targeted athletes. the history of sports, especially the olympics, has repeatedly witnessed the brutal killing of palestinian athletes by israel time and again. consider the of following names: nagam abu samra, an international karate champion, an expected representative for palestine, at the 2024 summer olympics, was killed in an israeli air strike on her home in the nuserat refugee camp. hani al-mazdar, one of palestine's most admired footballers and the olympic team's manager, was killed by shrapnel from an israeli missile. exploded near his home. these are only a few among thousands of palestinian athletes who have been brutally killed by israel. however, in targeting iranian and palestinian athletes, the israeli regime has made no mistake nor accidentally bombed a home. rather, with complete awareness of the symbolic impact of athletes, it has chosen a form of violence that directly attacks the roots of nation's hope. in this context, the of continued silence of international sports institutions, and the double standards they apply to israel can no longer be

justified, it is time for the international olympic committee, ioc to take meaningful and urgent action to break the cycle of violence against athletes. in the early hours of june 13th, an unprovoked and shocking escalation shook west asia. with the backing of the united states, israel launched a coordinated assault on iranian territory, striking residential neighborhoods in tehran, military facilities and most provocatively nuclear sights in natans and isfahan. the attack.

the beginning of a 12-day war that would alter regional geopolitics and leave both aggressors, israel and the u.s. scrambling to reframe a campaign that failed to meet its strategic goals. the first day was particularly deadly for iran. not only did it lose top generals and nuclear scientists, but the country was forced to react while it was on the verge of entering the sixth round of nuclear talks with the us. the pretense of diplomacy was shattered by bombs. by nightfall on june 13th, iran responded with waves of drone and missile strikes, targeting israeli military and intelligence sites deep inside the occupied territories. while american officials initially disten themselves claiming israel had acted independently, their true role became

clear when on june 22nd the us directly struck nuclear facilities in natans, isfahan and ford do, deploying bunker bosting munitions designed to target iran's most secure underground enrichment sites. washington framed this as an effort to prevent iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, a claim hollowed by their own intelligence findings and iaea reports just weeks earlier, confirming iran had no current weaponization plans. in reality, the dual assault by israel and the us appeared to have a different goal, regime change. western media floated the son of the deposed show as a government in waiting, complete with a televised day after plan. assassinations of key irgc commanders and pressure on military officers to defect revealed the extent of this ambition, but instead of toppling the islamic republic, these efforts sparked a wave of national unity across iran.

civilians rallied behind the leader of the revolution, not out of blind loyalty, but because they viewed the attacks as targeting iran itself, not just its leadership. the scope of iran's retaliation was devastating and unprecedented. for 12 continuous days, israel cities like tel aviv, haifa and bersava were hit repeatedly. the famed iron dome was overwhelmed. according to hebrew media, the financial and infrastructural damage sustained in this short span matched 20 months of war in gaza, syria and lebanon. a third of tel aviv was reportedly in ruins. for the first time in decades israeli settlers fled on mass smuggling themselves out through cyprus and egypt as

government restricted departures. iran suffered of serious losses, over 600 lives including civilians, military personnel, and nuclear... scientists, but paradoxically gained political capital. its portrayal as a victim of premediated aggression, particularly as it was preparing for diplomacy resonated internationally. russia openly criticized the ia's bias and the reckless nature of us-israeli strikes. foreign minister lavrov underscored how no evidence existed that iran was preparing to attack israel. contrary to the narratives. in western capitals. in response to what it deemed as the iaea's complicity, the iranian maglis voted to suspend cooperation with the nuclear watch dog. inspectors would only be allowed into iran if the security of nuclear facilities was guaranteed, a prerogative now tightly guarded by iran supreme

national security council. this marked a significant shift. iran no longer saw benefit in cooperating with institutions. viewed as compromised. even more telling was iran's rapid internal control. over 700 individuals were arrested for espionage or collaboration with israel and a few were executed for smuggling equipment used in assassinations. these actions reflected iran's belief that the war extended beyond military engagement. it was existential targeting its sovereignty and survival. back in washington trump faced political blowback. his decision to attack iran mid-negotiation and its threats to assassinate iranian leaders alienated global partners. iran's retaliatory strike on the us base in qatar, the largest american base in west asia was a direct humiliation. this

