THE MOSSAD FILES with Dan Raviv

Dan's guest is Jason Pack, an American global-affairs analyst based in London.  Pack is author of Libya and the Global Enduring Disorder, and he's the host of a podcast, "Disorder."

The U.S. and Israel together attacked Iran on February 28 and have not masked their goal of regime change.

We praise the excellent intelligence that made the "decapitation strike" possible at the start of the war in Iran -- killing the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and many Iranian officials and commanders -- similar to what the Israelis accomplished last June.

Once again, early victories were enabled by years of intelligence harvested inside Iran by the Mossad -- Israel's foreign intelligence service.  In this war, they are working closely with the CIA.

But who is wise and well-informed enough to guide events toward something beneficial for the United States, Israel, and their partners in the Arabian Gulf and in Europe?

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

Dan's most recent book -- with Israeli espionage/defense expert Yossi Melman -- is a low-priced e-book, "Target: Iran -- How the Mossad Penetrated Iran to Smash the Nuclear Program."  For Kindle: https://levantbooks.short.gy/hGLRKs 

Also the Raviv-Melman history of the Mossad 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: Dan Raviv is co-author of a new book --with 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 figure out yourself and the people around you, to give them a measure of Significance. 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 expert is Sarit Zehavi, a retired lieutenant-colonel in the IDF (Israel's army) -- mostly in Military Intelligence.  She founded and directs a non-profit think tank in northern Israel -- The Alma Research and Education Center -- that specializes in gathering and explaining information about Lebanon and Syria.

In this conversation recorded Feb. 24 (80 hours before the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran), Zehavi analyzed what might prompt Hezbollah to join Iran in retaliating against Israel. As a close watcher of Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militia and political faction in Lebanon, she said the key was what Tehran might order, if Tehran's leaders were to feel desperate.

Zehavi reflects the political and strategic culture of the Middle East, when she said that President Trump had to come through -- having pledged support for the anti-regime protesters in Iran -- or America would lose credibility in the eyes of the region.

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

Dan's most recent book -- with Israeli espionage/defense expert Yossi Melman -- is a low-priced e-book, "Target: Iran -- How the Mossad Penetrated Iran to Smash the Nuclear Program."  For Kindle: https://levantbooks.short.gy/hGLRKs 

Also the Raviv-Melman history of the Mossad 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: Dan Raviv is co-author of a new book --with 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 figure out yourself and the people around you, to give them a measure of Significance. 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.

While the world awaited his decision on whether to strike Iran, Donald Trump convened his Board of Peace with a focus mostly on Gaza.

Our guest is a Palestinian expert who's been an American analyst of the Middle East for many years: Ghaith al-Omari of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

Al-Omari says donation pledges and plans for Gaza prosperity are far from convincing -- are they realistic, when Hamas hasn't been disarmed? -- but Trump's Board of Peace has elements of introducing a better Palestinian leadership: a more professional and less corrupt alternative to Hamas and to the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority.

Dan and Ghaith discuss the positives and the negatives -- and conclude that, whatever more skeptical analysts may say -- the Board of Peace is an innovative idea not to be ignored.

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

Dan's most recent book -- with Israeli espionage/defense expert Yossi Melman -- is a low-priced e-book, "Target: Iran -- How the Mossad Penetrated Iran to Smash the Nuclear Program."  For Kindle: https://levantbooks.short.gy/hGLRKs 

Also the Raviv-Melman history of the Mossad 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: Dan Raviv is co-author of a new book --with 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 figure out yourself and the people around you, to give them a measure of Significance. 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.

No foreign leader has had talks with President Trump more often than Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu.  After their nearly invisible meeting at the White House, their written statements signaled disagreement -- over Trump's insistence on negotiating with Iran.

Dan is joined by Joel Rubin -- a former State Department official, a strategist for Democratic campaigns, and a foreign affairs analyst -- in considering if the disagreement is real, or a repeat of the plot that led to Israel and the United States attacking Iran's nuclear facilities in June 2025.

