On the Middle East with Amberin Zaman

Iranian-American academic Vali Nasr says rising civilian deaths and the destruction of iconic sites such as the Qajar-era Golestan Palace are turning even the most anti-regime Iranians a...

A fifth round of US-brokered talks between Israel and Syria began in Paris on Jan. 5. Elizabeth Tsurkov, a senior fellow at the New Lines Institute, explains why Israel may finally yield to U...

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 regi...

Chatham House senior fellow Renad Mansour explains why Iraq remains even more vital for Iran in the wake of its humiliating 12-day conflict with Israel, and how renewed US interest in Iraq wi...

Vittorio Maresca di Serracapriola, lead sanctions expert at Karam Shaar Advisory, unpacks the current status of international sanctions over Syria and what they mean for its people after 14 y...

Weam Fadul, a Sudanese feminist and activist, blames outside forces for fueling the conflict and says the Sudanese people should be left to decide their own fate. See Privacy Policy at h...

Saudi Arabia has emerged as a critical ally for Syria's new interim government. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman played a key role in getting the United States to lift many san...

Jalel Harchaoui, an expert on Gulf and North African power dynamics, unpacks the evolving relationship between the two regional rivals. While ties have improved dramatically since 2021, he wa...

Charles Lister, the head of the Syria Initiative at the Middle East Institute in Washington, argues that after five months in power Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, the ultimate pragmatist, ...

Russia is seeking to keep its naval bases in Syria, viewing them as a vital strategic asset. Syria's interim president, a hard nosed pragmatist, will likely strike working relations with the ...

Turkey expert Gallia Lindenstrauss, who is a senior fellow at Israel's National Institute of Security Studies, says Israel is concerned about Turkey's expanding influence in Syria with the ri...

Kristin Diwan, a senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, unpacks Kuwait's dramatic turn last week when the country's ruling Emir suspended the parliament and ...

This month marks the 13th anniversary of the start of the Syrian conflict. French academic Fabrice Balanche says that across the Middle East the West is steadily losing ground to Russia, Chin...

The Islamic State carried out an attack against a Roman Catholic Church in Istanbul on Jan. 28, killing one person. In its statement claiming responsibility for the attack the group referred ...

The assassination of Hamas' number two man in Beirut on Tuesday has deepened concerns that the conflict in Gaza will engulf neighboring Lebanon.However, Esther Solomon, the editor-in-chief of...

On Oct. 29 Turkey will mark its 100th year as a republic, with an overtly Islamist leader in power for the past 20 years. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is seeking to unravel the legacy of th...

Rashid Khalidi, the Edward Said Professor of Modern Arab Studies at Columbia University, argues that Israel’s persistent repression of the Palestinians and denial of their right to statehood ...

Turkey and Iraq have been mired in a legal dispute over the export of Iraqi Kurdish oil through Turkish export terminals. Baghdad says the deal struck between Turkey and the Iraqi Kurds to se...

Turkey will hold parliamentary and presidential elections on May 14. The outcome will determine whether Turkey can return to a more democratic path or plunge into full blown autocracy, or wor...

Tunisia's autocratic President Kais Saied, since his dramatic power grab in 2021, has increased the volume of repression in the north African nation, arresting scores of opposition figures as...

Turkey has been threatening since last month to launch a major ground invasion against the Kurds of northeast Syria. More than a month has passed and Russia and the United States ha...

Nationwide protests sparked by the brutal killing of a 22 year old Iranian Kurdish woman by Iran's so-called morals police are continuing, marking one of the biggest challenges to the country...

Hanene Tajouri Bessassi, Tunisia’s ambassador to the United States, says that while US criticism of the July 25 vote was considered interference in the country’s domestic politics, Tunis welc...

Dr. Dina Esfandiary, Senior Advisor for the Middle East and North Africa at the International Crisis Group, discusses the latest round of indirect talks between Iran and the US about the...

Daniel Shapiro, former US Ambassador to Israel and Distinguished Fellow at the Atlantic Council, discusses what to expect from US President Joe Biden’s trip next month to Israel, the West Ban...

Hadley Gamble, Anchor for CNBC’s Capital Connection from Abu Dhabi, discusses US President Joe Biden’s upcoming trip to the Middle East; why Saudi-Israel normalization may be a ‘matter of tim...

Elizabeth Hagedorn, Al-Monitor State Department Correspondent, and Andrew give their takes on US Iran Envoy Rob Malley’s testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, why the ...

Dr. Volker Perthes, Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for Sudan, discusses the role of UN diplomacy, as well as the impact of the October 25, 2021 coup and the Ethiopian civi...

Amy Myers Jaffe, Managing Director of the Climate Policy Lab at The Fletcher School at Tufts University, discusses the Gulf carbon-zero commitments; Egypt’s renewable energy ambitions; t...

Bijan Khajehpour, managing partner at Eurasian Nexus Partners and Al-Monitor columnist, explains how Iran’s economic potential, and the prospects for foreign investment, depend on sanctions r...

Turkey is undergoing one of the most unpredictable periods in its modern history amid mounting concern over President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's shift towards authoritarianism. His poll ratings a...

Al-Monitor columnist Daoud Kuttab says that Jerusalem and settlements remain the big issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; why Hamas is gaining in popularity; how Palestinian President ...

US Turkish relations remain on life support with Turkey's refusal to relinquish Russian made S 400 missiles. Turkey could face further US sanctions if Turkish president Erdogan acts on his ta...

The debacle unfolding in Afghanistan starting with the chaotic exit of US troops has reverberated across Iraq with many Iraqis wondering whether a similar future awaits them too. Will the Uni...

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Leila Hamadeh, Co-founder and CEO of Finyal Media, explains how Arab youth are seeking new media outlets and platforms for expression and connection, and to bridge the gap between traditional...

Dr. Karen Young, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, discusses why the Biden Administration needs early and clear communication regarding US policy toward Saudi Arabia and ...

Dr. Philip Gordon, Mary and David Boies Senior Fellow in US Foreign Policy at the Council on Foreign Relations, former White House Coordinator for the Middle East, and author of Losing t...

Bijan Khajehpour, Managing Partner of Eurasian Nexus Partners and an Al-Monitor columnist, discusses the options for US-Iran diplomacy and the Iran nuclear deal under a Biden Administrat...

Steven Cook, the Eni Enrico Mattei Senior Fellow for Middle East and Africa at the Council on Foreign Relations, discusses why the US needs to stay in the Middle East, but with a bit more rea...

Al-Monitor contributor Sebastian Castelier discusses how the Gulf states balance their ties with both the US and China; why the GCC may prefer a Trump victory in the US presidential election;...

Dr. Alanoud Alsharekh, director of Ibtkar Strategic Consultancy, discusses the impact of the late Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah on Kuwait and the region; what we can expect from the new...

Max Suchkov, Senior Fellow at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, discusses Russia’s Syria strategy, Iran-Russia ties, and why Moscow has low expectations for US-Russia rel...

HE Yousef Al-Otaiba, the UAE Ambassador to the United States, discusses how the UAE is managing the coronavirus pandemic; lessons being learned for governance in the post-COVID19 Middle ...

Andrew Parasiliti, president of the award-winning news site Al-Monitor, interviews newsmakers each week from the US and Middle East about the latest news and trends in the region, with additi...