followed a president said in 2020 when iran bombed al-assad base in iraq after trump's order to assassinate general qasim soleymani. once again, american military might was exposed as vulnerable. despite his bluster, trump found himself politically cornered. his approval rating dropped to 41% with key voters, questioning why he reignited conflict when his platform had promised disengagement from wars in ukraine and gaza. simultaneously, trump attempted to soften his stance, offering prayers for iran and hinting a t a new diplomatic deal. it was a staggering reversal. in israel prime minister. netanyahu claimed victory, insisting the war had achieve its objectives, decapitating iran's nuclear program and fostering regime change, but both goals collapsed under scrutiny. the nuclear decapitation failed outright. iran successfully moved 400 kilograms of 60% enrich uranium

from ford before the strikes. the us intelligence assessment later admitted that the operation only set iran's program back. a few months, contradicting trump's claims of obliteration. israeli assessments were even more optimistic, claiming delays of years. yet with key facilities intact and material secured, iran retains the ability to rebuild and even accelerate its program. it's withdrawal from iaea cooperation suggests it might do just that. regime change not only did it not occur, but it also backfired spectacularly, the assassinations, rather than demoralizing iran's elite forces, galvanized public opinion. even iranians opposed to the regime found themselves siding with the irgc, not out of new found loyalty, but out of patriotic duty. they saw a foreign war against iran

itself. israel symbolic attacks on even prison, the doomsday clock and the irib broadcaster only added to the perception that this was a war to destroy the iranian nation, not liberate it. the war left israel isolated, vulnerable and weakend in regional and global perception. the economic cost was staggering. the myth of israeli invincibility cracked as iranian missiles reached deep into its heart land. the famed anti-missile system. low on interceptors, the military faith to neutralize iran's retaliation and netanyahu's political image suffered, not from lack of aggression, but from strategic failure. in washington, trump's credibility took a massive hit. his erratic shift from war threats to peace offers cast

doubt on any future negotiations. allies in europe privately distanced themselves from us policy while regional actors in the persian gulf grew anxious. trump did not unite the world behind israel, if anything, his reckless approach wide and divide and hardened opposition. at the core of this war lies a longstanding. illusion, that external force can impose regime change in iran or destroy its nuclear capabilities permanently. israel and the us messred iran's domestic resilience. they believe that economic strain and internal descent would translate into regime collapse under military pressure. but history has repeatedly shown that iranians unite in times of national crisis. from the iran-iraq war to the economic war and sanctions. era, this latest war only reinforced that pattern. the

second failure lies in underestimating iran's nuclear resilience. its program is not centralized in one facility, but is widely dispersed, deeply buried and increasingly indigenous. the relocation of enriched uranium ahead of the strikes showed a level of strategic foresight that eluded both tel aviv and washington. moreover, iran's tech logical capacity means that even severe damage can be repaired and often rebuilt better. finally, the war prov that military solutions cannot replace diplomacy. bombs cannot dismantle ideals or erase national will. iran's response was calculated, precise and avoided escalation beyond what was necessary. yet it was devastating enough to shake the very foundations of israeli and american confidence in their technological... dominance: the 12-day war between iran and israel backed by the united states exposed the limits of military power and the

enduring strength of political will. far from collapsing, iran emerged bruised but emboldened, internationally vindicated, domestically united and militarily validated. israel suffered a psychological and material blow unlike anything in its modern history. the united states a hegemmon in the region now finds itself distressed, its leadership viewed as reckless and inconsistent. as the dust settles and both sides enter a tense pause, one thing is clear. warns born of hubris rarely achieved their intended outcomes. the pursuit of regime change and the dream of a nuclear free iran enforced by force may have finally run their course. what replaces it, diplomacy, deterrance or further confront. ation will shape the region for years to come,

the people of your world, israel stands with you.

hello and welcome to unscripted, i'm way, we have the pleasure today of having with us professor dr. udo steinback, now he is from the mesenata stiftung foundation and he is joining us for the special. position of the program in order to elaborate more on what he does and of course what he thinks about different world issues. welcome to the program. thank you. let's first start with the very interesting name that you have for your foundation, masanata stiftung foundation. tell us what that is, and then we'll try to diverge into other areas of political interest here. the matenata foundation is concerned with philanthropy and civil society in europe, in germany. and at a point we had the idea to add to the program a middle east program dealing with the problems with the challenges of

civil society in the middle east and that's why we establish the mina study center and i have been the director of the german orient of middle east studies for many many decades and so they made me the director of the new program. well that sounds great, we refer to the middle east as west asia, but nevertheless when you talk about the challenges that... exist in west asia, there are many, just like any other part the world, what are the areas of focus in the challenging sphere when it comes to west asia? i think that the... "the west asia is in a process of reorganizing itself, it's it's a global challenge, but a challenge especially for the middle east as well, so what we see is we see regime changes, we see wars, we see efforts to reorganize the entire region, and we see of course that certain countries try to to

