# Israel 'Wants a Failed State' in Iran: Ex-Obama Official Slams the War and the Dems' Weak Response to It

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/mehdi-unfiltered-6939607/israel-wants-a-failed-state-in-iran-ex-obama-official-slams-the-war-and-the-dems-weak-response-to-it
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/mehdi-unfiltered-6939607/israel-wants-a-failed-state-in-iran-ex-obama-official-slams-the-war-and-the-dems-weak-response-to-it.md
Podcast: [Mehdi Unfiltered](https://stenobird.com/podcast/mehdi-unfiltered-6939607)
Published: 2026-03-13T14:26:00+00:00
Episode link: https://ec970ebe-c24f-40d5-9f19-02232d2c0186.libsyn.com/rhodes
Audio file: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/pscrb.fm/rss/p/traffic.libsyn.com/secure/ec970ebe-c24f-40d5-9f19-02232d2c0186/2026.03.11_Ben-Rhodes_POD.mp3?dest-id=5279730
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/mehdi-unfiltered-6939607/episodes/israel-wants-a-failed-state-in-iran-ex-obama-official-slams-the-war-and-the-dems-weak-response-to-it
Duration seconds: 1768

## Resource

Ben Rhodes served as deputy national security adviser in Barack Obama's White House for eight years. He was working with President Obama as Benjamin Netanyahu continued to pressure the US, time and time again, to attack Iran. Obama, says Rhodes, resisted the Israeli prime minister's pressure campaign, but now under President Donald Trump's second term, it's clear that "Netanyahu essentially bullied him [Trump] into this war." In this wide-ranging interview, Mehdi and Rhodes discuss Israel's role in provoking this war with Iran, the Democratic Party leadership's weak response to the conflict, and the events that led up to this disaster during the Obama and Biden presidencies. SUBSCRIBE TO ZETEO TO SUPPORT INDEPENDENT AND UNFILTERED JOURNALISM: https://zeteo.com/subscribe WATCH 'MEHDI UNFILTERED' ON SUBSTACK: https://zeteo.com/s/mehdi-unfiltered FIND ZETEO: Twitter: https://twitter.com/zeteo_news Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zeteonews TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@zeteonews FIND MEHDI: Substack: https://substack.com/@mehdirhasan Twitter: https://twitter.com/@mehdirhasan Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/@mehdirhasan TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mehdirhasan To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/Zeteo

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