A few weeks ago, the United States, aided by intelligence from Israel, carried out a significant strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities at Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan. This marked a critical step in Israel’s ongoing efforts to neutralize Iran as an existential threat—a threat that continues to shape the security landscape across the Middle East. Meanwhile, the war in Gaza has entered its second year, and the debate in the West focuses on the civilian consequences of the war, which is perhaps understandable. But it also obscures the event that triggered it all: the horrific Hamas massacre of October 7, 2023. So if one tries to hold both of those things in mind at the same time, what would an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza look like? What is the end goal of the war?

Against this backdrop, today’s episode features my conversation with Israel’s ambassador to Sweden, Ziv Nevo Kulman. We discuss how, paradoxically, October 7 led to a noticeable rise in antisemitism across Sweden, Europe, and—sadly—throughout the entire Western world. In parallel, Greta Thunberg has shifted her global activism from climate to pro-Palestinian issues, most recently attempting to symbolically break the maritime blockade against Gaza. I ask the ambassador about her actions and her accusations of being kidnapped by Israel.

We delve deeply into Iran’s role as an ever-present existential threat to Israel, and how the attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities has altered the security situation in the region. Was this justified? I ask him directly about statements made by figures like Carl Bildt, who claimed that the U.S. airstrikes violated international law. We also address Sweden’s recent push for the EU to impose sanctions on Israeli ministers—an initiative that the ambassador believes risks empowering extremist forces rather than promoting peace and stability.

And if you’re wondering why he mentions dogs at the beginning, it’s because I had shared that my German shepherd accidentally bit off my fingernail. Ambassador Kulman, having grown up around German shepherds himself, ended up chatting with me about dogs before we started recording.

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