Daily Israeli breaches of the Gaza ceasefire agreement threaten the entire peace process, says the Qatari prime minister, who helped broker the deal forged by Donald Trump. So, what's gone wrong -- and what might the US president do to get it back on track? (Listen here)
Tensions between Saudi Arabia and the UAE are escalating anew in Yemen. Al-Monitor senior editor Joyce Karam says the clash is real, leaving the Trump administration torn between its top regional allies (Listen here).
How will the US respond to the killing of three of its soldiers in Syria? Washington blames the Islamic State for the attack and vows retaliation. So, does that mean direct military involvement? And if so, what role would the new Syrian government play? (Listen here)
When it comes to liberal American Jews and President Donald Trump, the “cognitive dissonance is real,” said award-winning journalist Dahlia Lithwick on the Haaretz Podcast (Listen here).
In this Conflicted Conversation, Thomas speaks with Lorenzo Vidino, Director of the Programme on Extremism at The George Washington University. What happens when an ideological movement is neither a terrorist organisation nor an ordinary religious group — but something in between? One of the world’s leading experts on the Muslim Brotherhood explains (Listen here).
Why are we defending mass murder in Gaza? Because our Greatest Ally demands it. It’s time to rethink that relationship (Listen here).
No American president has ever sided with an Arab state over Israel until Donald Trump forced Bibi to apologize to Qatar. A reaction from Qatar’s PM (Listen here).
There was a clear “threat” delivered in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s formal letter to President Isaac Herzog requesting a pardon in his corruption case, senior Haaretz columnist Dahlia Scheindlin said on the Haaretz Podcast. On the podcast, Scheindlin discusses the impact a pardon would have on a future election and the U.S.-led efforts to pursue the goals laid out in the Gaza cease-fire agreement, as well as what she believes Israel’s opposition needs to do to seize this moment ahead of next October’s election in order to formulate a “winning strategy” to defeat Netanyahu (Listen here).
Did the Biden administration help cover up the killing of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh by Israeli forces? This week on UpFront, Marc Lamont Hill speaks to Steve Gabavics, a colonel-turned-whistleblower who was sent by the United States Department of State to investigate Abu Akleh's killing in 2022. Gabavics found that Israel intentionally killed Abu Akleh, who was fired at 16 times while wearing a blue vest marked “press”, but the State Department labelled her killing "accidental" to avoid angering the Israeli government. Gabavics claimed that Abu Akleh is among several American citizens killed by the Israeli military for whom the US has taken no action to hold Israel accountable (Listen here).
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called a cabinet meeting this month to discuss settler violence, but this sudden interest stands in stark contrast to years of inaction by the state. Settler attacks in the occupied West Bank hit a record high in October, the worst monthly toll since record-keeping began almost two decades ago. The violence is happening with impunity and under the protection of the army, according to evidence collected by rights groups and testimonies from Palestinians. The question is: why are authorities only now taking an interest? Is new pressure from Washington pushing them to take a stronger stand against settler attacks? In this episode of Beyond the Headlines, host Nada AlTaher examines Israel’s reaction to settler violence. She speaks to Kobi Michael from the Misgav Institute and to political analyst Ori Goldberg (Listen here).
The feud between U.S. President Donald Trump and MAGA congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene may not be exclusively about Israel, “but Israel is one of the pillars of the narrative” that fueled Greene’s decision to resign earlier this week, Haaretz’s Washington correspondent Ben Samuels told the Haaretz Podcast (Listen here).
United States President Donald Trump “looks at Saudi Arabia like a piggy bank or an ATM machine” and that’s why the recent Saudi-US summit focused on deals instead of strategic regional issues, such as Sudan, Palestine, Iran and Syria, argues political scientist Gregory Gause, professor emeritus of international affairs at Texas A&M University. Gause tells host Steve Clemons that if Riyadh can seal a deal to house a joint AI data centre, “that's the best guarantee of US security.” He adds that China may be Saudi Arabia’s biggest customer but the US is Riyadh’s “preferred partner on security, AI, economics and defence cooperation”. (Listen here)
In this episode of Middle East Focus, hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj sit down with MEI Visiting Scholar F. Gregory Gause, III, to analyze the policy implications of Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud's (MBS) first visit to the US in seven years. What do US and Saudi officials hope to achieve from MBS's historic trip? Gause breaks down how the kingdom has changed under MBS's leadership and the prospects for a bilateral defense agreement between the US and Saudi Arabia. Gause also examines the evolving US-Saudi relationship and how the turbulent regional landscape is affecting Riyadh's foreign policy calculations (Listen here).
