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In-Depth Issues:
Outgoing Mossad Chief Urges Iran Regime Change - Yonah Jeremy Bob ( Jerusalem Post)
Outgoing Mossad chief David Barnea, who retired on Monday, called for Israel to remain committed to regime change for Iran, the Mossad announced on Tuesday.
"I promised that Iran would never get a nuclear weapon. Today, when the Iranian regime is at its weakest, most challenged, and most wounded, this is the time to complete the job, and to pay back the regime which engraved destroying us on its flag. We are at the height of a historic and important campaign," he said.
"I still believe that a change in the reality in Iran by virtue of toppling the regime is a possible and achievable goal....This is our obligation to future generations. This mission must remain as our top priority."
The IRGC Keeps Hizbullah in Power Despite Its Military Losses - Hanin Ghaddar ( Washington Institute for Near East Policy)
With its military infrastructure substantially degraded, its communication networks heavily infiltrated by Israeli intelligence, and its command structure shattered, Hizbullah is a shaky, tired shadow of itself at the moment.
Its goal is to survive and rebuild while maintaining a minimal level of kinetic action against Israel.
One crucial factor in achieving this goal is continued Iranian funding. Tehran was still able to send Hizbullah $1 billion in 2025 in the period between major Israeli campaigns.
The group used this money to import military materiel, produce more missiles and large quantities of cheap, unjammable drones, recruit more fighters, and pay salaries to its existing fighters and essential staff.
When Lebanon formed a new government in February 2025, Hizbullah, enabled by its top political ally, parliament speaker Nabih Berri, insisted on choosing friendly officials to head the General Security Directorate (GSD) and the Ministry of Finance.
As long as Hizbullah retains these domestic levers and access to its patrons in Iran, it will find a way to rebuild.
As the Trump administration works to finalize the terms of an agreement on ending the Iran war, it should not let Tehran introduce any provisions related to the negotiations in Lebanon.
The writer is a Senior Fellow in The Washington Institute's Program on Arab Politics.
Hamas Fears a U.S.-Iran Agreement Could Leave Gaza Facing Israel Alone - Yoni Ben Menachem ( Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs)
Senior Hamas officials are increasingly concerned about Israel's new policy of gradually eroding the "yellow line" separating Israel and Hamas in Gaza and expanding its campaign of targeted killings of senior military operatives, allegedly with American backing.
They also express concern over the prospect that any future U.S.-Iran agreement will exclude Gaza entirely, leaving it vulnerable to Israeli actions. This could let Israel use its full military power in Gaza without fear of triggering broader escalation.
Senior Israeli security officials say Hamas's main concern is that a U.S.-Iran agreement would relieve Israel of many strategic pressures.
If tensions with Iran subside, Israel could devote substantially greater resources to the campaign in Gaza, intensifying military operations to try to achieve a more decisive outcome against Hamas.
Evaluating the Damage to Iran's Ballistic Missile Arsenal - Mark Dubowitz and Behnam Ben Taleblu ( Foundation for Defense of Democracies)
Ballistic missiles form the backbone of Iran's deterrence strategy and have increasingly been used in military operations.
Between 2024 and 2026, Iran launched 2,200-2,400 missiles in four waves of external military operations. Nearly 40 days of sustained U.S.-Israeli airstrikes severely degraded Iran's ballistic missile capability but did not eliminate it.
According to the IDF, Iran possessed 2,500 missiles capable of reaching Israel at the start of the war. By April 5, shortly before the ceasefire, an Israeli Air Force official estimated that Tehran had just over 1,000 such missiles remaining.
The most consequential damage may not be the missiles already destroyed, but Iran's sharply degraded ability to replace them.
Before the war in June 2025, Israel estimated that Iran could expand its arsenal to 8,000-10,000 ballistic missiles within two to three years. This would constitute a force large enough to overwhelm missile defenses in Israel and the region through sheer saturation.
During the war, key production infrastructure such as solid-propellant fuel and motor fabrication sites were systematically targeted at sites like Khojir, Shahroud, Hakimiyeh, and Parchin. These facilities were the beating heart of Iran's ballistic missile industry.
What is beyond dispute is that Iran's missile program has suffered its most severe setback in decades.
