Iranians tell ToI they are losing hope as ceasefire turns stalemate
The Times of Israel Daily Briefing
The Times of Israel
4.5 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 25 May 2026
⏱️ 26 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world.
Diplomatic reporter Nava Freiberg joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.
Iran and the United States played down hopes for an imminent breakthrough in the three-month-old war on Monday, with Tehran saying that while it had reached understandings on many issues with the US, an agreement was not imminent. For his part, US President Donald Trump says the deal will be "great and meaningful" or won't happen at all.
While there was no official Iranian confirmation of the contents of the potential agreement, Freiberg delves into the differing narratives being presented by US and Iranian press.
US President Donald Trump sought to reassure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a phone call that a final agreement with Iran will fully dismantle Tehran’s nuclear program, a senior Israeli official said yesterday. We learn of blowback from politicians in the US and Israel and explore how this potential deal could affect the Lebanon front.
As part of an ongoing series of conversations, Freiberg communicated with five residents of Iran who described widespread unemployment and economic hardship, tighter surveillance and targeting of dissidents, and further restricted internet access since the war’s start. We hear more.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
Iran and US voice optimism but temper expectations for imminent breakthrough in talks
US official: Iran deal to be signed in coming days; Trump derides ‘loser’ critics
Trump said to assure Netanyahu he will thwart Iran nuke program as Israel fears ‘very bad’ deal
As US moves to end war, Iranians tell ToI they fear regime clampdown just starting
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the Times of Israel's daily briefing. |
| 0:06.8 | Today is Monday, May 25th. |
| 0:09.2 | I'm Amanda Borchelle Dan here in our Jerusalem studio, |
| 0:12.5 | joined by our diplomatic reporter, Nava Freiberg. |
| 0:15.7 | Nava, thank you so much for joining me today. |
| 0:17.5 | Thank you so much for having me. |
| 0:18.8 | It is always a pleasure to speak with |
| 0:20.9 | you, NAVA. Today we are going to drill into what could be happening with the potential Iran deal. |
| 0:27.1 | If that sounds like a lot of question marks, well, it is, and there are many more to be answered |
| 0:31.9 | today. In the second half of the program, we're going to hear about NAVA's conversations, |
| 0:37.1 | communications with Iranians. It's very we're going to hear about Navas conversations, communications with |
| 0:38.2 | Iranians. It's very rare for Israelis to hear what is going on on the ground in Iran, |
| 0:44.0 | so we will hear a bit of that. All of this and more after the break. Antisemitism is the world's oldest prejudice. |
| 1:00.8 | It has followed the Jewish people for centuries. |
| 1:03.6 | But one podcast is asking, can anti-Semitism be funny? |
| 1:08.3 | Wondering Jews with Mikhail and Noam is continuing its celebration of Jewish American |
| 1:12.8 | Heritage Month with comedian Ranan Hirshberg. Growing up Jewish in Louisville, Kentucky, |
| 1:18.7 | Ranan says he felt like a rare unicorn, but with two horns instead of one. Renan joins host |
| 1:24.6 | Noam Weissman for a conversation with some real laugh-out-loud moments. |
| 1:29.0 | Listen as they explore the biblical roots of Jewish humor, |
| 1:32.2 | what it feels like to be on stage after October 7th, |
| 1:35.2 | and the absurdity of conspiracy theories. |
... |
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