From the Middle East to Middle America: Engineering Better Policy with Andrew J. Tabler
Brian sits down with Andrew J. Tabler, the Martin J. Gross Senior Fellow in the Linda and Tony Rubin Program on Arab Politics at The Washington Institute, to trace his unique and distinctive path from Oil City, Pennsylvania, to fourteen years living and working in the Middle East. Tabler discusses his time in Syria under the Assad regime, his service as director for Syria at the National Security Council and as senior advisor to the Special Envoy for Syria Engagement at the US State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs in the first Trump administration, and explains how these experiences shaped his perspective and inspired him to found the Drake Energy Forum.
When the US and Israel launched military action against Iran on February 28, 2026, it set in motion a chain of events that saw violence spread across the Middle East. Yet as the region found itself engulfed in conflict, Syria has experienced its most peaceful months in 15 years, and the government in Damascus appears determined to stay its course toward recovery.
Unlocking the Levant: Why the United States and Syria Must Pursue a Bilateral Trade and Investment Agreement
Apart from the brief honeymoon period between 1961 and 1963 under President John F. Kennedy and President Nazim al-Qudsi, US-Syria relations have never held such optimistic potential as they do today. Today, following the fall of Bashar al-Assad regime and the rise of a new government under President Ahmad al-Sharaa at the end of 2024, a new geopolitical window has opened.
MEI’s Syria Initiative seeks to provide insightful and grounded research and analysis on all things Syria in order to better inform a wide range of audiences and to help sustain and shape a more meaningful policy-oriented discussion.
The Middle East Institute, The Atlantic Council, and European Institute of Peace collaborate with subject matter experts and policymakers in the US, Europe, and the Middle East to develop a holistic strategy to sustainably forge a pathway to resolving Syria’s crisis.
I.R.G.C. Outlet: U.S. to Hand Over al-Tanf’s Control to Syrian Government
According to an agreement between the United States, Jordan, Russia and Syria, armed opposition groups will voluntarily leave eastern Damascus for Jordan, from where they will ultimately be transferred al-Hasakah Governorate in northeastern Syria, Fars News Agency reports. The Iranian outlet adds that two U.S.-backed rebel groups have reached an agreement in southeastern Damascus to surrender their weapons to the Syrian government in exchange for a safe passage to Jordan.
Iran Hails End of Siege on Syria’s Deir Ezzor as Victory for “Resistance”
Iranian leaders today congratulated the Syrian government on the lifting of a siege of the eastern city of Deir Ezzor by the Islamic State. Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif described the end of the three-year siege as a “significant victory” in the fight against terrorism.
Israel has weathered the campaign to oust Bashar al-Assad far better than its neighbors. Unlike many others, Israel was never a true believer in the failed effort to topple the Assad regime, preferring an opportunistic rather than a principled strategy that aimed at keeping Israel out of harm’s way.
The challenges of postwar Syria, however, may prove more daunting. Israel must now deter any interest by Syria’s Arab and Iranian allies to deploy military forces in Syria against it.
U.S. and Iran on a Collision Course in Syria, Again
Iran and its allies are sending reinforcements near a de-confliction zone in southeastern Syria to pressure the U.S. military to withdraw from a strategic garrison near al-Tanf border crossing. Both Tehran and Damascus see the presence of U.S. troops training rebel forces in al-Tanf, as well as in northeastern Syria, as a serious threat. Iran also views the expulsion of the U.S.
Iran Expanding Influence in Syria, Despite Israeli Warnings
Even before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived at the Black Sea resort of Sochi last Wednesday for his sixth consultation in two years with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Moscow’s representative in Tel Aviv laid out a soothing if improbable vision of a Syria free of Iranian troops and Shiite militias.
Turkey’s “Three Options” in Idlib amid Growing Tehran-Ankara Cooperation
Turkey has three options to tackle a looming threat to its national security emanating from the situation in Syria’s Idlib Province, according to an an
The Middle East Dialogue, a regional Track 1.5 group in which officials and non-officials from the region and beyond meet to discuss current issues in their personal capacities, met May 12-13 in Malta. Read the full report (PDF).
Iran Seeks to Play Major Role in Syria’s Economic Revival, Reconstruction
An Iranian official said on Thursday that his country is ready to meet Syria’s all trade needs and emphasized that Iranian companies are eager to help the war-torn country’s reconstruction.
Pro-Assad Forces and Hezbollah Launching Operation along Syrian-Lebanese Border
The Syrian pro-government forces and the Lebanese Hezbollah are set to launch a joint operation along the Syrian-Lebanese shared border against Islamic State militants, Fars News Agency reported on Friday. Quoting unnamed sources from Syria, Fars, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (I.R.G.C.), added that the Syrian government has sent a large military contingent of the Syrian Army forces and the National Defense Forces personnel to the western part of the Qalamoun Mountains to support the upcoming operation near Lebanon’s border.
U.S. Mobilizing Rebels in Syria’s Northeast to Capture Deir Ezzor, I.R.G.C. Outlet Warns
The U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq is planning on establishing a “ground force” composed of Syrian rebels led by Ahmad al-Jarba, the leader of al-Qad Movement, to “occupy” eastern Syria, warns Fars News Agency, an Iranian outlet affiliated with the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (I.R.G.C.).
Diplomatic Moves Signal Possible De-escalation of Regional Conflicts
Do a series of recent diplomatic moves by Saudi Arabia signal an opportunity for de-escalation of regional conflicts in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen? MEI scholars Gerald Feierstein, Randa Slim, and Charles Lister join Paul Salem to discuss the dynamics playing out between Riyadh and Tehran as the war against ISIS enters its final phase.
I.R.G.C. Outlet: Seizure of al-Sukhnah Helps Regime Operations in Raqqa and Deir Ezzor
The recent seizure of al-Sukhnah region in Syria’s Homs Governorate has prepared the ground for the Syrian Army and its foreign allies to advance toward and capture the oil-rich Deir Ezzor Governorate, according to
MEI’s Syria Initiative seeks to provide insightful and grounded research and analysis on all things Syria in order to better inform a wide range of audiences and to help sustain and shape a more meaningful policy-oriented discussion. Drawing on the expertise of over a dozen renowned scholars, the Syria Program covers all aspects of Syria and its ongoing crises – from political, economic, legal, social, ethnic and religious dynamics, to conflict, insurgency and terrorism and the country’s history and possible futures.
