Will Trump Let Israel Blow Up Iran Peace Talks?

On The Freedom Side LIVE, Thursday, 5/29 at 3pm ET/12pm PT, hosts Rania Khalek and Eugene Puryear are joined by special guests:

Assal Rad, scholar of modern Middle East history, non-resident fellow at DAWN, and author of State of Resistance: Politics, Culture & Identity in Modern Iran, joins the show to discuss the renewed US-Iran nuclear talks in Rome, as Israel threatens to sabotage diplomacy with strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. Rad explains how Israel—rattled by any move toward peace—is working to upend negotiations and drag the US into another catastrophic war. With Trump reengaging on Iran, will Washington continue enabling Israel’s path of endless escalation, or step back from the brink? Rad breaks it all down.

Andor Actress Denise Gough joins the show to discuss Israel’s genocide in Gaza and the critical role of public figures in condemning it. Dough also explains the roots of her own activism in an industry where many face intense backlash and blacklisting for being against the genocide.

Roua Daas of the Palestinian Youth Movement will discuss how as Western governments continue to back the siege and starvation of Gaza, thousands around the world are signing the Anti-Genocide Pledge, an initiative launched by Palestinian diaspora groups and individuals in Gaza. While mainstream media attempts to downplay the scale of this international movement, Daas will explain how the pledge serves as both a historic record and a powerful statement of solidarity, making clear that the majority of the world stands against the genocide.

Dr. Ben Becker, Editor-in-Chief of BreakThrough News, will break down the Republican budget bill, cynically titled the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which just passed the House and aims to transfer even more wealth to billionaires while gutting the programs working people rely on to survive. Becker will explain how, if enacted, the bill would strip healthcare from millions, slash food assistance through the federal SNAP program, lock in massive tax breaks for the rich, and expand Trump’s mass deportation agenda.

Dayvon Love, Director of Public Policy at Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle, will discuss how, five years after police officer Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd in the streets of Minneapolis, police killings continue to rise year after year, reaching a record high in 2024. Love explains how increased police budgets, further militarization, and escalating repression of activists have fueled this trend, and breaks down what’s working, what isn’t, and why the state resists strategies that actually reduce police violence.

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