Daniel Benaim

Daniel Benaim previously served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Arabian Peninsula Affairs and NSC Senior Director for Speechwriting and Strategic Initiatives and Special Assistant to the President. As Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Arabian Peninsula from 2021-2025, he took part in a range of initiatives, including diplomacy to end regional wars, efforts to bring jailed Americans home safely, the evacuation of almost 100,000 Afghan allies through the Gulf, arms sales, semiconductor exports, commercial diplomacy, and competition with China in the Middle East. Daniel has served multiple stints at the White House, State Department, and US Senate, as well as US think tanks and universities, and published in Foreign Affairs and the New York Times. He is a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations.