A Middle East NATO? Regional Security Op...

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 cha ... Show More

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 ... Show More

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 ... Show More

Is Hezbollah still able to fight Israel after its leadership has been weakened? The group says fighters have already inflicted serious damage on Israeli troops in southern Lebanon. How different are these confrontations from previous conflicts? In this episode: Sami Atallah, Foun ... Show More

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah says Sunday's attack against Israel targeted an Israeli military intelligence base close to Tel Aviv, while Israel claims its strike as preemptive to avert a larger attack. Leaders of Pacific Island nations gather in Tonga for their annual meetin ... Show More

In Lebanon, the leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, has condemned the back-to-back attacks targeting the group's pagers and walkie-talkie communications system as "massacres." He also warned Israel that Hezbollah's forces on the border won't stop until the war in Gaza ends. At ... Show More

Since the war between Hamas and Israel erupted in October 2023, the fear has been that the conflict in Gaza could lead to a wider regional war across the Middle East. Questions are growing as to whether Iran will retaliate against Israel, which is widely believed to be responsibl ... Show More

<p>On Saturday evening, Iran launched a major attack on Israeli territory, with a combination of 300 drones and missiles. Israel’s air defense seems to have intercepted most of these and the airspace over Israel and Jordan has since been reopened. </p><br><p>In this special episo ... Show More

Today on the show, Israel successfully killed Hamas leader and mastermind of the October 7 attacks Yahya Sinwar. Fareed is joined by retired Israel Defense Forces Colonel Miri Eisin to discuss how this will impact Israel’s broader strategy in its war in Gaza.    Next, Tareq Bacon ... Show More

Mediators are making one last push to pause the fighting in Gaza. Syrian President Ahmad Al Shara has met one of the country’s senior Christian leaders. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to travel to Washington today. On today's episode of Trending Middle East: Media ... Show More

<p>Two weeks ago, there was reason to think that the Middle East was becoming more stable than it had been for years. Washington was pushing for normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia as one piece of a broader attempt to reduce the U.S. role in the region and focus on othe ... Show More

Israeli forces launched strikes on military targets across Iran early Saturday, claiming they were in response to ongoing regional attacks by “Iran and its proxies.” Hours later, Israel announced it had “achieved its objectives” and warned Tehran against retaliation. Will Iran an ... Show More