“Total DISASTER!” - Israel's Plan, Iran FAILURE & Jared Kushner | Joby Warrick • 467
Julian Dorey · 25 Aug 2026 · 3h 26m
Guest: Joby Warrick · Host: Joey Def, Julian Dorey
An investigative journalist and author who has spent decades covering the Middle East returns to discuss the aftermath of the Iran war and the release of his new book on Carlos the Jackal. The conversation opens with a detailed assessment of the strikes on Iran, arguing that neither military nor intelligence officials expected regime change to work, that Netanyahu appears to have persuaded Trump to bypass long-standing reluctance, and that the result is a stalemate that has hardened the Iranian regime, empowered the IRGC's smuggling economy, embittered ordinary Iranians who briefly hoped for change, and given China a propaganda opening to portray itself as a more stable partner than the US. The guest breaks down Iran's ethnic and political makeup, the mechanics of sanctions evasion through ship-to-ship oil transfers and small refineries, and the shifting, self-interested posture of Gulf states like Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The discussion moves through Jordan's king as a recurring source and a sort of predictive voice on the region, Syria's transformation under a former jihadist now welcomed in Washington, and the corrosive effect of the Gaza war on America's relationship with Israel and global opinion. The second half turns to craft: how the guest researches and structures narrative nonfiction, the yearslong effort to secure a rare prison interview with Carlos the Jackal in France, and vivid detail about that meeting and Carlos's life as a mercenary terrorist, his capture, and his enduring self-mythology.
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What comes up
Timestamps link into the episode on YouTube.
- Did the Iran war surprise him
- America's poor track record spreading democracy
- Iran's ethnic and political divisions
- IRGC sanctions evasion and smuggling economy
- China's opportunistic relationship with Iran
- Foreign aid, goodwill, and USAID misuse
- Souring US-Israel relationship since October 7th
- King of Jordan as a source and predictor
- Syria's transformation under Golani
- Origin and rise of Carlos the Jackal
- Meeting Carlos in person
- Carlos's capture by the CIA and French
Said on this episode
Quoted from the auto-generated transcript, which mishears names and technical terms. podcite.com reports what a show said; it does not endorse or fact-check it.
“you come at the king, you best not miss. We missed.”
“the Israelis have their own interest and they al also were very good at manipulating us and they know this”
“his big regret in his life is he didn't kill more people and he should have killed those bastards who got him at the end”
“he had killed 83 people with his own hand and he directed the deaths of a thousand others.”