American thinker John Mearsheimer: Israel has become a commodity that is difficult to sell in America policy

In his speech on the “The Interview” program in the episode (11/16/2025), Mearsheimer touched on important files related to the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip and its repercussions, and the results of the American-Israeli attack on Iran, in addition to the tension occurring between the United States and China.

Regarding the issue of Gaza, he confirms that there is widespread criticism of Israeli behavior, the Jewish lobby, and American policy towards Israel, and indicates that there is a radical change among American public opinion, to the point that “Israel has become a commodity that is difficult to sell in the United States,” due to the genocide in the Gaza Strip, which began – according to the American thinker – since the Israelis began attacking Gaza in the wake of the operation of October 7, 2023.

He adds that American public opinion was against genocide in Gaza, even though the Jewish lobby convinced the administrations of the two presidents, former John Biden and current Donald Trump, to support it. He points out that this lobby is still highly successful in convincing the United States to unconditionally support Israeli policies in the Middle East, and is making great efforts to stop anti-Israel demonstrations.

Regarding the US President’s plan for a ceasefire in Gaza, the guest of the episode (11/16/2025) of the “The Interview” program explains that Israel’s main goal in Gaza is the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians, that is, removing them from their land or killing them, which is what it worked on before reaching the ceasefire, indicating that the Israelis believe that the best way to solve the problem of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) is to remove the Palestinians or kill them.

In the same context, Mearsheimer returns to history and confirms that the Jews carried out the first cleansing campaign against the Palestinians in 1948 and the second in 1967, and they see that what happened in 2023 constitutes an opportunity to expel the Palestinians, pointing out that “the Israeli people have become more extremist, intransigent and brutal in their stance towards the Palestinians.”

Because Israel is committed to ethnically cleansing Gaza, it is difficult to expect the success of the plan presented by Trump, says the American thinker, who depends on the success of the plan on the existence of a political horizon for the Palestinians, meaning that they obtain a state of their own, sovereignty, and the right to self-determination, but the plan does not include this horizon, and therefore it will not achieve any successes, explains the American guest.

Regarding the issue of the two-state solution, he says that the Trump administration does not care much about this issue, which he described as dead in view of the expansion of Israeli settlement in the West Bank.

The attack on Iran failed

On the other hand, the American thinker believes that Israel failed in its war on the Gaza Strip, and was unable to achieve two goals that it set: destroying Iran’s uranium enrichment capabilities, beheading the Iranian regime, and destroying Iran as a state.

While he says that they failed to achieve their goals in the 12-day war on Iran, the American thinker does not believe that Israel and the United States will resume their attack on Iran, because Israel will not be able to deal with the Iranian response, recalling that Iran possesses a huge number of ballistic missiles capable of causing casualties in Israel, and capable of punishing it seriously.

It is also believed that the United States and Israel do not possess the missile capabilities to shoot down Iranian ballistic missiles, in addition to the fact that Iran has threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf if the war continues, which makes the issue of launching a new attack unlikely, but it indicates that the Israelis are addicted to using military force against their opponents, so they may do so.

He adds that Israel launching an attack on Iran will give the latter an additional incentive to take the path of nuclear weapons. He says, “If I were Iran’s national security advisor, I would advise the Iranian regime to obtain nuclear weapons,” noting that Iran has strengthened its deterrence capabilities and proven that it possesses the ability to respond.

Regarding how close Iran is to possessing a nuclear weapon, the American thinker explains – in his interview with us – that it has enriched uranium to a degree of 60%, and to obtain uranium used in nuclear weapons it must be enriched to a rate of up to 90%, but Iran does not seem determined at this stage – according to the speaker – to obtain a nuclear weapon.

On the other hand, he points out that Israel is the one that makes the decisions and determines the American policy regarding the Iranian nuclear file, and it is the one that wants to prevent Iran from enriching, which is the same American position, except that Iran adheres to its position on the issue of enrichment. The American thinker believes that in light of these positions, there is no room for a possible deal, even if the Iranians and Americans return to the negotiating table.

He acknowledges that “Israel is forcing the United States to establish hostile relations with Iran,” adding that it is not in the American national interest to enter into a war with the Iranians or establish hostile relations with them.

Regarding the issue of relations between the United States and China, the American thinker points out that the two countries are destined to engage in an intense security competition, that is, they will engage in an arms race and constantly compete in the security field. It is not unlikely that this competition will turn into a war because of Taiwan, which China wants to regain and which Washington and its allies insist on preserving as an independent entity, in addition to the disputes regarding the issues of the South China Sea and the East China Sea.