Tehran now possesses a diminished arsenal after losing major portions of its launch infrastructure, production facilities, and senior military leadership.
The war has taught Iran's hardened military leaders a brutal reality: without access to critical industrial inputs, every missile fired is one that may not be replaced anytime soon.
Mark Dubowitz is CEO of FDD, where Behnam Ben Taleblu is the senior director of the Iran Program.
Those Who Voted for the Food Coop Boycott Forget the Israelis Who Were Murdered at a Music Festival - Thane Rosenbaum ( Los Angeles Jewish Journal)
Members of the Park Slope Food Coop in Brooklyn voted 67-31% to boycott Israeli products and to formally join the ranks of the BDS movement. The Coop carries very few Israeli goods, just some tahini, snacks, produce, kosher matzo, hummus, and two hair products.
Imagine the astonishing amount of hubris it requires for a grocery store that sells only a few Israeli products to believe that the world values its opinion about a conflict it doesn't really understand and smacks of antisemitism.
The Park Slope Food Coop now officially coexists within the overall pro-Hamas crowd. Yet, screaming is not thoughtful, exclusion is not unifying, violence is not moral, intimidation is not neighborly, bullying is not consensus, and shouting down is not debate.
Those who voted for the boycott are too antisemitic to realize that their real allies are not Hamas, who have no special affinity for their kind, but the Israelis who, on Oct. 7, 2023, attended their own version of Woodstock at the Nova Music Festival.
Many had tattoos and wore nose rings. They beheld the stars like time-travelers to the Age of Aquarius. All were feminists and many counted themselves among Israel's vibrant LGBTQ community.
The writer is a law professor and Distinguished University Professor at Touro University, where he directs the Forum on Life, Culture & Society.
U.S. Army Orders Israeli Anti-Drone Rifle Scopes - Jeff Schogol ( Task & Purpose)
The U.S. Army is buying rifle-mounted smart scopes that soldiers can use to shoot down small drones, similar to the advanced fire control systems being used by Marines.
Israel's Smart Shooter has received a $10.7 million contract for its SMASH 2000LE fire control systems, scheduled for delivery this year.
In March, a Pentagon task force ordered over 200 of the scopes in a $6.1 million order.
See also U.S. Navy Buys Israeli Anti-Drone Rifle Scopes - Eyal Boguslavsky ( Israel Defense)
Smart Shooter has announced its first contract with the U.S. Navy, valued at $1.8 million, for SMASH 2000LE fire control systems.
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News Resources - North America, Europe, and Asia:
- Trump Pushes to End Lebanon Conflict in Hope of Unlocking a Deal with Iran - Alexander Ward
President Trump on Monday aimed to quash a growing conflict between Israel and Hizbullah that threatened to derail his peace talks with Iran. After announcing an Israel-Hizbullah truce, Trump said talks were continuing "at a rapid pace" with Iranian leaders. (Wall Street Journal)
See also Trump Pulled Israel Back from Beirut Strike as Hizbullah Kept Firing - Itamar Eichner
A U.S.-brokered ceasefire understanding between Israel and Hizbullah was extended Monday under new terms, after President Trump said both sides had agreed to halt attacks and Israel held off on a threatened strike in Beirut.
Prime Minister Netanyahu said Monday, "I spoke with President Trump and told him that if Hizbullah does not stop attacking our cities and civilians, Israel will attack terrorist targets in Beirut." He added that the IDF would continue operating in southern Lebanon.
(Ynet News)
See also U.S. "Does Not Expect Israel to Absorb" Hizbullah Attacks - Amichai Stein
The U.S. "does not expect Israel to absorb ongoing attacks on its civilians by a terrorist organization," a U.S. official told the Jerusalem Post on Monday following reports that Israel was seeking U.S. approval for an expanded operation in Beirut, Lebanon. (Jerusalem Post)
See also IDF to Renew Strikes on Hizbullah in Beirut in Response to Rocket Attacks - Yonah Jeremy Bob
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Katz on Monday ordered the IDF to return to heavy attacks on Hizbullah's stronghold in the Dahiya neighborhood in Beirut, after increased Hizbullah rocket attacks on Israeli civilians throughout northern Israel. Hizbullah showered Israel with drones and over 50 rockets on Sunday.