Tommy and Ben discuss Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to Washington, his request for F-35 fighter jets and a NATO-like security guarantee, the real estate deals the Trump family might get in return, and how corruption is driving US foreign policy, including in the case of a gold-bar bribe from the Swiss. Then they talk about new reports on embattled (and embarrassing) FBI Director Kash Patel, what leaked emails tell us about Jeffrey Epstein’s relationship with Israeli intelligence and former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, how Chinese hackers used AI in a game-changing new way, why the former prime minister of Bangladesh was sentenced to death, a massive corruption scandal in Ukraine, an update on civilians fleeing violence in Sudan, and a new documentary about how Adolf Hitler’s teeny tiny secret caused big problems. Then Ben speaks with author and former assistant administrator at USAID, Atul Gawande, whose new documentary “Rovina’s Choice” highlights the staggering rise in preventable malnutrition and deaths after American cuts to foreign aid (Listen here).
Muhammad bin Salman’s first visit to the White House in seven years earned the Saudi crown prince new weapons, giant tech deals and a burnished reputation. Our correspondent explains Trump’s warm welcome. Why gay rights in Hong Kong are going backwards. And how snail farms help Britons dodge tax (Listen here).
US President Donald Trump's Gaza peace plan wins UN Security Council backing. A mixed reaction from Palestinians: the Palestinian Authority welcomes the resolution, but Hamas rejects it along with plans for an international stabilisation force. So, what's next? (Listen here)
Tommy and Ben discuss Syrian transitional President Ahmed Al-Shaara’s historic and improbable visit to the White House, Trump’s sanctions waiver and special favors for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban ahead of his election, why the US is boycotting the G20 in South Africa, and how a sham election in Tanzania that’s led to mass protests and potentially thousands dead. Then they talk about how Trump could bring an end to bloodshed in Sudan with one phone call to the United Arab Emirates, a new list of problems undercutting Trump’s case for the Nobel Peace Prize, why Trump is suing the BBC for $1 billion, and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s colossal infrastructure failure in the desert. Then Tommy speaks to Josh Paul and Tariq Habash about why they resigned from the Biden administration over Gaza, and how they’re trying to change Democrats' approach to US-Israel policy with their organization, A New Policy (Listen here).
By aligning diplomatic decisions with national interests and regional responsibilities, Saudi Arabia has developed a sophisticated approach to statecraft. Jonathan Panikoff, a former career US intelligence officer for Middle Eastern affairs, noted that Saudi Arabia will not move forward with normalisation until a tangible path to a Palestinian state exists. He added that the crown prince is expected to use his influence in Washington to secure clear American support for a sovereign Palestinian state, a move that reflects the kingdom’s diplomatic skill in managing global power dynamics without compromising national principles. The kingdom has also demonstrated its ability to balance national security with strategic independence by ensuring that negotiations with Washington do not affect the autonomy of its national decisions or vital interests (Read more at Arab Weekly).
A landmark meeting between Presidents Donald Trump and Ahmed al-Sharaa at the White House.The historic sit-down signals a major shift in US-Syria relations. So, how will it shape Trump’s legacy in the Middle East? And what impact could it have on the region? (Listen here)
Zohran Mamdani is closing in on the mayor's office. His final pitch: Guilt-tripping America for not loving Muslims enough after 9/11. Alex Marlow joins Blake and Andrew to react to this gross attack on the American people and looks at the bigger picture of Islamic migration into America, and they debunk the Left's meltdown over Trump's East Wing construction (Listen here).
