KTVU, Bay Area television network affiliate, news show
August 23, 2025: Zunes’s analysis of the worsening situation in Gaza. In the Middle East as negotiators try to broker a ceasefire in Gaza, Israel’s military is preparing to invade and occupy Gaza City. The Israeli defense minister on Wednesday said there are plans to call up 60,000 more reservists and extend the service of another 20,000. The military is urging Palestinians to head south…
Category: Interviews
interviews
Analysis: How will the US respond to Israel’s killing of Al Jazeera crew?
DAWN Newspaper, August 11, 2025: Stephen Zunes, the chair of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of San Francisco, says he believes Israel’s killing of Al Jazeera’s crew will increase public pressure on the US government. “The American people are waking up,” Zunes told Al Jazeera from San Francisco.
“I’ve dealt with issues around Palestine, US policy, for more than 40 years. It really strikes me the way that the attitude is shifting. And I think this killing is really going to, at least on the civil society level, going to only increase pressure on the United States to stop giving this blank check to Israel in the face of atrocities, including genocide. “But unfortunately, I don’t see a shift in terms of Washington’s policy,” he said. Zunes also described the killing of the Al Jazeera correspondents as a warning to other journalists, noting that it came hours after Netanyahu said he would allow foreign reporters into Gaza for the first time since the war. “It’ll be interesting to see who he allows in and what restrictions they have, and perhaps these murders are a sign that you better not report anything critical,” he said.
Interview: Africa’s Last Colony, Western Sahara
Pacifica Radio/WPFW, Washington DC, August 15, 2025 (56 mins.)
Zunes and Professor Jacob Mundy (Colgate University, NY), his co-author of “Western Sahara: War, Nationalism and Conflict Irresolution,” critique the bogus attempted designation of Western Sahara as a “terrorist” entity.
A Two-Year Road to Genocide. Israel-Palestine Conflict. Its Past, Present, and Future.
Wyoming Star, August 13, 2025, ByJoe Yans, quoting Stephen Zunes
Stephen Zunes: … This is not a religious conflict, first and foremost, and that hasn’t stopped extremists, both Jewish and Muslim, from trying to turn it into one. Not to mention some Christian fundamentalists in the West. But in these two competing nationalisms, Israel ultimately won. And while Zionism for Jews was a national liberation movement for historically oppressed people, like many of the nationalist movements arising during the late 19th Century, it felt more like a colonial settler enterprise, like the French in Algeria or the British in Rhodesia… And because of the support from the West and their own technological prowess, the Israelis have had the upper hand, not only claiming 78% of historic Palestine in the First War, which led to the fleeing and expulsion of the majority of the indigenous Palestinian population, but, since 1967, they’ve had effective control of the rest of Palestine, giving the Palestinian Authority these tiny urban enclaves, surrounded by Israeli settlements…
Interview: Latest developments in Israel/Palestine and U.S. policy
KPFA Evening News (Sunday) – July 27, 2025 [begins at 9:30]
Armenia-Azerbaijan Peace Tied to the Abraham Accords?!
The Wyoming Star, Aug. 8, 2025, piece by Joe Yans, quotes Zunes:
But why should a bilateral peace process between two non-Middle Eastern states be co-opted into a framework that was originally designed (at least nominally) to normalize relations between Israel and select Arab states? According to Dr. Stephen Zunes, a professor of politics and international studies at the University of San Francisco and Middle Eastern studies program coordinator, this push makes no sense from a foreign policy standpoint.
“This has nothing to do with the Abraham Accords. Both Armenia and Azerbaijan already recognize Israel. There is already extensive cooperation between Azerbaijan and Israel in regard to the military, oil, trade, and technology.”
“It is also worth mentioning that the three Arab monarchies that have signed did not make a ‘peace agreement’ with Israel since, except for a small contingent sent by Morocco partway through the October 1973 conflict between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria, none of the signatory countries had ever been at war with Israel. None of these countries were threatening Israel, none of them had the capacity to threaten Israel, and Israel’s distance from these countries ranges from 750 to 3,200 miles,” Dr. Zunes explained in a comment to Wyoming Star.
Instead, the Accords offered diplomatic cover for Israel’s continued occupation of Palestinian territories, without demanding any meaningful concessions in return.
