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© 2025 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!
31 Episodes
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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 ...
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 a...
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 ...
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 -- ...
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:...
1We 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 ...
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 th...
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 p...
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...
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 Ca...
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 un...
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 ...
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 wit...
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 newsp...
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 ...
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 colleag...
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...
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 Isr...
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 t...
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/intellig...
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