Day 630 - Israel-Iran war's aftershocks for Russia and China

The Times of Israel Daily Briefing

The Times of Israel

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4.4 • 864 Ratings

🗓️ 27 June 2025

⏱️ 34 minutes

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Summary

Welcome to The Times of Israel's newest podcast series, Friday Focus. Each Friday, join diplomatic reporter Lazar Berman and host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe.

We're still sifting through the facts and figuring out the results of the 12-day Israel-Iran war. But after every earthquake, there are aftershocks. Today, we’ll look at how this war has far-reaching effects on countries such as Russia, China, Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

We begin the program by looking at China, which is hosting a gathering of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a China- and Russia-led regional security grouping. In attendance is Iran’s defense minister, Aziz Nasirzadeh. The conference is an attempt to build alternative international blocs to those backed by the United States, according to reporting on CNN. So, how does China fit in with the 12-day war?

Our next stop is Russia. The world learned again that Russian military tech is no match for a first-class air force like the IDF after it failed to repel the Israeli attacks on Iranian nuclear sites. Berman weighs in on Russia's nuanced approach to the Israel-Iran war and its cautious moves to not upset the Trump administration.

Reports of Iranians fleeing to bordering Turkey during the conflict were unsurprising, said Berman, since the NATO nation is a gateway to Europe. We hear how Turkey responded to the war.

Looking towards Saudi Arabia, US special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff reiterated Wednesday his belief that additional countries will join the Abraham Accords, which normalized ties between Israel and several Muslim nations. We learn what would have to happen for this to occur and how there may be a softening on Israel's part following the recent conflict with Iran.

Friday Focus can be found on all podcast platforms. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves and the video was edited by Thomas Girsch.

IMAGE: (L-R) India's Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, Iran's Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh, Kazakhstan's Defense Minister Dauren Kossanov, China's Defense Minister Dong Jun, Kyrgyzstan's Defense Minister Ruslan Mukambetov, Pakistan's Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, and Russia's Defense Minister Andrei Belousov gather for a group photo during the Defense Ministers' Meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Member States in Qingdao, in eastern China's Shandong province on June 26, 2025. (Photo by Pedro PARDO / AFP)

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to the Times of Israel's Friday Focus. Today is Friday, June 27th. I'm your host, Deputy Editor Amanda Warshall, Dan, here with our diplomatic correspondent, Laser Bearman. Laser, thank you so much for joining me today.
0:16.0	Hi, Amanda. Good to be here. It is so good to be here, and it's been quite the week, hasn't it, Lazer?
0:21.3	Oh, it sure has. Remember when Greta Thunberg was like the headline news in Israel?
0:26.1	And think about how long ago that seems, and it's like two weeks ago and how much has happened since then.
0:31.3	But plenty to talk about. And the region continues to change drastically.
0:35.8	It is so true. And Laser, just, I don't know, to give a little window into our real lives, where were you sheltering on all these long nights of multiple sirens during the 12-day Israel-Iran war?
0:47.2	So, I'm in Jerusalem, so there's fewer actual sirens.
0:51.4	You get like the very intrusive and annoying pre-siren warning, which
0:57.3	wakes me up. There's one shelter in the apartment building next to where I live, but the vibes
1:04.4	are not great in that shelter. So I started going to the community neighborhood shelter, which is
1:09.5	much, it's bigger and has, you know, it's big
1:12.3	and clean and has bathrooms in it. And also the vibes were better. So it's very important
1:18.4	when you're sheltering from Iranian missiles to be in the place where you connect with the vibes.
1:23.1	It's so true. And I have to say, I'm very lucky to have a little safe room in my own home but
1:28.3	waking up a bunch of garthie teenagers does not make good vibes as well so we're all pleased
1:35.5	that this is behind us at least for now but as the dust is of course still settling we're still
1:40.9	feeling the aftershocks of the big booms and that ripples throughout the entire globe.
1:47.6	So, Laser, you and I are going to discuss how the big boom of this 12-day war is causing
1:52.9	aftershocks with China, with Russia, with Turkey, and potentially with Saudi Arabia.
2:00.1	So all of this and more when we're back.
2:07.7	It's been a difficult time for our community.
2:10.7	If you're feeling overwhelmed, you're not alone.
	...

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