Is Iran an existential threat to the US?
The Times of Israel Daily Briefing
The Times of Israel
4.5 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 12 March 2026
⏱️ 32 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.
Editor David Horovitz joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.
Lebanese terror group Hezbollah blasted some 200 rockets and 20 drones at northern Israel for hours on Wednesday evening, repeatedly sending hundreds of thousands of Israelis to shelters. At the same time, much of the rest of the country was also sent to safe rooms with four salvos of ballistic missiles shot from Iran. We hear how this is affecting Israelis' spirits right now.
Yesterday, the UN Security Council called for Iran to halt its attacks on Gulf states. Notably, the resolution did not mention US or Israeli strikes on Iran and was passed by 13 votes with two abstentions. Horovitz weighs in.
In counterpoint to the support from Israelis at large, Americans are not overwhelmingly in favor of their new war. We discuss the mixed messaging coming from the Trump administration -- and how much skin Israel has in the game for mutual war goals to be attained.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
Seeking clarity, and safety, in a war marked by incoherent leadership and a momentous goal
Hezbollah fires 200 rockets at north, Iran launches missiles in ‘integrated operation’
UN Security Council demands Iran halt attacks on Gulf states
Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Gabriella Jacobs and edited by Ari Schlacht.
IMAGE: Iraqis step on US and Israeli flags during a protest against US and Israeli attacks on multiple cities across Iran, in Baghdad, Iraq, March 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the Times of Israel's daily briefing. |
| 0:06.3 | Today is Thursday, March 12th. |
| 0:08.5 | I'm Amanda Borchelle Dan here in a Jerusalem studio with editor David Horowitz. |
| 0:12.8 | David, thank you so much for joining me today. |
| 0:14.6 | Sure. Hi, Amanda. |
| 0:16.2 | We are now in the 13th Day of the War and yesterday we saw a UN Security Council resolution which condemned |
| 0:23.2 | Iran but did not really mention Israel and the U.S. We're going to dive into that as well as |
| 0:29.5 | U.S. support or lack of support for this war and then discuss how Hezbollah is a lot fiercer |
| 0:36.3 | than anticipated. So all of this and more when we're back. |
| 0:44.9 | This episode is brought to you by Jewish Communal Fund, the preferred donor-advised fund of the Jewish community for over 50 years. |
| 0:57.1 | Charitable giving should be impactful and efficient. That's why many people choose to give through a |
| 1:02.2 | JCP donor-advised fund. A donor-advised fund is like a personal charitable bank account. You contribute a |
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| 1:13.7 | then recommend grants to thousands of charities Jewish and secular on your own timeline. |
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| 1:30.0 | In fact, each year a portion of JCP's revenue is directed to support Jewish causes in the U.S. and Israel. Move away from the paperwork |
| 1:35.8 | scramble toward a more strategic approach to giving by opening a JCP fund today. Visit jcfn.org |
| 1:43.4 | or call us at 212-752-8277. I'm Amanda Borchelle Dan in our Jerusalem |
| 1:51.8 | studio with editor David Horowitz. David, we're seeing overnight about 200 missiles shot from |
| 1:58.1 | southern Lebanon or inside Lebanon. We're also seeing at least four ballistic |
| 2:02.8 | missiles that have been shot since midnight. On my way into the office, of course, I heard a siren |
| 2:07.8 | coming into Jerusalem, and the war, as we are seeing it, is not really letting up. Tell us just |
... |
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