Middle East Focus
Middle East Institute
100 episodes
Weekly discussion of Middle East policy, arts, and culture, featuring experts from the Middle East Institute in Washington, D.C.
Episodes page 1 of 2
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Bonus Episode: Previewing Israel's First Post-October 7 Election
Israel is preparing to hold what may be its most consequential election in decades. On October 27, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will face his first electoral test since October 7, 2023. In this bonus episode of…
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Who's Calling the Shots in Tehran?
Washington says it doesn't know who runs Iran. Tehran insists its leadership is united. MEI Senior Fellow Alex Vatanka joins hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj to sort out where the truth lies. They look at the…
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Deadlock in Gaza and the West Bank at a Breaking Point
A year after world leaders gathered in Sharm el-Sheikh to mark the end of the war in Gaza, Israel controls about 70% of the Strip, Hamas retains its arms, and reconstruction has yet to begin. Meanwhile, in the West…
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The Americans Are Gone. Will Iraq's Militias Disarm?
On September 30, the US completed its military withdrawal from Iraq, ending a 12-year-long mission to combat ISIS that began in 2014. The date was also meant to be the deadline for disarming the largely Iranian-backed…
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Special Episode: Saudi Oil After the East-West Pipeline Attack
Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline is back in operation after a drone attack from Iraq, blamed on Iran-backed militias, shut it down for nearly two weeks. The pipeline is the kingdom's main way to export oil while the…
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Old Rivals, New Alignments in North Africa
Algeria and Morocco have long been at odds, but recent diplomatic moves may signal a widening geopolitical split in North Africa. Hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj are joined by MEI Senior Fellow Intissar Fakir…
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How Far Can the Houthis Go?
Over the past several weeks, the Houthis have seized the port city of Mokha, Yemen's western coastline, and several islands in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, and they are now massing around Marib and Taiz in the first major…
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Syria: What You Missed
Though it has fallen out of the headlines because of the Iran war, Syria has had a dramatically consequential summer. Hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj are joined by MEI Senior Fellow Charles Lister to take…
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Regional Escalation and the Fight Over Hormuz
As the US-Israel-Iran war enters its sixth month, the conflict has taken a sharp turn. After a brief lull in the fighting, Iran launched a surprise ballistic missile attack on US forces on July 28, and the US and Saudi…
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Food Security in a Hotter, Drier North Africa
This summer, brutally hot temperatures, deepening water scarcity, and spiking fertilizer costs have put North Africa's agricultural sector under intense pressure. Host Alistair Taylor is joined by Mohammed Mahmoud, CEO…
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Inside the Ankara NATO Summit
At the recent NATO summit in Ankara, renewed US-Iran strikes and Turkey's push to rejoin the F-35 stealth fighter program overshadowed the Alliance's message of unity and a strong European pillar. MEI Senior Fellow…
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Trump, Syria, and the Hizballah Question
US President Donald Trump recently proposed that Syria intervene militarily against Hizballah in Lebanon. Is that a good idea? This episode of Middle East Focus features a recent MEI Virtual Briefing. Director of…
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Do the Gulf States Need a New Playbook?
After the US-Israel-Iran war — and the strikes that followed the cease-fire — the Gulf states find themselves dangerously exposed. Host Alistair Taylor is joined by MEI Associate Fellow Gregory Gause to discuss the…
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The US and Iran Signed a Deal — Now What?
After nearly four months of war, the US and Iran have signed a 14-point memorandum of understanding declaring the conflict over, reopening the Strait of Hormuz, and beginning talks toward a final deal. Alan Eyre, MEI…
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The Human Cost of the Strait of Hormuz Closure
When the Strait of Hormuz closed in March, fertilizer prices spiked within weeks, triggering a food security crisis across North Africa and the Sahel. Host Alistair Taylor is joined by MEI Senior Fellow Intissar Fakir…
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Attacked by All Sides: Iraq's New Government Faces Old Problems
After months of deadlock following the November 2025 elections, Iraq's parliament approved a new government under Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi on May 14, 2026 — just as the country has become a battleground in the…
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Can the Latest US Plan Bridge Libya's Divide?
After over a decade of division between rival factions in eastern and western Libya, the Trump administration has put forward a plan to unite the two sides through a power-sharing agreement. Hosts Alistair Taylor and…
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MP Fouad Makhzoumi on Lebanon's Future
A fragile cease-fire between Lebanon and Israel is barely holding as military delegations from both countries arrive in Washington for a new round of direct talks scheduled for this Friday. But diplomatic success could…
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When Will Energy Markets Recover From the Iran War?