(Jerusalem Post)
- Iran Gets Trump to Rescue Hizbullah - Editorial
A new ceasefire in Lebanon rescues Hizbullah for the moment, though the terrorists didn't abide by the first ceasefire for even a day. Hizbullah began this war with Israel on March 2, firing on soldiers and civilian targets on the orders of its Iranian patrons. Hizbullah fired an average of 125 rockets and 49 drones at Israel each day last week. No country can live with that.
Anytime it wants, Iran could tell Hizbullah to stop shooting and end the war, which Israel has no desire to wage. Instead, it encouraged Hizbullah's fire. (Wall Street Journal)
News Resources - Israel and the Mideast:
- IDF Doctor Killed in Southern Lebanon Drone Attack
Capt. Dr. Ori Yosef Silvester, 30, was killed and seven other soldiers were wounded when Hizbullah drones exploded on an armored personnel carrier in southern Lebanon on Monday, the IDF announced.
(Jerusalem Post)
- Israeli Soldier Killed in Southern Lebanon Drone Attack - Elisha Ben Kimon
Staff Sgt. Adam Tzarfati, 20, was killed early Monday by a Hizbullah drone strike in southern Lebanon, the IDF announced. Three other soldiers were wounded.
(Ynet News)
- Palestinian Driver Rams Israeli Teens at Bus Stop - Elisha Ben Kimon
A Palestinian driver from Hebron struck a group of Israeli boys and girls at a bus stop in Gush Etzion, south of Jerusalem, on Sunday. Three people were wounded, including two girls, aged 17 and 15. The terrorist was eliminated by IDF soldiers.
(Ynet News)
Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis:
Iran
- Iran Embraces a Forever War - Mohammad Ayatollahi Tabaar
One reason why Iran won't make real peace is that it has concluded that conflict is preferable to diplomacy. The war, after all, seems to be helping Tehran increase its international power. By striking Arab states that host American bases, Iran has succeeded in driving a wedge between U.S. officials and their Persian Gulf partners, who desperately want a lasting settlement. By closing the Strait of Hormuz, it has forced countries around the planet to acknowledge its power and negotiate over the fate of their ships.
The Islamic Republic's strategy, then, is not merely to survive and outlast the U.S. It is not even really trying to resolve its disputes with Washington. Instead, it wants to fundamentally alter how Tehran is dealt with by the U.S., its allies, and the wider world. It aspires to be a pole in a multipolar order, and it believes the war is helping it achieve that goal.
The Islamic Republic has quickly gained leverage. Arab countries, fearing economic calamity, have pushed the U.S. to seek peace. Asian countries, in desperate need of Persian Gulf oil and gas, have pleaded with Iran to offer their ships safe passage.
Even European leaders have struck a more accommodating tone. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz - who previously praised Israel for doing "our dirty work" against Iran - has stated that Tehran has "humiliated" Washington. Multiple European officials have opened channels with their Iranian counterparts. Norway's deputy foreign minister even visited Tehran.
The Islamic Republic also sees the war as helpful because, in its view, the conflict will force Washington to reconsider its assumption that Tehran is weak. Iran has concluded that neither Israel nor the U.S. can defeat it on the battlefield. Prolonging the war, then, is a way to prove that Washington's earlier assessment - that Iran's military was hollowed out and that the regime was on the brink - was wrong. In fact, they believe that compromise will only imperil Iran further.
The Islamic Republic's leadership is using negotiations as a tool for managing warfare. It engages in talks mostly to demonstrate to other states that it is serious about diplomacy, thereby lowering international pressure, and it does so to control the tempo of conflict. It refuses, however, to make offerings that would diminish its leverage or signal vulnerability. The regime believes that confrontation strengthens its hand. It is happy to withstand economic pain if it can control the Strait of Hormuz.
The writer is Associate Professor of International Affairs at Texas A&M University.
(Foreign Affairs)
- Iran Eyes Limited U.S. Deal to Relieve Economic Strain and Buy Time - Parisa Hafezi
Iran is pushing for a limited interim agreement with the U.S. in a bid to ease mounting economic pressure, while avoiding major concessions on its nuclear program, according to sources and analysts. The approach reflects a familiar playbook for the Islamic Republic: absorb pressure, avoid irreversible compromises, and keep negotiations alive without shifting core positions, Iranian sources said. Officials see a narrow deal as a way to buy time, unlock financial relief, and contain rising domestic risks over a deteriorating economy without addressing the most contentious issues. (Reuters)
- A Truce Doesn't End the War with Iran - Amir Taheri
While Iran and the U.S. are moving towards some form of truce, a truce will not end a war that Iran launched against the U.S. in 1979 when pro-Khomeini militants attacked and occupied the American Embassy in Tehran, which, under international law, was regarded as sovereign U.S. territory.
Iran started its war against Israel in 1982 through proxies, at first with help from Syrian intelligence.
The June 2025 12-day war solidified the state of war between the two nations, a position confirmed by the latest phase of the conflict that began almost 100 days ago. Though Israel was included in the various ceasefires that President Donald Trump has declared, almost always without securing Israel's consent, it is clear that Israel will not be a party to the truce mediated by half a dozen countries, notably Pakistan.
This means that even if a truce is concluded between Tehran and Washington, it won't necessarily commit Israel to observing it. At the same time, Iran, as it is already threatening, intends to continue its war against Israel through Lebanese Hizbullah. On May 26, Tehran said $5 billion of any Iranian frozen assets that will be released under the truce will go to Hizbullah in Lebanon to "continue the resistance."
After the first phase of the war, almost all U.S. bases in the region were evacuated and temporarily decommissioned. The aircraft carriers that Trump had assembled 1,000 km. from Iranian shores were mostly used as stage props, with Ben-Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv serving as the key aircraft carrier.
The writer was executive editor-in-chief of the daily Kayhan in Iran from 1972 to 1979. (Gatestone Institute)
- Why Any Deal with Iran Is a Mistake - Khaled Abu Toameh
There can be no "good" deal with a jihadist regime that openly sponsors terrorism across the Middle East, brutalizes its own people, calls for the destruction of Israel, and continues to chant "Death to America."
An agreement will not moderate them. It will embolden them. The Iranian regime and its terror proxies will interpret any deal as a victory over the U.S. and the West. They will see it as proof that terrorism, missile attacks, hostage-taking, nuclear blackmail, and claiming control of the Strait of Hormuz forced Western powers into concessions.
This is exactly what happened when the Obama administration signed the 2015 "nuclear deal," that provided Tehran with sanctions relief and access to billions of dollars while merely delaying its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. The Iranian regime never changed its behavior. Instead, it expanded its ballistic missile program, increased support for terrorist organizations, intensified regional aggression, and steadily advanced its nuclear capabilities. Why should anyone believe that this time will be different?
The Iranian regime does not view negotiations the way Western democracies do. Tehran sees diplomacy as a tactical weapon: a means to buy time, get intrusive foreign governments off their back, weaken international opposition, divide Western allies, and secure economic relief - all while continuing its long-term strategic objectives as fast as the circumstances after President Trump's term in office will allow.
For the Islamist rulers in Tehran, hostility toward the U.S. and Israel is not rhetoric. It is a core pillar of the regime's ideology and identity - its entire reason for being. Any agreement that eases sanctions will only strengthen the IRGC, finance terrorism, and fuel new wars across the Middle East. More money for Tehran means more drones and rockets for Hizbullah in Lebanon.
The only realistic strategy is one based on sustained maximum pressure - including kinetic action if necessary - diplomatic isolation, economic sanctions, and decisive measures aimed at dismantling Iran's nuclear and ballistic programs permanently. Anything less will simply postpone the next crisis while making the Iranian regime richer, stronger, and more dangerous. (Gatestone Institute)
Israel and the West
- Placing Israel on a Blacklist alongside Hamas and ISIS Marks a New Low for the UN - Fiamma Nirenstein
Hamas employed sexual violence as a weapon in the orders issued by its leader, Yahya Sinwar. It was used against women, men and children, and later against hostages held in Gaza. Rape was often accompanied by mutilation and murder. All of this is documented in thousands of videos filmed by Hamas itself, and firsthand testimonies and accounts from those who collected the remains - often only fragments of bodies. Now the UN has placed Israel on the same blacklist as Hamas and ISIS for allegedly committing sexual violence in conflict.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is leaving behind an organization that has effectively joined the campaign against Israel, aligning itself with anti-Western forces that seek the Jewish state's elimination. UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese routinely portrays Israel as the source of the world's ills. Reem Alsalem refused to investigate the mass sexual atrocities committed in Israel and claimed there was "no evidence" of such crimes.
