Ahead of Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Donald Trump next week, our guest is Michael Oren, the American-born historian who was Israel's ambassador in Washington in 2009-2013. 

Dan asks him about Israel's effort to get a "green light" from President Obama to attack Iran's nuclear sites -- and how that dream was fulfilled, and then some, by President Trump last month.

Oren -- as well as Rob Satloff of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy -- and Bibi Netanyahu spokesman David Mencer -- are heard on the podcast, claiming that victory over Iran opens a gateway to more, positive progress in the Middle East.

Please comment on X at @danraviv. Also on BlueSky, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Dan's most recent book -- with Israeli espionage/defense expert Yossi Melman -- about the Mossad and Israel's other security agencies is "Spies Against Armageddon: Inside Israel's Secret Wars" -- You may purchase it at http://bit.ly/41j1Sc3 in Kindle or paperback (and on all e-book platforms).

AND ANOTHER BOOK: Dan Raviv is co-author of a new book -- with world-renowned social psychologist Prof. Arie Kruglanski -- "The Quest for Significance: Harnessing the Need that Makes the World Go Round." It explains how every person has a need for respect and dignity, and the book advises how you can find what's important to you -- and figure out all the people around you, to give them a measure of Significance ... and then they typically will reflect some back at you. That's called a win-win. To buy: https://amzn.to/3Y2cawj

(You can watch or listen, also, to THE QUEST FOR SIGNIFICANCE PODCAST series.)

Our music for THE MOSSAD FILES podcast is Clock is Ticking, by Braden Deal, from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/braden-deal/clock-is-ticking -- License code: YY2MEPOUFX6P7MIH.

After years of will they or won't they ... President Trump did it. Huge bunker-buster bombs hit Iran's "nuclear mountain," Fordow.

Dan Raviv chats with Jonathan Schanzer, VP for research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, pointing to signs of full coordination between Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu -- but are they also taking action aimed at overthrowing Iran's Islamic regime?

We also examine information about the Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) bombs, and what General Dan Caine -- Chairman of the Joint Chiefs -- revealed about the massive MOPs and the B-2 crews who dropped them.

Please comment on X at @danraviv. Also on BlueSky, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Dan's most recent book -- with Israeli espionage/defense expert Yossi Melman -- about the Mossad and Israel's other security agencies is "Spies Against Armageddon: Inside Israel's Secret Wars" -- You may purchase it at http://bit.ly/41j1Sc3 in Kindle or paperback (and on all e-book platforms).

AND ANOTHER BOOK: Dan Raviv is co-author of a new book -- with world-renowned social psychologist Prof. Arie Kruglanski -- "The Quest for Significance: Harnessing the Need that Makes the World Go Round." It explains how every person has a need for respect and dignity, and the book advises how you can find what's important to you -- and figure out all the people around you, to give them a measure of Significance ... and then they typically will reflect some back at you. That's called a win-win. To buy: https://amzn.to/3Y2cawj

(You can watch or listen, also, to THE QUEST FOR SIGNIFICANCE PODCAST series.)

Our music for THE MOSSAD FILES podcast is Clock is Ticking, by Braden Deal, from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/braden-deal/clock-is-ticking -- License code: YY2MEPOUFX6P7MIH.

After a few days of distancing the United States from Israel's surprise attack on Iran -- aimed at smashing that country's nuclear program and its plan to amass a huge arsenal of ballistic missiles -- President Trump decided to be 100% pro-Israel.

Dan Raviv, in an on-air discussion with CBS News, analyzed Trump's online posts that said "We..." as though he was involved in the war on Israel's side.

Might Israel regret teaming up with an American president who's foreign policy is erratic and unpredictable?

Dan then speaks with a military analyst who focuses on Israel, Iran, and the Middle East -- Michael Eisenstadt of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. They consider the possibility that Israel doesn't need America's "bunker-buster" bombs to destroy the notorious Fordow nuclear facility -- buried deep inside a mountain in central Iran. Couldn't Israeli commando troops, accompanied by Mossad spies who have penetrated Iran for many years, mount a ground assault on Fordow?

Please comment on X at @danraviv. Also on BlueSky, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Dan's most recent book -- with Israeli espionage/defense expert Yossi Melman -- about the Mossad and Israel's other security agencies is "Spies Against Armageddon: Inside Israel's Secret Wars" -- You may purchase it at http://bit.ly/41j1Sc3 in Kindle or paperback (and on all e-book platforms).

AND ANOTHER BOOK: Dan Raviv is co-author of a new book -- with world-renowned social psychologist Prof. Arie Kruglanski -- "The Quest for Significance: Harnessing the Need that Makes the World Go Round." It explains how every person has a need for respect and dignity, and the book advises how you can find what's important to you -- and figure out all the people around you, to give them a measure of Significance ... and then they typically will reflect some back at you. That's called a win-win. To buy: https://amzn.to/3Y2cawj

(You can watch or listen, also, to THE QUEST FOR SIGNIFICANCE PODCAST series.)