US President Donald Trump says an international stabilisation force will operate in Gaza soon. Hours later, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel can veto which countries take part. What are the challenges facing such a force and in setting it up? (Listen here)
Trump’s Gaza plan is in danger of going the way of the Oslo Accords, argues US journalist Chris Hedges: Never to be implemented beyond the first phase. Hedges tells host Steve Clemons that there are no guarantees that the US-brokered deal “will actually thwart the genocidal project that Israel is intending to carry out in Gaza and … the West Bank”. While a parade of US officials visited Israel to signify commitment to the ceasefire, Israel continued to restrict food and medicine to millions of Palestinians, and Israeli forces continued to occupy more than half of the Gaza Strip (Listen here).
The Israeli parliament votes to annex the occupied West Bank - a move unlikely to become law but described as an 'insult' by the U.S. vice president. Donald Trump insists annexation won't happen, but settler violence is escalating. Are US-Israeli relations in upheaval? (Listen here)
In his conversation with podcast host Allison Kaplan Sommer, Leifer also discussed the way in which Trump “has completely scrambled American Jewish politics.” On one hand, he said, “American Jewish liberals loathe him and experience him and his followers as racist, sexist, homophobic and antisemitic” while “on the other hand, it's true that he managed to do what Joe Biden couldn’t: end the war and bring the hostages home.” (Listen here)
In this episode of Middle East Focus, hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj speak with MEI Senior Fellow Brian Katulis about US policy in the Middle East under Donald Trump’s second administration. Nine months into Trump 2.0, how much has really changed? Katulis breaks down the administration’s approach to major issues, including the cease-fire in Gaza and broader prospects for peace, the aftermath of the 12-Day War with Iran, and how Washington is managing ties with regional partners. He also previews his upcoming quarterly report card, which grades the administration on key policy areas (Listen here).
How will Donald Trump enforce his plan for Gaza? In his address to the Israeli Knesset and in Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday, the US President urged leaders to move past conflicts. But how challenging will that be? (Listen here)
What's the US planning for the Middle East? President Donald Trump came to the region on Monday to cement his plan for peace in Gaza. He says the end of the war ushers in a historic new dawn. But can he succeed where his predecessors have failed? (Listen here)
For the past couple of months, the billionaire father-son duo of Larry and David Ellison have been making deals involving major media brands. Having acquired Paramount, the parent company of CBS News, they appointed Bari Weiss - an outspoken supporter of Israel - as the network’s editor-in-chief. The moves by the Ellisons are not just about growing their media empire, but about shaping the narrative around Israel in the US, where public support continues to decline (Listen here).
Two years after Hamas’ October 7 attack and Israel’s punishing response, both sides say they accept in principle President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan to halt the war and chart a path toward enduring peace. MEI Senior Fellow Lucy Kurtzer-Ellenbogen joins hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj to unpack what’s in the plan, how compatible it is with earlier Arab and European proposals, and whether its vague “credible pathway” to Palestinian statehood can withstand politics in Jerusalem, Ramallah, and Washington. They also explore the sticking points—Hamas disarmament, Israeli withdrawal, and Palestinian Authority reform—as well as what success would actually look like on the ground (Listen here).
The lesson of U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest diplomatic gambit is that in Middle East deal-making, “the devil is in the details, but the most important thing is political willpower,” said Anshel Pfeffer, The Economist’s Israel correspondent and former Haaretz columnist, speaking on the Haaretz Podcast (Listen here).
A ceasefire agreement for Gaza - and cautious hopes among Palestinians of an end to two years of genocide. US president Donald Trump announced the deal - after putting pressure on Israel to agree. What impact has the war had on Israeli-US relations? (Listen here)
Today on the show, Fareed is joined by Dan Senor, analyst and author, on why President Trump’s Gaza plan is an all-around win for Israelis, Palestinians and the Arab world. Then, Fareed speaks with Diana Buttu, a Palestinian human rights lawyer and former advisor adviser to the Palestine Liberation Organization, on why she believes Trump's Gaza plan does not go far enough to ensure peace (Listen here).
President Trump has released a Gaza “peace” plan that would put Gaza under a Trump-chaired “Board of Peace”. While some in the international community have welcomed the move, some question the fact that it bypasses Palestinians and offers no path to statehood. So, with Netanyahu pledging not to fully withdraw from Gaza, will this deal bring genuine peace or cement the status quo? This week on an UpFront special, Marc Lamont Hill speaks with one of the world’s foremost experts on the Israel-Palestine conflict, Norman Finkelstein (Listen here).
