117: Check Maté, with Aaron Maté

Quick Overview

Israel's recent bombing of Iran, immediately preceding scheduled US-Iran talks, aimed to sabotage diplomatic efforts and enforce maximalist demands for regime change, prompting Iran's retaliatory strikes and exposing the long-standing US-Israeli agenda to dismantle the 'Axis of Resistance' that supports Palestinian self-determination.

Key Points: Israel bombed Iran just before scheduled US-Iran talks, effectively destroying the negotiations, with Trump's 'full blessing' and a 60-day deadline for concessions. US and Israeli demands included 'no enrichment whatsoever' for Iran, even for peaceful purposes, and caps on Iran's missiles, which Aaron Maté describes as demanding 'no sovereignty, no energy self-sufficiency, and no self-defense.' Netanyahu has 'been lying about Iran for decades,' with Israel's fixation on Iranian regime change stemming from Iran's role as the 'head of an access of resistance that supports Palestinian freedom and that deters US-Israeli aggression.' The 'Axis of Resistance,' including Hezbollah, formed with Iranian support, resisted Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon and ultimately forced Israel to leave, challenging claims it solely serves Iran's self-interest. Israeli officials, like Danny Danon, accused Iran of 'deliberately targeting civilian areas' while Israel itself targeted a hospital and a residential building in Tehran, killing at least 30 civilians, including children. Western media, exemplified by Jonathan Conricus's criticism of Trey Yingst, is expected to 'parrot' Israeli propaganda, with any deviation from 'complete and total obesence' being 'not tolerated.' Iran has proposed a 'nuclear free Middle East,' a solution the US and Israel refuse, as Israel insists on maintaining its own nuclear weapons to 'steal the territory it wants and wants to make sure that no one will impede its ethnic cleansing project in Palestine.'

Context: The podcast "Bad Hazbara" features hosts Daniel Mate and producer Adam Leaven, who discuss current geopolitical events, particularly focusing on US and Israeli foreign policy in the Middle East. In this episode, Daniel interviews his brother, Aaron Maté, an Izzy Award-winning journalist from The Grayzone, to delve into the recent escalation between Israel and Iran, providing historical context and critical analysis of the underlying motivations and propaganda surrounding the conflict.