Amanpour

As Israel continues to attack Iran, it says Tehran crossed the red line after striking a major hospital in southern Israel. Iran says it was targeting a nearby technology park, but Israel says it was a deliberate attack on civilians. Correspondent Fred Pleitgen is in Tehran and brings a report from outside the state television building that Israel attacked.  Also on today's show: Vali Nasr, Author...

Will the US join Israel in its offensive against Iran? President Donald Trump says, "I may do it, I may not do it." Residents of Tehran have been called upon to evacuate and are mired in traffic gridlocks trying to leave. Meantime, Israel continues to strike leadership targets and nuclear sites. Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, rejected the U.S. President's call for unconditional surrend...

President Trump took to social media to warn Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei that he's an "easy target" and calling for unconditional surrender, adding to the fears of Iranians who are desperately trying to leave the capital since Trump told all 10 million to "immediately evacuate." Just before Israel launched its massive attacks, the International Atomic Energy Agency declared Iran in br...

Iran's state television channel says that it has been attacked by Israel. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his country's air force "controls the skies" over Iran's capital city. Christiane Amanpour switches roles and joins Bianna to analyze this intense moment.  Also on today's show: former US State Department official Richard Haass;  New Yorker staff writer Susan Glasser;...

Strikes on Iran continue as Israel plunges the Middle East into dangerous new territory. Iran vows retaliation and launches hundreds of drone strikes against Israel. On today's show we ask key experts and insiders where all of this is headed.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's "Russia National Day," the anniversary of Russia declaring its sovereignty from the Soviet Union in 1990. The US State Department sent congratulations, even as Russia continues to violate the sovereignty of its neighbor, Ukraine. Nobel laureate Oleksandra Matviichuk is pushing for “justice and accountability” as negotiations continue for an end to the Ukraine war.  Also on today's show: David...

Protests over the Trump Administration sending in the National Guard and the Marines to assist in its immigration raids are spreading across the country. Legal and military experts warn that this could threaten American democracy. California Governor Gavin Newsom calls it a brazen abuse of power. Governor Newsom and the State Attorney General Rob Bonta are suing the president to remove the troops...

President Trump is doubling down on sending troops to Los Angeles, mobilizing another 2,000 National Guard members, while the Defense Department activated 700 Marines to react to the anti-ICE protests. Trump praised himself for the decision and suggested the city would have been completely obliterated otherwise. California's Governor Gavin Newsom, however, says the move was entirely unnecessary, a...

Crowds have largely dispersed in downtown Los Angeles, which the police department declared an "unlawful assembly area." About 300 National Guard troops are now on the ground, deployed by Donald Trump over the objections of California leaders. These protests are taking place amidst a series of immigration measures by the Trump White House. Immigration lawyer Sui Ching and NPR correspondent Jasmine...

After a long-awaited phone call between President Trump and President Xi Jinping and as Trump tries to iron out the kinks of his trade war with China, Ely Ratner,  Biden's Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Indo-Pacific with close ties to Trump's Pentagon, argues that America needs a new NATO-like defense pact in Asia to counter the growing threat from Beijing. Plus, award-winning author and p...

Yet again, US-China relations are tense. Ely Ratner served as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs during the Biden Administration. He joined the show from Washington to discuss his latest Foreign Affairs piece: "The Case for a Pacific Defense Pact." This conversation was just before Trump and Xi spoke.  Also on today's show: author Ibram X. Kendi; financier Ray Dalio; ...

It's become a rite of passage for world leaders: the Oval Office meeting with President Trump. Now, it's the turn of the relatively new Chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Merz. Germany is the focal point for much of Trump's ire towards Europe, and a key priority will be to stave off looming tariffs. But also, high on the agenda is Ukraine. Member of German Parliament for Merz's CDU party, Norbert Rö...

"I will uphold the mission of fully overcoming the insurrection." Those are the words of new South Korean leader Lee Jae-myung, who promises to unite a divided nation. Journalist Ken Choi joins the show to discuss what Lee's election might mean for both South Korea and the rest of the world.  Also on today's show: Investigative journalists Irina Borogan and Andrei Soldatov, tell me how the hopes o...

"Unconscionable." That's how the United Nations' Human Rights Chief describes fatal attacks on Palestinians trying to reach aid in Gaza. Chaos erupted at a distribution site in Rafah today, where Gaza's Health Ministry says Israeli forces opened fire. It's the third day in a row that people have been killed on their way to collect critically needed aid at the site, which is run by the controversia...

What was meant to be a gathering to support Israeli hostages held by Hamas turned into a crime scene in Boulder, Colorado on Sunday when a man attacked Jewish attendees with Molotov cocktails and a makeshift flame thrower. This is just the latest in a series of heinous assaults on Jewish people in America. Joining the show to discuss is Michael Bernstein, chair of the board of the Tree of Life, a...

As President Trump and his allies escalate the administration's battle on colleges, and on Harvard specifically, Steven Levitsky, Harvard professor and author of “How Democracies Die,” joins Christiane to discuss the reshaping of knowledge in America. Then, best-selling German author Daniel Kehlmann speaks with Christiane about his new book “The Director," exploring what it was like for artists li...

At the same time Russia is ramping up its attacks on Ukraine, the Kremlin claims it's ready with a peace plan for ceasefire talks in Turkey next week. But President Zelensky says they have not seen any draft plan. Meantime, President Trump is said to have given Putin a two-week window to show a genuine intention to end the war. Fiona Hill was President Trump's most senior Russia advisor during his...

As Harvard students celebrated the end of their academic journey, just six miles away the school's lawyers were in court, fighting back against President Trump's attempt to ban international students. That is only one front in a sustained attack by this administration on Harvard. For scholars of democracy, targeting higher education is both shocking and predictable. Steven Levitsky is a Professor...

Protestors are blocking highways and raising their voices in Israel today, calling for the release of hostages, as they mark 600 days since the horrors of the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. One of those hostages was Omer Shem Tov, who was kidnapped by Hamas and held for more than 500 days before being released in February. Bianna Golodryga spoke to him in New York about what he went through, and...

Israeli strikes have killed dozens in Gaza in the past few days alone, with the death toll there now well over 50,000. The IDF has issued evacuation orders for most of southern Gaza. It warns an "unprecedented attack" is coming as Israel plans to occupy 75% of the enclave in two months. CNN correspondent Jeremy Diamond joins from Jerusalem.  Also on today's show: Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud...

Former Secretary of State under President Barack Obama and Joe Biden's climate envoy, John Kerry discusses the current administration's climate U-turn, and what it means for China. He also speaks to Christiane about the administration's Ukraine policy and what kind of deal Trump might be able to negotiate with Iran. Then, Bridget Brink, the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, tells Christiane that...

Secretary of State Marco Rubio was called to Capitol Hill to defend the Trump Administration's agenda this week. Perhaps no policy has felt the Trump undoing as much as climate change. John Kerry is someone who has led the US on all of these issues, as President Biden's Special Climate Envoy as well as Secretary of State under President Obama. He joins the show to discuss.  Also on today's show: a...

Officials from around the world are condemning the killing of two Israeli embassy staff in Washington DC. The attack comes at a time of heightened threats towards Israeli embassies globally, and a global rise in antisemitism, amid outrage over the country's conduct in Gaza. Correspondent Alex Marquardt joins the show from Washington, DC to discuss.  Also on today's show: South African Foreign Mini...

Russia continues to pound Ukraine, with drone attacks overnight coming just hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to his American counterpart Donald Trump. Last month Bridget Brink resigned her post as US Ambassador to Ukraine in protest over the Trump Administration's marked change in policy towards Russia and Ukraine. She joins the show from Washington DC to explain why it matters f...

The UK is making its frustration with its ally Israel known today, summoning its ambassador, pausing trade negotiations and sanctioning West Bank settlers. France and Canada also threatened to take "concrete action" against Israel. CNN's Jerusalem correspondent Jeremy Diamond joins the show from Tel Aviv.  Also on today's show: Rim Turkmani, Director of Syria Conflict Research Program, LSE; Bonny...