With speeches by the Presidents of both the U.S. and Iran at the UN General Assembly behind them, Washington and Tehran are deploying their diplomats to prepare for the next and perhaps most fruitful round of their indirect talks in Vienna.
Rousing rhetoric aside, Ebrahim Raisi and his Foreign Minister sounded as if their Supreme Leader directed them to resume the negotiations, though not necessarily to make meaningful concessions in them.
For his part, Joe Biden kept a conciliatory tone, while insisting on Iran’s full compliance with commitments undertaken six years ago.
In Israel, two distinct views are heard - the more militant by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, and a moderate one by the Defense and Foreign Ministers, Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid.
Panel:
- Jonathan Hessen, Host.
- Amir Oren, TV7 Analyst and Host of Watchmen Talk.
- Brig. Gen. Yossi Kuperwasser – Project Director on Middle East Developments, Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.
- Col. (Res.) Reuven Ben-Shalom, Cross-Cultural Strategist and Associate at the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism, Herzliya.
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.
Iraq's post-election analysis – Jerusalem Studio 641
Iraqi voters went to the polls last week with no illusions regarding the impact results will bring to their life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, all of which are in short supply in the country formerly known as Mesopotamia. The low turnout was a self-fulfilling prophecy. Not much will change in the new parliament,…
The United States: Middle East interests & challenges – Jerusalem Studio 640
We here in the Middle East believe - indeed we know - that our region is the center of the Universe. But for the world’s leading power, it is an important theater, yet not its top priority. The policy of United States is based on the idea that the overriding factor in global relations for…
Lebanon’s domestic woes & implications for Israel – Jerusalem Studio 639
Israel’s northern neighbor Lebanon is powerless in more than one sense. While foreign Iranian influence and deep economic distress rooted in political corruption threatens the once termed ‘Switzerland of the Middle East’ with plausible disintegration – such a reality would inevitably pose a grave security risk for Israel. Panel: - Jonathan Hessen, Host. - Amir…
Iran’s nuclear program: prospects of JCPOA – Jerusalem Studio 638
The outgoing Director of Military Intelligence for the Israel Defense Forces, Major General Tamir Hayman, reiterated last week an assessment he made public at the turn of the year. Gen. Hayman, who under the Israeli system is charged with over-all national assessment and not only the military one, insisted that Iran remains at least two…
Israel and the Arab world: Challenges & Opportunities – Jerusalem Studio 637
Strategic interests and personal relationships are mixed in international strategy and diplomacy. After almost four months in power, the Israeli government seems to enjoy from both in its dealings with the major Arab countries bordering it. Egypt and Jordan warmed up to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid,…
With speeches by the Presidents of both the U.S. and Iran at the UN General Assembly behind them, Washington and Tehran are deploying their diplomats to prepare for the next and perhaps most fruitful round of their indirect talks in Vienna. Rousing rhetoric aside, Ebrahim Raisi and his Foreign Minister sounded as if their Supreme…
Turkey's regional opportunities and challenges – Jerusalem Studio 635
In almost 19 years in power, top of the political longevity table with Vladimir Putin, Bashar Al Assad and King Abdullah of Jordan, Recep Tayyip Erdogan has made himself an important player on the regional and even global political scenes. Erdogan’s Turkey is certainly not taken for granted. In the Mediterranean, in Syria, in Central…
TV7 Israel: Jerusalem Studio Special - Great Power Competition
Officially, there are only five great powers in the post-World War Two world - the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, who are also declared nuclear weapon states. But in reality, there are other powers with a legitimate claim or aspirations to greatness, at least by some measures, such as Germany, Japan…
Israel's southern security challenges – Jerusalem Studio 634
Israel’s southern half - the Negev - is a triangle bordering Egypt and Jordan and reaching down to the Red Sea. The 1948 War actually ended only the next year, when Israeli forces reached what is now the port city of Eilat. Four additional wars were fought at least partly over Sinai and the Straits…
Iran's nuclear program, prospects of Israeli action – Jerusalem Studio 633
When a nation fears that its enemy is developing the ultimate weapon and may threaten to use it, a military strike intended to destroy this project is not unthinkable. Indeed, Iran set this precedent roughly 41 years ago, when it unsuccessfully sent its Air Force to bomb the Iraqi nuclear reactor. A few months later,…
Russia’s Mideast interests & challenges – Jerusalem Studio 632
In twenty years as Russia’s leader, Vladimir Putin established his reputation as a major figure on the global scene and brought his country back from its dismal appearance during Boris Yeltsin’s reign. An important part of his agenda had to do with a pro-active foreign policy backed by military force, from Georgia to the Ukraine…
Israel’s northern front amid Iranian entrenchment – Jerusalem Studio 631
Every so often there are reports of aerial strikes in Syria, for which the Damascus regime attributes responsibility to Jerusalem. Less frequently, purported Israeli action involves surface-to-surface missiles rather than aircraft, because the targets are presumably closer to the Golan Heights’ armistice line. Whichever tool is utilized; the reality is clear. Iran, without whose help…
Israel’s global efforts to confront Iran – Jerusalem Studio 629
While most eyes have been on Afghanistan lately, it is her neighbor to the west which concerns Israel on several fronts. Iran’s nuclear project, the military presence in Syria by its own Quds Force as well as proxies and militias, its precision munitions supply to Hezbollah and the maritime blows it absorbs and tries to…
China’s pivot Westward amid Great-Power competition - Jerusalem Studio 630
Admiral Charles Richard, who heads the United States Strategic Command, sounded a relatively new alarm the other week. He warned that the entire structure of global stability, which rests on nuclear deterrence between the U.S. and Russia, could be undermined by the emergence of China as America’s peer. Of course, the view from Beijing is…
Afghanistan: Regional & Global Implications - Jerusalem Studio 628
Twenty years after it first set foot in Afghanistan, by its Special Forces linking up with the local Northern Alliance, the United States is withdrawing from this war-torn, land-locked Asian nation, leaving it at the mercy of the Mujahedeen, or Islamist Taliban, which swept its way back into power. Regardless of the wisdom or even…
Iran's nuclear program amid IAEA warnings - Jerusalem Studio 627
The International Atomic Energy Agency is not a party to the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and deven world powers, but it has a significant role in monitoring compliance and reporting its findings. Over the last two years, ever since the Trump Administration withdrew from the deal and Iran reciprocated by violating several of its…
US-Israel relations amid pivot - Jerusalem Studio 626
The over-all strategic decision in Washington, at least from former President Barack Obama through his successor Donald Trump and now back to the Democrats with Joe Biden, has been to consider China its Number One threat and primarily invest in preparing to meet this challenge. This decision has military, diplomatic and budgetary implications, including both…
Israel’s maritime domain amid security challenges - Jerusalem Studio 625
Israel has two major maritime fronts, as well as secondary-ones (such as) the Sea of Galilee - which used to border Syria- and the Dead Sea, which Israel shares with the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. However, the two main bodies of water of concern to Israel are of course the Mediterranean and the Red Sea…
The battle against Islamic terror - Jerusalem Studio 624
Next month the world will mark the twentieth anniversary of nine-eleven, the most momentous event of this century, so far. This simultaneous attack on American targets massacred almost three thousand innocent victims and caused two military conflicts, in Afghanistan and Iraq, which in one way or another still persist. This was the most blatant example…
Iran’s new appointed regime’s policies - Jerusalem Studio 623
With new Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi as head of the government, though not of the Islamic Revolutionary regime headed by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Iran no longer has an excuse to delay crucial decisions. It has to take care of severe economic and social problems, to choose between further maritime attacks sure to bring about…
Iran’s nuclear aspirations and activities - Jerusalem Studio 622
Iran’s quest for the power that comes with the possession of a nuclear arsenal takes place inside a paradox. The Islamic Republic knows full well that it is suspected of edging towards military nuclear potential, and once it is implicated or even suspected of reaching its goal, those nations feeling threatened will strike in order…
Israel’s state of security amid regional developments - Jerusalem Studio 621
After some 50 days in power, the Israeli government headed by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and Defense Minister Benny Gantz, must contend with old yet intensifying challenging to the country’s north and east – amid shifting sands throughout the region. Panel: - Jonathan Hessen, Host. - Amir Oren , TV7 Analysts…
TV7 Israel: Jerusalem Studio Special - Regional Status Report
As we are about to embark on a short summer broadcast-break, it seems like a good time to look around - obviously with Jerusalem as the center of our universe - for some regional stock-taking. Midway through 2021, with new leaders elected in relevant capitals such as Washington, Tehran and Jerusalem – amid looming prospects…
