I very much enjoy listening to a podcast where I can disagree with things in the knowledge that the folks I disagree with give their arguments a lot of thought and so it is absolutely worth listening to them.
Gloss over 1953, gloss over oppressive regime of the Shah, gloss over our support of Saddam in war against Iran. Iran is a product of disastrous foreign policy over 70 years.
12:35 oh please the Iranian response was "so extreme" that they sent a majority of crappy drones, a few missiles, in waves, with 2 days warning, and aimed entirely at military bases 😂That is as mild as you get for killing 16 people without warning, and on foreign territory
I agree with you it was clearly not an attack meant to cause anarchy. However, comparatively, it is extreme compared to previous responses like the military manoeuvres mentioned by Alistair and is extreme in the context of Israel believing there would be no response or very little.
I agree. in my opinion its like this: Israel hits Iran breaching a serious international convention of not attacking embassy, kills 16 people. Iran strikes back with what appears to be fair warning to Israel and the US. These strikes appear to be mainly to save face at home. If Israel was on the side of regional peace (a joke i know) they would leave it at that. instead they are attacking Iran back and continuing the escalation safe in the knowledge they will drag several western nations into a war if wider war breaks out. Israel is the rogue state. and the future will not look kindly on them if large scale war breaks out.
Rory + Al C both prove here how establishment they really are. All the moral moral high ground with Ukraine but completely incapable of applying the same moral equivalence with Gaza.
@jimb9063 I don't know if you've read "politics on the edge" but she'd apparently suggested Dogs had been brought in to bark at the drones to which she was told "you're barking". Rory came up with the remarkable idea of...fixing the windows so drones couldn't be flown in. For some reason key decision makers in the prison administration suggested was impossible.
@@gmw3083 So? It's called knowledge. If you've never done anything, it's a poor foundation to critique at this level. I have, and so know what I'm talking about.
Why is the conversation on Iran? Israel attacked Iran first in this instance?? Why isn't the conversation about Israel? This is all vey strange. I don't understand.
Because it doesn't fit the narrative. Even mainstream media has framed this correctly as a retaliatory attack, it's disappointing to see it in this podcast
20,000 Iranian rockets have been launched into Iz. What do you mean Iz attacked first? Who do you think funds Ha, Hez and the Hou? Iz is SURROUNDED by Iranian aggression.
Iran gets slapped with restrictions and negative comments, whereas the bombing of a consulate/ embassy in Damascus gets no condenmation at all. How quickly we have lost our moral high ground is shocking. But telling.
Iran is literally launching missiles at all global commercial shipping in the Red Sea. What are you talking about? They have no immunity ANYWHERE. This country has declared war on the world.
Iran is an openly genocidal regime that has attacked global shipping and oppresses their own people. What were three generals doing in a consulate in Syria? Do you think they were having a tea party?
Hi guys, I have a question for Rory. Will your lectures at Yale be uploaded onto the university's RU-vid channel? I hope you see this message and thank you for the great program ?
Fwiw, it was not the embassy that was struck in Demascus. But rather the consulate? Why the consulate would be right next to the embassy, I don't understand. It was most definitely an attack on Iran, I was just surprised Rory was not more specific.
Should James Daly be prosecuted for wasting police time if his second politically motivated request for a police investigation also proves without merit ?
Does anyone not remember the banner headline in the Daily Telegraph the day after the Truss / Kwarteng mini budget...Allister Heath's "The greatest budget I've ever heard", never heard him again?
On hierarchy of support, you miss the fact that UK and America signed the Budapest Memorandum to support Ukraine for them giving up their nuclear arms with which Russia would never have invaded. We have a duty to support Ukraine in any way to uphold their independence which we do not have with Israel.
Iron shield not iron dome. Iron shield is what the Israelis call the multilayered defence provided by allies aircraft with iron dome backing it up. The Iron dome is the missile defense system. They gave the impression, that this was a long held prepared contingency for an attack from Iran. Also what I have heard no one mention, Israel has struck facilities in Iran numerous times in my lifetime. (Does everyone forget the attack on Iran's Nuclear facilities.) edit : the airstrike not stuxnet.