Dr. Zunes echoes this statement: “The Abraham Accords perpetuate the myth that the key to Middle East peace is in having autocratic Arab states recognize Israel, not in Israel ending its occupation. There is no mention of the Israeli occupation in the Accords, much less a call for it to end. Indeed, by weakening Arab leverage on Israel by recognizing that government prior to Israel recognizing Palestine, it eases pressure on Israel to make the necessary compromises for peace. For over two decades, every Arab country has been on record supporting normalization of relations with Israel in return for Israeli withdrawal from the occupied territories and the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel. The Abraham Accords insist that Arab recognition be unilateral in an apparent effort to remove this leverage from the Palestinian side, one of the few routes remaining to the millions of Palestinians suffering under the Israeli occupation and colonization of the West Bank.”
Iran Vows Stronger Response If U.S., Israel Attack Again
FO° Talks July 30, 2025 [25 mins.]
Fair Observer’s Rohan Khattar Singh speaks to Professor Stephen Zunes about Iran, Israel and the United States… Trump has brought back the “Maximum Pressure” policy back on Iran with new sanctions, and for the first time, direct military strikes on Iranian soil. Zunes doesn’t believe Iran was building nuclear weapons, but after the recent strikes by Israel and the US, Tehran would now like to build some as a deterrent and is now closer to Russia and China. Also Israel’s military operations and Apartheid conditions in Gaza…
Interview: Ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza
KPFA Evening News (Sunday) – July 27, 2025 [begins at 4:40]
Interview: Israel’s Attacks on Syria
KALW Radio, San Francisco, July 17, 2025, on Israel’s attacks on Syria and related developments.
Interviews: Israel, Syria, Gaza developments and ongoing mass killing
KPFA-FM Pacifica Network, July 19, 2025: Zunes
discusses Israel, Syria, Gaza, and other recent developments
[segment starts at 12:30] and July 13 on mass killing
[segment starts at 13:15; Note: Each broadcast must
load before you can drag the pointer to when it begins]
Interview: What’s the real motive behind Israel’s involvement in Syria?
Al Jazeera English Inside Story July 17, 2025 (16.5M subscribers):
Zunes joins a Syrian and Israeli analyst on latest developments in Israel’s war on Syria.
Video: What are the chances of a Gaza ceasefire deal soon?
CNA (Channel News Asia) July 6, 2025 (9 mins.)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said July 6 he hoped an upcoming meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump could “help advance” a Gaza ceasefire deal, after sending negotiators to Doha for indirect talks with Hamas. Stephen Zunes, professor of politics and director of the Middle Eastern studies program at the University of San Francisco, discusses on CNA’s Asia First why he believes a lasting ceasefire in Gaza remains unlikely.
CNA.Asia & CNA YouTube channel
Interview: Iran and the U.S. Now
July 3, 2025, Pacifica Radio/KPFA: Zunes discusses Iran and the United States following the latest bombing and war in a wide-ranging interview (starts at 5:40)
Interview: Updates on the Iran-Israel War: Conversations with Leading Analysts
Counterpunch July 1, 2025: Zunes discusses the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran along with Professors Richard Falk and Lawrence Davidson.
Interviews: U.S. bombing of Iran and ceasefire
Aired June 23-27, 2025, KTVU-2, Bay Area Fox affiliate:
3 interviews analyzing the U.S. bombing of Iran and the subsequent ceasefire
Interview: Middle East expert weighs in on Iran-Israel conflict and ceasefire
KTVU Fox TV-2, Bay Area station, June 24, 2025
following yesterday’s ceasefire announcement.
Interview: Israel, Iran and the U.S.
Santita Jackson Show Sunday, June 22, 2025 [Second Hour]
Also see Zunes’s Facebook notes on Iran, Israel and Palestine
Interview: CBS on US bombs Iran
CBS Bay Area affiliate KPIX June 22, 2025 [10 mins.]
Zunes argues why the action was unnecessary and what the implications for the future might be.
No Iranian threat ‘other than having US regional interests challenged’
Al Jazeera June 22, 2025 [source], 3-minute video,
also World News, Virtual Jerusalem, Israel Insider, Ticker:
Zunes says the suggestion that Iran posed any kind of threat to the US is “totally nonsense”… “Iran has no capabilities of reaching the United States with its missiles or other kinds of weaponry… And if the concern was about their nuclear programme eventually being militarised to make nuclear weapons, Trump would not have destroyed” the 2015 nuclear deal… “I have a feeling he’s been wanting to launch war on Iran for some time…” contrary to what Trump had campaigned on… [Iran has] “a number of options… They can attack US forces directly. There are up to 40,000 Americans within the range, not just of Iranian missiles but of drones and other weaponry… You have the fleet in the Persian Gulf, just off the Iranian coast. They can be vulnerable as well if they attack… it could impact global shipping, impacting oil prices and indeed the entire global economy… You also have proxy militias in Iraq who could target American bases there… So there are a number of ways American forces could be vulnerable, and I would be surprised if the Iranians don’t target at least some of these.”
