Chris Hedges Report - Sunday, June 14, 2026

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1. them over. You can bat it on the floor, bat it this way, bat it that way, but it always comes
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23. The escalation of the war between Iran and Israel,
24. which included Iranian strikes on Israel on Sunday,
25. followed by Israeli strikes against Iran,
26. are a stark illustration that the conflict remains volatile and unpredictable.
27. Iran attacked after Israel carried out bombings in southern Beirut,
28. which Iran condemned as a breach of the ceasefire agreement.
29. Donald Trump, desperate to avoid a looming global depression
30. caused by Iran's prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz,
31. demanded Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
32. cease further attacks on Tehran and other Iranian cities.
33. This request, however, has provoked a furious backlash within Israel
34. and further isolated Netanyahu politically.
35. Israel faces a dilemma.
36. Does it ignore Washington to continue provoking Iran with its attacks in Lebanon,
37. openly sabotaging any ceasefire agreement,
38. or does it accept its defeat in Iran and Lebanon where its troops are suffering significant casualties from Hezbollah fiber drones The far right in Israel is calling for open revolt and defiance of Washington
39. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has demanded Israel level dozens of buildings in southern Beirut suburbs for every Iranian missile fired at Israel.
40. Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gavir announced Tehran must burn.
41. Where will Israel go from here? Will a cessation of hostilities with Iran even be possible? Or have
42. we entered a kind of long war with periodic strikes and counter-strikes as the world economy
43. crashes? Joining me to discuss these questions is Alistair Crook, a former British diplomat
44. who served for many years in the Middle East, working as a security advisor to the EU Special Envoy to the Middle East,
45. as well as helping lead efforts to set up negotiations and truces between Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other Palestinian resistance groups.
46. He was instrumental in establishing the 2002 ceasefire between Hamas and Israel.
47. He is also the author of Resistance, the Essence of the Islamist Revolution, which analyzes the ascendancy of Islamic movements in the Middle East.
48. So Alistair, let's begin with where we are.
49. Iran has made it very clear from the inception of the ceasefire that attacks had to stop.
50. Israeli attacks had to stop in Lebanon.
51. Iran, Israel called for the evacuation of parts of Beirut.
52. Iran responded by firing missiles into Israel, which apparently didn't cause much damage,
53. although who knows.
54. Israel fired back.
55. Where are we?
56. Peter Robinson Well, we're essentially in a new phase of
57. the war, which reflects, we can go back to that, but it reflects
58. the sense in Iran that no deal is likely to be forthcoming.
59. And therefore, what they are moving towards is what I call a scalatory deterrence,
60. which is that every time there is attack on them, whether it is by the U.S. Navy or FOMUS,
61. or if it's by Israel in Lebanon, they will not only respond,
62. but they will move a step up the escalatory ladder.
63. They will move up one step.
64. And so then if there's another attack, then they move up further.
65. So they've been deploying this in Hormuz against the American naval vessels
66. there. Just a couple of days ago, the US Navy attacked a vessel belonging to Iran,
67. fired a Hellfire missile into its engine room and incapacitated it. So that is one part. And
68. then Iran reacted by attacks in Bahrain, the effects of which you've probably seen, and I'm
69. told in fact the effects of which were far more damaging than we've been have been explained to
70. us that there was some special equipment there in the naval base which was very expensive and which was destroyed and they wonder how Iran knew of its location
71. The CENCOM are assuming, I'm told, that it must have been provided to them by Russia or China,
72. but I doubt it.
73. I would think that the Iranian intelligence is good in a place like Bahrain,
74. which is 80% Shi'i anyway.
75. So that's one element of it.
76. So that's a straightforward equation.
77. Be attacked and respond far for far, effectively.
78. Then the more problematic one is Lebanon.
79. And if I can, I need to explain why Lebanon is so problematic.
80. and it is because of the 180 degree shift in military doctrine
81. and also political doctrine in alliance with us
82. that took place after the 7th of October.