Our music for THE MOSSAD FILES podcast is Clock is Ticking, by Braden Deal, from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/braden-deal/clock-is-ticking -- License code: YY2MEPOUFX6P7MIH.

June 13, 2025 -- Friday, Middle East time.  After more than a dozen years of hinting that it might attack Iran's nuclear facilities at any time, Israel finally did it.

Dan reports that Israel's air force -- with Mossad spies leading the way by attacking Iran's defenses -- did a lot of damage to Iran in the first days of a war that was dubbed "Operation Rising Lion."  The name is based on a Biblical verse, Numbers 23-24: "Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion: he shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain." 

Our podcast includes Dan being interviewed -- about how the Mossad penetrated Iran, and why the Mossad released video showing its spies at work -- by NewsNation.  Then there is a discussion with Iran expert, Behnam Ben Taleblu of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies.

Please comment on X at @danraviv. Also on BlueSky, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Dan's most recent book -- with Israeli espionage/defense expert Yossi Melman -- about the Mossad and Israel's other security agencies is "Spies Against Armageddon: Inside Israel's Secret Wars" -- You may purchase it at http://bit.ly/41j1Sc3 in Kindle or paperback (and on all e-book platforms).

AND ANOTHER BOOK: Dan Raviv is co-author of a new book -- with world-renowned social psychologist Prof. Arie Kruglanski -- "The Quest for Significance: Harnessing the Need that Makes the World Go Round." It explains how every person has a need for respect and dignity, and the book advises how you can find what's important to you -- and figure out all the people around you, to give them a measure of Significance ... and then they typically will reflect some back at you. That's called a win-win. To buy: https://amzn.to/3Y2cawj

(You can watch or listen, also, to THE QUEST FOR SIGNIFICANCE PODCAST series.)

Our music for THE MOSSAD FILES podcast is Clock is Ticking, by Braden Deal, from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/braden-deal/clock-is-ticking -- License code: YY2MEPOUFX6P7MIH.

Recorded on Wednesday (June 11) and launching before Middle East events make everything outdated ... this episode analyzes the sudden upsurge in tension.

Did Israel inform the U.S. that it's going to bomb sites in Iran?  Or was the Trump Administration pulling out families of military folks and diplomats -- from Arab countries within range of Iran -- to put pressure on Iran in the current nuclear talks?

Perhaps the U.S. is preparing to strike Iran, if the talks continue to limp along without agreement -- or collapse altogether.

We consider the possibilities with the director of the Iran Project at FDD -- the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies -- Behnam Ben Taleblu.

As an expert on Iran and its complex motivations, Ben Taleblu and Dan discuss all the possibilities. They don't all lead to a destructive, all-out war.

Please comment on X at @danraviv. Also on BlueSky, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Dan's most recent book -- with Israeli espionage/defense expert Yossi Melman -- about the Mossad and Israel's other security agencies is "Spies Against Armageddon: Inside Israel's Secret Wars" -- You may purchase it at http://bit.ly/41j1Sc3 in Kindle or paperback (and on all e-book platforms).

AND ANOTHER BOOK: Dan Raviv is co-author of a new book -- with world-renowned social psychologist Prof. Arie Kruglanski -- "The Quest for Significance: Harnessing the Need that Makes the World Go Round." It explains how every person has a need for respect and dignity, and the book advises how you can find what's important to you -- and figure out all the people around you, to give them a measure of Significance ... and then they typically will reflect some back at you. That's called a win-win. To buy: https://amzn.to/3Y2cawj

(You can watch or listen, also, to THE QUEST FOR SIGNIFICANCE PODCAST series.)

Our music for THE MOSSAD FILES podcast is Clock is Ticking, by Braden Deal, from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/braden-deal/clock-is-ticking -- License code: YY2MEPOUFX6P7MIH.

Dan's guest is Michael Koplow, chief policy officer of Israel Policy Forum -- based in Washington -- explaining IPF's criticisms of Benjamin Netanyahu, but also providing a clear-eyed view of Israel's fateful decisions: Put the hostages first? Or drive for total victory over Hamas in Gaza?

We also cover the U.S. talks with Iran over that country's nuclear program -- and the latest Israeli political crisis: whether ultra-Orthodox Jews will continue to be exempted from military service in the IDF.

Please comment on X at @danraviv. Also on BlueSky, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Dan's most recent book -- with Israeli espionage/defense expert Yossi Melman -- about the Mossad and Israel's other security agencies is "Spies Against Armageddon: Inside Israel's Secret Wars" -- You may purchase it at http://bit.ly/41j1Sc3 in Kindle or paperback (and on all e-book platforms).

