Lebanon is America’s next foreign policy win — if Washington acts now. The US has committed blood and treasure to neutralize Iran’s ability to project power and destabilize the Middle East. Lebanon is now the clearest opening to convert those investments into strategic gains and permanently dislodge the Islamic Republic from its most important regional foothold. Securing a sovereign Lebanon, achieving a lasting Israel-Lebanon peace, and dismantling Hizballah — the blueprint of Iran’s proxy model — would irreversibly weaken Tehran’s threat and consolidate a new regional order led by America’s partners before Iran has a chance to reverse its losses.
This report outlines an actionable US roadmap to win in Lebanon, comprising eight chapters of specific policy interventions across the security, economic, and political dimensions needed to secure a sovereign Lebanon, lock in US gains against Iran, and permanently end the Israel-Lebanon conflict.
Achieving a Permanent End to the Israel-Lebanon Conflict
As part of a report outlining an actionable US roadmap to win in Lebanon, this article posits a successful outcome will require more than just negotiations: sustained pressure on Hizballah and Iran, internal reforms in Lebanon, Arab state help, and more proactive American support — not just money, but advice — for the Lebanese army.
Media and politicians on both sides of the Atlantic are hyping the idea that President Trump’s attempt to gain sovereign control of Greenland has caused unprecedented and irreparable damage to the over 75 year-old Transatlantic Alliance. This “analysis” stems from multiple sources. On both sides of the ocean, there are those who pounce on any deviation from the norm by Trump as evidence the world as we know it is ending. And in Europe, there is the human but unattractive reaction of weak, dependent states against their one powerful ally when it rejects Europe’s preferred script. Much of the US media criticism is summarized by the concept that our other NATO allies can never again “trust” the US.
The US Commerce Department announced on November 19, 2025, that it had authorized the export of advanced American semiconductor chips to HUMAIN of Saudi Arabia and G42 of the United Arab Emirates. The approval enables both companies to purchase up to 35,000 Blackwell chips (GB300s). This sale is a core component of a broader “Compute Diplomacy” approach under the second administration of President Donald J. Trump, which was solidified following his May 2025 visit to the Gulf, where a series of multibillion-dollar artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure agreements were signed.
From a US military build-up in the region to Trump’s growing unpopularity at home, several factors could influence his decision on whether or not to attack.
Ankara’s double win: Kurds, Israel, and the new Syria
Whether the truce between Damascus and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces holds or collapses will have major implications for neighboring Turkey, which has long-standing interests in Syria, but recent developments already point to a win for Ankara.
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.
Iran’s coming reckoning: Regime collapse is likely — democracy is not
The collapse of the Iranian regime in its present form now seems more plausible than its survival as a functioning state. Yet the emergence of a democratic Iran remains far from certain. Between these two outcomes lies a volatile and dangerous middle ground. But much will depend on four factors.
Potential US military strikes on Iran: This won’t be another 12-Day War
President Donald Trump has sharply warned the Iranian regime to halt its brutal crackdown on protesters. Amid speculation that the US is preparing for military action in Iran, Washington should take the lessons and fundamentally different context of its successful June 2025 operation against the Islamic Republic into account as it plans for how to respond.
Iran protests seem different. They may lead to real change.
People are not protesting because they suddenly discovered activism. They are protesting because the habits of coping and waiting for conditions to improve have finally stopped working.
The oldest peer-reviewed publication dedicated to the study of the modern Middle East, MEI’s flagship journal covers politics, society, and culture in the region.
