Sara Sadek

On this week’s episode, MEI’s Editor in Chief Alistair Taylor talks to Iran Program Director Alex Vatanka about Iran and the Israel-Hamas war. As fighting rages in Gaza and the prospects for regional escalation continue to mount, Iran will remain a critical actor to watch. It is not only Israel’s main regional foe but also the leading provider of military aid and training for Hamas. Given the centrality of Iran in this latest Middle Eastern war, understanding how Tehran views the conflict and its endgame will be critical.

المزيد من الحلقات

من المقرر إجراء الانتخابات المحلية المقبلة في تونس، وهي الأولى التي تجرى بموجب الدستور الجديد للبلاد، في 24 ديسمبر 2023. وجاء الإعلان عن الموعد بعد حوالي ستة أشهر من نشر المراسيم الرئاسية، في مارس 2023، التي قضت بحل أول مجالس بلدية منتخبة ديمقراطياً في تونس، مما وضع حداً لعملية اللامركزية التي بدأت في عام 2018.

Much has been written about the European Union’s confused and cacophonic response to the heinous Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack that has plunged the Middle East into one of the most violent crises the region has known since World War II. While the condemnation of Hamas’ atrocities was unanimous, not much else was.

The ongoing Palestinian-Israeli crisis is further intensified in the information space by the failure of the leading tech giants, including Meta, to combat online disinformation, incitement to violence, and hate speech proliferating on their platforms, most egregiously against Palestinians.

اقرأ تقرير MEI الأسبوعي الذي يتضمن تحليلات الخبراء للتطورات الإقليمية الرئيسية للأسبوع المقبل.

In the aftermath of the horrific Hamas terror attack on Oct. 7, and amid the ongoing war in Gaza, the scope and intensity of the current crackdown by the Israeli government and law enforcement on Palestinian citizens of Israel and the suppression of pro-Palestinian speech are unprecedented.

There are many signs of a deterioration of relations between Russia and Israel since the start of the war in Gaza, and they have stoked concern about potential flashpoints between the two countries, not least in Syria, where both have a military presence.

Representatives from both sides have been openly bickering at various diplomatic meetings in clashes that have become almost commonplace.

Over the last three weeks, there has been a notable escalation in attacks targeting international coalition bases in northeastern Syria orchestrated by Iranian-backed militias operating in Iraq and Syria. Concurrently, there have been reports indicating the establishment of operational centers aimed at coordinating these strikes. These developments appear to be part of an effort to exploit the widespread popular discontent with the United States and Israel, with the strategic aim of expanding and consolidating Iranian influence in Syria.

It isn’t a surprise that Sudan’s two warring sides — the Sudanese Armed Forces and its sprawling paramilitary Rapid Support Forces — did not agree to a ceasefire. When they resumed talks in Jeddah, mediated by the U.S. and Saudi Arabia in late October, the RSF was busy launching a major offensive on the vast western region of Darfur.

The rivalry pitting Rabat against Algiers has been intensifying for years. But there are increasing risks that the political and economic competition between the two North African neighbors will accelerate into new and more challenging directions.

With the Israel-Hamas war stretching into its fourth week, the international focus is increasingly shifting to what will come the day after the shooting stops, and how the parties and the international community can move forward.

For decades Pakistan has threatened to deport its undocumented Afghan refugees, but Islamabad has never undertaken a campaign to oust Afghans on anything like the scale now underway. Whether voluntarily or through force, Pakistan’s interim administration, backed by the senior military leadership, seems determined to rapidly uproot 1.7 million of the estimated 3.5 million Afghans believed to be in the country. The government’s decision comes at a terrible time given the conditions in Afghanistan and the feared humanitarian impact.