THE MOSSAD FILES with Dan Raviv
From the co-author of the best selling book, "Every Spy a Prince: The Complete History of Israel's Intelligence Community," and the more recent non-fiction, "Spies Against Armageddon: Inside Israel's Secret Wars," this is a weekly podcast series -- delivering insights into the volatile events of the world's most fascinating region: the Middle East. Dan Raviv was a foreign correspondent and Washington radio anchor for CBS News for over 40 years -- much of that career in the Tel Aviv and London bureaus. He and Yossi Melman wrote 5 books about Israeli espionage, security, and diplomacy. Yossi helped launch THE MOSSAD FILES podcast i...
Bombing Hamas in Qatar, the Mediators? I Think Trump Knew... Plus AntiSemitism in U.K.
On Tuesday 9/9, Israel's airstrike on a house in Qatar's capital Doha shouldn't have been considered such a huge surprise. Israeli leaders had said they'd go after senior Hamas men wherever they might be -- and Donald Trump wrote about his "final warning" to Hamas, demanding they free all the hostages.
Hear some evidence and analysis -- that the U.S. gently chided Israel, while being sure to keep Trump's friendship with wealthy Qatar: which just gifted the U.S. with a future Air Force One!
Also -- an interview with Adam J. Schwarz, a London-based c...
Mossad Studied Houthis and Air Force Hit Them Hard - "While Israel Slept" Author Favors Gaza War Push - New Spy Satellite
Intelligence developments include Israel's air force wiping out most of the Houthi "government" cabinet in Yemen -- meaning the Mossad geared up to become experts on the Houthi enemy -- and Israel's new spy satellite with its unique radar surveillance.
Dan has a wide-ranging discussion on the Gaza war -- including its beginning on October 7, almost two years ago -- with Yaakov Katz, prominent Israeli-American journalist who is co-author of a new book, "While Israel Slept: How Hamas Surprised the Most Powerful Military in the Middle East."
The conversation highlights that Katz -- disagreeing with...
Israel Widely Condemned, but a Top Pundit Sees A Brighter Horizon after Gaza War and Israeli Election
This week's episode includes some of the accusations (famine, excessive killings) against Israel -- and how Israel denies them.
And yet, it seems inevitable that things will get worse -- for everyone -- every day that the war in Gaza continues.
With great clarity and sensitivity, Nimrod Novik -- one of the organizers of Commanders for Israel's Security -- a frequent Netanyahu critic -- a fellow of Israel Policy Forum (IPF) -- a thought leader in his country's center-left -- shares his analysis with THE MOSSAD FILES listeners.
You may be surprised to h...
A Retired Israeli General Tells Us re Netanyahu's Rosy Scenarios "Nothing Further From the Truth"
On The Mossad Files with Dan Raviv, you'll hear some of Benjamin Netanyahu's rosy scenarios -- pointing to successes against Lebanon, Syria, and Iran -- and the prime minister suggests Hamas can be defeated totally in Gaza, to force release of the Israeli hostages.
But our guest, Brigadier General (Ret.) Assaf Orion -- a former head of strategic planning for the IDF -- tells us that Hamas is already defeated, and the Gaza war must end. Orion also analyzes the role of intelligence in Israel's comeback since Oct. 7, and he comments with surprise that the Mossad has...
The Mossad Spies Inside Iran -- Who They Are, and What They Did for Israel in 12-Day War in June
Expanding on the scoops Dan Raviv had in his ProPublica article with Yossi Melman -- co-authors of five Middle East books and countless articles -- Dan discusses who the Mossad spies were and are inside Iran.
Spoiler alert: They're not Israelis. It's a veritable "foreign legion" recruited carefully and successfully by the Mossad.
Please comment on X at @danraviv. Also on BlueSky, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
Dan's most recent book -- with Israeli espionage/defense expert Yossi Melman -- about the Mossad and Israel's other security agencies is "Spies Against A...
Israel Decides to Grab More of Gaza, Expert on Iran Sees Nuclear Program Revival, Mossad Spies in Iran
Dan analyzes (with key soundbites) the decision by Prime Minister Netanyahu and his security cabinet -- announced Friday morning (August 8) -- to try to conquer Gaza City, as a first step toward taking over the entire Gaza Strip. Doesn't this doom the hostages? Obviously, more Palestinians and more IDF troops will die.
On Iran -- Suzanne Maloney, vice president and director of the foreign policy program at the Brookings Institution (in Washington DC), discusses her article in FOREIGN AFFAIRS: "Iran's Dangerous Desperation," seeing a strong possibility that Iran will try to resume its nuclear program. We hear P...
Israelis Spying for Iran! "Palestine" Recognized -- and Let Food Into Gaza, But No Cement?
We analyze what France, Britain, and Canada were saying -- with specific fine print -- when they declared they would recognize a notional State of Palestine soon. In context, you can hear Prime Ministers Starmer (UK) and Carney (Canada).
Our guest, Jonathan Schanzer of FDD, outlines his idea of letting plenty of food into Gaza -- because "this news cycle for Israel has been brutal" -- but refuse to let any cement or construction materials in. Gaza would lie in ruins, and the Palestinians may well turn against Hamas. Rather than argue about charges of famine or i...
Trump on Hamas: "I Think They Want to Die" -- And ex-Canada Ambassador in Israel Rejects Gaza Genocide Charge
A big change? Or just a vague statement by Donald Trump? He declared Friday that Hamas "didn't want a deal - I think they want to die." Will he help Israel make that happen?
Our guest this week is Vivian Bercovici, who was Canada's ambassador to Israel in 2014-2016 and decided to stay. Now an Israeli-Canadian dual citizen, Bercovici disagrees with a lot of what both countries do -- and that includes Benjamin Netanyahu's conduct of the war in Gaza.
We discuss Bibi's choice: keep stepping-up the war, even though Israel's popularity worldwide plummets...
Where's Iran's Uranium? Why's Israel Bombing Syria? And Jeffrey Epstein a Mossad Spy?
You'll hear one of the masters of Israeli espionage -- retired air force general Amos Yadlin (one of the pilots who destroyed Iraq's nuclear reactor in 1981) -- former head of Aman military intelligence -- analyzing how hard Iran's nuclear program was hit -- by Israel and the U.S. in June. Later, he says Hamas will always be hostile, but it has been severely weakened in Gaza.
Also -- our guest Joel Rubin, a former State Department official, says it wasn't easy for a Democrat to praise Donald Trump for bombing Iran's nuclear sites. But Rubin did...
Mr. Netanyahu Goes to Washington -- And So What? We Analyze Iran, Gaza, Hostages
Dan's guest is Shira Efron, a deeply experienced strategic analyst based in Tel Aviv -- now the Research Director of IPF, Israel Policy Forum.
We wonder what Benjamin Netanyahu may have accomplished, having spent most of the week in Washington, DC. He and Donald Trump indicated they want to have some kind of deal for a ceasefire in Gaza -- perhaps leading to an end of the war with Hamas that began with the brutal surprise attack inside Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Shira Efron believes a deal may well be announced soon. And does that help c...
The Bright Side: Iran Humbled, Now Peace with Gaza, Syria, Etc.? Michael Oren is Our Guest
Ahead of Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Donald Trump next week, our guest is Michael Oren, the American-born historian who was Israel's ambassador in Washington in 2009-2013.
Dan asks him about Israel's effort to get a "green light" from President Obama to attack Iran's nuclear sites -- and how that dream was fulfilled, and then some, by President Trump last month.
Oren -- as well as Rob Satloff of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy -- and Bibi Netanyahu spokesman David Mencer -- are heard on the podcast, claiming that victory over Iran opens a g...
Hopes and Fears after Trump & Israel Bombed Iran -- Jonathan Schanzer in DC: Is it Over?
After years of will they or won't they ... President Trump did it. Huge bunker-buster bombs hit Iran's "nuclear mountain," Fordow.
Dan Raviv chats with Jonathan Schanzer, VP for research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, pointing to signs of full coordination between Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu -- but are they also taking action aimed at overthrowing Iran's Islamic regime?
We also examine information about the Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) bombs, and what General Dan Caine -- Chairman of the Joint Chiefs -- revealed about the massive MOPs and the B-2 crews who dropped...
Why Did Trump Say "We" are Beating Iran? And, His Bunker Busters Needed?
After a few days of distancing the United States from Israel's surprise attack on Iran -- aimed at smashing that country's nuclear program and its plan to amass a huge arsenal of ballistic missiles -- President Trump decided to be 100% pro-Israel.
Dan Raviv, in an on-air discussion with CBS News, analyzed Trump's online posts that said "We..." as though he was involved in the war on Israel's side.
Might Israel regret teaming up with an American president who's foreign policy is erratic and unpredictable?
Dan then speaks with a military analyst who focuses...
Israel Finally Did It: Struck Iran's Nuclear Sites -- Netanyahu's Gamble, Mossad Shows Iran Fully Penetrated
June 13, 2025 -- Friday, Middle East time. After more than a dozen years of hinting that it might attack Iran's nuclear facilities at any time, Israel finally did it.
Dan reports that Israel's air force -- with Mossad spies leading the way by attacking Iran's defenses -- did a lot of damage to Iran in the first days of a war that was dubbed "Operation Rising Lion." The name is based on a Biblical verse, Numbers 23-24: "Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion: he shall not li...
SUDDEN CRISIS WITH IRAN, ISRAEL, AND "DANGEROUS" HINTS FROM TRUMP
Recorded on Wednesday (June 11) and launching before Middle East events make everything outdated ... this episode analyzes the sudden upsurge in tension.
Did Israel inform the U.S. that it's going to bomb sites in Iran? Or was the Trump Administration pulling out families of military folks and diplomats -- from Arab countries within range of Iran -- to put pressure on Iran in the current nuclear talks?
Perhaps the U.S. is preparing to strike Iran, if the talks continue to limp along without agreement -- or collapse altogether.
We consider the possibilities w...
Israel's Choices: Gaza War, Hope for Hostages, Iran Talks, Netanyahu Shaky -- with Michael Koplow of IPForum
Dan's guest is Michael Koplow, chief policy officer of Israel Policy Forum -- based in Washington -- explaining IPF's criticisms of Benjamin Netanyahu, but also providing a clear-eyed view of Israel's fateful decisions: Put the hostages first? Or drive for total victory over Hamas in Gaza?
We also cover the U.S. talks with Iran over that country's nuclear program -- and the latest Israeli political crisis: whether ultra-Orthodox Jews will continue to be exempted from military service in the IDF.
Please comment on X at @danraviv. Also on BlueSky, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
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Iran and Gaza Deals are Close? Michael Oren on Trump to Pressure Israel to End the War -- and More
After we hear Donald Trump confirm that he advised Prime Minister Netanyahu to shelve any Israeli plan to bomb Iran's nuclear facilities, Dan turns to Michael Oren -- an American-born historian who served as Israel's ambassador to the U.S. during the Obama presidency. Dr. Oren links the double-murder of Israeli Embassy workers in Washington to the wider rise of anti-Israel and anti-Semitic extremism.
Oren also offers a fascinating prediction:
Donald Trump may lose patience with Israel's war in Gaza and demand that it end. Benjamin Netanyahu could find a reasonable ending, in a process t...
Murders in DC, Israeli Hostage Families Advisor Wants End of Gaza War, Mossad Got Post-Munich Help
We consider the security challenge posed by the murders of two Israeli Embassy employees in Washington by a "pro-Palestine" extremist. Dan speaks with Ory Slonim, former negotiator for Israel in secret missions to locate and liberate Israelis held by enemy nations and terrorists. Slonim is impassioned, calling for an end to the Gaza war so that all Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza will be freed.
Dan then interviews Jason Burke, international security correspondent for The Guardian newspaper -- on the revelation that after the Munich Olympics massacre of 11 Israeli athletes in 1972, the Mossad secretly had...
Trump in Arabia -- Israel and Netanyahu Isolated? : Nimrod Novik, Strategist in Tel Aviv
Dan comments on three highlights from President Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates: his respectful meeting with Syria's president, who used to be labeled a terrorist; Trump saying Iran has a limited time to agree to block any nuclear bomb program; and his accepting that Saudi Arabia won't join the Abraham Accords and open relations with Israel at this time.
Dan then brings Nimrod Novik into the conversation from his home in Tel Aviv. Novik is a longtime senior advisor to the late Prime Minister Shimon Peres. He is the Israel Fellow...
FDD’s Schanzer on Iran Nuclear - Trump to Arabia - Gaza War Expanding - a "Consequential Week"
The U.S. and Iran are resuming the nuclear talks -- President Trump goes to 3 Arabian Gulf countries next week (May 13-16) -- Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu orders IDF to step-up destruction in Gaza to destroy Hamas (and free hostages?).
Our guest on THE MOSSAD FILES -- VIDEO SPECIAL -- is Jonathan Schanzer, executive director of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies --- in Washington, DC. He describes the FDD think-tank as "center-right" and "nonpartisan." Schanzer and his colleagues are certainly experts on the Iran's activities and a lot more in the Middle East. Our conversation...
