Transcript [00:01] The Middle East is dominating the UN [00:03] General Assembly with diplomacy, Gaza, [00:06] Iran, and regional security at the [00:07] center of discussions. Iran says it [00:09] remains open to diplomacy with [00:11] Washington while Israel and Qatar have [00:14] exchanged sharp accusations. Joining us [00:16] now is Alon Levy, Channel 16 news anchor [00:19] and former Israeli national spokesman. [00:22] Hello, welcome to A News and thank you [00:24] very much for making time to join us on [00:26] the program. [00:28] >> Glad to be here. Thank you. So, let me [00:31] start with Iran. President Masud Peskin [00:34] says Tehran wants the United States to [00:36] return to the memorandum of [00:37] understanding before the US midterm [00:39] elections. What does this tell us about [00:41] Iran's current diplomatic strategy and [00:43] what would realistically be required for [00:45] negotiations to restart? [00:49] Now, the Iranian regime here calling for [00:51] a return to the memorandum of [00:53] understanding that it serially violated [00:55] every time it kept shooting at ships in [00:58] the straight of Hormuz. It blew up that [01:00] plan because the Iranian regime uh seems [01:03] to be completely out of control. There [01:05] are hardliners from the IRGC who do not [01:08] want a diplomatic solution. and they [01:10] want to force a confrontation with the [01:12] United States. And they believe that by [01:14] holding the whole global economy hostage [01:17] and beat America. The Iranian regime is [01:20] betting that if it keeps oil prices high [01:23] enough for long enough, given the [01:25] American elections taking place in [01:28] November, they will force the United [01:30] States to back down. But I think [01:32] everything we've seen recently with the [01:34] Houthis that have begun intensifying [01:37] their attacks on Saudi Arabia, the [01:39] conquest of the Babel Mandab Strait that [01:42] allows them to close access to the Red [01:44] Sea if they want, giving Iran the [01:47] ability to close both the straight of [01:49] Hulus and the Babel Mandab Strait. All [01:52] these activities are reminding the [01:54] region that the Iranian regime is not [01:56] the kind of actor you can reach a [01:59] raprochimant a deal with. It is hellbent [02:02] on dominating the Middle East on using [02:05] its uh chokeold over critical energy [02:09] points to hold the whole global economy [02:11] hostage and that if a war resumes it [02:14] will not hesitate to fire thousands of [02:16] ballistic missiles and drones at [02:18] civilian infrastructure in these cities. [02:21] Let's just remember the Iranian proxy [02:23] Houthis have even fired drones and [02:26] missiles at Mecca, the holy city of [02:28] Mecca, which is of course a red line for [02:31] the Iranian axis. [02:33] >> Alon, there was a visible walk out [02:35] during Prime Minister Benjamin [02:37] Netanyahu's UN speech. How is this being [02:40] viewed inside Israel and what message [02:42] does Israel believe the international [02:44] community should take from this advice? [02:48] Yeah, the perception in Israel is this [02:50] is the same childish walk out that [02:52] happens every year uh from countries [02:54] that as Netanyahu said are privately [02:57] grateful that Israel has saved them from [03:00] the spectre of a nuclear Iran that want [03:02] Israel's help behind the scenes and [03:04] they're turning the United Nations into [03:06] even more of a circus. This is a [03:08] reminder that the General Assembly is [03:10] not a neutral body. It is an intensely [03:12] political body and a political body with [03:15] a deep structural bias against Israel. [03:18] Netanyahu's main message in that speech [03:20] was we're standing up and defending the [03:23] world whether you like it or not. You [03:25] know, in the last war, when the Iranian [03:28] regime was firing missiles at Saudi [03:30] Arabia and Jordan and Kuwait and Oman [03:33] and Qatar and the entire Middle East, [03:36] Israel was the only Middle Eastern [03:37] country that was sending fighter jets to [03:40] blow up Iran's ballistic missiles. [03:42] Israel was the only country that was [03:45] intercepting those missiles. Um that [03:48] that was that was sorry, sending um [03:50] technology like the Iron Dome to the UAE [03:53] to intercept those missiles. and Israel [03:55] was keeping Arab capital safe. So, [03:58] Israel sees this as just an exercise in [04:00] rank hypocrisy by countries that say one [04:03] thing behind the scenes. Uh but of [04:05] course they have their own bubblies and [04:07] so they stage diplomatic theater like [04:09] this. [04:10] >> So Netanyahu also sharply criticized [04:13] Qatar accusing Doha of trying to [04:15] influence public opinion against Israel. [04:18] Qatar has strongly rejected those [04:20] allegations and defended its role as a [04:22] mediator. How significant is this [04:24] dispute for Israel Qatar relations? [04:29] >> Qatar has invested billions of dollars [04:31] in waging information warfare against [04:34] Israel. It's done that not only through [04:37] its uh donations to American [04:39] universities to promote its radical [04:41] Islamist agenda. Qatar is now the single [04:44] foreign funer of American universities. [04:47] Mhm. [04:47] >> It's also done it through organizations [04:50] like Al Jazzer and AJ Plus which target [04:53] the youth uh which are seen [04:55] internationally as legitimate [04:57] international news agencies but in fact [04:59] are providing cuttery messages and [05:01] waging information warfare against [05:03] Israel to tie its hands while it was [05:06] fighting the Hamas regime inside Gaza. [05:09] Uh so I think it's very significant that [05:11] Neta is now taking this a step up [05:13] callingQatar out for that information [05:15] warfare and making it clear that much of [05:18] what has happened in global public [05:19] opinion in the last few years didn't [05:22] happen spontaneously. It happened [05:24] because Qatar has used its enormous oil [05:27] and gas wealth in order to wage that [05:29] information warfare against Israel in [05:32] support of its client Hamas, a regime [05:35] that it poured millions of dollars into [05:37] and that it tried to help win this war [05:39] even as it was holding on to hostages [05:42] that it was torturing in tunnels [05:43] underneath Gaza. [05:45] >> Alon France says it will send soldiers, [05:48] radar and defense systems to protect [05:50] Yamu in Saudi Arabia. What does this [05:52] decision tell us about the growing [05:54] security risks around the Red Sea and [05:56] regional energy infrastructure? [06:00] >> The Iranian regime is now in a position [06:02] where it wants to hold the whole global [06:04] economy hostage not only through the [06:06] strait of Hormuz but the Babel Mandeb [06:08] strait. Let's understand where this is. [06:10] This is the open to the Red Sea. It is [06:13] the uh controls access to the Suez [06:16] Canal. It is absolutely critical for [06:19] global trade. And that choke point is [06:21] now vulnerable to the Houthis, a an [06:24] Islamist militia funded uh trained and [06:27] armed by the Iranian regime. The West is [06:31] understanding that the Houthis are not [06:34] just a nuisance. They are a real threat [06:37] to the structure of the global economy, [06:39] to the supply of global energy, and they [06:42] need to be dealt with. until now. Uh [06:44] Saudi Arabia took some pot shots at the [06:46] Houthis. Israel of course launched [06:49] multiple spectacular strikes against the [06:51] Houthis, including a while ago [06:53] eliminating the entire senior command. [06:55] But the world turned a blind eye to the [06:57] Houthis for a long time, treated its [06:59] piracy as a nuisance, and now [07:01] understands that the Iranian regime [07:03] controlling the waterways on both sides [07:06] of the Arabian Peninsula is a real [07:09] threat to global peace, global security, [07:11] global economy, and now they're [07:13] scrambling to take action. and UN [07:16] conference on trade and development [07:18] estimates that Gaza needs $71.5 billion [07:22] for recovery and reconstruction with 92% [07:25] of economic establishment damaged or [07:27] destroyed. What would uh have to happen [07:30] politically and militarily before [07:32] meaningful reconstruction can begin? [07:36] The Hamas regime must leave power and [07:39] must relinquish its weapons. There can [07:41] be no reconstruction in Gaza as long as [07:44] the Hamas regime is still in power [07:47] because we know what would happen and [07:48] the donors know what would happen. Hamas [07:51] would take all that concrete and it [07:53] would pour it into rebuilding its attack [07:55] tunnels underneath homes, underneath [07:58] schools, under mosques, under hospitals [08:00] instead of rebuilding the homes above [08:03] ground. Unless Hamas steps down, every [08:06] penny of aid that would go into Gaza [08:09] would prop up the regime that dragged [08:11] the whole Middle East into this horrible [08:14] war with the barbaric October 7th [08:16] massacre. So, in order for Gaza to [08:19] rebuild after this war that Hamas [08:21] brought on it, Hamas has to disarm and [08:24] it has to relinquish power. Otherwise, I [08:26] don't see any countries being willing to [08:30] waste their money on Gaza when they know [08:31] that Hamas is going to exploit that aid [08:34] to rebuild its military machine instead [08:36] of letting the people of Gaza move on [08:38] from the horrible war that it started on [08:41] October 7th and that it waged from a [08:43] network of tunnels literally underneath [08:45] their feet. [08:46] >> Alen Levy, thank you very much for [08:48] joining us on A News and for sharing [08:49] your perspective on this important [08:51] develop. Pleasure as always. Thanks a [08:53] lot. [08:56] There have been more fatal Russian [08:58] strikes overnight across several [08:59] Ukrainian regions. Moscow has also [09:02] reported a large-scale Ukrainian drone [09:04] attack in western Russia. Russian [09:06] strikes across Ukraine have killed [09:08] civilians and damaged homes and [09:10] infrastructure in Kiev. A child was [09:12] killed after a residential building was [09:14] hit. In Odessa region, a woman was also [09:17] died and a man was injured. Zaparisia [09:20] reported two injured and damaged to a [09:22] medical facility. Russia says its air [09:25] defenses destroyed close to 600 [09:27] Ukrainian drones. In Waronia, 13 people, [09:31] including a child, were injured. [09:33] Meanwhile, reports from Russian occupied [09:35] Oleski point to worsening shortages of [09:38] food, water, and medical care with [09:41] residents reportedly eating garden weeds [09:44] to survive. [09:47] Turkey is stepping up efforts to revive [09:49] the Black Sea Grain Corridor and improve [09:52] maritime security amid continued attacks [09:54] on commercial vessels linked to the [09:57] Ukraine war. President Richard.
Eylon Levy warns that Iran is using control over critical waterways and its Houthi proxies to threaten global energy supplies, trade and regional security, while insisting Hamas must relinquish power and disarm before Gaza can be rebuilt.
In this urgent interview on Anewz, former Israeli national spokesman Eylon Levy explains:
Why Iran is using the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb to pressure the US and threaten the global economy.
How the Houthis have become a broader threat to global trade and energy security.
Why Israel views the UN as structurally biased against Israel and Netanyahu’s UN walkout as diplomatic theater.
How Eylon says Qatar has used its wealth and media influence to wage information warfare against Israel.
Why he argues Hamas must disarm and leave power before meaningful reconstruction of Gaza can begin.
The interview highlights the wider geopolitical stakes of the conflict, from Iran’s regional ambitions and the security of global shipping routes to the future of Gaza and the role of Hamas, Qatar and international institutions.
🎯 “The Iranian regime is not the kind of actor you can reach a rapprochement, a deal with. It is hellbent on dominating the Middle East.”
