A major focus of tension this year is sure to be the Israel-Syria relationship. while gradually coming out of its domestic nine-year conflict, Israel’s northern neighbor is still hosting forces threatening it – most prominently, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards elite Quds Force, as well as the Lebanese Hezbollah organization.
Panel:
– Jonathan Hessen, host.
– Amir Oren, analyst.
– Dr. Nir Boms, Research fellow, Moshe Dayan center at Tel Aviv University.
-Colonel (Reserve) Reuven Ben-Shalom, cross-cultural strategist and associate at the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism.
-Prof. Ze’ev Khanin, Expert on Russian and Middle Eastern Studies, Bar Ilan and Ariel Universities.
The Fuel of a Revolution
Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets in Iran in recent weeks, after the government announced a tripling of the price of gasoline. Credit: Belga
Faced with crippling international sanctions, revenue shortfalls and budget deficits, the Islamic regime in Iran seems to have made a fatal miscalculation by suddenly tripling the price of gasoline, a move which appears to put an entire region in flames.
Frustrated by worsening economic conditions, soaring prices and devastating national currency devaluation, Iranians from across the country immediately took the streets to demand a reversal of the decision. But what seemed to have started as a peaceful civil demonstration – in where drivers turned off their vehicles in the middle roads and highways – quickly escalated to a full-fledged uprising in nearly 100 cities. But not just in Iran. In Iraq, protesters burned the Iranian consulate in the holy city of Najaf and in Lebanon hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets, demanding the resignation of a government dominated by pro-Iran factions.
Continue readingמשחק חוץ – על סוריה ולבנון
Turkey’s military plans in Syria- Jerusalem Studio 458
One of the most crucial turning points in the Syrian civil war culminated this week with Turkey’s cross-border incursion into northeastern Syria. While Ankara’s declared goal aims to implement a territorial safe-zone, as a buffer between the Kurdish militias and southern Turkey; the Kurdish forces have been forced to alternate alliances, by submitting to their arch-enemy, Syrian president Bashar Assad.
Panel:
– Jonathan Hessen, host.
– Amir Oren, analyst.
– Prof. Zeev Khanin, Expert on Russian and Middle Eastern Studies, Bar Ilan and Ariel Universities.
– Dr. Nir Boms, Research fellow, Moshe Dayan center at Tel Aviv University.