They've also assassinated Iranians. Meanwhile Iran has been supporting Hamas and Hezbollah and the Houthis. They've been going back and forth for decades.
😂 @rory you lost me saying “the shah and Israel had a close relationship”. Convenient of you to omit the fact that we put him there after getting rid of the democratically elected government.
Speaking as an American lefty, it's hard to want to spend money on global policing when we're failing our own citizens. I don't buy that we've made things worse, I think the global west has hugely benefitted from American military power, but our European allies have been coasting under that aegis. We have big problems at home and it's time to turn our eye inward.
@@16252 no one said it would. In the video they implied the left's issues with the American military machine is that it causes more problems than it solves, but the issue is significantly more nuanced than that. Frankly it's an outdated political take.
Isreal is "a Theocracy and is in the grip of conservative hard liners" Strange Rory only uses that language to describe Iran. The only reason this hasn't spiralled completely out of control is for the restraint and pragmatism of Iran
@@MyFluXx you prefer Ethnoreligious aparthied state? Sure I suppose that is more technically accurate, but it's a distinction without a difference for people living under the boot of the regime. Which country has a greater population living under its control without any democratic voice.
The state of israel that didnt exist for 2000 years? They Iranians had strong relations with a non existent state for 2000 years? Has he lost his mind?
Never allow inconvenient facts interfere with the grand narrative, that's the Western Media's approach. Rory probably meant the Israelite tribes, since the idea of nationhood is a fairly modern concept.
love this. rory should get back into politics. he is a caring decent man. my dad was a miner and rory was his type of man, honest and bright. he seems to care and listen
In his history of Israel Rory "oversaw" the King David Hotel bombing, the murder of the UN mediator and the Deir Yassin massacre. More prejudice than oversight methinks.
re china reclaiming taiwan, to the best of my knowledge, the prc has never ruled, administered or had any say or presence in taiwan. just thought it was worth mention for any confused by the “reclaiming” term, habitually repeated without any interrogation of whether the term is used in any coherent sense.
British M.P George Galloway: If the US doesn’t pull on the leash of the mad dogs in Tel Aviv it’s going to escalate! Far right Israeli Minister (previously convicted on terrorism) on X: Israel's response "feeble"
Unlike at the end of World War II the demographics are fully stacked against Russia. The numbers the lost were visible in the population pyramids but many of the young soldiers dying now will never have families. The long term impact on Russian Economy and society of 150000 deaths is almost incalculable
Of course it is important to differentiate between Russian federal citizens from the distant rural oblasts and republics that make up the majority of those casualties, and ethnic Russians from the industrialised Moscow-St Petersburg axis that so far are largely untouched by the conscription drives.
Stuxnet virus (actually called Olympic Games by the US and Israel) was a splashy media event, but if you look at the graph of enriched material produced by the country, it's a parabolic arc going upward and where the virus was used is a tiny, insignificant squiggle you need magnification to see. It was a television event. It didn't meaningfully interrupt the enrichment.
There;s one omission. ISrael's air defense didnt shoot the majority of those 300 missiles. US navy from the supercarrier in mediterrenean and US air force presence did.
Great discussion. I would very much like to hear your thoughts on possible ways the war might end in Ukraine. It seems to me that the only guarantee Russia wouldn't try gaining even more of Ukraine several years after it's end, would either be to join NATO or to have some sort of constant, neutral peacekeeping force along a carved out border. Both of these would be unacceptable outcomes for the parties involved. So, while I agree this war appears unwinnable for Ukraine, especially given material Western support is waning, and I don't want more unnecessary bloodshed, how could the war realistically end?
Not relevant to this particular video, but here's a suggested future topic to cover: anti-democratic revolutionaries who disguise themselves in conservative clothes and are increasingly replacing genuine conservatives. In this context the political philosopher Dr. Vexler has spoken about “… conservative politicians who cease to be conservative but continue to wear conservative clothes. They pretend to play the political game as we all accept it should be played with respect for democratic process, for counter-majoritarian institutions, for checks and balances … but in fact they are authoritarian. They want to break the democratic game.” ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-NtFoA0lfi2g.html He also refers to other ‘conservative’ politicians who don’t necessarily want to break the democratic game but are open to that happening - or even participating in that happening - if becomes helpful to their political career advancement. Such politicians are, at the very least, reckless in their attacks on the institutions that help to sustain democracy.
