Boundless Insights - with Aviva Klompas

We want to hear from you. Send questions and comments to podcast@boundlessisrael.org or message Aviva on X at @avivaklompas.

One year after the United States and Israel launched a war that devastated Iran's military leadership and nuclear infrastructure, Washington and Tehran say they have reached an agreement to formally end the conflict.

But what exactly is in the deal?

In this episode, Aviva Klompas speaks with Jonathan Schanzer, Executive Director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, about the emerging agreement, what Iran may be gaining in return, and whether the war's original objectives have quietly been set aside.

They discuss Iran's use of Hezbollah and the Strait of Hormuz as leverage, the effort to link the Lebanese front to the broader confrontation with Israel, and what the agreement could mean for the future of the region.

Guest Bio:

Dr. Jonathan Schanzer is Executive Director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, where he oversees the organization’s research and policy work. A former terrorism finance analyst at the U.S. Treasury, Jonathan has tracked and disrupted funding networks for groups like Hamas and al-Qaeda. He’s authored several books on the Middle East, including Gaza Conflict 2021, State of Failure, and Hamas vs. Fatah. A frequent congressional witness and media commentator, his analysis appears regularly in major outlets including CNN, Fox News, and the BBC.

We want to hear from you. Send questions and comments to podcast@boundlessisrael.org or message Aviva on X at @avivaklompas.

For weeks, President Trump has insisted that Washington and Tehran are on the verge of a deal. But events over the last 24 hours tell a different story. Iran fired ballistic missiles at Israel. Israel struck targets inside Iran. The Houthis launched a missile from Yemen. And once again, the region finds itself balancing between diplomacy and escalation.

In this episode, host Aviva Klompas is joined by Andrew Fox, a former British Army major and conflict researcher, to unpack the latest escalation and the strategic questions now facing Israel, Iran, and the United States.

They discuss Iran's attempt to link the Hezbollah front in Lebanon to the broader confrontation with Israel, whether the latest exchange is likely to remain limited or expand into something larger, and what President Trump's diplomacy reveals about the current state of U.S.-Israel relations.

The conversation also examines the future of negotiations with Iran, the role of Hezbollah and the Houthis, the difference between tactical and strategic success in warfare, and how military leaders balance battlefield gains against political and diplomatic realities.

Guest Bio

Andrew Fox is a frontline conflict researcher and former British Army officer who served for 16 years in the Parachute Regiment, reaching the rank of Major. He completed multiple deployments in Afghanistan—including alongside U.S. Army Special Forces—as well as tours in Bosnia, Northern Ireland, and the Middle East. A specialist in modern warfare, disinformation, and the Middle East, he previously taught War Studies and leadership at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and is currently pursuing a PhD focused on lessons from the October 7 attacks and the war in Ukraine.

Andrew is a senior associate fellow at several international policy institutes and a frequent media commentator, appearing on outlets including Fox News, BBC Newsnight, Sky News, and i24. His reporting and analysis have taken him to the front lines in Gaza, Lebanon, and Ukraine. He is also the author of a widely read Substack on conflict, security, and global affairs.

We want to hear from you. Send questions and comments to podcast@boundlessisrael.org or message Aviva on X at @avivaklompas.

As the Trump administration weighs its next move on Iran, Israel faces a familiar but uncomfortable question: What happens if Washington reaches a deal that Jerusalem believes leaves the Iranian threat unresolved?

In this episode, Aviva Klompas speaks with Dr. Michael Oren about the lessons of the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement, how Israel should navigate disagreements with its closest ally, and whether the Jewish state is entering a new era of strategic self-reliance.

They discuss President Trump's approach to Iran, the conditions under which a deal might be acceptable from Israel's perspective, and the continuing threat posed by Hezbollah. The conversation also explores whether Israel should seek new military capabilities that would allow it to act independently against future Iranian nuclear threats.

Finally, they turn to a different but related concern: the resurgence of antisemitic tropes in mainstream discourse, the growing normalization of conspiracy theories involving Jews and Israel, and what these trends may mean for Jewish communities around the world.

Guest Bio:

Michael Oren served in the IDF as a Lone Soldier in the paratroopers. He was Israel’s ambassador to the United States from 2009 to 2013 and later served as a Member of Knesset and Deputy Minister of Diplomacy.

He is the author of several New York Times bestsellers including Six Days of War, Ally: My Journey Across the American-Israel Divide, and Power, Faith, and Fantasy. Ambassador Oren published 2048: The Rejuvenated State in 2023 and is the founder of Israel Advocacy Group.

More from Dr. Michael Oren

A Time for Intimacy

After fighting publicly for the return of her son Hersh from Gaza, Rachel Goldberg-Polin joins the podcast to reflect on grief, uncertainty, love, and the challenge of continuing to live after profound loss.

Drawing from her new book When We See You Again, Rachel speaks with her characteristic honesty about the experience of mourning, the pressure people feel to “get better,” and why she believes grief is not something to overcome, but an expression of enduring love. She reflects on the stories and ideas that shape her thinking during Hersh’s captivity and wrestles openly with questions of destiny, suffering, faith, and purpose.

The conversation also explores what Rachel learned while moving through rooms of power and influence during the global campaign to free the hostages, and why she ultimately came away with a more complicated understanding of how the world works.

Finally, Rachel shares what she believes Hersh’s legacy asks of all of us: more humility, more listening, and a willingness to move away from extremism and back toward each other.

Guest Bio:

Rachel Goldberg-Polin, born and raised in Chicago, is an educator who lives in Jerusalem. She and her husband Jon are the parents of three children. Rachel is the author of When We See You Again, a portrait of pain and love in the wake of unthinkable tragedy.

Hussain Abubakr Mansour joins Dr. Rachel Fish to examine antisemitism, antizionism, and the ideological currents shaping American public life after October 7. Mansour reflects on growing up in a society where Jews were largely absent but antisemitic ideas were culturally omnipresent, and how his study of Jewish history, Zionism, and Hebrew led him to radically different conclusions.
The conversation explores how antisemitism became central to modern Arab political identity, the challenge of escaping inherited ideological frameworks, and why elite education has not protected societies from moral failure. Mansour also traces the role of universities, postcolonial theory, and progressive antizionism in making antisemitic narratives socially acceptable in contemporary America.
The discussion turns to the danger antisemitism poses not only to Jews but also to American democracy and civil society. Mansour warns that Jew-hatred is a corrosive force that can devour institutions, distort reality, and empower the worst actors in society if left unchecked.
Guest Bio:
Hussein Aboubakr Mansour is a Fellow at JINSA’s Gemunder Center, where his work focuses on the intersection of Arab politics, Islamist movements, and regional security architecture. An expert in Arab political thought and shifts within Islamist movements, Mansour analyzes how structural evolution impacts U.S. strategic interests and security. His research provides critical insights into the post-Arab Spring ideological currents and the shifting geopolitical landscape of the Gulf.
A widely published author and commentator, his strategic analysis has appeared in The Free Press, Commentary, Tablet, and the Athens Review of Books. Formerly an assistant professor at the Defense Language Institute, he is a recipient of the 2022 Per Ahlmark Award from UN Watch and the 2024 German Mercator Fellowship.
More From this Guest:
The Abrahamic Metacritic on Substack
"How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Feed the Jews to the Mob" by Hussein Abubakr Mansour
“Antisemitism Has a Big Future” by Hussein Abubakr Mansour
"There Is Actually No Solution" by Hussein Abubakr Mansour