MEI’s experts react to the Israeli strikes on Iran’s nuclear program and the consequences for the wider region.

Last night, the government of Israel decided to roll the dice on a military solution to Iran’s decades-long pursuit of a nuclear weapons capability.

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.

When Executive Order (EO) 14169, “Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid,” was issued and implemented by the administration of President Donald Trump in early 2025, it effectively halted nearly all US foreign aid. The order primarily suspended the disbursement of non-military aid programs, leading to the termination of US-funded assistance projects, contracts, and employment across the world. The impact of this abrupt elimination of foreign aid was especially acute for humanitarian and development programs, crippling those targeting food assistance, clean water access, public health, and agricultural support.

Following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime on Dec. 8, 2024, after the rebel military operation “Deterrence of Aggression” and the establishment of a transitional government, Ahmed al-Sharaa, Syria’s interim president, quickly began working to form a unified national army, dismantle the existing factions, and centralize all weapons under the authority of the state in an effort to address one of the most pressing challenges facing his administration. While several initial moves have been completed, important steps in this complicated process are still pending. This article highlights the current developments surrounding the formation of the new army, including progress achieved to date and key challenges going forward.

The spotlight in America this week is trained on the home front, with growing tensions inside the country over President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown and a showdown unfolding on the streets of Los Angeles. At times like these, the rest of the world has a way of intruding, sometimes unexpectedly, and Trump 2.0’s foreign policy is still struggling to produce a major positive outcome from its frenetic activity trying to end kinetic wars while prosecuting an unprecedented economic war with much of the rest of the world.

After decades of repression, many of Turkey’s Kurds are hopeful that their long struggle for basic rights may finally be nearing a breakthrough.