Call Me Back - with Dan Senor

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How did the oppressive Ayatollah regime convince the Western left that they’re the victims?

Dan speaks with Iranian-American lawyer and activist Elica Le Bon about the ideological narratives that form (and distort) the West’s reaction to the Iran war. Le Bon explains the deep divide between the Iranian people and the Islamic regime, the cycles of protests and repression, the imperialist roots of the regime’s long-standing obsession with Israel, and the Marxist prism through which the Western left understands the conflict.

In this episode:

06:30 – Elica Le Bon’s family story and the legacy of the 1979 revolution

07:45 – Life under the Islamic regime and the experience of repression

11:05 – The gap between the Iranian people and the regime ruling them

14:42 – Why the Iranian regime sees Israel as central to its ideology

20:32 – How ideological narratives in the West shape perceptions of the war

23:42 – The “mind virus” of anti-Western and anti-Zionist thinking

26:46 – Protest movements inside Iran and the risks people face

31:04 – What a post-regime Iran could mean for the Middle East and the world

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Credits: Ilan Benatar, Adaam James Levin-Areddy, Brittany Cohen, Ava Weiner, Martin Huergo, Mariangeles Burgos, and Patricio Spadavecchia, Yuval Semo

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This is a sneak peek from the latest Inside Call Me Back, the members-only edition of the podcast. In this episode, Dan Senor is joined by Amit Segal to answer subscriber questions about the war with Iran and what victory might actually look like.

Has Israel already neutralized the strategic threats from Hamas and Hezbollah? Why might the political stakes of this war be higher for Donald Trump than for Benjamin Netanyahu? And if Iran’s regime weakens further, could the entire regional balance shift overnight?

To hear the full conversation, become a member by following the link in the description or visiting https://arkmedia.org.

In the full episode:

In this Inside edition of Call me Back, Dan Senor and Amit Segal answer subscriber questions about the war with Iran, the strategic stakes for Netanyahu and Trump, the possibility of regime change in Tehran, Qatar’s role in the region, and whether anti-Israel sentiment on the American right is growing. Along the way, they also discuss how the war is reshaping Israel’s alliances and why the U.S.–Israel partnership looks very different than it did in past conflicts.

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Dan Senor & Saul Singer’s book, The Genius of Israel

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Credits: Ilan Benatar, Adaam James Levin-Areddy, Brittany Cohen, Ava Weiner, Martin Huergo, Mariangeles Burgos, and Patricio Spadavecchia, Yuval Semo

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Why would a president risk a war in the Middle East in an election year? 

Dan is joined by Walter Russell Mead to unpack the strategic and political gamble behind the U.S. conflict with Iran. They discuss why Trump may have chosen this moment to act, how generational attitudes toward war shape the debate, and what success (or failure) could look like. The conversation also explores Iran’s potential strategy, its impact on Russia and China, and how countries like India are viewing the unfolding conflict.

In this episode:

- 05:45 – Trump’s High-Stakes Bet on War

- 08:15 – Why the Case for the War Feels Unclear to Many Americans

- 10:25 – The Generational Divide on U.S. Military Power

- 15:40 – Why Trump Chose This Moment to Strike

- 23:20 – What “Winning” the War Could Actually Look Like

- 26:20 – Iran’s Endurance Strategy: Drag the U.S. Into a Quagmire

- 30:05 – What Russia and China Want to See Happen

- 32:10 – Why India Is Watching This War Closely

See Rachel Goldberg-Polin in conversation with Dan at The Temple Emanu-El Streicker Cultural Center on April 20 to discuss her upcoming book "When We See You Again.” Purchase tickets before they sell out.

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Dan Senor & Saul Singer’s book, The Genius of Israel

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Credits: Ilan Benatar, Adaam James Levin-Areddy, Brittany Cohen, Ava Weiner, Martin Huergo, Mariangeles Burgos, and Patricio Spadavecchia, Yuval Semo

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Was America dragged into the Iran war by Israel, as some commentators seem to suggest?

An out-of-context statement by State Secretary Marco Rubio seems to give credence to the conspiratorial accusation that America is fighting Israel's war in Iran. Dan is joined by Nadav Eyal and Mark Dubowitz to discuss the truth behind these claims, the delicate politics behind the decision to launch the war, and how it all plays out in American public discourse. They also cover the possible succession of Iran’s Supreme Leader, the campaign against Iran’s nuclear and missile capabilities, and the broader strategy shaping the conflict—along with what outcomes Israel and the U.S. would ultimately consider a victory.

In this episode:

- 04:20 – The strike in Qom and the disruption of Iran’s leadership succession

- 06:05 – The possible rise of Mojtaba Khamenei

- 11:05 – What the past 72 hours reveal about the military campaign

- 13:25 – Why Qom is central to the Islamic Republic

- 15:05 – The emerging strategy to pressure the regime from within

- 20:05 – The debate in the U.S. over how the war began

- 37:35 – Iran’s strategy for surviving the conflict

- 40:05 – What Israel and the U.S. would consider a victory

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Dan Senor & Saul Singer’s book, The Genius of Israel

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Credits: Ilan Benatar, Adaam James Levin-Areddy, Brittany Cohen, Ava Weiner, Martin Huergo, Mariangeles Burgos, and Patricio Spadavecchia, Yuval Semo

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How did Israel manage to eliminate Supreme Leader Khamenei and his top lieutenants within the opening strike of Operation Roaring Lion? How was the Iranian regime infiltrated? What tactical abilities were necessary to deliver the final blow? And how much of it was luck?

Ronen Bergman, senior correspondent for Yedioth Ahronoth and The New York Times Magazine, takes Dan through the story of Khamenei’s killing from plan to execution, and through the many ways in which things could have gone differently.

In this episode:

3:00 – How did Israel know where Khamenei was hiding?

8:43 – Was Iran careless?

14:50 – How did the plan to strike Khamenei take shape?

15:34 – 6am on the morning when it happened

22:01 – Sponsor break: United Hatzalah

22:57 – Immediate aftermath: What happened after the decapitation strike?

23:37 – The second and third waves of the attack

28:33 – Iran's attack on Arab states: another miscalculation?

33:25 – What's the mood in Iran?

This episode was sponsored by United Hatzalah. Donate today at IsraelRescue.org/CallMeBack. Add this number to your phone right now if you live in Israel – 1221, and for those visiting it’s 972-2-5-383838.

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Newsletters | Ark Media | Amit Segal | Nadav Eyal

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Dan Senor & Saul Singer’s book, The Genius of Israel

Get in touch

Credits: Ilan Benatar, Adaam James Levin-Areddy, Brittany Cohen, Ava Weiner, Martin Huergo, Mariangeles Burgos, and Patricio Spadavecchia, Yuval Semo