Transcript [00:00] More on this is Middle East expert Joel [00:02] Rosenberg. Joel, welcome back to the [00:04] program. It's a it's great to see you. [00:06] >> Gordon, it's great to be with you. Thank [00:08] you for having me back on the 700 Club, [00:10] especially from Israel. [00:12] >> Uh, what's the difference about this [00:14] this protest movement? We've seen it [00:16] before. I mean, there have been uh [00:18] numerous protests, revolutions, green [00:21] revolution over over the years in Iran. [00:24] What's different about this one? What's [00:27] different, Gordon, is that we're in an [00:28] entirely different environment where [00:32] Iranians increasingly perceive their [00:35] regime, their wicked, cruel, evil [00:38] regime, uh, as vulnerable, right, for [00:40] several reasons. One, because, uh, [00:42] Israel attacked last June and decimated [00:46] Iran's ballistic missile force and, uh, [00:50] did terrible damage, severe damage to [00:52] the nuclear weapons program. Then [00:55] President Trump came in and sent B2 [00:57] bombers, dropped 30,000 lb uh bunker [01:00] buster bombs, and finished off Iran's [01:03] nuclear weapons program. Then President [01:06] Trump just a few days ago said warned uh [01:09] the Iranian regime, if you start killing [01:13] uh Iranian protesters, uh America will [01:16] come to the rescue. That's a direct [01:17] quote. And the second quote was, "The [01:19] American military is quote locked and [01:22] loaded and ready to go," unquote. So [01:24] that's an entirely different in [01:26] environment. Interesting enough, Gordon, [01:28] the the protests aren't as big as they [01:31] were 3 years ago, but they are growing. [01:35] Uh what what's the truth here? I'm [01:39] hearing reports that somehow or other [01:41] the leadership is looking to exit the [01:43] country and um everything is really [01:47] fragile that uh there's a a real [01:50] possibility of um you know the monarchy [01:54] coming back and being restored. Is any [01:57] of that possible? [01:59] >> Well, first of all, let's really pray uh [02:01] you know with your entire CBN audience [02:03] that that this wicked regime would come [02:05] down once and for all. Uh I think [02:07] there's one piece of positive news and [02:09] one cautionary note. The positive news [02:10] is look [02:12] with the fall of Bashar al-Assad, the [02:15] the demon of Damascus, right? The former [02:17] president of of Syria. When he got [02:20] worried that he was going to be, you [02:22] know, thrown out uh or overrun by his [02:25] own people, he got on a plane and flew [02:27] to Moscow with his family and his [02:29] millions of dollars. Uh so that's a [02:31] model. Then uh President Trump's [02:33] stunning and very successful and pretty [02:36] brazen arrest, his his raid into Caracus [02:40] and his arrest of Venezuelan madman [02:42] Nicholas Maduro. This was another [02:44] warning, right? So the Supreme Leader of [02:46] Iran, Ali Kamay, is in poor health. He's [02:49] 86 years old and he's got to really [02:52] calculate what where does he want to [02:53] live out his last days or is he going [02:55] to, you know, is he going to fall? So [02:57] that's that's the good news. The [02:58] cautionary note is that um [03:02] I I think we have to be careful to think [03:04] that if if the Ayatollah the supreme [03:07] leader goes that that necessarily means [03:10] that um is there Iran is free. Okay. [03:14] Let's remember all the years we prayed [03:16] that Fidel Castro would would leave or [03:19] die. Yeah. Well, that happened. He died, [03:22] but then his evil brother took over and [03:26] c and Cuba is not free. So, I just want [03:29] us to keep praying, but let's be let's [03:32] let's keep the full picture in view that [03:34] just because one man leaves or one [03:37] family leaves or even the inner circle [03:39] leaves, there's a lot of other wicked [03:41] people at the top that could run Iran in [03:44] a in a horrible way for a long time. So, [03:46] there's a lot of elements at play here. [03:50] How deep does the ideology of hate go in [03:53] in the leadership of Iran? It seems like [03:55] that they're just continuing to to [03:59] breathe hatred against Israel. The [04:02] entire nuclear program, the ballistic [04:05] missile program, Hezbollah, Hamas, [04:08] >> it's all designed to wipe Israel off the [04:10] map. H how deep does that go in Iranian [04:14] culture? [04:15] >> Uh [snorts] in the culture, it doesn't [04:16] go down deep at all. This is this is all [04:18] in the regime and in the broader [04:20] government. I mean and when I say [04:22] regime, I mean the the people at the [04:24] absolute top with full control. Then [04:26] there's a government that they manage, [04:29] right? And then there's the people. The [04:31] people are done with this regime. And [04:34] the faster uh the regime can be swept [04:37] away, the better. But I would say [04:39] there's three levels. At the absolute [04:41] top, I would call this apocalyptic [04:42] Islam. The Supreme Leader