Al Arabiya English, June 24, 2026
President Donald Trump has repeatedly declared that the US has won the war and that a deal with Iran is either done or close to completion. As debate intensifies over the US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding, Counterpoints asks a critical question: who is really coming out on top?
Host Melinda Nucifora
Guests: Seyed Hossein Mousavian, Former Iranian Diplomat and Former Senior Nuclear Negotiator George Papadopoulos, Former Foreign Policy Adviser to Donald Trump Chuck Freilich, Former Israeli Deputy National Security Adviser
The central question: Why one standard for Israel and another for Iran?
The discussion opened with what the interviewer described as one of the biggest questions in Middle East politics:
Why is Israel allowed to possess nuclear weapons while Iran is denied even an advanced civilian nuclear capability?
Hossein Mousavian argued that this double standard has become one of the principal obstacles to regional stability.
His main point was:
- Israel possesses an undeclared nuclear arsenal.
- Israel is not a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
- Israel does not permit IAEA safeguards on its nuclear facilities.
- Yet Western governments rarely pressure Israel on its nuclear status.
By contrast,
- Iran remains an NPT member.
- Iran accepts IAEA inspections.
- Yet Iran has been subjected to sanctions, military threats, and repeated crises.
He argued that this asymmetry creates resentment across the Middle East.