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© 2026 THE MOSSAD FILES with Dan Raviv
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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 in February 2025.
Each week, joined by well-informed guests, Dan discusses the latest developments involving Israel, its security agencies, Palestinians, Iran, Lebanon, Yemen, and how the United States and other countries are involved. Inevitably, the turmoil of Israeli politics creeps into the conversation.
The most recent Raviv-Melman book is a history of the Mossad and the other security agencies, with chapters ranging from "Stop Iran!" to considerations of Israel's future. The book is SPIES AGAINST ARMAGEDDON. To purchase: https://www.amazon.com/Spies-Against-Armageddon-Israels-Updated/dp/0985437898/ref=sr_1_1
Our aim is to illuminate parts of the Middle East's unending drama that are often misunderstood. We look forward to your comments -- on Facebook (Dan Raviv) or on X (@DanRaviv), and we will occasionally post Video Extras. Happy listening!
35 Episodes
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Dan's co-author (on six books about Israeli intelligence and strategy) Yossi Melman breaks the news -- that the Mossad is no longer in charge of the overall Israeli plan for defeating Iran's nuclear program and ballistic missiles. As Israel prepared for war against Iran (with President Trump's full participation), Prime Minister Netanyahu gave the leadership to Aman -- the huge military intelligence agency, with a giant role for Unit 8200, the legendary SIGINT (Signals Intelligence) eavesdrop...
Dan's guest is Steve Herman, retired Voice of America correspondent who reported from the White House. He's the author of a new book "Behind the White House Curtain," on his career and why news coverage of the American president is so important. Together they assess the importance -- if any -- of knowing whether he's telling the truth or not: this week, whether the war the United States and Israel are waging against Iran really was about to end. Or get bigger. Please comment on X ...
Dan's guest is Danny Ayalon, who was Israel's ambassador in Washington in 2002-2007 and then served as Deputy Foreign Minister. They discuss how Israel is living its dream -- having full U.S. support for attacking Iran to destroy its nuclear program and its long-range missile arsenal. But could it become Israel's nightmare, if Donald Trump decides to end the war? Ambassador Ayalon offers a thorough and thought-provoking analysis, based on the history of U.S.-Israeli relations and Iran's histo...
This is no 6-Day War -- no lightning victory when the enemy is large, stubborn, radical Iran. On the weekly audio podcast, hear Jonathan Conricus -- a Lt.Col. in the IDF reserves and the Israeli military's former international spokesman -- talk about the threat of Iran-backed terrorism worldwide as attempted retaliation. Conricus is optimistic about countering that, and (you will hear) he is upbeat about the positive possibilities for the Middle East if Islamic Iran is defeated. [Conri...
Dan's guest is Jason Pack, an American global-affairs analyst based in London. Pack is author of Libya and the Global Enduring Disorder, and he's the host of a podcast, "Disorder." The U.S. and Israel together attacked Iran on February 28 and have not masked their goal of regime change. We praise the excellent intelligence that made the "decapitation strike" possible at the start of the war in Iran -- killing the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and many Iranian officials and com...
Dan's guest expert is Sarit Zehavi, a retired lieutenant-colonel in the IDF (Israel's army) -- mostly in Military Intelligence. She founded and directs a non-profit think tank in northern Israel -- The Alma Research and Education Center -- that specializes in gathering and explaining information about Lebanon and Syria. In this conversation recorded Feb. 24 (80 hours before the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran), Zehavi analyzed what might prompt Hezbollah to join Iran in retaliating agains...
1While the world awaited his decision on whether to strike Iran, Donald Trump convened his Board of Peace with a focus mostly on Gaza. Our guest is a Palestinian expert who's been an American analyst of the Middle East for many years: Ghaith al-Omari of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Al-Omari says donation pledges and plans for Gaza prosperity are far from convincing -- are they realistic, when Hamas hasn't been disarmed? -- but Trump's Board of Peace has elements of introducin...
No foreign leader has had talks with President Trump more often than Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu. After their nearly invisible meeting at the White House, their written statements signaled disagreement -- over Trump's insistence on negotiating with Iran. Dan is joined by Joel Rubin -- a former State Department official, a strategist for Democratic campaigns, and a foreign affairs analyst -- in considering if the disagreement is real, or a repeat of the plot that led to Israel and the Un...
Our expert guest is Gidi Grinstein, who has served on Israel's negotiating team in U.S.-sponsored talks with Palestinians -- and now is busy with two organizations he created: the Re'ut Group (which combats antisemitism and tries to foster leadership skills in Israel) and TOM (Tikkun Olam Makers), working on programs to help needy people worldwide. As he closely examines the deal that ended the hottest, most violent part of the Gaza war, Grinstein contends that the Trump-sponsored 20-p...
January 26, 2026, should be remembered as a turning point in Israel's history: the day that the remains of the last hostage held in Gaza were recovered from a Palestinian cemetery. Sgt. Ran Gvilli, considered a hero who died battling terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023, has now been buried in Israel -- and the whole country seemed deeply moved. But what now? Dan interviews Prof. Kobi Michael -- a senior strategic analyst at the Misgav Institute and at INSS (the Institute National Security Studie...
Two major interviews in this week's THE MOSSAD FILES. Dan chats with Jason Burke, veteran foreign correspondent for The Guardian -- and author of a new history of terrorism in the 1970s titled The Revolutionists. Burke describes the Gaza war as "frozen" -- not truly over. Dan then turns to a longtime Mossad intelligence officer -- Oded Ailam, now a researcher for a think tank in Jerusalem -- who also identifies flaws in the Gaza peace plan. Ailam reveals that Hamas...
At recording time (January 16), we don't know what the outcome will be in Iran -- as the Islamic Republic's regime vows to quash the widespread protests by Iranians demanding freedom. And we don't know if the United States will really strike targets in Iran. But we do hear Reza Pahlavi -- the son of the late, overthrown Shah of Iran -- vowing to be a bridge to a new democratic Iran, promising to be friendly to the United States. And to Israel. Dan then interviews an Israeli special forc...
Is Israel's longest serving prime minister a net asset -- or a net liability -- at this point, when it comes to the country's security? In favor of Benjamin Netanyahu -- explicitly speaking out in favor of his being pardoned by Israel's president -- is the widely published rabbi, Shmuley Boteach. Replying to those pro-Bibi opinions: a law professor at Reichman University in Israel, Prof. Yaniv Roznai, a constitutional law expert. Hear some bitter, but intelligently reasoned, arguments -- on T...
Gaza's next stage and Turkey's role. Those issues spell trouble in the seemingly rosy Florida lovefest of Donald Trump and Benjamin (Bibi) Netanyahu. Days after their 6th meeting of 2025, a former Israeli ambassador to Washington tells Dan how these summits work -- and he can tell what the real issues were behind the Mar-a-Lago platitudes. Sure, the Israeli prime minister and American president praised each other to the skies, but there are still "troubling" differences over Gaza -- Ph...
Dan reports there's a lot going on, when it comes to Israeli intelligence, security, and politics. There's a rare statement from the Mossad, on why its director met with Qatar. Arab news media claim a kidnapping in Lebanon by the Mossad. And -- the next big strategic event for Israel: Prime Minister Netanyahu will visit President Trump at Mar-a-Lago for talks on December 29. Netanyahu (according to Senator Lindsey Graham, heard in the podcast) wants a green light to strike ...
The Mossad director, David Barnea, gave a rare openly threatening speech: vowing to stop Iran's continued ambition to build nuclear weapons. At an awards ceremony, he also said Israel will punish those responsible for the terrorist attack on Jews in Australia -- at their Hanukkah party on Bondi Beach. Dan -- in Israel this week -- speaks with Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel on a range of current events. She says Israel repeatedly warned Australia that an antisemitic terrorist att...
In an episode of The Mossad Files recorded in Israel, Dan interviews Maj. General (Retired) Amos Yadlin -- former head of Aman, the Military Intelligence directorate that's the biggest part of Israel's intelligence community. Yadlin was one of the air force pilots who destroyed Iraq's nuclear reactor in 1981 and also served as defense attache at Israel's embassy in Washington. In this conversation, he warns that the Gaza crisis isn't over -- and Israel hasn't sealed its victory against Hezbol...
Until 29 years ago, it was illegal in Israel to reveal the name of the Mossad director. But now Israel's top spymaster is a public figure -- and the honor is about to go to Major General Roman Gofman. Who's he? He has no experience in intelligence agencies. He speaks English poorly, but his Russian is excellent, as he was a Jewish immigrant to Israel from Belarus in the Soviet Union at age 14. Dan's guest -- to discuss Gen. Gofman -- is Dan's longtime writing partner, Yossi...
Dan analyzes the revelation, in a documentary on Israeli TV's Kan-11, that presented a lot of retired military and intelligence chiefs who feel Prime Minister Netanyahu was stop-and-go when it came to confronting Iran. They suggested he did not agree to full funding of Mossad and IDF projects to penetrate Iran and prepare for war -- with war seen as likely, at some point, to stop Iran's nuclear program. It is true, of course, that Netanyahu ordered the airstrikes on Iran -- powered by u...
You've heard of John Spencer, one of the experts on urban warfare who has declared -- after studying the Gaza war closely, and going to the warfront 7 times -- that Israel abided by the international rules of war. Chair of war studies for the Madison Policy Forum, Spencer is known for creating an urban war study program at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He tells Dan Raviv there's no way Israel was guilty of genocide against Gaza's Palestinians, while Hamas's actions -- the massacres...
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