Rubin, who publishes on Substack as "The Briefing Book," also talks about the impact of Iran and Gaza events on the elections coming this year in the U.S. and in Israel.

You'll also hear President Trump saying he'll give the talks with Iran one month; and that he'd like to see "regime change" in Iran; and that he's angry at Israel's president for refusing (so far) to pardon Netanyahu.

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

Dan's most recent book -- with Israeli espionage/defense expert Yossi Melman -- is a low-priced e-book, "Target: Iran -- How the Mossad Penetrated Iran to Smash the Nuclear Program."  For Kindle: https://levantbooks.short.gy/hGLRKs 

Also the Raviv-Melman history of the Mossad 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: Dan Raviv is co-author of a new book --with 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 figure out yourself and the people around you, to give them a measure of Significance. 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.

Our expert guest is Gidi Grinstein, who has served on Israel's negotiating team in U.S.-sponsored talks with Palestinians -- and now is busy with two organizations he created: the Re'ut Group (which combats antisemitism and tries to foster leadership skills in Israel) and TOM (Tikkun Olam Makers), working on programs to help needy people worldwide.  

As he closely examines the deal that ended the hottest, most violent part of the Gaza war, Grinstein contends that the Trump-sponsored 20-point plan was a brilliant mix of prior ideas and important principals.

Together, Dan and Gidi wonder if the Israeli government can persist in its stated refusal to let the Palestinian Authority - based in the West Bank - participate in the future governance of the West Bank.  And, will Hamas really give up its weapons?

This is, of course, against the background of pressure -- and perhaps imminent violence -- between Iran and the United States.  Israel is certain to be affected.

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

Dan's most recent book -- with Israeli espionage/defense expert Yossi Melman -- is a low-priced e-book, "Target: Iran -- How the Mossad Penetrated Iran to Smash the Nuclear Program."  For Kindle: https://levantbooks.short.gy/hGLRKs 

Also the Raviv-Melman history of the Mossad 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: Dan Raviv is co-author of a new book --with 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 figure out yourself and the people around you, to give them a measure of Significance. 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.

January 26, 2026, should be remembered as a turning point in Israel's history: the day that the remains of the last hostage held in Gaza were recovered from a Palestinian cemetery.  Sgt. Ran Gvilli, considered a hero who died battling terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023, has now been buried in Israel -- and the whole country seemed deeply moved.

But what now?

Dan interviews Prof. Kobi Michael -- a senior strategic analyst at the Misgav Institute and at INSS (the Institute National Security Studies based near Tel Aviv) -- who expresses doubts that President Trump's Gaza peace plan can succeed as smoothly as Trump is imagining. (We hear Trump with one of his dreamy descriptions, too.)

And Dan interviews Ory Slonim, a Tel Aviv lawyer who for nearly 40 years was a secret negotiator for the Mossad, the IDF, and Israel's government -- trying to locate and arrange the return of Israelis kidnapped or killed by terrorist groups and enemy countries.  (Slonim's book is "A Knock At The Door.")

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

Dan's most recent book -- with Israeli espionage/defense expert Yossi Melman -- is a low-priced e-book, "Target: Iran -- How the Mossad Penetrated Iran to Smash the Nuclear Program."  For Kindle: https://levantbooks.short.gy/hGLRKs 

Also the Raviv-Melman history of the Mossad 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: Dan Raviv is co-author of a new book --with 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 figure out yourself and the people around you, to give them a measure of Significance. 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.

Two major interviews in this week's THE MOSSAD FILES.  Dan chats with Jason Burke, veteran foreign correspondent for The Guardian -- and author of a new history of terrorism in the 1970s titled The Revolutionists.  Burke describes the Gaza war as "frozen" -- not truly over.

Dan then turns to a longtime Mossad intelligence officer -- Oded Ailam, now a researcher for a think tank in Jerusalem -- who also identifies flaws in the Gaza peace plan.  Ailam reveals that Hamas is recruiting thousands of new fighters, preparing weapons and ammunition, and digging more tunnels.

Oded Ailam also analyzes the eruption of protests in Iran, but he suggests it is too late for the United States -- or anyone -- to help the protesters overthrow the extreme Islamic government.

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

Dan's most recent book -- with Israeli espionage/defense expert Yossi Melman -- is a low-priced e-book, "Target: Iran -- How the Mossad Penetrated Iran to Smash the Nuclear Program."  For Kindle: https://levantbooks.short.gy/hGLRKs 

Also the Raviv-Melman history of the Mossad 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: Dan Raviv is co-author of a new book --with 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 figure out yourself and the people around you, to give them a measure of Significance. 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.

At recording time (January 16), we don't know what the outcome will be in Iran -- as the Islamic Republic's regime vows to quash the widespread protests by Iranians demanding freedom.

And we don't know if the United States will really strike targets in Iran.

But we do hear Reza Pahlavi -- the son of the late, overthrown Shah of Iran -- vowing to be a bridge to a new democratic Iran, promising to be friendly to the United States.  And to Israel.

Dan then interviews an Israeli special forces commander who insists on anonymity -- for his personal security -- but is willing to lift the veil on ultramodern intelligence equipment that is brought to the combat front during a war.

When 251 hostages were kidnapped into Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, he took part in the intensive efforts to fill in the pieces of "the puzzle" for each captive: hoping to arrange rescues.  For most of the hostages, Israeli intelligence reluctantly concluded that rescue raids would be impossible.

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

Dan's most recent book -- with Israeli espionage/defense expert Yossi Melman -- is a low-priced e-book, "Target: Iran -- How the Mossad Penetrated Iran to Smash the Nuclear Program."  For Kindle: https://levantbooks.short.gy/hGLRKs 

Also the Raviv-Melman history of the Mossad 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: Dan Raviv is co-author of a new book --with 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 figure out yourself and the people around you, to give them a measure of Significance. 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.

Is Israel's longest serving prime minister a net asset -- or a net liability -- at this point, when it comes to the country's security?

In favor of Benjamin Netanyahu -- explicitly speaking out in favor of his being pardoned by Israel's president -- is the widely published rabbi, Shmuley Boteach.

Replying to those pro-Bibi opinions: a law professor at Reichman University in Israel, Prof. Yaniv Roznai, a constitutional law expert.

Hear some bitter, but intelligently reasoned, arguments -- on The Mossad Files with Dan Raviv.

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

Dan's most recent book -- with Israeli espionage/defense expert Yossi Melman -- is a low-priced e-book, "Target: Iran -- How the Mossad Penetrated Iran to Smash the Nuclear Program."  For Kindle: https://levantbooks.short.gy/hGLRKs 

Also the Raviv-Melman history of the Mossad 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: Dan Raviv is co-author of a new book --with 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 figure out yourself and the people around you, to give them a measure of Significance. 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.

Gaza's next stage and Turkey's role. Those issues spell trouble in the seemingly rosy Florida lovefest of Donald Trump and Benjamin (Bibi) Netanyahu.

Days after their 6th meeting of 2025, a former Israeli ambassador to Washington tells Dan how these summits work -- and he can tell what the real issues were behind the Mar-a-Lago platitudes.  

Sure, the Israeli prime minister and American president praised each other to the skies, but there are still "troubling" differences over Gaza -- Phase 2 of the Trump peace plan -- and over Turkey (Turkiye). Trump wants to give his friend, Turkish president Erdogan a role in both Gaza and Syria. Netanyahu definitely opposes that.

Dan's guest is Michael Herzog, former Israeli ambassador (during the Biden years) in Washington and the brother and son of two Presidents of the State of Israel.  A retired Brigadier General in the IDF, Michael Herzog is a distinguished fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

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

Dan's most recent book -- with Israeli espionage/defense expert Yossi Melman -- is a low-priced e-book, "Target: Iran -- How the Mossad Penetrated Iran to Smash the Nuclear Program."  For Kindle: https://levantbooks.short.gy/hGLRKs 

Also the Raviv-Melman history of the Mossad 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: Dan Raviv is co-author of a new book --with 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 figure out yourself and the people around you, to give them a measure of Significance. 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.