AI Summary
5 min readDeep inside a Shia village seven kilometers north of Israel’s border with Lebanon, an Israeli command post sits in a long, wide tunnel. The correspondent who visited described it as the widest, most well-constructed tunnel he has seen in two and a half years of war. Inside were piles of triangular wings, cigar-shaped fuselages, and cylindrical explosive charges — a factory assembly line for killer drones. The discovery was not incidental. Israel wanted to show that Hezbollah, with Iranian support, still maintains a significant military presence in southern Lebanon. The timing was everything: the visit came just hours before talks were due to begin in Switzerland between America and Iran, talks that included a ceasefire in Lebanon that Israel never agreed to.
The ceasefire Israel did not sign
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What you'll learn
- 1 (01:45) **Iran-US Peace Talks and the Lebanon Ceasefire** - The episode opens with the context of new Iran-US peace talks and a memorandum of understanding that includes a ceasefire in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah.
- 2 (02:35) **On the Ground in Southern Lebanon** - Economist correspondent Anshel Pfeffer describes a visit to a destroyed Shia village and an underground Hezbollah drone factory.
- 3 (05:21) **Israel’s Justification vs. the Imposed Ceasefire** - Israel argues its campaign is justified, but the US-Iran deal imposed a Lebanon ceasefire on Israel without its input.
- 4 (07:10) **Why Israel’s Defense Establishment Opposes the Deal** - The entire Israeli defense establishment sees Hezbollah rebuilding near the border and believes no diplomatic arrangement can currently disarm them.
- 5 (07:46) **The Souring US-Israel Relationship** - The difference over Lebanon has soured the alliance, with Trump now portraying Israel as an unruly child.
- 6 (09:11) **Prospects for Regional Peace** - Talks are ongoing, but the situation on the ground suggests the ceasefire won’t solve the Hezbollah problem and could trigger another war.
- 7 (11:48) **El Niño Mechanism and Measurement** - Environment editor Catherine Brahic explains the climate phenomenon, its measurement, and why this year’s event could be a “whopper.”
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Show Notes
Our correspondent joins an embed in Lebanon, where Israel claims that Hizbullah’s continued strength justifies its campaign. If Israel’s goals diverge from America’s, how does this affect peace talks over the Iran conflict? The impact of the oncoming “Godzilla" El Niño. And why Japan’s popular princess will never take the throne.
Guests and host:
- Anshel Pfeffer, Israel correspondent
- Catherine Brahic, environment editor
- Moeka Iida, East Asia correspondent
- Rosie Blau, co-host of “The Intelligence”
- Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”
Topics covered:
- Lebanon, Hizbullah, IDF, Majdal Zoun
- El Niño, climate change, famine
- Japan, Naruhito, Aiko, Princess Toshi
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