# 117: Check Maté, with Aaron Maté Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5tJVkzmPSc Recap page: https://rapidrecap.app/video/l5tJVkzmPSc --- ## 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. ## Detailed Analysis This episode of Bad Hazbara, featuring journalist Aaron Maté, dissects the recent Israeli bombing of Iran and Iran's subsequent retaliation, framing these events within a broader historical context of US-Israeli efforts toward Iranian regime change. Aaron Maté explains that Israel's strike occurred on the eve of US-Iran talks, effectively sabotaging negotiations where the US, under Trump, had escalated demands to include zero uranium enrichment and missile caps, which Iran viewed as an assault on its sovereignty and self-defense. He argues that Israel's decades-long fixation on Iran stems from Iran leading an "axis of resistance" that supports Palestinian self-determination and deters US-Israeli aggression. The discussion highlights the hypocrisy of Israeli officials, who accuse Iran of targeting civilians while Israel itself has struck civilian areas in Tehran, including a hospital and residential building, consistent with a "regime change playbook" designed to make the civilian population suffer. The hosts and guest also critique Western media's complicity in whitewashing Israeli actions, noting how any reporting deviating from Israeli propaganda is met with outrage. Aaron Maté challenges the notion that the "Axis of Resistance" is purely self-serving for Iran, citing Hezbollah's role in liberating South Lebanon and Iran's past endorsement of a two-state solution, which Israel and the US oppose. The episode concludes by emphasizing that US-Israeli aggression has nothing to do with freedom inside Iran but rather with maintaining regional hegemony and facilitating Israel's "ethnic cleansing project in Palestine." ### Podcast Introduction & Promotions - Daniel Mate and Adam Leaven host, filling in for Matt Leeb, and promote Patreon, Doctors Without Borders as an unofficial sponsor, and upcoming live shows - They discuss Matt Leeb's 'vacation to Tel Aviv paid for by Benjamin Netanyahu himself' and a past episode with Anthony Fantano - Daniel shares his 'What's the Spin?' segment, discussing Brian Wilson's legacy, rare vinyl finds (Prince, Victor Mat), and the Hungarian translation of his co-authored book 'Myth of Normal'. ### Immediate Geopolitical Context - Israel bombed Iran on the eve of US-Iran talks, effectively destroying negotiations, with Trump's 'full blessing' and a 60-day deadline for concessions - Trump and Wickoff initially open to Iranian uranium enrichment but shifted to 'maximalist Israeli demand of no enrichment whatsoever' and caps on missiles, demanding 'no sovereignty, no energy self-sufficiency, and no self-defense' from Iran. ### Historical Background of US-Iran Relations - Netanyahu has 'been lying about Iran for decades' about an imminent nuclear threat - Israel's goal is regime change in Iran because Iran is the 'head of an access of resistance that supports Palestinian freedom and that deters US-Israeli aggression' - The US backed a coup in Iran in 1953, supported Saddam Hussein against Iran in the 1980s, and marked Iran for regime change after 9/11. ### The Axis of Resistance Debate - Aaron Maté respectfully disagrees with Rashid Khaled's view that the 'axis of resistance' has 'no connection to a Palestinian national interest' - Hezbollah, formed with Iranian support, resisted Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon and forced Israel to leave, gaining popular support - Iran's support for Palestine is seen as genuine by many Iranians, and Iran has even endorsed a two-state solution in 2017, which Israel and the US oppose. ### Critique of Israeli Propaganda & Media Complicity - Danny Danon's tweet about Israeli companies' booths being 'concealed behind black walls' at a Paris arms exhibition is mocked as self-pitying and absurd, especially given a counter-image showing a custom-designed black partition with a 'gold star' and a 'self-pitying slogan' - Jonathan Conricus criticized Fox News's Trey Yingst for providing 'live BDA' (battle damage assessment) from Tel Aviv after Iranian strikes, which is seen as a demand for media to 'parrot' Israeli propaganda - Israeli officials' claims that Iran targets civilians while Israel targets military sites are contradicted by reports of Israel hitting a hospital and residential building in Tehran, killing civilians, consistent with a 'regime change playbook' to make civilians suffer.