Netanyahu "Paranoid," but Hear Him Tell Details of Beating Hezbollah and his Gaza "Plan"
Dan analyzes the mud-slinging feud between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the head of the domestic security/intelligence agency Shin Bet, Ronen Bar. Bar finally agreed to step down, as of mid-June. A win for Netanyahu? Maybe.
We hear a former Shin Bet director describe Netanyahu as "paranoid."
The prime minister himself told some stories to the JNS International Policy Summit in Jerusalem, including new details of the Mossad operation that planted explosive pagers and walkie-talkies on thousands of Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon -- and how he decided to green-light the airstrike that killed Hezbollah's...
Season 2, Ep.1 -- Analysts Who Predict U.S. and Israel Will Bomb Iran's Nuclear Facilities
With the United States and Iran negotiating, on limits to Iran's nuclear program, it may seem premature to predict that the talks will fail -- and the result will be a military strike on Iran. But that is precisely what our two guests are expecting.
John Hannah of JINSA (Jewish Institute for National Security of America) feels there is an attractive opportunity to hit Iran while it is weak, and -- answering podcast host Dan Raviv's questions -- he comments on how much damage an Israeli or Israeli/U.S. attack could accomplish.
Dan then...
Trump's Nuclear Talks with Iran -- Anyone Listening to Israel? While Security Vets Call to End Gaza War
Dan (in Washington) and Yossi (in Tel Aviv) consider the revelation of an Israeli plan to attack Iran that was rejected by President Trump. Does the U.S. have a real chance of a strong nuclear limitation deal with Iran? In Israel, military and security vets skewer Prime Minister Netanyahu, demanding a deal to free the hostages by ending the Gaza war. Our guest, American activist and international lobbyist Shai Franklin, discusses Netanyahu's problems and blows to Israel's reputation -- even to the Mossad's credibility.
Please comment on X at @danraviv. Also on BlueSky, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
Netanyahu Visits Trump, Gets Only the Slap of Iran Talks -- While Court Decrees He Cannot Fire Security Chief
Under Benjamin Netanyahu, the Mossad collects evidence of Iran's nuclear weapons project -- and shares it with the United States. But when the Prime Minister visited President Trump at the White House (April 7), he had to be sorely disappointed that Trump is starting direct talks with Iran. So says our expert guest, Joel Rubin (former State Department official). Also, Netanyahu returned home to a Supreme Court decision that he cannot immediately fire the head of the domestic security/intelligence agency Shin Bet.
Please comment on X at @danraviv. Also on BlueSky, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
Dan's...
Qatar Cash for Influence in Israel and DC -- Netanyahu "Mess" and Bombing Beirut to Thwart a Terror Attack
Senior aides to Prime Minister Netanyahu under arrest! Our guest, 30-year U.S. intelligence officer Michael Pregent, adds vivid details to the scandal in Israel, "Qatargate," and how Qatar also buys influence among U.S. think tanks and politicians.
Dan & Yossi also discuss how criticism of Trump led to dumping a new head of domestic security agency Shin Bet, and why -- as IDF airpower and troops amp up the war in Gaza, supposedly to compel Hamas to free hostages -- Israel also bombed a building in Beirut, Lebanon: to stop a terrorist attack on an airplane...
Israelis Spying for Iran: Sign of Society Disintegrating? And, Mossad Folks React to Signal-gate in DC
Dan and Yossi analyze a surprising spate of Israeli Jews who spied for Iran -- motivated by money; but our guest, Professor Yoram Peri, sees it as a sign of Israeli society breaking-apart. Dan and Yossi also discuss Israeli intelligence people's reaction to America's embarassing "Signal-gate": senior U.S. officials used the Signal app to discuss attack plans -- not realizing a journalist was part of the chat group. Professor Peri also claims that patriotism in Israel, even after the war that's followed the October 7 atrocities, is sadly waning. Also: How the 2-month ceasefire in Gaza helped Israel's intelligence...
Netanyahu Did What!? Re-started the Gaza War, Fired Security Chief, Covering-Up 'Qatargate'? -- As Trump Hits Yemen's Houthis
This was not "business as usual" in Israel. Prime Minister Netanyahu announced the firing of the director of the domestic security agency Shin Bet, Ronen Bar, who then issued a stinging description of Netanyahu endangering "national security" for his political ambitions -- including no true desire for a deal to free hostages held by Hamas. Meantime, Netanyahu re-started the war in Gaza, ignoring a ceasefire deal from January. The Houthis in Yemen responded by firing a missile at Israel, just as President Trump ordered massive airstrikes on the Houthis. The Middle East is always volatile, but -- especially in...
