Operation Opera (1981): How Important Is the Israel-America Relationship?

What can history teach us about the conflict in the Middle East?

We look back on the region’s history and discuss what it can teach us about the future.

Jonny Dymond brings together a carefully assembled panel of experts, academics and journalists to talk about the conflict in the region.

This week Jonny is joined by Dr Giordana Pulcini, who teaches History of Transatlantic Relations at the University of Roma Tre, and geopolitical analyst, Dr Hellyer from the Royal United Services Institute.

They take a closer look at Israel’s 1981 raid on a French-built nuclear plant in Iraq, and discuss what impact Operation Opera had on the Israel-America relationship.

The Conflict: Middle East was made by Keiligh Baker and Ivana Davidovic. The technical producers were Ricardo McCarthy and David Crackles. The assistant editor is Ben Mundy. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.

This episode is part of a BBC Sounds series. It was recorded at 14:00 on Tuesday 12 November 2024.