AND ANOTHER BOOK: Dan Raviv is co-author of a new book -- with world-renowned social psychologist Prof. Arie Kruglanski -- "The Quest for Significance: Harnessing the Need that Makes the World Go Round." It explains how every person has a need for respect and dignity, and the book advises how you can find what's important to you -- and figure out all the people around you, to give them a measure of Significance ... and then they typically will reflect some back at you. That's called a win-win. To buy: https://amzn.to/3Y2cawj

(You can watch or listen, also, to THE QUEST FOR SIGNIFICANCE PODCAST series.)

Our music for THE MOSSAD FILES podcast is Clock is Ticking, by Braden Deal, from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/braden-deal/clock-is-ticking -- License code: YY2MEPOUFX6P7MIH.

After we hear Donald Trump confirm that he advised Prime Minister Netanyahu to shelve any Israeli plan to bomb Iran's nuclear facilities, Dan turns to Michael Oren -- an American-born historian who served as Israel's ambassador to the U.S. during the Obama presidency. Dr. Oren links the double-murder of Israeli Embassy workers in Washington to the wider rise of anti-Israel and anti-Semitic extremism. 

Oren also offers a fascinating prediction:

Donald Trump may lose patience with Israel's war in Gaza and demand that it end. Benjamin Netanyahu could find a reasonable ending, in a process that brings Saudi Arabia into the "Abraham Accords" (the Arab and Muslim countries establishing peaceful relations with Israel) -- a truly positive breakthrough for Israel, if it happens.

As a result, Netanyahu could call an election -- and he could win, despite opinion polls currently showing widespread dissatisfaction among Israelis.

Please tell your friends about The Mossad Files with Dan Raviv!

Dan's most recent book -- co-authored with Yossi Melman -- about the Mossad and other Israeli security agencies is SPIES AGAINST ARMAGEDDON. You can buy it at bit.ly/41j1Sc3

And Dan has a new book, co-authored with Professor Arie Kruglanski, on the human craving to make our lives matter: how that can be positive or lethally negative.  The title is THE QUEST FOR SIGNIFICANCE. Find it at https://amzn.to/3Y2cawj

Michael Oren's books, mentioned in the podcast, include SIX DAYS OF WAR -- https://www.amazon.com/Six-Days-War-Making-Modern-ebook/dp/B000Q80V6O/ref=sr_1_1 -- and Power, Faith, and Fantasy: America in the Middle East: 1776 to the Present -- https://www.amazon.com/Power-Faith-Fantasy-America-Present-ebook/dp/B004YKULO2/ref=sr_1_1

Please comment on X at @danraviv. Also on BlueSky, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Dan's most recent book -- with Israeli espionage/defense expert Yossi Melman -- about the Mossad and Israel's other security agencies is "Spies Against Armageddon: Inside Israel's Secret Wars" -- You may purchase it at http://bit.ly/41j1Sc3 in Kindle or paperback (and on all e-book platforms).

AND ANOTHER BOOK: Dan Raviv is co-author of a new book -- with world-renowned social psychologist Prof. Arie Kruglanski -- "The Quest for Significance: Harnessing the Need that Makes the World Go Round." It explains how every person has a need for respect and dignity, and the book advises how you can find what's important to you -- and figure out all the people around you, to give them a measure of Significance ... and then they typically will reflect some back at you. That's called a win-win. To buy: https://amzn.to/3Y2cawj

(You can watch or listen, also, to THE QUEST FOR SIGNIFICANCE PODCAST series.)

Our music for THE MOSSAD FILES podcast is Clock is Ticking, by Braden Deal, from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/braden-deal/clock-is-ticking -- License code: YY2MEPOUFX6P7MIH.

We consider the security challenge posed by the murders of two Israeli Embassy employees in Washington by a "pro-Palestine" extremist. Dan speaks with Ory Slonim, former negotiator for Israel in secret missions to locate and liberate Israelis held by enemy nations and terrorists. Slonim is impassioned, calling for an end to the Gaza war so that all Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza will be freed.

Dan then interviews Jason Burke, international security correspondent for The Guardian newspaper -- on the revelation that after the Munich Olympics massacre of 11 Israeli athletes in 1972, the Mossad secretly had help from European intelligence agencies in locating Palestinian activists who were assassinated by the Israelis. The French, Swiss, and Italian governments would probably not do that -- but deals made directly between Mossad and intel partners in the once-secret "Kilowatt" group brought Israel the information it needed.

Please comment on X at @danraviv. Also on BlueSky, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Dan's most recent book -- with Israeli espionage/defense expert Yossi Melman -- about the Mossad and Israel's other security agencies is "Spies Against Armageddon: Inside Israel's Secret Wars" -- You may purchase it at http://bit.ly/41j1Sc3 in Kindle or paperback (and on all e-book platforms).