When historians look back into American history in a hundred or two hundred years, they will say the start of the end of the American empire began with American intervention in Afghanistan.
The description of Hezbollah seems to have missed the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, which was instrumental in the creation of Hezbollah. Surprised Rory missed that
If you read a few lines of Iran's historical interactions with Russia you'll understand that isn't true. Historical facts aside, the Russians do control Syrian air space. So the Israeli strike was willfully ignored by the Russians
Rory that’s an understatement Cyrus the great is called the messiah in the Hebrew bible. The Iran Israel war is one of the stupidest things in history.
Your discussion left out Mojahedin-e-Khalq and Baluch dissidents that have carried out numerous terrorist acts in Iran, apparbrtly paid by Israel. Iranian regime is repressive-but we need to cover more of the details of what they experience, too
A minor clarification: Israel recently targeted a military compound in Damascus, eliminating several IRGC officials (Gen Mohammad Hadi Hajriahimi, Gen. Mohammad Reza Zahedi and five other IRGC officials were eliminated). Contrary to initial reports by Iranian-state media suggesting an embassy strike, this action primarily aimed at disrupting Iran's support for regional proxies like Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah. This strike is part of Israel's ongoing efforts to counter IRGC activities in Syria, particularly their support for various militant groups. Iran supports these proxies in an effort to entrench its network of influence and undermine regional stability. I think it's crucial to understand this context to fully grasp the situation. While Iran operates across the MENA region, supporting regimes like Assad's and fostering instability through proxies (Hezbollah, PIJ, Hamas, Houthis, PMU, et al.), Israel's actions are often framed as "escalatory" or in need of restraint. This double standard overlooks Iran's history of aggression and indiscriminate attacks against civilians and Coalition personnel in the region, which often receive little international condemnation. Even this recent mass attack by Iran via drones and cruise missiles designed to maximise civilian casualties, thankfully intercepted by joint international partners and the Iron Dome, was not spoken about prior when it was telegraphed with the same language of deescalation. Contrast this with Israel who is urged to deescalate even when targeting legitimate military targets. This inconsistency highlights the need for a more nuanced understanding of the situation, imo.
Where are you getting your info that it was a military compound and that Iran was striking civilian targets in its recent attack? This seems like bad propaganda - very similar format to pro Russian accounts.
Bizarre but true: at least one European police force (can't remember which now) has in fact trained Eagles to take out small to medium size drones. Turns out that Eagles have an insanely high grip force so if you give them armoured "boots" to protect their feet from the drone rotor blades they're amazingly effective at bringing down drones up to and above their own size. Edited to add: it was the Dutch national police.
Why should Israel expect Iran not react to its attack on their embassy and their rightful attempts to develop nuclear power? No, I don't want Iran with nuclear weapons, but if some hold them, others will want to acquire them.
Since about a decade ago I have half-jokingly said that Iran is a theocracy trying to become a nuclear power and Israel is a nuclear power trying to become a theocracy. However, trying to equate Israel and Iran as if they are both "dangerous theocracies" in the same way is just a massive divergence from reality, even if I understand the sentiment. Iran is by definition an authoritarian theocracy, ruled by clerics with absolute authority, while Israel is very much a functional democracy, with the unpleasant problem of an occupied population with no political rights. Iran by self-definition is ruled by a religious revolutionary regime that seeks to "export the revolution" and destabilize the entire region to raise regimes similar to itself. Israel by definition seeks its own security. For that purpose, it has been known to employ some dirty practices, but overall it strives for stability in the region. Our governments are becoming shittier and shittier the more our population is convinced by our right wing and our enemies that we have to "go berserk" on our enemies as Alistair says. But still, the two regimes are immensely different, and to reduce both to equivalent "dangerous theocracies" is... Not useful. Don't you think so?
@@Professordog1 Thanks....this is not a debate as far as I am concerned. 'The Israel Test' helped me understand the situation better. Im just offering that up.
@@ehudshapira2745Wrong on every point. Iran is a democracy in every sense of the word, while Israel is not even a real country. It is a settler entity built on ethnic cleansing which is ONGOING. "unpleasant problem of an occupied population with no political rights" I don't think I even need to comment on this. So it is a democracy except when it's literally not? And no, Iran does not seek to actively export its revolution or destabilise the region. The 'region' is run by absolute monarchs made rich on oil money and puppets of the Western hegemony. They are often minorities ruling over oppressed majorities. The Islamic revolution was a model of a democratic uprising where the people overthrew the undignified autocrats and established an Islamic, Republican, and modern state. Yes, many people in the region would be inspired by that, hence, why the absolute monarchs would be frightened and attack Iran immediately after the revolution. Iran's "destabilisation" is a defensive response to those attacks. Finally, in no way does Israel seek "stability". Israel's maximalist objective is explicitly to destroy any potentially strong and prosperous state in the region. Thats why it pushed for the destruction of Iraq, Syria, Libya, and now is trying to instigate a war with Iran.
A lot of rewriting of Middle Eastern history from RS omitting the legacy of Jews living throughout the Middle East and western interference in self determination. All of their foreign policy interventions have led disastrous consequences
16:00 disagree. I think we stepped in here to stop a 3rd party escalating a conflict. Interesting idea that Iran basically said we expect you to stop all of these missles and this was just a way to cause Isreal a bit of a headache logistically.
I’m glad to see Campbell has started to challenge Stewart’s tactic of using the ‘disagree agreeably’ gimmick for the purpose of humanising the tories and airing their talking points.
How do you fail to even mention Mike Johnson and his being owned by Donald Trump with his refusal to sign anything that the vast majority in Congress approve of.......the hardware for Ukraine ???.
The British army is a cub scout movement, the once largest Navy in the world, is now barely in control of it's own territorial waters, we are a side show in any conflict, so the more isolationist the Yanks become, we need to get real.
What is Russia's role in the middle east? They seem to be the agitators. Also wasn't the hamas attack flagged as a retaliation for the killing of Soleimani?
Idk about Soleimani (might be overreach), but there is certain evidence of Kremlin not only supporting, but sponsoring HAMAS and other Muslim Brotherhood factions. This Gaza-Israel war certainly played in their favour in more ways than one in the big picture. Mostly on info-war front it has divided the "western" unity, main goal of their hybrid-war right now. HAMAS uses every page from Russian black-propaganda book, to the point i'd believe Roskomnadzor psyop offices trained to make or helped to spread their messages. True along the fake ones, obfuscating the real situation and statistics just as they do on Russia-occupied territories. Confusion and polarisation of western public are some of their common goals.
There is a great interview with the Shah of Iran by a very well known American TV presenter. If you thought the Shah was totally pro America and pro Israeli, wrong ! He made many anti Zionist comments in that documentary. He was a highly intelligent and well informed diplomat, and ex president of Iran.
Interesting how he got wrong his 1min history from the start, forgot that Hezbollah was created as a result of the occupation of south Lebanon by Israel. They are part of the Lebanese government recognized by the UK....etc
I wish these so called pundits would do their homework. The iron dome and other top defences of the Israeli airfields did not work. The 2 airfields from which the attack on the iranian consulate was atacked were successfully hit plus as I understand a major intelligence/radar complex in the golan heights was completely destroyed. Jacqueline Rafferty
If Iran and Israel have no diplomatic relations they do not respect each other diplomats and embassies and need not adhere to the diplomatic norms toward each other. Jordan is another matter, I suppose, but Jordan was not party to the attack on the Iranian consulate.
Bit odd to see footage on this of Alistair messing about on his phone while Rory is talking about his experiences with Liz Truss - not sure if he's actually being rude or whether it's a bit of an editing mistake as, when he does chime in, the lighting in his room looks different suggesting the footage is from different times of day...
He often does fact checking on points brought up on the podcast while someone else is talking. He will say he found a stat / book etc relevant to the conversation
Then share with the rest of us, it’s the obvious thing to do, rather than stand there hiding behind some books someone may of mentioned to you. I mean, what is your opinion? Let’s start with that?
Sadly both israeli and iranian regimes need existential threat to shore up their domestic positions. As an international community we need to continually seek to apply pressure to upset these calculations and make efforts to ramp up this conflict politically risky and costly.