The US plan to end Israel’s war on Gaza is designed, supervised and administered “primarily by people who are very staunchly pro-Israel,” and has little chance of delivering peace, argues Stephen Walt, professor of international relations at Harvard University. “We’ve seen this movie before,” Walt tells host Steve Clemons. According to the terms announced by US President Donald Trump, Israel can argue at any time that the Palestinian side isn’t fulfilling its obligations and thus resume the war. Increasingly seen as a threat by other countries in the region, Israel “is in for a very troubling future”, Walt says (Listen here).
Reviving ties between Turkiye and the U.S. Donald Trump hints at lifting sanctions on Ankara buying F-35 jets during a meeting with Recep Tayyip Erdogan. In return, Turkiye is urged to stop buying Russian oil. So, can this lead to a closer alignment between Washington and Ankara? (Listen here)
On a special edition of the Haaretz Podcast – as Israel faces the Jewish High Holidays mired in war and political division, host Allison Kaplan Sommer speaks to Prof. Adam Ferziger about soul-searching and atonement with a focus on the Orthodox Jewish community in Israel and the Diaspora (Listen here).
Will Donald Trump's plan for Gaza work? The U.S. President has presented a proposal to end Israel's war in the Strip. And he's secured firm support from regional leaders. But what about the two main players: Hamas and Israel? (Listen here)
Israel has spied on millions of Palestinians using Microsoft's powerful technology. Now, the high-tech giant says it's cancelled some of its services to the Israeli army. But as the military expands its devastating war on Gaza, is this move enough? And will it make any difference on the ground? (Listen here)
In the aftermath of an Israeli attack on Qatar targeting the leadership of Hamas, American political scientist John Mearsheimer argues, “The Israelis are interested in making sure there are no negotiations that settle the conflict in Gaza.” Mearsheimer tells host Steve Clemons that the United States and Israel “basically act as a tag team”, and despite a mild rebuke by President Donald Trump, “the US supports Israel unconditionally”. He adds that Israel has three main strategic goals: expand territory, move the Palestinians out of all conquered territory, and ensure that all countries in the region are weak (Listen here).
How much of a burden has Israel become for the US? Washington stands accused of shielding Benjamin Netanyahu's government as it continues its genocide in Gaza. From providing weapons to using veto power, is there no limit to how far will the US go in defending Tel Aviv? (Listen here)
Fareed Zakaria hosts a detailed special tracing the historical conflict between the United States and Iran, starting with a dramatization of a B-2 bomber strike on Iran's nuclear facilities. The narrative revisits the pivotal 1979 Iranian hostage crisis, emphasizing its roots in a 1953 CIA-led coup against Iran’s Prime Minister Mossadeq. The documentary explores the complex history between the two nations, focusing on Iran's Islamic Revolution, the rise of Ayatollah Khomeini, and the subsequent brutal consolidation of power into a theocratic regime. It details the eight-year Iran-Iraq war, the rise of Iran's proxy forces, and the U.S.'s shifting policies towards Iran. The final segment speculates on the potential for future U.S.-Iran relations, highlighting the difficulties in achieving either regime change or friendship and suggesting the possibility of an uneasy coexistence while acknowledging the deep national pride and ancient civilization of Iran (Listen here).
We talk a lot about Iran on this show, but we don’t often hear from Iranian leaders. I wanted to change that this week—and so I asked Mohammad Javad Zarif to come on the program. Zarif played a major role in crafting Iranian foreign policy over the last 15 years, as foreign minister from 2013 to 2021 and as the lead negotiator of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. While Americans perceived him as the diplomatic face of Iran, at home he was seen as a reformer trying to hold off the hard-liners. Zarif served as Iran’s vice president of strategic affairs from 2024 to earlier this year, but he’s now out of government and a bit more free to express his opinions. He spoke with me about the June war between Israel and Iran and the prospects for diplomacy with the Trump administration (Listen here).
