The Times of Israel Daily Briefing

Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world.
Editor David Horovitz joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday denied that Israel dragged the US into war with Iran, insisting that if anything, the opposite could be true and that he felt Iran was going to attack first. These remarks come as politicians and media influencers on both sides of the US aisle condemn "Israel's war" and point their fingers at the Jewish state.
In the first half of the program, we take a deep dive into Iran's greater existential threat to the Mideast -- and the world at large. Which nations appear to start internalizing that the extremist Islamist nation may actually do what it threatens it will?
In the second half, we talk about the opportunity afforded at this time for Iranians to rise up and change their regime. It would be, posits Horovitz, more possible to see some form of "total victory" against the terror regime, as opposed to wiping out Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
Trump says he may have forced Israel’s hand into war with Iranian ‘lunatics’
Isolationist US right-wing commentators decry Iran war; Trump says he doesn’t care
US officials say diplomatic path was at dead end when Trump approved Iran strikes
Iran and its proxies pose ongoing threat to US after Khamenei killing, US intel warns
Hoping to pressure end to war, Iran aims fire at Arab neighbors. It hasn’t worked, yet
Israel okays plan to slowly reopen airspace from Wednesday night for repatriation flights
Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Gabriella Jacobs and edited by Ari Schlacht.
IMAGE: A boy waves an Iranian flag in front of a police facility struck during the US–Israeli military campaign in Tehran, Iran, March 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
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Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world.
US bureau chief Jacob Magid joins host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.
As the US tells American citizens to evacuate the Middle East in a warning posted on X, Magid discusses the mixed messaging about the war with Iran from Trump administration officials across a range of statements and press conferences on Monday.
US President Donald Trump spoke about the need to rid the Iranian regime of its nuclear capabilities, to destroy its missiles and navy, and then bring about regime change, reports Magid, as well as mentioning possible negotiations with the successors to leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed Saturday in a strike.
Trump's stated goals were followed by comments made by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance, each of whom offered their own takes on the goals of the war, says Magid.
During Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's interview with Fox News, the premier laughed off the idea of Washington being dragged into the war, reports Magid, insisting that Trump believed the US needed to strike Iran to address the threat posed by the regime.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
‘Depart now’: US tells its citizens to urgently leave almost all Mideast countries, including Israel
As war widens, Trump says US has yet to launch largest strikes on Iran
Rubio cites planned Israeli attack as a key reason US launched strikes against Iran
Netanyahu: Iran’s nuclear program would have been ‘immune within months’ absent war
Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Ari Schlacht.
Image: President Donald Trump speaks at the Port of Corpus Christi in Corpus Christi, Texas, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Gonzalez)
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Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world.
Military correspondent Emanuel Fabian joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.
Rockets and drones launched from Lebanon set sirens blaring across northern Israel in the early hours of Monday, as the Hezbollah terror group entered the fray to assist its backer, Iran, after the killing of the supreme leader. Fabian describes how this strike from the terror group has allowed the IDF to add Hezbollah heads to an ongoing campaign to decapitate the leadership of Iran.
Nine people were killed and more than 40 were injured when a missile destroyed a Beit Shemesh synagogue and caused extensive damage to a public bomb shelter beneath it, as well as surrounding homes. Fabian explains what we know about the failure to down this missile and why the impact was so deadly.
Three American soldiers have been killed, and five have been seriously wounded in the ongoing conflict with Iran, the US Central Command said Sunday, announcing the first US casualties in the conflict. We also learn how a strike on a UK base in Cyprus has potentially changed its willingness to aid the effort against Iran.
Fabian turns back to 8:10 a.m. on Saturday and explores how the conflict began. Israeli Air Force fighter jets have dropped over 2,000 bombs in strikes against hundreds of Iranian regime targets and military sites since the start of the war with the Islamic Republic on Saturday morning. How does this compare with the June 12-day war?
And finally, as Purim is set to begin this evening for most of the Jewish world, are Israelis allowed to gather for the reading of the Book of Esther?
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
IDF strikes in Beirut after Hezbollah enters fray and fires rockets, drones at north
Four of the 9 victims of Iranian missile strike on Beit Shemesh named by authorities
9 killed as Iranian missile destroys synagogue, smashes bomb shelter in Beit Shemesh
‘Everything is gone’: Deadly Iranian strike on Beit Shemesh leaves residents reeling
3 American soldiers killed, 5 seriously injured in war with Iran — US military
Drone hit British military base in Cyprus, local and UK officials say
IDF: Over 2,000 bombs dropped on Iran in 30 hours, air supremacy achieved on 1st day
Trump says he’s agreed to talk to Iran’s leaders, but estimates operation will take weeks
Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Adina Karpuj.
IMAGE: Hezbollah supporters wave their group's flags and an Iranian national flag during a protest in Beirut, Lebanon, February 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
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Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world.
Diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, was killed Saturday in a joint US-Israeli strike on his Tehran compound at the outset of a long-planned military operation against the Islamic Republic. Berman weighs in on how, after Khamenei's almost 37 years in power, the regime may choose a new leader -- or whether the people could rise up and create a new paradigm.
We speak about the widespread nature of Iran's retaliatory strikes, including on many of its neighboring Arab states. As opposed to the June 2025 12-day war, Iran seems bent on punishing US allies in the region. We hear how these nations, including Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, are responding so far.
International opinion on the US-Israel "preemptive strike" is mixed. Berman explores how nations are walking a fine diplomatic line in their public support -- or condemnation -- of the new war.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
Khamenei set Iran’s direction for decades. Now the public he suppressed has hope
After Khamenei killed, Iran set for largely opaque supreme succession
End of an era as Iran confirms Khamenei is dead; Trump: Justice for Iranians and beyond
Woman killed, dozens injured as Iranian missile strikes Tel Aviv residential block
Strait of Hormuz: Key oil route in middle of Iran crisis
Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. Gabriella Jacobs produced this episode and Ari Schlacht edited.
IMAGE: Government supporters mourn during a gathering after state TV officially announced the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, shown in the poster, in Tehran, Iran, March 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
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Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world.
Military correspondent Emanuel Fabian joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.
Israel and the US launched a major joint strike on Iran on Saturday, with waves of attacks on sites across the Islamic Republic. US and Israeli officials confirmed that this coordinated strike has been months in the making.
Fabian updates us that strikes targeted Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian, alongside other top regime and military commanders. We hear what we currently know about the strikes' results, even as Iran has retaliated with some 40 ballistic missiles so far.
Schools have been canceled for the near future and medical centers around Israel have switched to emergency mode, moving critical patients and operations to underground complexes or protected spaces.
Finally, Borschel-Dan asks Fabian what he knows about a projected timeline for the war, based on what he is hearing from the IDF.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
US and Israel launch major joint assault on Iran; Trump indicates goal is to topple regime
Full text of Trump’s declaration of ‘major combat operations’ against Iran
Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Adina Karpuj.
IMAGE: Smoke rises on the skyline after an explosion in Tehran, Iran, February 28, 2026.(AP Photo)
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.