Daily Briefing June 25: US-Iran deal fuels Trump’s delusional dreams of peace and prizes

Welcome to The Times of Israel’s Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what’s happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world.

ToI founding editor David Horovitz joins host Jessica Steinberg for today’s episode.

WATCH the full episode here:

With US President Donald Trump desperately attempting to end the war with Iran, Horovitz reviews the mixed messaging delivered by the US leader as he fawns over the Tehran regime’s “nice, new” leaders and signs a “peace” deal that doesn’t achieve any war goals but that he may think will keep alive his dream of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Horovitz notes that the US readiness to authorize an Iranian role in Lebanon is undermining the unique readiness of the Beirut government to work with Israel toward a diplomatic, long-term arrangement. Rather than disconnecting Iran from Hezbollah — an explicit war goal — the US is essentially partnering with Iran regarding Lebanon’s future, dooming the Israel-Lebanon talks it is currently hosting in Washington, DC.

Our discussion moves on to Tuesday’s New York City primaries, in which two virulently anti-Israel Democratic Socialists of America candidates and one progressive Democrat won elections against more established candidates, further bolstering Mayor Zohran Mamdani and his anti-Zionist politics in the rapidly changing city.

Check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing liveblog for more updates.

For further reading:

In Trump’s delusions of peace with Iran and efforts to bully Israel, dark echoes of appeasement

Trump’s deal is a catastrophic capitulation to Iran’s aggressors, leaves Israel vulnerable and constrained

American pro-Israel activists may have just had their worst week ever

Mamdani-backed primary sweep further cements anti-Zionist politics in NYC

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Yitzchak Ledee.

Check out yesterday’s episode here: