This is not just a pipeline. It connects two Israeli cities. But what’s so interesting about
it, is that it used to be known as the 'Israeli-Iranian Pipeline'
in the 1970s. Because the two states worked on
it together to transport crude oil through Israel to Europe. But that is a thing of the past. This cancerous tumor referring to
Israel has grown step by step from He [Khamenei]
pledged: "there will be no Israel in 25 years." The October 2023 terror attack
on Israel by Islamist terror group Hamas has put this
conflict on a whole new level. Because Hamas is backed by Iran. Iran and Israel are among
the biggest military powers in the Middle East. But they are very different. The Islamic Iranian regime denies
Israel’s right to exist – the only majority-Jewish state in the world. But the conflict is about
much more than Jews and Muslims. It’s also about influence in
the region – and about Israel’s number one ally, the US. Let’s unravel what’s
behind it – and what the dispute is really about. After Israel declared independence
in 1948, Iran was actually among the first Muslim-majority countries
that recognized the new state. So, what happened then? The Iranian revolution in 1979
turned everything upside down when the Western-backed Shah
regime was toppled. Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of
the Islamic revolution, believed that it should be exported
throughout the Middle East and the world. He saw Israel as part of
the so-called West in the middle of the majority-Muslim world
as a problem. And ever since, the Iranian
regime doesn’t recognize Israel as a state. And leaders don’t
even mention its name. This is one of
Tehran’s oldest squares. In 2017, this clock was unveiled
here - counting down to 2040 to the “destruction of Israel.”
Because that is part of the propaganda of the
religious regime in Iran. The square is often the scene of
protests like these: Transporting the antisemitic, anti-Israel
rhetoric of the Iranian authoritarian government. Iran has been using this
rhetoric of destroying Israel. But I think we need to be a
bit careful distinguishing between rhetoric and reality. That was Mehrzad Boroujerdi. He has written numerous books on
Iranian society and politics - both in English and Farsi. So he really knows
what he’s talking about. The square we mentioned
earlier: Guess what, it's called Palestine Square. For a reason. After Hamas’ October attack on
Israel, people in Iran protested here in support of
the Palestinians, some even in support of terrorist group Hamas. But remember: Iran is
an authoritarian state. So these protests might not reflect
what people actually think. Because we’ve seen in the
past that protests have been orchestrated by the regime. It’s important to understand
that ever since the Iranian revolution, the Iranian
regime presented itself as a vocal supporter of the Palestinians. So why is that? We asked Abed Kanaaneh, an
expert on Arab-Israeli relations. They are using this issue in order
to get a recognition as a regional power in the Middle East. And what he’s saying
is backed up by political scientist Mehrzad Boroujerdi. The way to understand Iranian
foreign policy is that they claim right to be, quote unquote,
the leader of the Muslim world. They try to formulate this sort of rhetorical campaign that can resonate with the average
citizen in the streets of the Arab Muslim world where they say we are
the defender of the weak, we are the defender
of the Palestinians. We can’t go much into detail on
the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. If you want to know more,
check out our video about it. So, now you know why Iran
sees Israel as its enemy. But its influence
literally spills over its borders. This is what Iran calls
the "axis of resistance." You have already heard of
the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which attacked
Israel on October 7, 2023. And is deemed a terrorist
organization by the US and the EU. Hamas is not the only group in
the region that gets funding and arms from Iran. These so-called proxy armies
include Islamic Jihad in Gaza and the West Bank, Hezbollah in
Lebanon, the Syrian armed forces, Popular Mobilization Force
in Iraq, and Houthis in Yemen. Backing Hamas gave Iran
the opportunity to position itself as the leading supporter
of the Palestinian cause in the Arab world. Just a reminder: Most Muslims
in the world are Sunni, including most Palestinian Muslims. So are most Muslims in Saudi
Arabia, a big player in the region – and the
Iranian regime’s archenemy. Saudia Arabia and Iran
actually compete for influence in the Middle East. Iran has a Shia majority, which
is a different branch of Islam. Same goes for most Iranian proxies
in the region, such as Hezbollah. So, let’s travel
a bit further to the north, to the Lebanon-Israel border region. This area in southern Lebanon
is under the control of Islamist militant group Hezbollah which
is — like Hamas — backed by Iran. And then there are the Houthis,
which operate mainly in Yemen. Just take a look at their slogan. It says here in red: "Death to
America, death to Israel, curse on the Jews." Basically, the same
chants that we hear some 3,000 km away in Tehran. The hatred against Israel often
goes hand in hand with hatred against the United States. So, there is definitely a common
ideology with the Iranian regime and political support
for the Houthis. But Iran denies
sending the group weapons. Ok, so there are several militias
outside of Iran’s borders that are backed by the Iranian regime. And some of them have played a role
in the aftermath of the October 2023 attack on Israel. In an escalation of
the decades-long hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel,
Hezbollah fired missiles into Israel after the Hamas
attacks, and Israel retaliated with airstrikes in Lebanon. And the Yemen-based Houthis have
targeted Israeli-linked ships in the Red Sea. This puts Iran in proxy
confrontation with Israel. But does that also mean the Iranian
regime itself could act against Israel directly at one point? Let’s keep that
question in mind for later. So, we have taken a
closer look at the Iranian side. But Israel did not
just sit back and wait. Take these two areas
in Sudan and in Syria. Both were hit by airstrikes
– one in 2009 and 2013. Israel is believed to be behind
these strikes and hundreds more in Syria targeting weapons to prevent
them from reaching Iran’s proxy armies Hamas in Gaza and
Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. And there’s another big
– and potentially deadly – topic: nuclear weapons. The Iranian regime has repeatedly
said its nuclear program is only to produce energy. It’s just that world powers such as
the US, China, UK, and the EU don't believe them... And Israel doesn’t
believe them either. Iran lied about never
having a nuclear weapons program. And, just so you know, Israel
was one the biggest critics of the Iran nuclear deal. But that’s a story
for another video. So: For Iran its nuclear program is
a way to put itself in a position of power in the Middle East. The Iranian nuclear program is also
part of their geopolitical plans and part of a way to put
pressure on the United States and on the West. And Israel sees the Iranian
nuclear program as threatening to its existence. And by the way: Israel is believed
to possess nuclear weapons as well, but it doesn’t acknowledge this. Back to Iran, here are
the country's key nuclear facilities. Over the years, there have
been many sabotage attacks. Take this nuclear facility
in Natanz, where experts say an explosion in 2020 set back
Iran’s nuclear program by up to two years. Iran has blamed Israel for them. And Israeli officials have
implicitly threatened to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities. Israel’s intelligence agency
Mossad is also believed to have targeted Iranian nationals. Including a series of
assassinations of high-profile nuclear scientists, such as
the father of Iran’s nuclear program in 2020. Israel, however, has never
officially admitted to it. Remember the oil pipeline
we mentioned at the beginning? Well, today there’s no
Iranian oil flowing through it. Enter Azerbaijan. Yes, another country that
plays a role in this conflict. Since the '90s, Israel has had
good relations with Azerbaijan, a Muslim-majority country
with an authoritarian regime. Azerbaijan has become one
of Israel’s key suppliers of crude oil. And a close military partner. One detail is important here: Look
at Azerbaijan's south – the country shares a more than
700-km-long border with Iran. And this location could potentially
help Israel perform a long-range strike on Iran. So now we have a better
understanding why there’s a conflict between Iran and Israel:
Iran is using anti-Israel rhetoric to gain more power
in the Middle East. And Israel is pushing back
against Iran’s proxies and the country’s influence. And we already know: Both
countries are regional powers. But how come a
country as small as Israel is such a big military player? Well, that’s partly because Israel
is not alone in seeing Iran as its enemy – and it
has a powerful friend. The US is Israel’s number one
ally — militarily and financially. That support is based on strategic
interests in the Middle East. And, as you know,
a common enemy: Iran. This map shows countries that have
recently normalized diplomatic relations with Israel. The Abraham Accords
were a US initiative. They were signed in 2020
by Morocco, Sudan, and more importantly, two Gulf States,
Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, with Israel. So, supporting this coalition of
Sunni Muslim countries with Israel was one way the US has been
trying to contain Iran’s influence in the region. Remember: Iran is
officially a Shia country. And the authoritarian government
didn’t really seem to like Israel improving relations
with majority-Muslim countries in the region. But one big regional player and Sunni-majority
country was missing: Saudi Arabia. Israel and Saudi Arabia didn’t
used to have official relations. Since the beginning of 2023, the
US tried to broker a deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia. And they were supposed to be really
close to a historic agreement. Something Iran – Saudi Arabia’s
archenemy – would not have liked – to put it mildly. And we all know what happened next. The October 2023 terrorist
attack on Israel by Hamas. And how Israel then
declared war on Hamas. The deadly Israeli strikes on Gaza
sparked outrage in the Arab world. And they have put on hold
the relations between Israel and its neighbors. As you know, Iran’s proxy
armies are attacking Israel. At the same time the United States
has moved warships to the region. But we still owe you an answer to
one question we haven’t answered yet: Would the Iranian regime
actually enter the conflict itself? Iran will not be involved because
if Iran involved in this war, it will become a regional and
even worse than regional war. My argument will be they know
that getting involved in a war with Israel when Iran really doesn't
have any Air Force to speak of. They are no match for
sophisticated Israeli planes. So, it seems Iran wants to
avoid getting involved directly. But the Iranian-Israeli conflict
is very far from solved right now. As are many other
conflicts around the world. If you liked our video, tell us
which other geopolitical conflict you want us to map out next.
This was the transcript
