Bill and Benham unpack the dynamic landscape of American foreign policy towards Iran, specifically how the region’s latest turmoil might challenge the incoming Trump administration. They also discuss the challenges of domestic politics muddying foreign policy decisions, the future of American military presence in Iraq and Syria, and the need for a coherent strategy to address Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
Bill and Behnam discuss Israel’s targeted killing of top Hezbollah and Hamas leaders, including this week’s successful assassination of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
Bill and Behnam are joined by fellow FDD expert and friend of the show David David to talk about the drone strike in Tel Aviv — what we know so far and what it means for the broader war.
Bill and Behnam discuss new sanctions that dropped this week, including Canada’s designation of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the U.S. designation of a proxy militia in Iraq; the Houthis sinking yet another ship; and threats made by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah to conduct attacks in Cyprus. And an update on the Gaza floating pier because Bill.
Bill and Behnam unpack a recent DIA report on the impact of Houthi attacks on international shipping and discuss everything the Houthis have been able to do with the limited resources supplied by Islamic Republic of Iran (and considering the bang for their buck, why wouldn’t they continue to supply weapons?); the perilous pattern of the U.S. ignoring when its enemies scream from the rooftops what their intentions are; and the credibility of claims made by the Houthi leader that an attack against Israel is being planned with help from the Islamic Resistance in Iraq — should we believe him?
Bill and Behnam discuss a Tablet Magazine article “Israel is Succeeding in Gaza” and whether there are any possible “settle-for-less” military and political outcomes in Gaza that involve anything other than the total defeat of Hamas; an IDF soldier killed by Hamas terrorists attempting to infiltrate Israel from Gaza; Iran’s IRGC vowing revenge for an Israeli strike in Syria that allegedly killed an IRGC general; and Israel’s new normal of daily skirmishes with Hezbollah on its northern border.
Bill and Behnam catch up on new Houthi activity, reports of the Iranian regime leveraging criminal groups in Sweden to target Israeli and Jewish interests, and an update on the most expensive piece of performance art in history, the floating humanitarian aid pier in Gaza.
Bill and Behnam discuss the helicopter crash in northern Iran that killed multiple regime officials, chief among them Ebrahim Raisi who was President of the Islamic Republic and a top contender to be the next Supreme Leader. Was it an accident?
Given the Islamic Republic’s constitutional mandate that elections be held to replace Raisi, who might be the next president? What does the president even do? What will it mean for Iran’s foreign and security policy
They also revisit Raisi’s history in the regime or as Behnam calls it, “failing up.” From being the youngest hand-picked by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to head the infamous “death commission” and implement fatwas issued by the then-Supreme Leader to his days as a hanging judge and heading the judiciary, the “Butcher of Tehran” had a lot of blood on his hands.
Israel’s operation in Rafah officially underway and met with the threat of pausing military aid from the Biden administration. Bill and Behnam discuss the potential consequences and ripple effects.
Bill, Behnam, and Joe discuss the Israeli airstrike in Damascus that took out a senior IRGC-QF commander, Israel on high-alert after Iran vows revenge, Lebanese Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s statement about the slain leader, whether the Biden administration has finally turned on Israel, and today’s holiday: Quds Day.
Bill, co-host Behnam, and long-time friend of the show Edmund Fitton-Brown preview and share insights from a project they’ve been working on concerning the Islamic Republic of Iran’s axis of resistance. They discuss Tehran’s extensive track record of not playing by the rules — and not paying a price for it — as well as the origins of conflict between Iran and the West from before the 1979 revolution to tapping their regional proxies on and after October 7, 2023 to target Israeli and American interests in the Middle East — and everything in between.
Bill and Behnam catch up on recent headlines, including the statement made by a U.S. senator pushing for regime change (spoiler: he was not talking about Iran), reports of a high-level meeting between Iranian and Hezbollah officials, the Houthis continuing their maritime attacks, and more.
Bill, Behnam and Joe discuss a few of this week’s biggest headlines including reports of Israel assassinating an IRGC advisor in Syria, escalation by Hezbollah at Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, and the results of Iran’s parliamentary elections.
Bill and Behnam discuss reports of Iran sending ballistic missiles to Russia and the potential for subsequent U.S. sanctions on Tehran (and why that’d be insufficient); why the head of the IRGC Quds Force allegedly paid a recent visit to Iraq; an update on the Houthi-Gulf of Aden-Bab al Mandeb-Red Sea theater, including a new underwater drone threat and why if we happen to see the Iranians “de-escalate” in one theater it’s because they’re preparing to escalate in another (and not because they’ve been “deterred”).
Bill and Behnam discuss the status of U.S. posture in the Middle East, including whether deterrence has been restored and how the U.S. could be more proactive in Syria and Iraq (but wait, do we even have a partner in Baghdad?); the unclaimed rocket attack (by Hezbollah) on the northern Israeli city of Safed; Iran’s recent missile launches (speaking of… just how close are they to being able to build and launch a nuclear weapon?); and why the cyberattack just conducted by the U.S. on an alleged Iranian spy ship transiting the Gulf of Aden, Bab al-Mandeb, and Red Sea will do nothing to deter the Islamic Republic.
Bill and Behnam discuss the recent attacks in Iraq as well as the latest string of Houthi incidents and U.S.-led coalition’s response.
Bill and Behnam unpack the details they’ve been able to gather so far surrounding the U.S. and UK-led coalition strikes against Houthi targets inside Yemen and discuss whether this will restore deterrence. Accurate preview courtesy of Behnam: “We like to say ‘freaky Fridays’ here [we do not] — it can’t get freakier than the first-ever, historic use of force since October 7 by the U.S. and UK against the Houthis.”
Bill and Behnam unpack this week’s headlines from the Middle East, including the assassination of Hamas deputy Saleh al-Arouri; the U.S. strike that killed Iran-backed militia commander Abu Taqwa Al-Saedi in Iraq (and subsequent drama with the Iraqi government); the U.S.-led coalition dubbed Prosperity Guardian’s “final warning” to the Houthis; and the ISIS bombings at a memorial in Kerman, Iran for slain IRGC-QF commander Qassim Suleimani.
Bill and Behnam are back for what has been dubbed by Behnam as the first and last Freaky Friday of 2023 to discuss news of an alleged Israeli assassination of an IRGC general, context of U.S.-launched strikes against the Hezbollah Brigades after the group targeted U.S. forces at an airbase in Erbil, the latest string of Houthi maritime attacks (remember Operation Prosperity Guardian… yeah…), and the painful irony of a million dollar missile shooting down a thousand-dollar drone, AKA Iran’s asymmetrical warfare strategy.