The Debate

We've seen this movie before. US President Donald Trump is talking up a ceasefire initiative, only for the killing to continue in Gaza; killing that is relentless and off-the-scales ever since the rollout of a US-Israeli aid delivery scheme that bypasses traditional international agencies. 

We ask about Trump's claim that Israel has agreed to his 60-day truce and the reaction of a Hamas that's down but not completely out.

We also ask what's changed since Benjamin Netanyahu walked away in March from a phased agreement that was to lead to a permanent ceasefire and the release of the remaining hostages. For starters: Israel's 12-day war with Iran, where it was the US president who told Netanyahu to declare victory and go home. Will Trump twist the Israeli leader's arm again when Netanyahu travels to Washington next week?

All bets are off: will it be the Trump who gushes about a Gaza Riviera construction scheme that kicks out Palestinians, or the one who forces Netanyahu's hand by announcing Iran negotiations or recognising Syria's government?

More broadly, when is enough enough?

Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Aurore Laborie, Ilayda Habip and Yann Pusztai.

It's the first day of July and already France and parts of Europe are enduring their second major heatwave with no respite. From the shores of the Mediterranean, warmed by waters at an alarming 26°C, to the rooftop of Europe – Mont Blanc – where the mercury's got no business venturing above freezing this early in the summer, how to adapt to the new normal?

With poorly adapted schools forced to shut, the French far-right's Marine Le Pen is advocating air conditioning for all. But A/C begets higher energy consumption. And with the same far-right party against wind farms and the switch away from gasoline-powered cars, is air conditioning a basic necessity or do alternatives exist on the planet's fastest-heating continent?

Read moreAir conditioning: Welcome relief from climate change, but part of the problem

We ask about France's claim that nuclear power is the carbon-free answer: just look at the Golfech plant located between Toulouse and Bordeaux. It has been forced to suspend activity because at 28°C, the Garonne River's waters are too hot to cool its reactors.

Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip and Yann Pusztai.

Where else but the city of merchants, one whose fortune was founded on global trade, to host the celebrity wedding of the digital age's king of ecommerce? In Venice, Jeff Bezos, the billionaire owner of online trading platform Amazon, is tying the knot with journalist-turned-TV personality Lauren Sanchez in a spectacle that's drawn both paparazzi and protesters. What does this spectacle out of a Fellini movie say about the age we live in? 

Organisers are tempering the extravagance with pledges of giving to good causes. For the world's third-richest man, who now owns The Washington Post newspaper, what does money buy?

We ask about the pushback, and the look for a city that hardly needs more publicity, what with its 150,000 visitors per day. Is the issue Bezos' obscene wealth or the advertisement it brings to Venice, a bucket list destination that's already heaving under the weight of record amounts of tourists? 

Produced by Rebecca Gnignati, Elisa Amiri and Ilayda Habip.

Allies can breathe a sigh of relief. The same Donald Trump who left the G7 summit early showed up on time for the NATO summit in the Netherlands – an abridged summit to curry favour and keep his undivided attention. The US president played with members' nerves, entertaining suspense over the United States' commitment to NATO's Article 5 but in the end reaffirming support for the Alliance's "all for one and one for all" clause in case of attack. After a victory lap over Iran, Trump was all smiles over Alliance members' commitment to boost defence spending to 5 percent of GDP. 

It also emerged that Britain is buying 12 F-35A fighter jets made in the USA. That's music to Trump's ears, but how will the announcement go down with the likes of France, which has been arguing for Europe to reduce its dependency on Washington?

And then there's Ukraine. Trump, in the end, took the meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky. But there, too, there were mixed messages: both when it comes to Russia's relentless campaign of aggression and the benefit of the doubt so often granted by Trump to Vladimir Putin.

Produced by Rebecca Gnignati, Elisa Amiri, Ilayda Habip.

Donald Trump went all-in with B2 bomber raids against Iran's nuclear installations over the weekend and then surprised allies and adversaries alike with a ceasefire announcement late on Monday. All this for a victory lap at the NATO summit that's opening in the Netherlands? Whether it's strategy or impulse that's driving the US president, we attempt to make sense of an operation that was resisted for decades by all of his predecessors, including Trump himself in his first term.

Why did Israel finally get its wish of a US-backed direct confrontation with Iran? Will it reshape a region where it's as much Israel as the United States that's imposed its will on Tehran's proxies and allies in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza? Who owns this one? And what does this seeming once-in-a-generation shift in the balance of power mean for the Middle East and for the planet?

Produced by Rebecca Gnignati, Elisa Amiri, Ilayda Habip.