Why has Donald Trump not spoken out about famine in Gaza? He publicly acknowledged last month that 'children looked very hungry' there. What's behind his silence now? And is it a green light for Israel to continue its genocide by starvation? (Listen here)
The "last thing" Rabbi Rachel Timoner says she wanted to do was block the street in front of New York's Israeli consulate as part of a protest calling on Israel to increase the flow of humanitarian aid in Gaza – let alone get arrested for doing so. The Brooklyn rabbi said on the Haaretz Podcast that when she was asked to take part in the demonstration, she found it impossible to say no. "As a leader of the Jewish community here, as a rabbi, I feel that when Israel is acting in a way that they are claiming is representing Judaism, it's part of my job to show my understanding of what Judaism stands for. We feed the hungry, and we care for the sick, and we free the captives, and we care for the human dignity of every life, of every human life." (Listen Here)
Despite some pushback from his party to deal with the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza - especially Israel’s starvation policy - the US governing Republican Party remains unmoved. Republicans overwhelmingly support Israel’s tactics against the Palestinians, as support for Israel plummets among Independent and Democratic voters. Trump says he wants more food to reach Gaza via the militarised distribution mechanism, the GHF. But he criticised Western countries that spoke of diplomatic moves, such as recognising Palestinian statehood. Host Steve Clemons speaks with Republican analyst Mark Pfeifle and Democratic analyst David Bolger on Trump’s political calculations on Middle East policy (Listen here).
The US announces sanctions against the Palestinian leadership, saying it has undermined peace efforts. It comes as the war in Gaza still rages and the push for Palestinian statehood is gaining momentum. So, what are the implications of the US decision? (Listen here)
In this week’s episode of One Decision, Congressman Bill Foster — the only Ph.D. physicist in Congress — joins hosts Christina Ruffini and Sir Richard Dearlove to examine the widening gap between science and policy in Washington. Foster warns that as the U.S. defunds research and sidelines experts, it risks falling behind in the global race for technological dominance, particularly against China. From the dangers of deregulated artificial intelligence to the unclear status of Iran’s nuclear program, Foster outlines the stakes of ignoring science at the highest levels of government (Listen here).
If it weren’t for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ongoing criminal trial and the multiple investigations into payments made by Qatar to his closest aides, the Gaza war could have been over, Bar Peleg, who has been covering Netanyahu’s legal woes, said on the Haaretz Podcast. In his conversation with podcast host Allison Kaplan Sommer, Peleg laid out the details of the multiple investigations, including BibiLeaks and Qatargate, against the Israeli premier in light of the calls by President Donald Trump that his trial be “cancelled.” Trump has also suggested that Netanyahu should be given a pardon, and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee’s appearance at his trial in a show of support (Listen here).
As the Trump administration marks six months in office, it is pursuing a flurry of diplomatic initiatives across the Middle East — some publicly coordinated, others shaped behind closed doors. MEI Distinguished Diplomatic Fellow Mara Rudman joins hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj to assess the administration’s broader regional strategy and its handling of key issues including Israel-Hamas ceasefire negotiations, the future of Gaza, US-Iran nuclear diplomacy, Israeli-Arab normalization, Lebanon’s political stalemate, and prospects for Israeli-Syrian talks. Rudman, a veteran of the Clinton and Obama administrations, offers a candid assessment of Trump’s transactional style, the role of regional partners, and the risks and opportunities of a diplomacy rooted more in personality than in policy consistency (Listen here).
This week on One Decision In Brief, Sir Richard Dearlove and Kate McCann unpack the high-stakes meeting between Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu as the world watches for a potential ceasefire. Plus, Chinese President Xi Jingping's puzzling withdrawal from the global stage and what UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer's meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron could reveal about Europe's new power dynamic (Listen here).
During a visit to the Gulf in May, US President Donald Trump made a surprise announcement that he would revoke sanctions on Syria. This week, he kept that promise. He signed an executive order on Monday to waive or review penalties, some of which have been in place for decades. The move comes as a relief for struggling Syrians after almost 14 years of a brutal civil war that has devastated their economy. For their transitional leader Ahmad Al Shara, it’s a milestone that could give him the legitimacy that he and his Hayat Tahrir Al Sham-led government so desperately seek. But it also brings him new and complicated challenges. “President Trump wants Syria to succeed – but not at the expense of US interests,” the White House said, while establishing ties with Israel would be a priority. The question is, what pressures could this impose on the new Damascus government? In this episode of Beyond the Headlines, guest host Ban Barkawi looks at US interests in Syria and the fine line Mr Al Shara will have to walk to keep his people and the West happy. She speaks to Jihan Abdalla, The National’s senior correspondent in Washington, and Omar Dahi, director at Security in Context (Listen here).