The Eastern Mediterranean - Israel’s challenges & opportunities - Jerusalem Studio 619
One of several constants in Israel’s foreign, economic, and defense interests and policies has to do with its immediate maritime neighborhood; the Eastern Mediterranean. All of its Arab neighbors, save Jordan, are coastal countries and thus have Territorial Waters and Exclusive Economic Zones from which to extract energy resources. Israel’s one gaz derricks are vulnerable…
Gaza: State of Affairs, interests and challenges – Jerusalem Studio 618
More than a month after Operation Guardian of the Walls ended, the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has not been stabilized. No mechanism has been established for rebuilding the structures and streets destroyed in Gaza during the recent fighting. The monthly infusion of cash from Qatar was frozen, pending the verification that it only be…
Israel-Europe relations: overview amid latest developments – Jerusalem Studio 617
Israel has a new Prime Minister, a new Foreign Minister - who is the Prime Minister’s political co-equal, and a hold-over Defense Minister. This is the core group within the decision-making cabinet, out of which strategic directives are to be expected. As always, Israeli defense and foreign policy is U.S.-centric, but special attention is given…
Jerusalem's political horizon amid regional challenges – Jerusalem Studio 616
Israel’s 24th Knesset has finally gotten down to real work this week by voting into office the nation’s 36th government. The obvious expectation is thus that during the tenure of this Parliament, there will be another half a government and that the fresh Bennett-Lapid arrangement will not hold up for the duration. There will be…
Israel’s state of security amid regional developments – Jerusalem Studio 615
The world and the Middle East have followed with interest and curiosity the political drama unfolding in Israel, but no factor or actor stood still until the parties in the Knesset made up their minds regarding the country’s governmental fate. The same forces impacting Israel’s security problems and policies are still here: the Palestinians in…
Israel’s new government: prospects & challenges – Jerusalem Studio 614
In Israel’s 73-year history, no government has ever had to work harder to get to the starting line. But two and a half years after the political crisis began, and two and a half months since the latest elections, the Bennett-Lapid government is on the launching pad. It brings together under one roof improbable left…
The Iran nuclear deal amid regional tensions – Jerusalem Studio 613
Only 10 days are left until the Iranian presidential elections, and this is no event in which betting against the odds will make gamblers rich, even in the highly devalued local currency. The winner will be Ebrahim Raisi, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s favorite candidate, for whom the race was cleared from competition. Because of the…
Israel's political conundrum and security implications – Jerusalem Studio 612
Israeli politicians and observers have been taught by experience - both historically and over the last two deadlocked years - to reserve judgment on efforts to form governments until they are finally and officially over, with the newly-minted cabinet gaining a Knesset vote of confidence and summoned to the ceremonial group picture with the President…
Iran's regional aspirations and activities – Jerusalem Studio 611
The Vienna Talks between Iran and several parties regarding the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan Of Action (commonly referred to as the Iran nuclear deal) have entered their fifth round, with progress towards an agreement on a mutual return to compliance reported as a hopeful indicator but not enough for a deal. The American side is…
Post-Guardian of the Walls: overview & analysis – Jerusalem Studio 610
Following 11 days of combat between the Islamist organizations in the Gaza Strip and Israel, a military operation dubbed by the IDF as ‘Guardian of the Walls’ has come to an end exactly a week and a half ago from today. The cessation of hostilities - whether triggered by a nudge from the Biden Administration…
Europe’s strategic challenges amid global changes – Jerusalem Studio 609
When one looks at the world from the headquarters of the European Union in Brussels, one sees both problems and prospects in new alignments. To the West, Britain has broken away from the Continent, leaving the EU with 27 member states and doubts about the dream of a cohesive European project. The United States under…
Israel’s campaign between the wars – Jerusalem Studio 608
The Israeli security doctrine is based on the assumption that peace is not at hand. That is, even if some of the Jewish State’s neighbors sign treaties, their regimes could fall into hostile hands once again. In any event, there will remain other die-hard elements bent on disputing Israel’s existence and well-being. The challenge for…
Russia-Turkey relations amid latest developments – Jerusalem Studio 607