AND ANOTHER BOOK: Dan Raviv is co-author of a new book -- with world-renowned social psychologist Prof. Arie Kruglanski -- "The Quest for Significance: Harnessing the Need that Makes the World Go Round." It explains how every person has a need for respect and dignity, and the book advises how you can find what's important to you -- and figure out all the people around you, to give them a measure of Significance ... and then they typically will reflect some back at you. That's called a win-win. To buy: https://amzn.to/3Y2cawj

(You can watch or listen, also, to THE QUEST FOR SIGNIFICANCE PODCAST series.)

Our music for THE MOSSAD FILES podcast is Clock is Ticking, by Braden Deal, from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/braden-deal/clock-is-ticking -- License code: YY2MEPOUFX6P7MIH.

Dan comments on three highlights from President Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates: his respectful meeting with Syria's president, who used to be labeled a terrorist; Trump saying Iran has a limited time to agree to block any nuclear bomb program; and his accepting that Saudi Arabia won't join the Abraham Accords and open relations with Israel at this time.

Dan then brings Nimrod Novik into the conversation from his home in Tel Aviv. Novik is a longtime senior advisor to the late Prime Minister Shimon Peres. He is the Israel Fellow of IPF (Israel Policy Forum), and is active with the Commanders for Israel's Security. We discuss the CIS letter to President Trump asking him to apply pressure to end the Gaza war, rescue the hostages, and move toward a multinational Arab administration in Gaza.

Please comment on X at @danraviv. Also on BlueSky, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Dan's most recent book -- with Israeli espionage/defense expert Yossi Melman -- about the Mossad and Israel's other security agencies is "Spies Against Armageddon: Inside Israel's Secret Wars" -- You may purchase it at http://bit.ly/41j1Sc3 in Kindle or paperback (and on all e-book platforms).

AND ANOTHER BOOK: Dan Raviv is co-author of a new book -- with world-renowned social psychologist Prof. Arie Kruglanski -- "The Quest for Significance: Harnessing the Need that Makes the World Go Round." It explains how every person has a need for respect and dignity, and the book advises how you can find what's important to you -- and figure out all the people around you, to give them a measure of Significance ... and then they typically will reflect some back at you. That's called a win-win. To buy: https://amzn.to/3Y2cawj

(You can watch or listen, also, to THE QUEST FOR SIGNIFICANCE PODCAST series.)

Our music for THE MOSSAD FILES podcast is Clock is Ticking, by Braden Deal, from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/braden-deal/clock-is-ticking -- License code: YY2MEPOUFX6P7MIH.

The U.S. and Iran are resuming the nuclear talks -- President Trump goes to 3 Arabian Gulf countries next week (May 13-16) -- Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu orders IDF to step-up destruction in Gaza to destroy Hamas (and free hostages?).

Our guest on THE MOSSAD FILES -- VIDEO SPECIAL -- is Jonathan Schanzer, executive director of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies --- in Washington, DC. He describes the FDD think-tank as "center-right" and "nonpartisan." Schanzer and his colleagues are certainly experts on the Iran's activities and a lot more in the Middle East. Our conversation runs half-an-hour.

Dan Raviv's most recent book (with Yossi Melman) is a history of Israeli intelligence and security agencies, SPIES AGAINST ARMAGEDDON: INSIDE ISRAEL'S SECRET WARS.  To buy: https://www.amazon.com/Against-Armageddon-Inside-Israels-Secret-ebook/dp/B00ISCGZRY/ref=sr_1_1

Among Jonathan Schanzer's books is STATE OF FAILURE, which in 2013 presented evidence that the PLO was not capable of running a peaceful and stable Palestinian independent state. To buy: https://www.amazon.com/State-Failure-Mahmoud-Unmaking-Palestinian-ebook/dp/B00CGFJ0XU

Please comment on X at @danraviv. Also on BlueSky, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Dan's most recent book -- with Israeli espionage/defense expert Yossi Melman -- about the Mossad and Israel's other security agencies is "Spies Against Armageddon: Inside Israel's Secret Wars" -- You may purchase it at http://bit.ly/41j1Sc3 in Kindle or paperback (and on all e-book platforms).

AND ANOTHER BOOK: Dan Raviv is co-author of a new book -- with world-renowned social psychologist Prof. Arie Kruglanski -- "The Quest for Significance: Harnessing the Need that Makes the World Go Round." It explains how every person has a need for respect and dignity, and the book advises how you can find what's important to you -- and figure out all the people around you, to give them a measure of Significance ... and then they typically will reflect some back at you. That's called a win-win. To buy: https://amzn.to/3Y2cawj

(You can watch or listen, also, to THE QUEST FOR SIGNIFICANCE PODCAST series.)

Our music for THE MOSSAD FILES podcast is Clock is Ticking, by Braden Deal, from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/braden-deal/clock-is-ticking -- License code: YY2MEPOUFX6P7MIH.