Yossi Klein Halevi, a journalist and senior fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute, sheds light on the Israeli-Iranian tension. He discusses Iran's apocalyptic theology and its implications for nuclear ambitions. Halevi argues that Benjamin Netanyahu’s controversial strike on Iran may have been necessary despite political motivations. The conversation also covers the historical context of Iran's threats and the psychological impact on Israel, emphasizing the urgency of addressing these existential challenges.
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insights INSIGHT
Israel's Unique War Perspective
Israel's experience shapes its perspective on war, differing from U.S. interventions in Vietnam and Iraq.
Israel has demonstrated military solutions to terrorism effective in past conflicts.
insights INSIGHT
JCPOA's Hidden Peril
JCPOA sunset clauses would have allowed Iran advanced centrifuge production.
This risked Iran reaching weapons-grade enrichment quickly and strengthening terror proxies.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Trump's Role in Israel's Iran Strike
Israel launched attacks against Iran with Trump's approval.
There were reports Trump helped deceive Iran about the attack's imminence.
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The ayatollahs who have ruled Iran since 1979 have long promised to destroy the Jewish state, and had even set a deadline for it. While arming proxies to fight Israel—Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza, the Houthis in Yemen, and more—Iran is believed to have sought to develop nuclear weapons for itself. “The big question about Iran was always: how significant is its apocalyptic theology?” Yossi Klein Halevi explains to David Remnick. “How central is that end-times vision to the Iranian regime? And is there a possibility that the regime would see a nuclear weapon as the way of furthering their messianic vision?” Halevi is a journalist and senior fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute, and he co-hosts the podcast “For Heaven’s Sake.” He is a fierce critic of Benjamin Netanyahu, saying, “I have no doubt that he is capable of starting a war for his own political needs.” And yet Netanyahu was right to strike Iran, no matter the consequences, Halevi asserts. “The Israeli perspective is not . . . the American war in Iraq and Afghanistan. It’s our own experience.”
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