prevail, countries which try to play. role as a sort of formacht and so there's a rearrangement of of powers in in in the region and for the time being it's an ongoing process but we do not see yet the end of it of the story well the political evolution in a sense that's happening west asia is happening at a rather rapid pace and one the reasons behind that is the fact that you have the us in terms of the policies that is exercising but you mentioned wars. we're going to get to the evolution aspect of it, but the war itself brings to mind the one that has been going on for the past year to seven, a year and a half to a year to seven months, that is the genocide that's happening in the gaza strip, that has impacted the region in a very strong way, maybe you can give us your understanding of how that stands

and why it is that it has not stopped it and the world has not been able to stop that genocide. that's taking place there, well i think that indeed the gaza war is the most significant feature at the moment, i have been talking about changes, but this is really dramatic, and it does not only affect israel and the palestinians, not tragically the gaza people, it affects the entire middle east, it affects at the end the entire world and in fact definitely europe, and the question is be is in view of what's happening in gaza, in view what's happening in front of our house, what are the europeans doing, and they are nothing doing, that's part of the problem, that's part of the three arrangements of power of which i have been talking, there are new powers coming, internal powers, regional powers, external powers, but where is europe, and of course it's a very, very serious challenge for the german policy, we have been

talking about values, about about a regular. foreign policy based on regulations we are propagating many times all the time the human rights and so on and so forth, but we keep silent when it comes to gaza, and that of a, as i said, is a challenge and it del legitimizes to a certain extent european policy, german policy as well, the question being how credible we still are in view what's going on in gaza, so i as, for the europeans, for the germans, this the gaza's trip and the changes and the dramatic and tragic developments are the greatest challenges at the meeting given the fact that the entire middle east is changing, indeed. you use a word that's pretty strong in its weights and that is the word delegitimization that you associated with europe in the

context of not being able to do anything for the palestinians, but whether that is the problem. whether there's not a will, even though they do acknowledge that this killing should not take place, this genocide to not take place, why do you think they at least on the outside are praying an image that they're somewhat helpless even though they don't say that, which again you use the word delegitimization, which shows that they are weak when it comes to the israely regime, yes, i think that the problem is that we are not speaking with one voice as europeans, "there are countries within the eu which are closer to the palestinians, which would like to have a sort of sort of regulations, sort of, and there are other countries who have special relationship with with israel as germany, and they would not do be ready to to go far ahead with actions, they go

far ahead with words, but not far ahead with actions." that's our problem, we are, we are divided, and so nothing happens, there are countries which ask for sanctions being imposed on on israel, but that's something which the germans would not follow up, so this is really the problem, and definitely at the end of the story, the gaza event, the gaza tragedy, as far as germany is concerned, is not only an external tragedy, it's an internal tragedy. as well, for we have a big palestinian community and which would like germany, the german government, the european government, but especially the german government to do something, but they do not, they protest, but protest. is being limited and at very very early stage of the protests they are being blamed as anti-samits and that's the end the story and that creates a lot of problems in within our german

society at the end ending with increasing violence taken up by palestinian activists themselves. if you see that nothing is happening, you have to do something for themselves, and that again deepens the cleavage between the... mainstream german society and minorities or smaller groups especially muslim arab groups, so it's not only in external challenge, it's an internal challenge for us, that's why i say that the gaza strip for europe, for germany is probably a greater challenge than the war in ukraine, indeed, we're going to get to that also, but when you, i want to, i want to thank you for the fact that you made a distinction between the fact that you have a governments and germany is no exception, there are many who support. the israeli regime, but yet there are people within each of the respective countries, just like germany where the very pro-palestinian, but i think the whole gaza genocide extends beyond just a palestinian factor or issue here, it's about

humanity, it's about how their unfortunately innocent lives that are being lost. now let's continue with what you mentioned, and that is the war in ukraine, we're looking at possibilities of breakthrough. with the the us president donald trump, there's been an approach there that uh was very aggressive in the beginning, there seems to have been maybe a solution even coming, but then there seems to now be um a sort of hopelessness from the us side. what are your views when it comes to this stage? do you for see there being a solution to that? well, for me, as i indicated already, the the ukraine war of course is important, is relevant for europe, for our security. but the war in gaza probably is more relevant, soon or later, probably sooner than later, there will be a solution to the

