Episodes

  • When Will Energy Markets Recover From the Iran War?

    When Will Energy Markets Recover From the Iran War?
    May 21 2026
    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 to assess the crisis's impact on the energy industry. Together, they examine how producers are responding to the conflict in both the short and long term, how this moment differs from past energy disruptions, and how regional reverberations may shape international energy policies going forward. Find Colby's latest Energy Recap Report here. Recorded on May 18, 2026.
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    33 mins
  • Middle Eastern Rivalry in the Horn of Africa

    Middle Eastern Rivalry in the Horn of Africa
    May 14 2026
    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 are joined by MEI Senior Fellows Mirette Mabrouk and Gönül Tol to unpack the dynamics driving this rivalry and its implications for conflicts and alliances across the region. In the first half of the episode, Mabrouk explores the impact of Israel's December 2025 recognition of Somaliland, the emergence of two competing regional blocs, and what these developments mean for Egypt's security and strategic interests. In the second half, Tol shares key takeaways on middle power competition in the Horn of Africa from a recent trip to Kenya, reflects on local views of this phenomenon, and examines Turkey's strategy as it seeks to expand its influence in Somalia and beyond. Recorded on May 13, 2026.
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    46 mins
  • How to Wrest Lebanon From Iran's Grip

    How to Wrest Lebanon From Iran's Grip
    May 7 2026
    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 Senior Fellow Fadi Nicholas Nassar to examine what the renewed fighting means for attempts to counter Iranian influence in Lebanon and what could lie ahead. They discuss the prospects for a lasting agreement, Iran's broader proxy strategy, and how Washington can help strengthen the sovereignty of the Lebanese state. To read Nassar's latest commentary piece in The National Interest, please click here. Recorded on May 5, 2026.
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    41 mins
  • A New-Old Regime in Tehran

    A New-Old Regime in Tehran
    Apr 23 2026
    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 Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj are joined by MEI Senior Fellow Alex Vatanka to explore where the conflict may be headed and unpack the factors at play. They discuss how Iran's internal power structures have shifted since February 28, the prospects for a deal between Washington and Tehran, and what form a resumption of hostilities could take. Find Alex's analysis of the war's impact on the Iranian regime here. Recorded on April 22, 2026.
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    31 mins
  • Violence, Settlements, and Creeping Annexation in the West Bank

    Violence, Settlements, and Creeping Annexation in the West Bank
    Apr 30 2026
    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 Kurtzer-Ellenbogen about the sharp rise in settler violence, expanding settlement activity, and growing Palestinian displacement across the territory. They examine how recent Israeli legal and administrative measures are reshaping realities on the ground, the implications for Israeli-Palestinian relations, and what the United States should do to play a constructive mediator role. Recorded on April 28, 2026.
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    39 mins
  • Bonus Episode: Stalled Talks and Next Steps for the US and Iran

    Bonus Episode: Stalled Talks and Next Steps for the US and Iran
    Apr 17 2026
    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 historic talks held in Pakistan last weekend between the United States and Iran. Tehran insists the US failed to gain its trust, while the US made its red lines clear and declared it would blockade Iranian ports in the Persian Gulf. What happens next? Eyre and Benaim offer insights into what goes on behind the scenes at such negotiations; identify the core issues at play; explore potential incentives to end the war; analyze the weaponization of energy; as well as assess the role of other regional players in this conflict. Watch the Virtual Briefing Series here. Recorded on April 15, 2026.
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    1 hr and 3 mins
  • How the War May Reshape Iran's Political Future

    How the War May Reshape Iran's Political Future
    Apr 16 2026
    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 attention. Arash Azizi, a postdoctoral associate at Yale University and contributing writer at The Atlantic, joins hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj to discuss the war's repercussions for the Iranian population and how the outcome of the conflict may shape the peoples' lives going forward. Together, they explore Iran's internal politics, the viability of the opposition, and the conditions needed to achieve democracy in Iran.
    Read Arash's analysis of the fractured the Iranian opposition here, and his argument for why talks with Washington could ultimately benefit the Iranian people here.

    Recorded on April 15, 2026.
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    43 mins
  • Iraq in Between Iran and the United States

    Iraq in Between Iran and the United States
    Apr 9 2026
    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 sides, Iraq is caught in the middle of a regional conflict, with the local Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) carrying out attacks on American interests and personnel — and the US responding. This escalation comes at a period of internal political transition in Iraq, which has been locked in negotiations to form a new government since the November 2025 elections. Ford, who served as Deputy and later Acting Ambassador in Baghdad from 2008 until 2010, unpacks how Iraq is navigating the current moment, how the Kurdistan region fits into this equation, and what this all means for the future of US-Iraqi relations. This episode was recorded on the afternoon of April 7, 2026, before the US announced it had reached a temporary cease-fire with Iran.
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    44 mins