Michael Fakhri, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, led accusations that Israel was causing famine in Gaza while ignoring the hundreds of aid trucks entering daily - many of whose contents were routinely seized by Hamas - and overlooking the starvation endured by Israeli hostages. Tlaleng Mofokeng, the UN Special Rapporteur on Health, has argued that Hamas is not a terrorist organization and that armed struggle is not a crime. These colossal lies,
spread by the United Nations, poison the world.
The writer, a fellow at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, served as vice president of the Committee on Foreign Affairs in the Italian Chamber of Deputies. (JNS)
- The ICC's Illegitimate Pursuit of Israeli Leaders Is Political Warfare - Eugene Kontorovich and Avraham Shalev
The International Criminal Court (ICC) chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, is reportedly seeking a second round of arrest warrants against senior Israeli officials. This would be more warrants than the Court has issued for Russian officials for their conquests in Ukraine and Georgia or against any government in all the bloody conflicts in the world. Khan requested arrest warrants against Prime Minister Netanyahu and then-Defense Minister Gallant in 2024.
The ICC can only hear cases involving member states. So the Court invented a "State of Palestine," which it admitted might not be a state for any purposes other than giving the Court jurisdiction over Israel. Israel is the only non-member state being prosecuted at the behest of a member that is not a state.
In the new cases, Israeli officials are being ostensibly targeted due to their involvement in allowing homes to be built in the settlements. In the history of international criminal law, no one has ever been prosecuted for such conduct.
The Geneva Conventions prohibit government-organized population transfers akin to the Nazi colonization programs of Eastern Europe. It was never meant to cover individuals freely choosing to move from Kfar Saba to Elkana. Israel has not transferred anyone into the settlements. The Jewish presence there has emerged through voluntary migration and return to prior Jewish-inhabited areas.
The settlement activities the ICC is seeking warrants for are a "made for Israel" crime. Turkey continues to illegally occupy northern Cyprus and to carry out a massive demographic campaign to settle ethnic Turks in the territory.
Over a decade ago, Cypriot refugees filed a complaint against Turkey at the ICC over its occupation and settlement policy.
Since then, nothing has happened.
Eugene Kontorovich is a professor at George Mason University Law School. Avraham Shalev is a senior fellow at the Kohelet Policy Forum in Jerusalem. (Jewish Chronicle-UK)
Palestinian Arabs
- Boycotting Israeli Snacks in Brooklyn Doesn't Help the Palestinian People - Bassem Eid
Members of the Park Slope Food Co-op in Brooklyn, who voted on May 26 to remove Israeli-made products, did nothing to help Palestinians. Not a single Palestinian life will change for the better because of this vote.
When international BDS pressure forced SodaStream to relocate its production facility out of the West Bank, 500 Palestinian workers lost their jobs. These were men and women earning wages, feeding families, and building lives through participation in a joint Israeli-Palestinian enterprise. As NPR reported, one worker had earned $1,500 a month at the factory; afterward, he made a quarter of that selling produce from a street cart. The BDS movement called the factory closure a victory; it was anything but for Palestinian workers.
BDS does not build Palestinian hospitals. It does not fund Palestinian universities. It does not support the civil society organizations, the professional associations, or the municipal institutions that would need to exist in order for Palestinian self-governance to function.
What helps my fellow Palestinians is economic development, civil society investment, education reform that teaches children science and history rather than martyrdom, and coexistence with Israel built on shared infrastructure and mutual recognition.
A Palestinian future worth fighting for is one built by Palestinian entrepreneurs with economic ties with their Israeli neighbors. That future cannot be built by a food cooperative deciding which olive oil is morally acceptable. It can only be built by people who stop performing "solidarity" from a safe distance and start asking what Palestinians actually need - and the answer has never been a boycott.
