Research & Commentary Results

As the Israel-Iran conflict intensifies, warnings are growing louder that the war could result in hazardous and destructive radiological spillover to much of the region. But the posturing of various key actors in the Gulf and beyond has opened the door to a broader political settlement between the United States and Iran that could end the hostilities before such a dangerous scenario comes to pass.

MEI Senior Fellow Paul Salem joins the program to assess Lebanon’s rapidly shifting political landscape. With a new president and government promising to enact reforms and reassert sovereignty, Lebanon faces a daunting agenda: disarming Hizballah, rebuilding institutions, navigating regional diplomacy, and restoring the economy.

What’s next for Gaza—and for Israel? In this episode of Middle East Focus, hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj sit down with Ghaith al-Omari, senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and former advisor to the Palestinian Authority, to unpack the urgent humanitarian crisis gripping Gaza, the impact of Israeli settlement expansion, and what these developments mean for the future of the region.

What has been unfolding in the Gaza Strip for millions of Palestinians is the direct consequence of the failures of political leaders who are ignoring best practices for the delivery of aid to innocent people caught in the crosshairs of a complicated war. Without a major shift in the current approach, the already dire conditions are only likely to deteriorate further going forward.

The recent brief yet intense escalation of hostilities between India and Pakistan has further exposed the fragile nature of South Asia’s security landscape. The four-day tit-for-tat cross-border military confrontation between the two nuclear-armed rivals has significantly undermined prospects for normalization, redefining the rules of engagement and signaling a shift in how both countries may manage their relationship moving forward.

Ambassador Dina Kawar, Jordan’s Ambassador to the United States, joins host Brian Katulis for a wide-ranging conversation on Jordan’s efforts to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, its bilateral partnership with the United States, and its role in regional diplomacy.

Ambassador Dennis Ross joins host Brian Katulis to break down what President Trump’s recent trip through Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar revealed about the administration’s approach to foreign policy in the Middle East—and what it means for the future of the region. They discuss the significance and substance behind the announced mega-deals, what’s really going on with Iran and the Houthi ceasefire, and how Trump is handling relations with Israel amid the ongoing war in Gaza.

As the EU prepares for its annual review of sanctions imposed on Syria, it faces a moment of reckoning — an opportunity to demonstrate whether its policies not only continue to be principled and legal, but also in line with its strategic interests. They no longer serve the purpose for which they were designed, and the EU should let the entire sanctions regime on Syria collapse unconditionally and immediately.

In this wide-ranging conversation, Ambassador James Jeffrey joins host Brian Katulis to unpack the Trump administration’s early moves in its second term and what they signal for US foreign policy in the Middle East.

President Donald Trump reached the 100-day mark in his second term this week seeing a sharp drop in his domestic political standing. This comes less than two weeks before Trump embarks on a key Middle East trip to the Gulf. The administration may be looking to the presidential visit as a chance to achieve some progress, but the region remains fraught with uncertainty and US policy in the Middle East rarely provides domestic political dividends.

Following seven years of diplomatic deadlock, Washington and Tehran have resumed nuclear negotiations — and for the first time in years, there are signs of real momentum.

Alex Vatanka, MEI Senior Fellow and author of The Battle of the Ayatollahs in Iran, joins hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj to analyze the current round of talks, the technical issues under discussion, and the political stakes on both sides. He explores Iran’s economic and domestic pressures, US red lines, and the role of key players like Israel, China, and Oman in shaping the negotiations.

This article is published as part of the Perry World House workshop “U.S.-Iran Relations Under Trump 2.0: Lessons Learned and Likely Scenarios.”

Two years on, the war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has created the world’s largest humanitarian crisis and wrought terrible destruction.

(This episode was recorded on Monday, April 7).

In this episode of Middle East Focus, hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj are joined by Eran Etzion, former deputy head of the Israeli National Security Council, for a revealing look inside Israel’s most pressing challenges.

President Donald Trump is focused on realizing two transformative breakthroughs that his predecessors failed to accomplish: an end to the Arab-Israeli conflict, centered on a tripartite US-Saudi-Israeli deal, and an agreement between the US and Iran. Both would be historic achievements. So far, however, progress in each case has proven difficult and plodding.