ukraine government, to the ukraine war, some sort of cease fire and then diplomatic process, but i think that the situation in gaza is much more, much more complex, as long as you do not have a political solution for the palestinian issue, you have. radicalization of palestinians, of arabs of muslims and so on and so forth with the impact which i indicated on the german society, so ukraine for us is important in terms of external security, but gaza and what's happening there is a challenge to our internal stability of of the country, so both is very relevant, but that's why i say that the big powers whether united states or region power - they will come to term soon or later, i'm i'm sure the one of the... the the problems is or things which makes one wonder is that negotiations about the end of the ukraine war again is not in

the you know in in the courchart of the europeans but elsewhere so another conflict which is on our door step is no longer being solved by the europeans themselves but there are the saudis involved the turks involved others involved so that shows you that you "as a political power, as a political entity, it might be generally speaking on the decline. interesting, you make some fascinating statements, especially when it comes to your views on uh uh palestine, and of course it's genocide that's taking place, because i asked a question about ucrain, but you went back to the palestine issue because you saying that that is perhaps in terms of the degree another huge um immediate challenge that needs to be solved. you said radicalization of palestinians, now i like..." you to elaborate on that, i take it as you, meaning there's an occupation, now there's a genocide taking place which accelerates palestinians rising in huge numbers now because of

so many over 60 thousand palestinians have been killed, the core issue however remains, there's an occupation, how do you think that should be dealt with? well, this this is really decisive, i mean the even the 7th of october if we look for context is a result of occupation, if there had been a occupation, if there had been political solution after 1967, the 7th of october never would should have happened, and now we see a similar problem, we see that what happened in gaza to some extent is being extended into the west bank, and that's why people, observers, whether they talk about genocide, i would be hesitant to use this. but expulsion, there's a project of expulsion of extending the jewish state and doing what 1947 has not been achieved, the

palestinians to leave the country, so this is... what many, many people say on, i think it's very serious and if it's really reality, we have a problem, especially we in europe, i mean the entire region has a problem, and we in europe have a big, a tremendous problem, as i indicated already, the middle east was on the on the way of of changing with this, with this context and contracts and with the between the united arab emirates with israel, there was a new way, a new approach, but 18, 7th of october and the aftermath change it, and now the arabs, mostly the arabs, are on the way to look forward to see what they can do about in a situation which is, which comes at a very wrong moment of their of the reorganization of the entire arab world. well, i need to ask you about iran, i need to ask you about the fact that they have entered in direct talks with the us, that's my last question.

"and the contribution that iran has made to the palestinian cause in particular is something that's noteworthy for the past decades imam khumeini which was the founder of the islamic revolution um help highlight the palestinian cause, but what is your take about the fact that you have iran to have entered into indirect talks with the us, and the impact that that may have, were there to be a resolve on the issue between them, you mean regarding islamic republic of iran or iran and the us." direct talks, if there is an some kind of agreement that comes out of that, because there's so many opposing views from each country when it comes to different issues such as resistance for example, well it seems to me that the relationship between the trump administration and iran is is changing, that trump is looking for much more, i would say practical solution, if he had agreed to war is...

would since long time have gone to that, and i think it's really the americans who say, at least at the moment, the war is not a solution and we have to to negotiate, so i'm a little bit optimistic, my pessimism or my caviat comes in when it comes to the united states, to the trump administration, i think that the that the that the issue between israel and the palestine should have sold by the europeans and so we again we are in the hands of the... america and that shows again that the space of maneuver, the space of policy for the eu has limited and that's one of the major features of all the changes about which we have been very well, thank you, thank you very much for that, many views here that i find very interesting, i'm sure audience is also going to find interesting, i'd like to really thank you for the contribution that you have made, professor dr. udo steinbeck, thank you for joining us in this edition of the program, thank you, and that does it for this edition of

unscripted, thank you so much for being with us. heard some of the views there by our guests, which is very interesting, especially when it comes to europe, and of course how the palestinian issue was somewhat dominance in this conversation, to catch a repeat, please log on to our website all thews.pressv.ir. and the team here at unscripted, this goodbye.

the audience hold a massive funeral ceremony for dozens of senior military commanders, nuclear scientists and ordinary citizens killed during israel's aggression, terron strongly. condems recent threats by the us and israeli officials of targeting leader of iran's islamic revolution as state terrorism and blatant violation of international law and the unch backed aid operation in gaza saying the kills the palestinian people.