The writer is a Palestinian peace advocate, political analyst, and human rights pioneer who founded the Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group in 1996. (Times of Israel)
Antisemitism
- The Joy of Hating Jews - Todd L. Pittinsky
People participating in antisemitism often seem to be really enjoying themselves. The crowds are cheerful. The rhetoric theatrical. There are songs, jokes, slogans, insider references, and the unmistakable atmosphere of people having a good time.
The first pleasure is revelation. Few experiences are more satisfying than the feeling that the chaos of the world has suddenly become intelligible. Antisemitism says someone is behind the structural complexity: the Jews.
Antisemitism has always marketed itself as insight. The antisemite does not feel confused or powerless. He feels enlightened. He has "connected the dots."
The second pleasure is belonging. Antisemitism has always been good at building community. Medieval blood libels produced processions, rituals, and shared outrage. Collective identity is often forged around a common enemy. Nationalist movements discovered that antisemitism was remarkably efficient at turning strangers into comrades, citizens bound by a common cause.
The third pleasure is moral. Antisemitism allows its adherents to experience hate as virtue. The antisemite does not feel like a bully. His experience is one of courage. He is exposing hidden power. Defending society. The antisemite gets to feel good. He is a truth teller. A patriot. A freedom fighter.
In some of the most disturbing footage from the Nazi period, people appear cheerful. Crowds smiled during boycotts of Jewish stores and later acts of public humiliation and degradation. Book burnings resembled university festivals. Torchlit parades became raucous public celebrations. Looting, gathering, and watching flames together transformed hatred into public theater in which ordinary people could participate.
The writer is a professor in the Department of Technology and Society at Stony Brook University. (Tablet)
- Jews Are Under Threat because Britain Is Becoming a Safe House for Intolerance - Charles Moore
All decent people agree it would be tragic if, because of persecution and terrorist attacks, the trickle of Jews now leaving Britain were to become a flood. What sort of nation would we be if we could not guarantee Jews, of all people, the freedoms and rights we say belong to everyone? It is impossible to imagine the success of modern Britain and its character as an educated, enterprising, artistically flourishing free country without its Jews.
If they were to leave now, it would be chiefly because of the hostility of some among later immigrant groups, most of them Muslim. Having prided ourselves on our tolerance, we would then have given intolerance a safe house.
The writer, a member of the House of Lords, is a former editor of the Daily Telegraph, Spectator, and Sunday Telegraph. (Telegraph-UK)
Observations:
- There is a campaign sweeping through Western celebrity culture calling to free Marwan Barghouti - a moderate "man of peace" - in one of the most audacious historical fabrications of our time. It demands the release of a man convicted of five murders, for which he was sentenced to five life terms plus forty years by a court of law.
- While the campaign likens Barghouti to South Africa's Nelson Mandela, Barghouti was convicted of planning terrorist attacks during the Second Intifada that killed Israeli civilians at a restaurant, gas station, and hiking trail.
He has consistently endorsed armed resistance from prison and refused to renounce violence, while Mandela renounced violence to lead his nation through a peaceful transition.
- The Barghouti extended family includes Abdullah Barghouti, a Hamas master bomb-maker responsible for the Sbarro pizzeria massacre in Jerusalem in 2001, which murdered 15 people, including seven children, and a string of other attacks that killed dozens of Israeli civilians. Omar Barghouti is co-founder of the global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS), who built a career telling universities, artists, and corporations around the world to sever ties with Israel.
- Palestinian political culture has for decades been organized around the elevation of resistance over governance, of symbolic defiance over institutional competence, of the prisoner and the martyr over the builder. Again and again, maximalism and the romance of armed struggle have trumped the possibility of a state. Releasing Barghouti and crowning him the savior would not break this cycle. It would consecrate it.
- Celebrities who would never sign a letter celebrating a convicted murderer in any other context enthusiastically do so here, because the framing - colonialism, apartheid, and resistance - activate a moral reflex that bypasses factual scrutiny. The Israeli civilians murdered in the attacks he orchestrated are edited out of the narrative entirely.
- Marwan Barghouti is the embodiment of a political culture that has sacrificed Palestinian welfare on the altar of permanent resistance. His family is a case study in how violence, hypocrisy, and the manipulation of Western guilt can be packaged and sold as heroism.
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