Two and a half months into the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, what lessons can markets draw from the resulting global energy shock? Colby Connelly, MEI Senior Fellow, joins hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj…
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Middle Eastern Rivalry in the Horn of Africa
How is competition for influence in the Horn of Africa among Middle Eastern powers — especially the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Israel — reshaping the political landscape? Hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj…
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How to Wrest Lebanon From Iran's Grip
Despite efforts to extend the cease-fire in Lebanon and disarm Iranian proxy Hizballah, fighting continues between the militant group and Israeli forces. Hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj are joined by MEI…
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Violence, Settlements, and Creeping Annexation in the West Bank
As international attention remains fixed on the fallout from the Iran war, conditions in the West Bank continue to deteriorate. Hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj speak with MEI Senior Fellow Lucy…
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A New-Old Regime in Tehran
Nearly two months into the Iran war, US President Donald Trump has announced an indefinite extension of the cease-fire between Washington and Tehran, even as control of the Strait of Hormuz remains contested. Hosts…
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Bonus Episode: Stalled Talks and Next Steps for the US and Iran
This bonus episode of Middle East Focus features a recent MEI Virtual Briefing. Director of Communications Zeina Al-Shaib is joined by MEI Distinguished Diplomatic Fellows Alan Eyre and Daniel Benaim to discuss the…
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How the War May Reshape Iran's Political Future
As the international community focuses on the regional and economic reverberations of the US-Israel-Iran war, the wartime experiences of ordinary Iranians and their aspirations for the future have received much less…
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Iraq in Between Iran and the United States
Hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj are joined by MEI Distinguished Diplomatic Fellow Amb. (ret.) Robert S. Ford to examine what is at stake for Iraq in the Iran war. The only country to have been hit by both…
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Special Episode: Europe and the Iran War
This special episode of Middle East Focus features a conversation from MEI's Virtual Briefing Series. Host Alistair Taylor is joined by former National Security Council Senior Director Stephen Flanagan and MEI Senior…
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As Iran Weakens, Can Hamas Survive?
MEI Senior Fellow Jaser AbuMousa joins hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj to unpack how Hamas is navigating the US-Israel conflict with Iran and its impact on Gaza. Two and a half years after the start of the…
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Why the Houthis are Holding Back — For Now
Despite claiming they are poised to attack, the Yemeni Houthis have yet to join Iran and its other proxies in their fight against the United States and Israel. Hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj speak to MEI…
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Can Turkey Stay Out of the Iran War?
Nearly two weeks into the US and Israel's war with Iran, MEI Senior Fellow Gönül Tol joins hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj to explore the impact of the widening regional conflict on Turkey. On March 9, Ankara…
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Lebanon on the Brink: Hizballah, Iran, and the War's Spillover
Hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj are joined by MEI Senior Fellow Fadi Nicholas Nassar to discuss Hizballah's role in the escalating conflict in the Middle East and the implications for Lebanon. A day after the…
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Is the Regime Doomed? Iran on the Eve of War
Against the backdrop of one of the largest US military deployments to the Middle East since 2003, MEI Senior Fellow Alex Vatanka joins hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj to assess the situation inside Iran on the…
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Bibi's Hail Mary on Iran
Hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj are joined by MEI Senior Fellow Natan Sachs to discuss Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's February 11 visit to the White House, Israel's anxieties surrounding the…
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From the Middle East to West Asia: Redefining America's Global Strategy
MEI Senior Fellow Mohammed Soliman joins hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj to discuss his new book, West Asia: A New American Grand Strategy in the Middle East. The book argues that it is time for the United…
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America's New Defense Strategy — and What It Means for Iran
Hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj are joined by MEI Distinguished Military Fellow Mick Mulroy to discuss the Trump administration's new National Defense Strategy (NDS) and its implications for the Middle East.…
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Ambiguous Uncertainties: Phase Two of Trump's Plan for Gaza
MEI Senior Fellow Lucy Kurtzer-Ellenbogen joins hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj to discuss the latest developments in Gaza. Nearly four months after the Israeli government and Hamas agreed to President Donald…
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Bonus Episode: Can Yemen Hold Together?
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…
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Emergency Podcast: Damascus and the Syrian Kurds Come to Blows
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…
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Venezuela's Shadow Over MENA: Perceptions and Precedents
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…
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Bonus Episode: Tehran's Brewing Troubles
This bonus episode of Middle East Focus features a conversation from MEI's Virtual Briefing Series. Director of Communications Zeina Al-Shaib is joined by Distinguished Diplomatic Fellow Alan Eyre and Senior Fellow…
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What 2025 Has Wrought... and What 2026 May Bring
In the final episode of 2025, MEI Senior Fellow Paul Salem joins hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj to unpack the major developments that shaped the Middle East over the past year and to look ahead to 2026. Salem…
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What does Trump's new National Security Strategy mean for the Middle East?
In this episode, MEI Distinguished Diplomatic Fellow Ambassador David Hale joins host Alistair Taylor to unpack the Trump administration's new National Security Strategy (NSS). Released on December 4, the document…
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Soft Power in Hard Times: Pope Leo XIV's Visit to Lebanon
MEI Senior Fellow Fadi Nicholas Nassar joins host Matthew Czekaj to share expert insights and personal reflections on Pope Leo XIV's trip to Lebanon from November 30 to December 2. Nassar unpacks the significance of…
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MBS's Visit and the Future of US-Saudi Relations
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…
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From War to Reconstruction: Syria's Next Chapter
In this episode of Middle East Focus, hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj are joined by MEI Senior Fellow Charles Lister to unpack the historic November 10 meeting between US President Donald Trump and Syrian…
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Erdogan Forever?
In this episode of Middle East Focus, hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj are joined by MEI Senior Fellow Gönül Tol to discuss democratic backsliding in Turkey under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The…
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Can Morocco Placate Its Frustrated Youth?
In this episode of Middle East Focus, hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj are joined by MEI Senior Fellow Intissar Fakir to discuss Morocco's recent "GenZ 212" protest movement, which gripped multiple cities…
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Trump 2.0 and the Middle East: Taking Stock of the First Nine Months
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…
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The Gaza Cease-Fire and a Region Reshaped by War
Two years after Hamas' October 7, 2023, attacks and Israel's devastating war in Gaza, the two sides have agreed to a new cease-fire. But can it last, and what kind of Middle East has emerged from the turmoil in the…
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After Two Years of War in Gaza, Can Trump's Plan Deliver Peace?
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…
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