Prior to October 7, 2023, Iranian-sponsored terrorism and influence in the Middle East was pervasive and insidious, growing ever more dangerous as it inched its way to nuclear weapons and threatened Israeli and U.S. interests in the region. While Iran continues to pose an existential threat to Israel and edges closer to producing nuclear weapons, Israel’s military achievements post-10/7, along with Donald Trump’s win and foreign policy objectives, have significantly diminished the Islamic Republ...
Mar 31, 2025•1 hr 2 min•Season 2Ep. 1
Two Hamas-linked academics at Georgetown University have recently come under fire following explosive revelations of their ties to the terror group. Badar Khan Suri, a fellow at the Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, was arrested on March 19, 2025, and now faces deportation after a Middle East Forum report exposed his praise of Hamas and his marriage to Mapheze Ahmad Yousef Saleh, daughter of a senior Hamas official. Saleh, a graduate student at Georgetown’s Cen...
Mar 25, 2025•31 min•Ep. 353
The Iran-backed Ansar Allah (Houthis) recently renewed their threat to attack any Israeli ship sailing in the vicinity of Yemen. The organization’s ongoing campaign of aggression in the Red Sea/Gulf of Aden area severely disrupts supply chains and fuels regional instability. The Middle East Forum last week launched the Red Sea Security Initiative (RSSI) to advocate for and support a determined western strategy to counter Houthi aggression and protect global trade routes. The RSSI aims to mobiliz...
Mar 25, 2025•33 min•Ep. 354
#USAID has been engaged in recent years in financing Islamic terrorist organizations. A report by the Middle East Forum documents $122 million in taxpayer funds reaching extremist groups. This report has been reviewed and heard by the House DOGE subcommittee and is now under investigation for potential criminal referrals. The findings challenge long held assumptions about oversight and accountability in U.S. foreign aid. How did this happen? Was it negligence, incompetence, or something more? As...
Mar 25, 2025•55 min•Ep. 351
Seth Frantzman’s latest book, "The October 7 War: Israel’s Battle for Security in Gaza" looks into the devastating Hamas attack on Israel, the battles that followed, and the global forces at play. In preparing the book, the author had exclusive access to IDF soldiers and commanders and to military strategists. Mr. Frantzman will in this talk explore how Israel responded to the October 7 attacks, and what this conflict means for the future of the Middle East. How did Hamas orchestrate such a dead...
Mar 25, 2025•32 min•Ep. 352
Demographic decline has arrived in the Middle East. This process is challenging long-held assumptions about the region’s resilience to global fertility trends. The Middle East was once thought immune or less susceptible to demographic decline due to cultural and religious norms. Now, countries like Iran and Tunisia are experiencing sub-replacement birth rates. As populations shrink and age, economic and geopolitical consequences loom. But why has this process begun? Is it merely a phase, or a pe...
Mar 20, 2025•29 min•Season 1Ep. 351
Islamism may appear to be in decline in the Middle East but it is adapting. Movements that once sought caliphates have shifted their strategies, sometimes, shedding overt ideological commitments in favor of pragmatic governance. The recent transformation of Hayʼat Tahrir al-Sham in Syria offers a case study of a post-Islamist Islamism where Islamists claim to prioritize state capacity over a rigid ideology. Is this a tactical shift or a genuine evolution? Does it weaken or strengthen Islamism? H...
Feb 17, 2025•36 min
The Islamist Struggle for Libya with Mark ChoateIslamist groups play a pivotal role in post-Qaddafi Libya and are a central factor in the country’s continued instability. The Muslim Brotherhood, Salafi factions, and jihadist groups compete for influence and power. Some Islamist organizations have integrated into political institutions, while others operate outside the system as armed militias. What role do Libya’s Islamists play in the struggle for Libya’s future? What are current trends? How sh...
Feb 17, 2025•30 min•Season 1Ep. 349
The Kurds in Iran lag behind their co-ethnics in Iraq, Syria, and Türkiye in terms of asserting their rights. The movement for Kurdish autonomy has gained visibility but is limited by fragmentation. The Islamic Republic views Kurdish activism as a national security threat. How should the international community engage with the Kurds of Iran? Would external support bolster their cause or further escalate repression? How does Kurdish activism affect the regime’s stability? Shukriya Bradost, an Ira...
Jan 27, 2025•31 min•Season 1Ep. 348
John Spencer, a leading expert on urban warfare, has made four trips to observe the Israel Defense Forces in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, during which he has studied both its efficacy and its morality. Putting the IDF’s conduct in a larger perspective, he asks fundamental questions: How has it fared compared to other Western armies? What are the special circumstances in Gaza? From an ethical point of view, how does the IDF rank? John Spencer has advised senior U.S. Army leaders, including four-star ...
Jan 24, 2025•31 min•Season 1Ep. 347
Iran’s political dynamics are shifting rapidly as a range of forces, including economic, religious, and demographic ones, drive a growing rift between the people and their 46-year-old regime. While the U.S. government has never sought the overthrow of the Islamic Republic of Iran, this opportunity raises urgent questions. Should Washington now seek to overthrow the mullahs? How should it approach Iranian opposition groups? To what extent should it coordinate with Israel and other regional powers...
