Washington and London, Berlin and Paris, Tokyo and Ottawa, but also Moscow and Beijing. But no longer. Now the competition between the US on one hand and China and Russia on…
The Middle East on the Cusp of Wide-Scale War : Israel at War – Jerusalem Studio 874
Racing or Bracing was the question lingering on everyone’s minds in the Middle East and beyond during the last two weeks. This after Iran’s proxies Hezbollah and Hamas suffered a one-two punch in both Beirut and Tehran, with senior leader’s assassinated by Israel, whether acknowledged or not. These threats were explicit, causing the targeted nation…
A Strategic Overview of the Iran-Israel War - Part 2 : Israel at War – Jerusalem Studio 873
The exchange of blows between Iran and Israel brings into focus the fact that for all the claims of sovereignty and independence, no nation, or hybrid entities such as Gaza and Lebanon ruled respectively by Hamas and Hezbollah, fights alone. They all operate, offensively or defensively, as part of an alliance, a coalition or an…
A Strategic Overview of the Iran-Israel War - Part 1 : Israel at War – Jerusalem Studio 872
Israel never had any designs against Iran. The two nations are neither neighbors with competing claims nor natural rivals as regional powers. The Persians, along with the Azeri minority and other communities, are Moslems but not Arabs. For several decades, when Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi ruled Iran, Tehran and Jerusalem were de-facto members of the…
Iran’s threat to global security - Israel At War – Jerusalem Studio 871
Israeli officials have been warning about it for many years, and while it was not inevitable, had other options and policies been pursued, it is now obvious that the Islamic Republic of Iran is posing a major threat to global security. It is not only threatening Israel, but destabilizing the entire Middle East, challenging the…
Israel-Lebanon on the brink of all-out war - Israel At War – Jerusalem Studio 870
For almost 10 months now, Israel has been attacked by the Iranian proxy, Lebanese-based Hezbollah. It was a war of attrition, in which fire is exchanged by whatever means the parties have at their disposal, short of ground invasions. Dozens were killed on the Israeli side, and the IDF’s response was a systematic operation to…
Iran and a Multi-Sector War : Israel at War – Jerusalem Studio 869
Earlier this week, US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman CQ Brown voiced concern that Israel would be drawn into a full-scale war with Hezbollah. General Brown stated his fears that if Israel seems to be beating the Iranian proxy, Tehran would then join the fight in order to save its Lebanese arm from annihilation. The…
Iran’s Nuclear Race : Israel at War – Jerusalem Studio 868
Iran’s Nuclear Race : Israel at War – Jerusalem Studio 868 It takes both will and ability to acquire nuclear weapons, and both of these are susceptible to outside pressure. It should be taken as a given that, left to its own devices, Iran would have more than likey crossed the nuclear threshold long ago.…
Iran and its Regional Proxies: the Rising Threat of War : Israel at War – Jerusalem Studio 867
Except for its failed April 14 missile and drone attack, Iran has been careful to conduct its war against Israel only through proxies. In the West, Hamas. In the North, Hezbollah. In the East, Iraqi Shiite militias. In the South, Yemen’s Houthis. This has been a low-risk strategy for Tehran, but it does have one…
Israel’s Strategic Conundrum: From Gaza through Washington to Beirut : Jerusalem Studio 866
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s plane probably flies to the Middle East on autopilot, as Blinken is so frequently commuting to Tel Aviv, Cairo, and Riyadh among other major regional destinations. This time around his focus is on the Biden deal for a prolonged ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which would result in hostage…
Europe’s Election and Implications for the Mideast : Israel at War – Jerusalem Studio 865
The 720 members of the European Parliament have been elected over the past several days. This is six times the number of Knesset members in Israel, and the impact on the ability of reaching a consensus is comparable. With the new make-up of the EU’s legislative now apparent, jockeying is now expected in the contest…
A Fresh Look at Washington Mideast Policy : Israel at War – Jerusalem Studio 864
Some seven months from now, next January 20th, a President will take the Oath of Office and will begin a second term with a new team and presumably a new policy, improving on whatever did not work the first time around. Whether the Chief Executive turns out to be Biden or Trump, he will most…
Holding in Gaza, Racing in Tehran? Israel at War – Jerusalem Studio 863
The urgent always takes priority over the important. It is natural - first aid, or more crucially a tourniquet, must be administered immediately, while surgery can be delayed, if death does not look imminent. Therefore, Israel and the West are understandably preoccupied with Hamas and Hezbollah, but under this cover Iran may be running, or…
Military Moves under Legal Limits, Israel after two Hague Blows, Israel at War, Jerusalem Studio 862
The two International Courts in the Hague may not agree on everything in their respective jurisdictions, but they do seem to be on the same page when Israel is attacked. A few days after the ICC prosecutor recommended arrest warrants against Israel’s Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, the ICJ sought to curtail its operations…
U.S.-Europe Foreign Policy vs Mideast & Israel, Israel At War – Jerusalem Studio 861
Support @tv7israelnews - https://tv7israelnews.com/donate/ Listen to TV7 Israel News latest War updates also on our podcast https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/tv7-israel-news You are welcome to join our audience and watch all of our programs - free of charge! TV7 Israel News: https://www.tv7israelnews.com/vod/series/563/ Jerusalem Studio: https://www.tv7israelnews.com/vod/series/18738/ TV7 Israel News Editor’s Note: https://www.tv7israelnews.com/vod/series/76269/ TV7 Europa Stands: https://www.tv7israelnews.com/vod/series/82926/ TV7 Powers in Play:…
Iran VS Israel : The Looming Threat of Regional Conflagration : Israel at War – Jerusalem Studio 860
Iran may have lost two important members of its government earlier this week, but the direction in which its Supreme Leader has been taking it for many years in his quest for nuclear power and his enmity towards Israel and the United States remains firm. A new President and Foreign Minister will inevitably emerge, carrying…