Interviews: More Iran War articles: June 17-22
No Iranian threat ‘other than having US regional interests challenged’
DazzlingDawn.com June 22, 2025: Stephen Zunes, head of Middle Eastern studies at the University of San Francisco, dismissed the notion that Iran poses any real threat to the United States as “completely absurd.” He told Al Jazeera, “Iran lacks the missile range or military capacity to strike the US.” Zunes further argued if the concern were genuinely about Iran’s nuclear program potentially being weaponized, then former President Trump wouldn’t have withdrawn from the 2015 nuclear agreement. He believes the motivation behind the attacks has little to do with any direct threat from Iran and more to do with the country’s potential to counterbalance US influence in the region…
How will Iran retaliate against the US? [source]
RadioFree.org June 22, 2025: Content originally appeared in The Progressive.
When asked why Trump chose to attack Iran at this point, Zunes speculated that “he’s probably been eager to start a conflict with Iran for a while now.” Although this move contradicts Trump’s original campaign promises, Zunes noted it’s not entirely unexpected, pointing out that Trump has reversed course on many pledges—both in domestic and foreign policy… An agreement signed a decade ago could have prevented today’s war, had Trump not pulled out of it in his first term.
Global Reaction: A Region on Edge
CoastalDigest.com June 22, 2025: Analysts believe the U.S. move might entangle it in a long-term conflict. Stephen Zunes, a Middle East expert at the University of San Francisco, said Iran has several “painful” options at its disposal and warned of a broad regional backlash…
US bombs Iran’s nuclear sites: What we know so far
And DNYUZ.com: Stephen Zunes, the director of Middle Eastern studies at the University of San Francisco, laid out several options available to Iran in response to the US attacks unfolding. “They can attack US forces directly. There are up to 40,000 Americans within the range, not just of Iranian missiles but of drones and other weaponry,” he said. “You have the fleet in the Persian Gulf, just off the Iranian coast. They can be vulnerable as well if they attack,” Zunes said, using another name for the Gulf, which is also referred to as the Arabian Gulf. “It could impact global shipping, impacting oil prices and indeed the entire global economy.” Zunes also pointed towards the “proxy militias in Iraq who could target American bases there”, adding that he would be “surprised if the Iranians don’t target at least some of these”…
Media Sanctuary Radio interview: Stephen Zunes
June 18 on the war Israel launched with Iran
& June 17 on Israel, Iran and the US:
Israel launched an unprovoked military attack on Iran. While they claimed that they were acting to destroy Iran’s imminent effort to develop nuclear weapons, both the US and Israel for decades have claimed that Iran was on the precipice of developing such a capability. Israel of course already has nuclear weapons. The Iranian official who was negotiating over the nuclear program with the US was one of many murdered by Israel. While President Trump claims he did not give the green light to Israel’s attacks, the US has been ramping up its military support for Israel as Iran has responded to the attacks, threatening the possibility of an all out regional war. Trump has urged people to flee Tehran and has raised the possibility of assassinating Iran’s leader, though he did reportedly recently veto such an effort by Israel. Professor Stephen Zunes, Director of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of San Francisco, talks to Mark Dunlea of Hudson Mohawk Magazine…
Israel-Iran conflict: Analysts say US likely to take direct military action
CNA June 18, 2025: Channel News Asia, a Singapore -based, owned by Mediacorp [source]
“Calling for the unconditional surrender of a sovereign nation state is pretty extreme. We haven’t heard that rhetoric very often,” noted politics professor Stephen Zunes from the University of San Francisco. “It has really sent some shock waves and is making people think that this is not just going to be a series of strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities, but something much bigger.” He pointed to how Israel’s military and Trump have urged residents to evacuate from Iran’s capital city of Tehran, which has a population of more than 9 million. “There, indeed, could be a much bigger war, and the United States itself might get involved,” Zunes said…
SUBSTACK ARCHIVE REPOST JUNE 22, 2025 (7-minute audio) of Zunes’ 2020 article challenging the myth: “After bombing Iran, Trump’s claim Iran was responsible for 1,000 American deaths in Iraq is a lie…”