Jan 23, 2025•34 min•Season 1Ep. 345
Captagon, a highly addictive amphetamine-style stimulant, has ravaged the Middle East in recent years. The fall of Bashar al-Assad revealed Syria's role as the global epicenter of Captagon production, a $10 billion-a-year drug trade that sustained the Assad regime’s grip on power and fueled its war economy. Production facilities have been uncovered even in air bases. The industrial-level production facilities and smuggling networks disbursed billions of capsules per year. How will criminal netwo...
Jan 23, 2025•31 min•Season 1Ep. 345
Contrasting approaches of recent U.S. administrations toward Islamism and the Middle East (think Iran and Hamas) express more than divides in policy; they reveal contrasting mentalities. These might be summarized as confrontation vs. cooption. What shapes opposing philosophical approaches? What are their practical implications? Are there differences over time? Kenneth Abramowitz is the founder and president of Save the West and the author of "The Multifront War: Defending America From Political ...
Jan 23, 2025•34 min•Season 1Ep. 344
The abuse of security clearances as a political weapon within the U.S. national security bureaucracy threatens not just individual careers but the integrity of American defense and diplomacy, both in the Middle East and more broadly. What is the nature of the problem? How are security clearances used to silence dissent and eliminate adversaries? How does this affect U.S. responses to strategic challenges? Adam S. Lovinger is vice president at the Gold Institute for International Strategy. He ser...
Jan 23, 2025•31 min•Season 1Ep. 343
The Houthis of Yemen, once a minor Iran-backed militia, have emerged since Oct. 7 as a major force within Tehran’s “axis of resistance” due to their drone and missile attacks on ships in the Red Sea, their alliances with al-Shabaab and other jihadis, and their arms deals with Russia. This transformation raises urgent questions: What enabled it? How does the Houthis’ power affect regional dynamics? How have they managed to impede international trade for over a year? How best to counter this threa...
Jan 23, 2025•36 min•Season 1Ep. 341
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a Sunni Islamist organization, has taken Damascus, completing its stunning ten-day offensive and overthrowing the Bashar al-Assad regime. This historic moment has many and profound implications. Which key factors made possible the HTS success? What next for Syria? How will this major shift affect Turkey, Iran, Israel, Russia, and the United States? Jonathan Spyer is MEF’s director of research. He has traveled extensively in Syria and reported from all sides of that co...
Jan 23, 2025•34 min•Season 1Ep. 341
The unexpected capture of Aleppo by Turkish-backed rebel forces has reignited the Syrian civil war after years of stasis. This striking event, due in large part to diminished support from Russia, Iran, and Hezbollah, raises many questions: How did the rebels achieve this victory? Can they hold and even expand their holdings? What can the Bashar al-Assad regime do in response? What should the U.S. response be? How important is this development for Syria, the region, and beyond? Aymenn Jawad Al-Ta...
Jan 23, 2025•32 min•Season 1Ep. 340
Peter Theroux’s memoir, "In Obscura," recalls the author’s journey from journalism and translation, to the CIA and the National Security Council, weaving through Damascus and Hollywood. Drawing parallels between the hidden lives of intelligence officers and stunt actors, he offers an eloquent nuts-and-bolts glimpse into realms where success requires invisibility. What can we learn from lives lived in the shadows? What has the author learned from his journey? What anecdotes is he free to recount?...
Jan 23, 2025•31 min•Season 1Ep. 339
The discovery of natural gas off the shores of Israel and Cyprus has transformed the eastern Mediterranean into a critical energy hub. It has also seen unprecedented cooperation (the 3+1 framework of Greece, Cyprus, Israel and the United States, and the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum in particular), which has magnified the region’s role. Great projects, including the Great Sea Interconnector, the IMEC corridor, and the Amalthea Initiative, make the region a nexus of innovation and collaboration...
Jan 23, 2025•32 min•Season 1Ep. 338
Lebanon's education system and media present Israelis and Jews as the enemy of Lebanon. The depictions, often extreme in their hostility, shape the perceptions of many Lebanese and also Syrians. Raised in this environment, Rawan Osman accepted the message. Only on moving to Europe and gaining access to new, uncensored information did she question her own biases. In the end, she embraced Israel’s cause and became an activist who championed peace and human rights across borders. What lessons does ...
Jan 23, 2025•34 min•Season 1Ep. 336
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman has pushed a transformative agenda on Saudi Arabia since his father came to power in 2015. His Vision 2030 intends radically to reshape nearly every aspect of the kingdom’s landscape: diversify the economy’s revenue sources, redefine societal norms (notably through women’s rights and greater personal freedoms), and enhance the country’s global standing. To what extent has MbS matured from the rash young man of earlier years? How have his changes affected hi...
Jan 23, 2025•49 min•Season 1Ep. 336
Jan 23, 2025•32 min•Season 1Ep. 335
Jan 22, 2025•29 min•Season 1Ep. 334
Jan 22, 2025•30 min•Season 1Ep. 333
Jan 22, 2025•30 min•Season 1Ep. 332
Jan 22, 2025•30 min•Season 1Ep. 331
Jan 22, 2025•31 min•Season 1Ep. 330
Jan 22, 2025•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 329
Jan 22, 2025•34 min
Jan 22, 2025•31 min
