Rania Khalek Dispatches

As Israel expands its war on Iran and U.S. officials float the possibility of American boots on the ground, what is really happening behind the headlines?Iran expert at Johns Hopkins Vali Nasr joins Rania Khalek to explain:Why Iran prepared for decapitation strikesWhy “regime collapse” is far from guaranteedHow global oil supplies “have become a battlefield” Why Trump may already be looking for an off-rampThe growing divide between U.S. and Israeli war goalsThe chances this conflict could spiral into something far biggerNasr argues that Iran’s strategy isn’t to win quickly. It’s to make the war long, costly, and politically dangerous for Washington.If this is the “last battle” for Iran’s leadership, what does that mean for the region — and for the global economy?

Mike Huckabee’s reference to borders stretching “from the Euphrates to the Nile” has sparked a diplomatic firestorm across the Middle East.Even governments that normalized relations with Israel — including the UAE — publicly condemned the remarks. Why did this rhetoric hit such a nerve? And is it really new, or just unusually blunt?At the same time, tensions between Israel and Saudi Arabia are rising, fractures between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi are deepening, and the risk of a U.S.–Iran war looms in the background, a conflict that could drag Gulf states into a confrontation they don’t control.What does this moment reveal about the future of normalization, regional alliances, and the possibility of a wider war?Rania Khalek was joined by Giorgio Cafiero on Dispatches to break it all down.🎥 The full episode is available to Breakthrough News members.Become a member at: https://www.patreon.com/BreakthroughNews

At the Munich Security Conference, Marco Rubio said the quiet part out loud.No more “rules-based order.” No more liberal pretense. Just open coercion.After Gaza — after a genocide livestreamed for the world — U.S. empire isn’t even pretending anymore.In this episode of Dispatches, Rania Khalek is joined by Dylan Saba — attorney with Palestine Legal and co-host of Turbulence — to unpack what this moment represents:• Gaza as the capstone of the War on Terror• The return of gunboat diplomacy• Why imperial “decline” means escalation, not collapse• Fascist consolidation at home under Trump• The Democratic Party’s containment of dissent• Why the U.S. still lacks a real left foreign policyThis isn’t a deviation in American foreign policy.It’s its logical endpoint.🎥 The full episode is available to Breakthrough News members.Become a member at: https://www.patreon.com/BreakthroughNews 

The United States is mobilizing for a new war on Iran — repositioning military forces, floating assassination threats, and insisting on negotiations at the same time.As this military buildup intensifies, Western media is reviving a familiar propaganda narrative: that Iran is collapsing, its government has lost control, and foreign intervention might actually help.To cut through the noise, Rania Khalek is joined by Navid Zarrinnal, an Iranian-American academic and host of The Colony Archive, speaking from inside Tehran. Navid breaks down what’s actually happening on the ground — from internal debates over negotiations, to Iran’s potential military retaliation, to why the myth of Iran’s imminent collapse keeps getting recycled.They also discuss the end of Iran’s so-called “strategic patience,” the reality of U.S. hybrid warfare, the role of foreign intervention in recent protests, and the dangerous push to fracture Iran along ethnic and sectarian lines — a policy openly floated by Western elites.Finally, Navid explains why the nuclear deal failed, why sanctions and regime-change politics won’t bring justice, and what the Western Left should actually be focusing on.Read Navid’s Breakthrough News article here; https://breakthroughnews.org/irans-protests-explained-a-diary-from-tehran/ 

Join Rania Khalek and Zoe Alexandra for a special live show as Minneapolis erupts after Border Patrol agents killed nurse and legal observer Alex Pretti, just hours after a historic general strike shook the state. Zoe will report from Minneapolis as protests surge nationwide and fury at ICE and federal occupation explodes. With special guests, Rania and Zoe will discuss the Democrats’ weak response, the connections between imperial violence from Gaza to Minnesota, and the rising calls to defund ICE and a national general strike against ICE terror. Special Guests:-Craig Mokhiber, Human Rights Lawyer -Meghdad Bose, Independent journalist and professor of journalism at the University of Memphis-Simon Elliott, Community Activist in Minnesota 

Rania Khalek is joined by former UN human rights official Craig Mokhiber, whose recent Mondoweiss article, "Ushering in the age of impunity: Venezuela, Palestine, and the end of international law," unpacks how recent U.S. aggression from Venezuela to Gaza signals a dangerous unraveling of the post-World War II legal order. We’ll discuss:• What the U.S. attack on Venezuela reveals about the limits of global legal restraints. • How the violence in Palestine fits into a broader pattern of unchecked power. • The crisis facing international law and global institutions like the UN, ICC, and ICJ. • What meaningful resistance and accountability might look like.

The U.S. military raid on Venezuela on January 3 shocked the world. On Dispatches, Rania Khalek is joined by Jorge Arreaza, Venezuela’s former foreign minister, to explain what actually happened and to respond directly to U.S. media narratives about “betrayal,” regime change, and control.

Rania Khalek is joined by journalist and political economist Ben Norton, editor of the Geopolitical Economy Report, to break down why the Trump administration attacked Venezuela—and what comes next. Norton explains how Trump’s bombing of Venezuela and the abduction of President Nicolás Maduro are not isolated acts, but part of a broader U.S. imperial offensive in Latin America. The goal: control strategic resources like oil, gas, rare earths, and critical minerals, reassert U.S. dominance in the region, and build a supply chain that cuts out China.

Rania Khalek is joined by Zoe Alexandra of People’s Dispatch and special guests for a live episode of Dispatches examining the Trump administration’s unprecedented attack on Venezuela. The US has invaded and bombed Venezuela, kidnapped President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, and is openly threatening to expand its campaign against Venezuela’s neighbors and allies. We break down the lies used to justify this aggression — and what comes next.

A DSA member just won one of the most significant left-wing electoral victories in recent memory with Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York — despite red-baiting, anti-Palestinian smears, and a full-on campaign to demonize socialism.But that victory has raised big questions: Why keep Jessica Tisch as NYPD commissioner? Why discourage a primary against Hakeem Jeffries — and then endorse him for Speaker? What does accountability look like when socialists actually win power?To unpack all this, Rania Khalek is joined by the national co-chairs of the Democratic Socialists of America, Megan Romer and Ashik Siddique, to talk about Zohran’s win, DSA’s national strategy, Venezuela, Cuba, Palestine and how they plan to hold their elected members accountable. 👉 Hear the full member-only episode at: https://www.patreon.com/BreakthroughNews Support BreakThrough News: https://breakthroughnews.org/donate/ Follow BreakThrough News:X: https://x.com/BTnewsroom?s=20 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/btnewsroom TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@btnewsroom