Despite his signature militant rhetoric, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan recently signaled a more pragmatic approach to several regional issues. He has seemingly moderated his stand towards Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Israel and even Turkey’s arch-rival, Greece. When U.S. President Joe Biden broke with his predecessors’ reluctance to recognize the Ottoman massacres…
Israel-Lebanon relations amid Iranian influence – Jerusalem Studio 605
An American mediation team led by veteran diplomat John Desrocher travelled to Lebanon last week to restart talks between Beirut and Jerusalem focused on resolving the dispute over their shares of gas deposits in the adjacent Mediterranean waters. Complicating prospects of a deal are the involvement of multiple parties in each area of dispute. First,…
Tensions over Jerusalem - Regional Implications – Jerusalem Studio 604
After Israel won the 1967 Six Day War and gained control over all of Jerusalem and the entire west bank of the Jordan river, it set out to distinguish between East Jerusalem - held until then by Jordan - and the rest of the West Bank. East Jerusalem was annexed by Israel and its Palestinian…
Russia-Iran tensions over control of Syria – Jerusalem Studio 603
When Syrian President Bashar al Assad was in real danger of being ousted during civil war over the first half of the last decade, both Iran and then Russia came to his rescue. He certainly owes them - as well as Lebanon’s Iranian-proxy Hezbollah - gratitude for his survival. But international politics is an unsentimental…
General Overview: efforts to revive the Iran Nuclear Deal in Vienna - Jerusalem Studio 602
Reports out of Vienna regarding the indirect talks between Iranian and American negotiators on the terms of mutual return to the 2015 nuclear pact indicate they have already basically agreed to full compliance in a step-by-step approach rather than halfway measures. There are still two issues on which there are gaps between the parties, including…
U.S. Mideast strategic interests and challenges – Jerusalem Studio 601
United States President Joe Biden has made his first major foreign policy decision - and while it is not focused on the Middle East but rather on a region adjacent to it - the regional implications are evident. In ordering all American forces out of Afghanistan by September 11, Biden laid out a rationale based…
Israel vs Iran: The Campaign Between the Wars – Jerusalem Studio 600
Immediately after Israel won its 1948 War of Independence, it started worrying about what was immediately called “the second round.” That is, rather than a fight which ends with a knock-out or a tie but a handshake - it goes on and on for countless rounds. Soon enough it turned out that this analogy is…
Jordan’s stability: strategic overview – Jerusalem Studio 599
A few weeks ago shock waves hit the Middle East - and particularly Israel - when word came out of Amman that a planned coup against King Abdullah II was foiled and that the most senior figure in the plot was the monarch’s half-brother Prince Hamza, who was confined to his residence. But then it…
Israel between national days and political deadlock – Jerusalem Studio 598
This has been one of these weeks which seem peculiar to Israel, moving from the down-to-earth bargaining of politics to somber and then joyous ceremonies of national commemoration and celebration. As the country marked its Memorial and Independence days, there was a short respite in the efforts to cobble together a Knesset coalition able to…
Israel’s preparedness amid looming threats – Jerusalem Studio 597
Over the last two years, Israel’s primary concern was atypically not its preparedness to cope with security challenges but rather a unique mix of pandemic and politics. However, now that the COVID-19 crisis is seemingly on a steep downward curve and negotiations between potential coalition partners have shifted into a more practical mode following last…
Iran’s revolutionary policies amid Western scrutiny – Jerusalem Studio 596
Talks between delegations from several parties to the 2015 nuclear deal got rolling in Vienna, with the United States participating indirectly and making sure its conciliatory messages to Iran reach their audiences both in Tehran and around the world. One intriguing question is, how will Iran behave in the next two months, while these talks…
Russia-Israel relations: Strategic Overview – Jerusalem Studio 595
The three dominant themes in the calculus of Russian-Israeli relations now seem to be Power, Prestige and Proximity. Russia is obviously a rising or returning force in the Middle East and the Eastern Mediterranean; while its global competitor, the United States, wants to reduce its own military involvement in the region. And because Russia’s Air,…
Jerusalem's political instability – Jerusalem Studio 594
With the vote count in Israel’s parliamentary elections formally over and published in the Official Gazette, the focus has shifted to the President’s House in the nation’s Capital where Reuven Rivlin - due to retire in three months - consults with the 13 parties elected to the incoming Knesset, Hebrew for Parliament, in order to…