Israel’s military achievements in its war with Iran will mean little if they are not “anchored to a diplomatic agreement that will ensure that Iran will not develop nuclear weapons,” Shira Efron, research director of the Israel Policy Forum, said on the Haaretz Podcast. Without such a guarantee, she fears, the “fragile cease-fire” in place will not hold and there will be a regression into the “tit-for-tat war of attrition” that the Trump-imposed cease-fire managed to halt. Bringing the Iranians back to the negotiating table in good faith, however, she said, will be challenging. From their perspective, after they showed willingness to negotiate, Israel and the United States struck militarily (Listen here).
Over the weekend, the president decided to launch an attack on Iranian nuclear sites, which included deploying B-2s loaded with bunker busters, in an operation called Midnight Hammer. Shortly after the operation, Trump began calling for a ceasefire to allow the president and his team to negotiate a new nuclear deal with Iran. The sabre-scribblers could not be satisfied with anything short of a regime change war. Of course, they have no intention of going to the battlefield themselves—let alone sending their sons. More often than not, they are Never Trumpers who don’t even trust the commander in chief to lead the wars they call for (Listen here).
Israel’s conflict with Iran has wiped out dozens of top military leaders and scientists and inflicted major damage on critical facilities, yet the regime has survived. The Iranian people have not risen up; to the contrary, they have rallied around the flag amid a surge in anti-Western sentiment. However, the regime will need to embark on serious reforms to keep the people on its side, says Iranian American academic Vali Nasr (Listen here).
At any moment, President Donald Trump could decide to directly involve the United States in yet another war in the Middle East—this time against Iran. The stakes could not be higher, and, this week, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., joins "The Signal Sitdown" to discuss. “I think President Trump's instincts are to try to keep us out of war,” Paul told The Daily Signal. “I think he has these instincts within his belief system of restraint and less intervention.” Nevertheless, Paul warned that there might be “forces within his administration that would like to get us more involved.” (Listen here)
US President Donald Trump has made his administration “a subcontractor, a junior partner” to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s objectives in the Middle East, argues Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen. As the president mulls further involvement in Israel’s attack on Iran, Senator Van Hollen tells host Steve Clemons that “This notion that you can just drop a few big bombs and be done with it misunderstands history, because there is a real risk that the United States will get dragged deeper and deeper into this war.” (Listen here)
"The best-case scenario for Israel is either an American attack on the underground Fordow nuclear site or an agreement that causes the Iranians to give up the uranium there," he said. "The worst case scenario is a war of attrition with Iran, in which we continue to bomb them but cannot fully eliminate some of their sites, and they continue to bomb us and wake us up three times every night with ballistic missiles." The 10 days before the Israeli strike were a joint American-Israeli trap set for the Iranians" in which U.S. President Donald Trump deceptively declared he was pressuring Israel to stand down in deference to diplomatic efforts (Listen here).
The Israel-Iran conflict brings more instability to the Middle East, a region with extensive US interests. They'll be central to shaping president Donald Trump's strategy. So, what's at stake for Washington--and the pros and cons for Trump of further involvement? (Listen here)
Chaos at aid distribution sites in southern Gaza. The UN has distanced itself from the operations of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation that's backed by the US and Israel. What’s behind this move to establish a separate aid mechanism? And what needs to change to help desperate Palestinians? (Listen here).
Ankara's latest effort to end a four decades long Kurdish insurgency is opaque and is full of risks and opportunities for Turkey and Syria's Kurds says lawmaker Cengiz Candar (Listen here).
Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump visited three countries in the Middle East—Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar—on the first scheduled foreign trip of his second term. While many of the headlines from the trip focused on the 747 jetliner Qatar donated for use as Air Force One, it’s probably more notable that Trump rejected decades of Western intervention in the region and declared that there would be “no more lectures” from America. Is the Trump administration re-aligning American priorities in the region? F. Gregory Gause, visiting scholar at the Middle East Institute, joins FP Live to discuss why the Gulf monarchies are rising in importance (Listen here).
Hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj speak with MEI Senior Fellow Mohammed Soliman about President Donald Trump’s recent trip to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar, which yielded a wave of major US-Gulf tech and AI deals. Soliman explains how these partnerships mark a shift in the relationship—from oil and arms to compute power and data infrastructure—and what it means for the Gulf’s strategic role in the global AI ecosystem. The discussion explores the energy bottlenecks behind AI development, evolving US export control policy, and the social and geopolitical implications of the Gulf’s ambitions to become a digital hub for emerging markets (Listen here).
Trillions of dollars were pledged during the US president’s three-nation tour of the Gulf this week. So, are the Gulf nations now in sync with Washington on some of the biggest challenges in the region? And is Donald Trump re-shaping the Middle East, or will the Gulf states dictate future US foreign policy? (Listen here)
US President Donald Trump has signed record-breaking agreements during his state visit to Qatar. It's part of a three-nation tour of the region. A trip that's expected to fetch America billions in new investments. But what do the Gulf states gain from this trip? (Listen here)
It was clear during U.S. President Donald Trump's tour of the Gulf states that his foreign policy is in a very "different place" than Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's, Washington-based veteran diplomatic journalist Laura Rozen said on the Haaretz Podcast, pointing to the growing divergence in interests between the White House and Israel's ruling coalition, both on Gaza and Iran (Listen here).
Celebrations in Syria after the US president announced that he's lifting decades of sanctions. Donald Trump says his decision will give the nation a chance at greatness after years of civil war. So, can Syria's new leadership deliver on the hopes of the people and rebuild the country? (Listen here)
Trita Parsi, Executive Vice President of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, talks about the Trump administration’s diplomacy with Iran. He discusses the failures of the first Trump administration’s and the Biden administration’s approaches to Iran, why Trump’s second time around could lead to a new nuclear deal, Iran’s changing regional geopolitical position, and why a more peaceful US-Iran relationship serves US interests in the Middle East (Listen here).
Trita Parsi, Executive Vice President of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, talks about the Trump administration’s diplomacy with Iran. He discusses the failures of the first Trump administration’s and the Biden administration’s approaches to Iran, why Trump’s second time around could lead to a new nuclear deal, Iran’s changing regional geopolitical position, and why a more peaceful US-Iran relationship serves US interests in the Middle East (Listen Here).
President Donald Trump is heading to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE on his first foreign trip of his second term, with major investment deals, defense cooperation, and tech diplomacy on the agenda. What are the Gulf states hoping to gain, and what does the trip signal about US policy in the region? Alistair Taylor speaks with Dr. Ibrahim al-Assil, Senior Fellow at MEI, about the goals of the visit, the geopolitical and economic dynamics at play, and how regional powers are navigating a complex landscape shaped by Iran, China, AI ambitions, and the crisis in Gaza (Listen here).
The US president has announced he'll stop attacks on Yemen. Donald Trump says he made the decision after the Houthis assured him they'll end their strikes on American ships in the Red Sea. They had been targeting vessels after Israel launched its war on Gaza. But will Israel also stop its air strikes? And what does this mean for Yemen? (Listen here)
Benjamin Netanyahu's government may have announced plans to intensify its Gaza offensive and call up thousands of reservists – but "many Israelis, and especially the IDF top brass, are actually hoping that President [Donald] Trump will again intervene and reach some kind of deal," Haaretz senior security analyst Amos Harel said on the Haaretz Podcast (Listen here).
In this episode of Beyond the Headlines, host Nada AlTaher looks back at Mr Trump’s first 100 days in office to understand where his priorities lie in the Middle East and how his policies will shape the region. She speaks to Steven A Cook, senior fellow for Middle East and Africa studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, and to Mohamad Bazzi, director of the Hagop Kevorkian Centre for Near Eastern Studies at New York University (Listen Here).
Makram Rabah, an assistant professor at the American University in Beirut, says that Syria's interim president lacks the power to control his own army and that Washington needs to engage with Syria's new government to help defuse sectarian violence and for peace to prevail in the war-ravaged country (Listen here).
