Priyanka Debnath

At the end of August, the United Nations Security Council renewed the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) for the final time. For nearly half a century, blue helmets have been a fixture in South Lebanon, an extraordinary tenure for a country only eight decades old. In many ways, UNIFIL’s longstanding presence served as a reminder of Lebanon’s struggle to assert its sovereignty, which has had destabilizing consequences for international peace and security.

Now, that dysfunction may be nearing resolution.

On the fifth anniversary of the Abraham Accords, MEI’s Brian Katulis reflects on their durability and future: “These Abraham Accords will not be broken. They’ll be bent, but I think they’ll stay in place. But they won’t expand in any way until there’s progress on the Palestinian question.” He unpacks the origins of the agreements, their strengths and limitations, and the key challenges that must be addressed for them to grow stronger.

This month brings world leaders together to mark the annual opening of the United Nations General Assembly.  Their formal speeches in front of the assembly vary in interest, as many contain more pious platitudes than meaty information. The real work of interest often happens behind-the-scenes, as world leaders meet bilaterally or in small groups to discuss the issues of the day away from the glare of media or the pressure for summits to deliver results. The occasion also provides opportunities for the unexpected to happen. The Middle East will figure largely in these talks. Here are some po

With Iran’s nuclear program devastated, the reimposition of UN sanctions looming, and Tehran grappling with the fallout of the 12-Day War, is the time ripe for Iran to return to the negotiating table? MEI Distinguished Diplomatic Fellow Alan Eyre — former senior US diplomat and member of the 2015 JCPOA negotiating team — joins hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj to assess whether meaningful US-Iran talks are still possible and what they could achieve amid deep mistrust and escalating pressure.

For years, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader and ultimate powerbroker, has been insisting to his people that there would be no war with the United States or Israel. That claim was shattered when more than 1,000 Iranians were killed in June’s 12-day war. Now he warns against the country sliding into a “state of ‘no war, no peace.’” The diagnosis isn’t wrong—but refusing to confront hard choices is vintage Khamenei.

Turkey’s main opposition, the CHP, is facing its toughest test yet: mass arrests, sham court rulings, and the ouster of key leaders—including Istanbul’s mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, Erdoğan’s chief rival. With trials looming that could replace CHP leadership with government loyalists, the party warns of a legal ‘coup.’ What does this crackdown mean for Turkey’s fragile economy, its 2028 elections, and the future of democracy itself?

The reverberations of Israel’s strike on the Hamas negotiating team in Doha yesterday are still rippling across the globe and will continue to for the foreseeable future. Its ramifications are profound and will alter the geopolitical landscape not just in the Middle East but likely on a global scale.

When Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad was toppled late last year, it looked like a golden opportunity for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. For more than a decade, the war next door had burdened Ankara with problems that it could not fix: millions of Syrian refugees straining domestic politics, U.S.-backed Kurdish militias entrenching along Turkey’s border, and a battlefield dominated by Russian and Iranian influence that left Ankara exposed to Moscow’s and Tehran’s whims.

Ross Harrison and Mohsen Milani—two leading experts on Iranian strategy—join Brian for a conversation about the evolution of the Islamic Republic’s foreign policy. Both draw on insights from their latest works: Harrison’s Decoding Iran’s Foreign Policy and Milani’s Iran’s Rise and Rivalry with the US in the Middle East. They unpack the fallout of the Twelve-Day War, the weakening of the “Axis of Resistance,” and the lessons Tehran might take from Vietnam’s transformation.

There was a real possibility earlier this summer that the United States was going to veto the renewal of the UNIFIL mandate in August. Ultimately, a wiser course prevailed, when the UN Security Council extended UNIFIL’s mandate “for a final time” last week until the end of 2026.  This step is a positive one for everyone concerned except Hezbollah and its foreign patron, Iran.

The coming weeks may prove decisive in Europe’s long struggle to manage Iran’s nuclear ambitions. On Aug. 28, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany announced they will trigger the “snapback” sanctions mechanism. Whether Europe’s gamble succeeds will determine both the future of non-proliferation and the credibility of Europe as a strategic actor.