MEI Senior Fellow Brian Katulis engages friends, colleagues, and policy experts in casual conversations on the most important happenings in the Middle East.
After the Iran War: What Is America’s Long Game in the Middle East?
Brian is joined by Dana Stroul, Director of Research and Shelly and Michael Kassen Senior Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, to examine US objectives in the Middle East in the midst of the ongoing war between the US, Israel, and Iran. Drawing on her extensive experience in US policymaking, most notably as the Pentagon’s top civilian official responsible for the Middle East from 2021 to 2023, Dana offers an insider’s perspective on this strategic moment. Together, Dana and Brian unpack the rapidly developing situation in Iran, the fragility of the ceasefires in Gaza and Lebanon, the shifting landscape in Syria after Assad, and the United States’ role in a region that may be on the cusp of transformation.
Against the backdrop of one of the largest US military deployments to the Middle East since 2003, MEI Senior Fellow Alex Vatanka joins hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj to assess the situation inside Iran on the eve of potential war. Weeks after the Islamic Republic’s brutal crackdown on anti-government protesters and as negotiations with the US fail to find common ground, Donald Trump is reportedly weighing options for military action against Iran. Vatanka breaks down the regime’s strategic calculus, the current dynamics of Iran’s opposition movement, and the likely domestic political consequences of a military strike.
Hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj are joined by MEI Senior Fellow Natan Sachs to discuss Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s February 11 visit to the White House, Israel’s anxieties surrounding the ongoing US-Iran talks, and the domestic political dynamics Netanyahu is operating under. Taylor, Czekaj, and Sachs unpack what Netanyahu hoped to achieve during the visit, particularly regarding Iran, and what his relationship with President Donald Trump can tell us about the relative coordination and policy alignment between the US and Israel. They also examine Netanyahu’s political standing at home, two and half years since the October 7 attacks, as the 2026 election campaign begins in Israel. Finally, Sachs assesses what lies ahead for Israeli politics.
Brian sits down with Holly Dagres, Libitzky Family Senior Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, to discuss Iranian public opinion and protest movements. Dagres, who was born in Los Angeles and moved to Iran at age thirteen, offers a rare insider perspective on the views and aspirations of the Iranian people. The conversation explores the formative experiences of her teenage years in Iran, the roots of the country’s powerful women’s movements, the power of youth voices, and US policy toward Iran.
Dramatic developments in Syria have delivered a major blow to Kurdish ambitions for self-rule. In a rapid offensive, Damascus moved into northeast Syria, forcing the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) out and effectively dismantling the autonomous region the Kurds had built during the civil war.
From the Middle East to West Asia: Redefining America’s Global Strategy
MEI Senior Fellow Mohammed Soliman joins hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj to discuss his new book, West Asia: A New American Grand Strategy in the Middle East. The book argues that it is time for the United States to move decisively away from nation-building and focus instead on order-building, outlining a framework for a new regional order that links Europe to the Indo-Pacific. Soliman also shares how he conceived of the core ideas behind his book and explains why his thesis is especially relevant in today’s geopolitical, economic, and technological landscape.
America’s New Defense Strategy — and What It Means for Iran
Hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj are joined by MEI Distinguished Military Fellow Mick Mulroy to discuss the Trump administration’s new National Defense Strategy (NDS) and its implications for the Middle East. While serving as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (DASD) for the Middle East from 2017 to 2019, Mulroy helped prepare the 2018 NDS, giving him an insider perspective on US defense planning. Together, Taylor, Czekaj, and Mulroy unpack what the new strategy means for US priorities globally and for the Middle East in particular, including how it could be reflected in a potentially looming military strike on Iran.
Long before the Gaza war erupted in 2023, a broad consensus had already taken hold across policymakers, activists, and foreign-policy circles: the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was at a political dead end. The Oslo framework—and the promise of a two-state solution—had steadily lost credibility as a realistic path forward. Since Hamas’s October 7 attacks, the devastation in Gaza and the accelerating realities on the ground have made a two-state outcome even harder to imagine. And yet, it remains the default language of Middle East diplomacy. Most recently, UN Secretary-General António Guterres reaffirmed his determination to oppose Israeli actions undermining the two-state solution and called for renewed momentum toward Palestinian statehood.
Against the backdrop of the Iranian government’s brutal crackdown on protestors, Brian is joined by Emad Shargi, an Iranian-American businessman who was unjustly detained by the regime in 2018 until his release in 2023. Shargi recounts his firsthand experience in the notorious Evin Prison and offers rare insights into the mentality and tactics of the Islamic Republic. He and Brian also discuss his recommendations for US engagement in Iran and his hopes for the country’s future.
Ambiguous Uncertainties: Phase Two of Trump’s Plan for Gaza
MEI Senior Fellow Lucy Kurtzer-Ellenbogen joins hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj to discuss the latest developments in Gaza. Nearly four months after the Israeli government and Hamas agreed to President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan, Washington has announced that phase two of the process is now underway. Kurtzer-Ellenbogen, Taylor, and Czekaj examine the humanitarian situation in the devastated coastal strip, assess what phase two could entail, break down how international actors are responding, and explore what would need to happen to realize the plan’s aspirations.
This bonus episode of Middle East Focus features an excerpt from a recent MEI Virtual Briefing recorded on January 20. Director of Communications Zeina Al-Shaib is joined by MEI Affiliate Fatima Abo Alasrar and Associate Fellow F. Gregory Gause III to discuss the dramatically changing dynamics in Yemen’s civil war. Last month, Yemen emerged as a focal point of rising tensions between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The Southern Transitional Council, a UAE-backed southern separatist movement, has disbanded in recent weeks, following fierce clashes with Saudi-backed forces. In the conversation, Alasrar and Gause analyze the political, security, and socio-economic shifts affecting Yemen’s internal dynamics and what all this means for regional stability.
Breaking News Brief: Damascus and the Syrian Kurds Come to Blows
MEI Senior Fellow Charles Lister joins hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj to unpack the latest developments in Syria, as a tenuous cease-fire takes hold after several days of intense fighting between the Syrian army and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Their discussion explores the drivers of the conflict, the prospects for a lasting deal that would integrate the SDF into the Syrian military, as well as the role and perspective of key external actors, including the US, Turkey, and Israel.
Brian sits down with Behnam Taleblu, Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, to unpack the ongoing protests in Iran and what this moment reveals about the long struggle between the state and the street. They discuss the regime’s brutal crackdown, the prospect of US intervention, and what both could mean for the future of the Islamic Republic. The episode centers on agency, imagination, and the possibilities facing Iranians at a critical juncture in the country’s history.
Venezuela’s Shadow Over MENA: Perceptions and Precedents
MEI Vice President for Policy Ken Pollack joins hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj to explore what the precedent set by the Trump administration’s military capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro could mean for US policy in the Middle East — particularly in light of ongoing anti-regime protests in Iran. The conversation unpacks the reverberations of Operation Absolute Resolve, Washington’s options for and potential consequences of responding to the Iranian regime’s brutal crackdown, regional perceptions of recent US actions and stated objectives, and broader questions around the direction of the Trump administration’s evolving grand strategy.
Iran is facing the largest demonstrations since 2022, when the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody ignited a nationwide uprising. This time, the unrest comes as the Islamic Republic is unusually exposed—still reeling from a bruising 12-day war with Israel last summer. What does this moment mean for the regime’s survival? How is this wave of protests different from those that came before? And is there anything the outside world can do to support Iran’s pro-democracy movement without backfiring?