Ali Hamib has [04:46] an esquetology, a a Shia Islamic uh [04:50] apocalyptic esquetology that he wants to [04:52] destroy Judeo-Christian civilization, [04:55] destroy Israel, the little Satan in his [04:57] view, and the United States, the great [04:58] Satan, and then usher in the way for the [05:02] 12th Immi [05:05] to come and and rule and and and govern [05:07] the entire planet in Islam. that that's [05:10] you know that's the apocalyptic Islamic [05:13] uh inner circle. Then there's then [05:16] there's radical Islam that's the next [05:18] level which is bad but is not let's [05:21] bring about the end of the world but you [05:23] know they that that level of the regime [05:25] still wants to impose evil on its people [05:28] and on its neighbors. Then there's [05:30] corruption right which is in endemic in [05:33] a lot of countries in the world. So, [05:35] apocalyptic Islam, radical Islam, and [05:38] then corruption. That combination is [05:40] pretty toxic uh since 1979. But, uh I [05:45] believe prophetically there is a day [05:47] coming when this is all going to be [05:48] over. Are we approaching that rapidly? [05:52] That I don't know. And I want to be [05:54] cautious not to draw too quick a [05:56] prophetic assessment, right? Because I [05:58] just don't think we have enough data [06:00] yet. [06:02] >> All right. Well, let's talk about one of [06:04] the strangest strategic alliances I [06:07] think of the last, you know, 20 years. [06:10] You know, Hugo Chavez, here you have a [06:12] radical socialist who takes over [06:14] Venezuela [snorts] um and establishes a [06:18] socialist government there. Um but then [06:21] he turns to what I consider an [06:23] absolutely unlikely ally and that is [06:26] Iran. [06:27] >> Yeah. uh including to the point that [06:29] they're direct flights between Kacus and [06:32] Tran. Uh h how is how was that ever [06:37] possible? What what is the linkage [06:39] between socialism that sort of radical [06:42] left and a radical Islamic ideology? [06:47] Well, Gordon, I it's a great question [06:49] because, you know, in many ways, if if I [06:51] had started writing political thrillers [06:54] about uh you know, secular socialists [06:57] teaming up with apocalyptic Islamists, [07:00] uh you know, on the face of it, it seems [07:02] ludicrous even for fiction. But in this [07:05] world that we live in, life is stranger [07:08] than fiction. And what we have is [07:10] anybody on the planet, any world leader [07:13] who is evil, corrupt, cruel, and hates [07:17] America and hates Israel is immediately [07:20] an ally of the Iranian regime. Okay? So [07:23] that's why the Iranian regime is is is [07:25] in alliance with Russia, right? Russia [07:28] is a secular corrupt mafia uh you know [07:31] situation, right? Uh Vladimir Putin is a [07:33] is a is the godfather of Moscow and of [07:36] Russia. It doesn't matter to the Iranian [07:38] leadership that he doesn't barely [07:40] believe in God and he certainly isn't [07:41] Muslim. He hates America and he hates [07:44] the West and he's willing to do business [07:46] with with the Iranian regime. Same thing [07:48] with the communist Chinese. They're [07:50] godless communists and the Iranian [07:52] leadership doesn't care, right? Because [07:54] why? Because communist China buys [07:56] Iranian black market oil. And the same [07:58] thing with Hugo Chavez and more recently [08:01] Nichas Maduro. It's an ally that allows [08:04] Iran and the Iranian, you know, wholly [08:07] owned subsidiary terrorist organization [08:09] to operate in the Western Hemisphere and [08:12] sell drugs and move terrorists uh into [08:15] the region and build Iranian weapon [08:18] systems in factories built in in [08:21] Venezuela. So that's the reason because [08:23] they're common enemies. They have common [08:25] enemies even though they have completely [08:27] different uh religions and and [08:29] ideologies. [08:31] Uh, how deep is Iran into Venezuela? I [08:34] think most Americans don't don't get it. [08:36] So, Deli Rodriguez, who's who's now the [08:39] acting president of the country, says [08:41] that the capture of Maduro was a Zionist [08:45] plot. And then I read reports that she's [08:48] in business with uh Lebanese citizens [08:52] and and is are they tied into Hezbollah? [08:55] Is is Hezbollah has have business ties [08:59] with Venezuela? Are they really [09:01] constructing weapon systems there? [09:04] >> Uh yes. I can't speak to the acting uh [09:07] president. I that her ties to terrorist [09:11] or terrorism. That's not yet clear to [09:13] me. It probably is clear to others, but [09:16] I don't have enough data on that yet. [09:18] But there's no question that the Iranian [09:20] regime and have been working very [09:22] closely with Venezuela ever since Hugo [09:24] Chavez uh opened the door and Nicholas [09:26] Maduro just continued that. I just uh [09:29] interviewed for 75 minutes on Sunday of [09:32] this week uh former Mossad chief Yosi [09:35] Cohen and yesterday uh I I spent uh you [09:38] know an hour or so with uh the uh [09:41] Israeli foreign minister Gedonar. Um and [09:44] together the assessment was no there's [09:47] no question how deep Iran's uh economic [09:52] military and terror ties are as well as [09:54] Kazbah into Venezuela. So while [09:57] President Trump struck to arrest Maduro [10:01] and his wife for American interests, it [10:03] certainly helped Israeli interest. It [10:06] wasn't driven by Israel. Uh I don't [10:08] think Israel would have even suggested [10:10] such a brazen move. But that's Trump [10:13] realizing that, you know, reasserting [10:16] the Monroe Doctrine in the Western [10:18] Hemisphere with, I got to say, a very [10:20] impressive Secretary of State Marco [10:22] Rubio, who himself is from a Cuban [10:24] heritage and Venezuela's connection to [10:26] the Cuban regime is is horrible and and [10:29] very very close. So Rubio gets it. [10:31] Clearly, President Trump gets it and [10:34] Israel has been applauding uh the moves [10:36] over the last week because it really [10:38] does help us. [10:40] Well, one last question. With all of the [10:42] change in Venezuela, the [10:46] at least ongoing revolution in in Iran, [10:50] um it looks like Gaza's been completely [10:52] taken out of the conversation. Uh I read [10:54] that the Gulf States have no interest at [10:57] all in providing some kind of [10:58] peacekeeping force there uh to make sure [11:01] Hamas doesn't rearm. Uh what what's your [11:04] prediction there? Is is Israel going to [11:07] have to stay the course and and provide [11:11] security uh for Gaza? Is is there any [11:14] hope that there could be a a Gulf state [11:17] uh solution to this? [11:19] >> Well, uh to keep it brief, uh Gordon, [11:22] it's a great question. Yes, Gaza has [11:24] been knocked out of the news, but not [11:26] out of the conversation. I was just in [11:28] Abu Dhabi uh the capital of the United [11:30] Arab Emirates and I just met with a [11:32] senior adviser to UAE President Muhammad [11:35] bin Zed MBZ uh and they are very much [11:38] involved. Now the your nuanced question [11:41] is are is the UAE and the Saudis and [11:44] Bahrainis and others going to send [11:46] troops? Uh that's an open question, but [11:49] they're ready to send money and and [11:51] they're already thinking through how do [11:53] you um dradicalize the schools and the [11:56] mosques and the media. But your your [11:59] larger question, you know, is actually [12:01] very much the conversation. Remember, [12:02] Prime Minister Netanyahu was just with [12:04] President Trump for almost a week in [12:06] Mara Lago at the Mara Lago summit, which [12:09] was just basically him and the [12:11] president. Netanyahu and the president. [12:13] The sixth time that Netanyahu has met [12:15] with Trump in person in 2025. You [12:18] remember President Biden didn't even [12:20] invite uh Netanyahu to come to the White [12:22] House. So, and and Gaza was very much [12:25] part of that conversation. All that to [12:27] say, it is not yet clear exactly how [12:31] kamas is disarmed. Trump keeps saying it [12:33] has to happen. Israel says it has to [12:36] happen. They agree on that. The question [12:37] is the how. And what Israel is very [12:40] concerned about is that Trump seems [12:42] publicly at least open to the [12:44] possibility of Turkish troops in Gaza. [12:48] That would be a disaster for Israel [12:50] because President Erdogan of Turkey [12:52] hates Israel and has uh claims Jerusalem [12:56] for his own. Uh has threatened to invade [12:58] Israel because of what we're doing in [13:00] Gaza to defend ourselves. And Turkey, as [13:04] bad and evil as their leadership is, [13:06] they're still a NATO country. So if, god [13:08] forbid, Israel got into a self-defense [13:10] moment and accidentally killed Turkish [13:14] troops in Gaza, that could trigger a war [13:17] with NATO. Like, so it's a mess. So [13:20] Israel's very clear, absolutely not. I [13:22] asked uh um uh you know, Guidosar, the [13:26] foreign minister, about that and on [13:27] tonight on my Rosenberg Report show on [13:30] um on TBN. You'll hear the interview as [13:33] he as he goes into that. But bottom [13:35] line, I think uh I I think that Trump [13:39] and Netanyahu h they have the same [13:41] objective. I don't think they figured [13:43] out a mechanism to truly disarm uh [13:47] Hamas, and that's a concern, but [13:49] something for us to keep praying about. [13:51] I'm not I'm not pessimistic, but it is a [13:54] concern. [13:55] >> Well, Joel, thanks for being with us and [13:57] thanks for your insight. Joel is the [14:00] editor and chief of All Israel News. You [14:03] can keep up with the latest headlines in [14:04] the Middle East by visiting their [14:06] website allisraelnews.com. [14:09] And you can also sign up for their [14:10] newsletter and get get it right into [14:12] your inbox. Joel, again, thank you for [14:14] being with us. [14:15] >> Thank you, Gordon. Happy New Year and [14:17] God bless you. [14:18] >> God bless you. [14:21] [music]