There's the plan – and then there are the unintended consequences. The United States talks diplomacy, then bombs Iran. It suggests the targeting of nuclear sites may have been a one-off, yet leaves the regime uncertain: is regime change the real objective? Following its most significant show of force since the invasion of Iraq, will Washington take ownership of what comes next? For now, the US asserts itself as the sole superpower capable of projecting force in a region where China appears reduced to the role of chief oil customer, and Russia remains preoccupied with Ukraine. And with Israel now striking Tehran's notorious Evin Prison, it's clear this goes far beyond nuclear ambitions. We look at the options left to a weakened Iran – and the consequences of toppling a militarised theocracy.

Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Guillaume Gougeon and Ilayda Habip.

For citizens still reeling from the crackdown on the 2022 “Women, Life, Freedom” movement, the focus now is on hunkering down as best they can. Nearly 700 people have been killed in Iran since last Friday, according to the human rights group HRANA, and citizens are bracing for more violence in scenes reminiscent of the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s. How do those who defied the regime just a couple of years ago feel about this moment – and about those abroad who are cheerleading for regime change?

On that score, the command in Tehran is closely watching for signs of internal dissent. We'll look into reports of arrests, internet disruptions, calls to abandon WhatsApp, and reactions to Israel’s brief hacking of state television.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump uses the collective “we” – as in “we now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran” – but Israel’s Iron Dome has proven unable to stop missiles like the one that struck Beersheba’s hospital in the south of the country. If the United States is “all in,” it wouldn’t be the first time. Iran’s collective memory stretches well beyond the 1979 revolution – back to 1953, when a CIA-backed coup overthrew a democratically elected government in favor of reinstating the Shah.

 

Produced by Aline Bottin, Elisa Amiri, Ilayda Habip.

Donald Trump sold us a different kind of Pax Americana. The US-led global rules-based order was always about soft power backed by bulk military might. Trump's rules on Inauguration Day veered instead to the utilitarian: yes to the world’s top superpower staking imperial claims to parts of the planet deemed vital to national interests. Yes to coveting Greenland’s strategic minerals and Panama’s essential waterway. No to forever wars in places like Ukraine where the US pays while Europe reaps the benefits of curbing Vladimir Putin’s westward march.

So why now the sudden pull of the Middle East? The US president is weighing whether to go all-in with Israel’s pre-emptive war against Iran? One whose stated aims oscillate between nuclear deterrence and regime change. Why Iran and not Ukraine? And what conclusions can Europe draw from the evolution of warfare in 2025? Both Ukraine and Israel inflicting damage with spectacular operations that combine special ops in the field, drones and artificial intelligence. Sales reps are all smiles at the big Paris Air Show but how should cash-strapped states be buying for their militaries? Can an unmanned gizmo really inflict as much damage as a state-of-the-art fighter jet? If so, just how volatile a world we live in?

 

Produced by Rebecca Gnignati, Elisa Amiri, Ilayda Habip.

He says he wants "better than a ceasefire". Donald Trump has returned to the White House, leaving behind the rest of the G7 leaders in western Canada. After five days of war between Israel and Iran, the US president faces a stark choice: he can either approve bunker-busting bombs to target underground nuclear facilities or tell Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu it’s time to stop.

With air superiority over Tehran, Israel is doubling down on an operation that was in the works for decades. And while bombing raids have killed hundreds of Iranian civilians, the offensive has shown precision in assassinating top commanders. Among the latest is Major General Ali Shadmani, who'd only been in the job of Iran's top military commander for four days after the assassination of his predecessor. 

But just how degraded is the regime of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei? What are its options?

For now, the Iranians are still firing back, imposing far more casualties and damage than the usual rocket attacks from Gaza or south Lebanon. As for Israel's claim that it's reshaping the region, we put that to our panel.

Produced by Rebecca Gnignati, Aurore Laborie and Ilayda Habip. 

The threat had been repeated so often over so many years that it had started to ring hollow. Now, Israel's actually done it: striking Iran in a bid to destroy its capacity to build nuclear weapons. Tel Aviv sees a window of opportunity, and with Tehran's proxies in Syria, Lebanon and Gaza either gone or debilitated, the Israelis are also targeting the senior leadership around Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. So what’s the ultimate goal: military superiority or regime change?

Iran may be reeling but it’s still fighting back, successfully targeting Israel’s largest oil refinery in Haifa. Is a long war ahead? And with Israel lacking the kind of bunker-busting bombs that can reach the underground Fordo nuclear site, will the United States agree to finish the job that Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu started?

Since Friday, US President Donald Trump has sent mixed messages: warning Israel against targeting Iran’s supreme leader but cheering on the strikes; still billing himself as peacemaker while providing Israel with military intelligence. We ask about the only man who can end this unprecedented direct confrontation with a phone call.

Produced by Rebecca Gnignati, Aurore Laborie and Ilayda Habip.