Allies to Enemies: How Israel & Iran’s Relationship COLLAPSED | With Trita Parsi

For decades, Israel and Iran have been portrayed as bitter enemies - but their history tells a far more complicated story.

Long before today’s war, Iran and Israel were strategic partners, trading oil, weapons, intelligence and military technology - even after Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution. Their relationship stretches back much further, through the Persian Empire, Cyrus the Great and centuries of Jewish life under Persian rule.

So how did two countries that once secretly armed and relied on each other become existential enemies?

Bianca Nobilo traces the unlikely history of Iran and Israel; from the ancient world to the secret alliance of the 20th century, the Iranian Revolution, the Iran-Iraq War and the geopolitical upheavals that ultimately transformed cooperation into confrontation.

Joining Bianca to discuss all of this and more is Iranian-Swedish writer and political analyst Trita Parsi.

(00:00:00) Israel and Iran - allies to enemies (00:00:43) A relationship millennia in the making (00:06:47) Uncensoring the history with Trita Parsi (00:10:17) Corrupting history "for their own purposes" (00:12:23) What changed? Soviet Union & Saddam Hussein (00:14:48) State of Israel is formed (00:17:53) Cooperation and collaboration (00:21:43) What changed after the Islamic Revolution (00:24:59) Iran-Contra affair (00:27:45) U.S. role in today's hostile relationship Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices