FIDF LIVE SPECIAL BRIEFING: Maj. Gen. (Res.) Nadav Padan, FIDF CEO - April 5, 2026

Lara Krinsky opens the Passover/Easter briefing by calling the moment a live strategic shift across Iran and Lebanon, then interviews Maj. Gen. Nadav Padan, a 40-year IDF veteran and FIDF CEO, on the doctrine and reality of the war. He argues war isn’t about “killing the last missile,” but about building momentum—and says U.S. and Israeli forces are fighting daily to sustain air superiority over Iran while repeatedly striking air defenses and underground ballistic-missile complexes that keep trying to regenerate. Padan lays out three endgame paths and warns that both a long war of attrition and a deal that relaxes sanctions are bad outcomes, because economic pressure is what most plausibly destabilizes the regime and limits its ability to fund proxies. He says Iran wants the fighting to stop but won’t truly capitulate, predicting the conflict is more likely to conclude in “weeks,” either through a negotiated exit or a coalition declaration that forces Iran to absorb damage and stand down. On the northern front, he describes Hezbollah as still capable of launching rockets but far weaker—struggling to pay salaries, facing Shiite public backlash and massive displacement—and he also addresses Iran’s use of cluster-style warheads and how the global media environment shapes what gets attention. Krinsky closes by spotlighting a dramatic “no one left behind” rescue of downed U.S. F-15 pilots as a symbol of operational coordination, then pivots to a call to support reservists and families—especially recovery, reintegration, and PTSD care—through FIDF.