83. Before that, Israel was largely guided by the Ben-Gurion doctrine
84. which was that Israel was a small country, small population
85. small economy
86. and therefore it couldn't afford
87. a big military
88. it was beyond its reach
89. and therefore Israel
90. needed to stay within its borders
91. and
92. rely on reservists
93. for its main
94. small professional force plus reservists
95. and it was also
96. Clausewitzian in
97. Ben-Gurion's concept in the sense
98. that use
99. of force was a means to political settlements and not an end in itself, not just simple
100. destruction.
101. But after the 7th of October, the idea was implanted and it's been reported extensively
102. in parts, the Hebrew parts of the Israeli press, which we follow regularly, in that
103. the idea was that what happened on the 7th of October was a holocaust. It wasn't, but they are
104. calling it and thinking it a holocaust. And they are thinking that the holocaust that we all know
105. is a holocaust was actually not simply an event in the past, but something that is present now,
106. that is a threshold, a threshold which can be breached any time.
107. And so they shifted from that Ben-Gurion idea, doctrine, 180 degrees,
108. and adopted what they call permanent security.
109. And permanent security means that you do not allow any threat to arise
110. that might now or in the future attack you.
111. And that idea came from Germany, not surprising, originally,
112. and has been adopted.
113. And why that is so important is because it suggests,
114. and this is the word they use, that it is security to the root.
115. To the root translated means even children and women because they could bring up another generation that could be a threat to us I saying this because what I trying to explain in the Israeli view which is the current doctrine of the government but also magnified by
116. particularly by the messianic element, who also want to see, if you like, a greater Israel,
117. and that a greater Israel should come about by force of arms.
118. It should just simply forcefully take the territory
119. and by that means establish redemption and a Messiah's return.
120. So these two have come together in a strange alliance.
121. I mean, the Israeli army keeps saying,
122. we don't quite know how we're in alliance with the messianic element,
123. but that's the reality of what it is.
124. And in this way, of course, therefore, Hezbollah is a threat that they see must be eliminated at root and not allowed to exist in near proximity to the northern towns or those towns that lie south of the border and extend down into the Galilee.
125. And so when Iran produced this first equation, a sort of loose equation, no CISFA for all or no CISFA, which was supposed to include Lebanon and supposed to include the Palestinians as well.
126. And that had been agreed, that was in, when was it, the 6th, 8th of April ceasefire agreement and was established and the mediators all said, yes, this is part of the agreement.
127. But now the Israelis are saying we can't allow this to stand.
128. We cannot have the idea that if we take action in Lebanon
129. to secure our northern towns, which are half empty,
130. the inhabitants have largely fled.
131. If we can't secure our towns, then we must break the link
132. that Iran, unfortunately, this is the Israeli perspective,
133. Iran has linked events in Lebanon to the main, if you like,
134. relationship between Iran and the United States
135. and the prospect of a deal or not.
136. And they don't want that linkage to take place.
137. So when Netanyahu was told by Trump,
138. look, you know, you can't bomb Beirut.
139. He didn't say you can't bomb Lebanon,
140. but he said you can't stop it, turn back,
141. you know, send them back.
142. When that happened,
143. Netanyahu was met with a tsunami of protests
144. across the board from Israelis,
145. from the, I mean, secular Israelis,
146. from the opposition leaders as well,
147. who said we cannot let this linkage exist.
148. Israel must have the ability to operate anywhere
149. it chooses under this new security doctrine.
150. Even though in Lebanon as the security officials openly
151. they don't have a strategy for how to deal with Lebanon,
152. and it is going badly wrong for them.
153. They don't...
154. The buffer zone didn't work 20 years ago,
155. and it's certainly not working now.
156. And instead of which, they're suffering heavy casualties
157. as they are still in South Lebanon,
158. still destroying towns, clearing towns out.
159. They are suffering heavy casualties from Hezbollah, which are using new drones with cyber optic connection, which are exalting large casualties.
160. I can't, there's no figures for the casualties, but I estimate roughly about eight to 10 casualties on the Israeli side per day.
161. And so I was trying to explain why Lebanon has become neuralgic in this equation, because it goes to the very crux of this new doctrine that Israel has adopted, the doctrine of permanent security, security to the root, whether it is Iran, whether it is in Syria, whether it is in West Bank.
162. Gaza. This is the new doctrine. And this is now being challenged, it seems, first of all,
163. by Iran having succeeded in linking it in the CISFA arrangements and Trump having to admit it
164. and Trump having to take action with Netanyahu. And so now the big pushback is coming back and
165. people are telling Netanyahu in Israel, listen, you've got to go on attacking Lebanon. You can't
166. stop. You've got to keep going. We will not accept this direct linkage. And what is Netanyahu's
167. choice? He can object. But as I'm trying to say that, you know, it's presented in the press a lot
168. as if there's a sort of rivalry between Netanyahu and Trump,
169. and it's all about who's in charge of whom and who's subordinate to whom.
170. It's not that.
171. It goes to the heart of Israeli thinking, and it goes also to, if you like,
172. the very essence of this new thinking.
173. And this new thinking is increasingly under criticism.
174. and Netanyahu is in something of a crisis
175. because the present polls show
176. he's not likely to win elections as things stand.
177. He still hasn't got a pardon arranged by Trump.
178. The liquid is sort of fragmenting,
179. but the most important thing is that the army is disintegrating.
180. The head of the chief of staff went to the cabinet
181. and said, I want to put up 10 red lights to you.
182. The IDF is in the point of implosion.
183. It just won't go on.
184. It cannot go on.
185. We are fighting these forever wars across the Middle East,
186. and we haven't the people, and we haven't the resources.
187. And the army is also falling apart because of poor discipline
188. and a lack of morality And so there a real structural problem And people are saying there are some voices
189. I won't say there are a large number, but some people are saying,
190. look, there's no alternative.
191. We need to go back to the Ben-Gurion original doctrine.
192. We can't go on pretending we're a sort of great power
193. able to wield military force across the whole Middle East and across Iran as well.
194. But there is a divergence between Trump and Netanyahu in that Trump really does not want to
195. pay the dire economic consequences that come with a prolonged closure of the Strait, which is why
196. he wants some kind of a ceasefire agreement. And Netanyahu's policy is to resume a bombing campaign
197. of Iran, to do to Iran what it has done to southern Lebanon or Gaza or Syria, or you could
198. go back to Iraq. Isn't that correct? I would actually put it more specifically that I'm not
199. sure that Netanyahu will be able to remain in power if he does not continue to attack Lebanon.
200. And this is the real problem facing Trump. I think probably Trump is looking for a way out,
201. although he doesn't seem to be able to find it. I mean, my understanding from Iran is there's
202. no deal in prospect at the moment.
203. Anyway, the gaps are too great.
204. And also from their perspective,
205. this whole political diplomatic approach has really disintegrated,
206. you know, because even yesterday, you know,
207. Trump was saying, of course, a deal is near,
208. but Iranians are not going to get any resources.
209. They're not going to get their money back until it's all finished
210. and we're not going to allow and we're going to keep the blockade on Hormuz
211. until the end of this very long process which occurs well after a long ceasefire
212. and then the sides would supposedly talk.
213. And Besant says, no, well, anyway, whatever assets, frozen assets Iran owns, we're going to give them to the Gulf states in reparations.
214. So the Iranians really see this whole, you know, there isn't a political, there's no political coherence or structure.
215. And so, you know, yes, they keep sending messages by mediators, but sometimes the mediators are in themselves somewhat problematic.
216. They put a very Panglossian approach, a touch on messages going to the Iranian side in the hope of helping to get a solution, no doubt.
217. But nonetheless, it has created quite a lot of confusion within Iran and problems as a
218. consequence.
219. So they don't see any, they don't see, I mean, what is Trump going to do and what is he going
220. to do about Israel?
221. I mean people talk about the Reagan example and that Reagan told Netanyahu stop you got to back off But it not clear to Iran whether that possible because as I say the whole thinking has changed
222. And suddenly, you know, as much as Iran is a problem, Lebanon is even greater problem because
223. these Hezbollah drones are hitting the northern townships every day
224. and the people there are complaining bitterly at the government
225. and saying, you know, we're Israeli, where's our protection?
226. Where are we being supported?
227. So I'm sure, you know, we know from the past there's been,
228. I mean, first of all, I mean, you know, from going right back,
229. Netanyahu was very quick off the mark to support Biden.
230. And that really galled Trump from long, long way back.
231. I'm not suggesting there's any love there.
232. But what was quite interesting I saw is that Smotrich,
233. the minister of Netanyahu, was saying, look, actually,
234. you know, all this limited exchange of missiles,
235. That's another equation, by the way, this limited exchange of missiles.
236. You know, maybe it wasn't a reflection of a, maybe it was more theater than open conflict,
237. because maybe Netanyahu persuaded Trump that, you know, attacking Iran with missiles and pushing back hard on Lebanon
238. would help push Iran towards negotiations.
239. and make them more open to that.
240. I personally believe that would be an extraordinary conclusion to draw
241. and totally wrong.
242. But nonetheless, that's what the minister was suggesting quietly on the side,
243. that it was maybe just a ruse to mostly theatricals.
244. I mean, theatricals and a real dislike of each other probably too.
245. But I think for the time being, Trump probably needs Netanyahu because, and that's why he's working so hard to get to him.
246. Because actually, I mean, the situation in Israel, it seems to me, is getting very, very, very divided.
247. And what happens? Netanyahu is not well. He looks not well, but he isn't well, I think.
248. and his party is coming apart.
249. And it's quite possible that the machine that he's put into place
250. over 20 and more years could implode.
251. Who then would be in charge?
252. Who would be, if you like, able to address Washington
253. and the CIA and Congress from Israel?
254. many of the main officials at the moment speak no English.
255. And I don't think there are any sort of people
256. with a sort of weight in their standing
257. or the knowledge of how America functions
258. to easily fill the gap.
259. So he has a certain leverage there.
260. And of course, Iran has leverage too,
261. because they have sitting on their doorstep
262. a huge amount of energy infrastructure and other infrastructure And they promised you know if their attack escalatory steps up the ladder against that infrastructure
263. So it's Trump, I think, in many ways has put himself in a box.
264. He's not going to get Hormuz opened in the way he defines it.
265. He's not going to get the 340 kilos of 60% enriched uranium back from Iran.
266. So where's the victory?
267. How is he going to present this?
268. Yet if he doesn't do that, I mean, his poll ratings are deteriorating very, very fast
269. and almost entering a sort of crisis point.
270. I understand from, I was listening to Robert Barnes who was saying that the polling by Barris and other polls was given to the White House, which showed that even with, you know, massive funding from the Jewish billionaire class,
271. it would still not be sufficient to rescue the Republicans and Trump at the midterms.
272. Of course, that's speculation.
273. But I'm just saying there is a sort of slight, I think, panic in the air,
274. from what I understand, in Washington about, so what's the way out of this?
275. Because, you know, just a ceasefire, but how long will that last?
276. I mean, and that's all that I can see that, you know, people, mediators and so on are talking about is a very, very elementary, basic, you know, freezing of the situation as it is and kicking everything that is substantive, you know, months away down the line of negotiations.
277. But time is running out in the sense that countries like Japan, even the United States, are drawing down their strategic reserves.
278. Even with that drawdown, you've seen, especially with the price of diesel has risen, I think, by over 50%.
279. Gasoline has risen.
280. I mean, time is not on the side of the U.S.
281. You're absolutely right.
282. And it's, I mean, a catastrophic situation at the moment,
283. which is barely, you know, under the surface.
284. It's all under the surface because you don't see much about it
285. in the mainstream press about how close we are.
286. Inventories have never been as low.
287. The strategic reserve is sort of at sludge level, as I understand it.
288. So I think this is the point.
289. what is going to be the way out,
290. I think finally this thing will come to some sort of conclusion
291. when Europe falls over the economic cliff.
292. And that's the point at where things,
293. I've always found, unfortunately, it's not a great thing to say,
294. but in politics, pain is a great transformer.
295. Great, thank you. Thank you, Alistair.
296. and I want to thank Max and Thomas and Noelle who produced the show.
297. You can find me at chrishedges.substack.com.
298. The