Middle East Forum Podcast

In this episode of Israel Insider , Ashley Perry examines the collapse of the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding, rising tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, and what President Trump's shifting approach to Tehran means for Israel. He also analyzes Washington's warming ties with Turkey, the debate over F-35 sales to Ankara, developments on Israel's northern border, and the latest politi...

In this episode of Israel Insider, host Ashley Perry examines the new Israel-Lebanon-U.S. trilateral framework and its implications for Hezbollah and Iranian influence. Perry explains why the agreement gives Israel control over the pace of withdrawal and could create a path toward normalization with Lebanon. The episode also covers UNRWA’s possible exclusion from Gaza and the political battles pre...

In this episode of the Middle East Forum Podcast, host Michael Rubin speaks with Joel Finkelstein about how hostile foreign networks exploit antisemitism, social media, and political unrest. Finkelstein explains how funding networks, coordinated protests, and manipulated algorithms spread anti-American narratives while disguising their origins. The discussion also examines TikTok, foreign influenc...

In this episode of Israel Insider, host Alex Selsky examines Israel’s reaction to the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding, its failure to address ballistic missiles and proxies, and whether President Trump may be pursuing a broader strategy involving China, Russia, energy routes, and the Strait of Hormuz. Selsky examines Israel’s determination to preserve its freedom of action in Lebanon, the po...

In this episode of the Middle East Forum Podcast, Dexter Van Zile speaks with Asra Nomani about the limits of the alliance between Islamists and the political left. Nomani explains how small, organized networks create a “myth of the marching millions” through coordinated protests, media imagery, and political alliances. The discussion also covers foreign funding, Islamist institutions, political c...

Recorded days after Washington and Tehran announced a new agreement, host Lauri Regan joins Middle East Forum experts Gregg Roman, Michael Rubin, and Jonathan Spyer to assess whether the deal secures victory—or gives Iran time to recover. The panel examines the immediate consequences for Israel, Hezbollah, Lebanon, Iran’s proxy network, the Kurds, Turkey, and the Abraham Accords. The discussion as...

In this episode of Israel Insider, host Ashley Perry examines the newly released U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding and why Israel views its sanctions relief, oil provisions, Strait of Hormuz framework, and lack of restrictions on missiles and proxies as deeply troubling. Perry examines the risks to Israel’s position in Lebanon, including possible pressure to reduce operations against Hezbollah...

In this episode of the Middle East Forum Podcast, host Lauri Regan speaks with Aryeh Green about his new book, Finding Peace in the Promised Land. Green outlines five principles he believes can move the Arab-Israeli conflict from hatred toward coexistence. The discussion also examines October 7, the Abraham Accords, Palestinian rejectionism, and the need to support moderate Arab and Muslim voices.

In this episode of Israel Insider, host Ashley Perry examines the latest round of controlled escalation between Israel, Hezbollah, Iran, and the United States, including Israel’s strike on Dahiya, Iran’s attempt to set new deterrence rules, and President Trump’s push to halt the fighting before it widened further. Perry examines how the confrontation moved from Lebanon to Iran and the Strait of Ho...

In this episode of the Middle East Forum Podcast, host Lauri Regan speaks with Hussain Abdul-Hussain, research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and author of The Arab Case for Israel , about Lebanon, Hezbollah, Iran, and the prospects for peace with Israel. Abdul-Hussain explains why Hezbollah remains the main obstacle to Lebanon-Israel peace, how Iran uses its proxies to pressu...

In this episode of Israel Insider, host Ashley Perry examines President Trump’s reported clash with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s military options against Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the pressure surrounding U.S. ceasefire diplomacy, Iran, and the Dahiya front. Perry examines Netanyahu’s political vulnerability, the Knesset vote to disperse parliament, the controversial state comptroll...

In this episode of the Middle East Forum Podcast , host Lauri Regan speaks with Steven Greer, Emeritus Professor at the University of Bristol Law School and Research Director at the Oxford Institute for British Islam, about Islamophobia, free speech, and the growing pressure to treat criticism of Islam as prejudice against Muslims. Drawing from his book Islamophobia and Free Speech , Greer argues...

In this episode of Israel Insider , host Ashley Perry examines the fragile post-Iran war ceasefire, the uncertain U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding, and the pressure surrounding sanctions relief, the Strait of Hormuz, and possible Abraham Accords diplomacy. He also analyzes Israel’s northern front with Hezbollah, Hamas’s refusal to disarm in Gaza, and the latest signs of shifting Israeli domes...

In this episode of the Middle East Forum Podcast, host Lauri Regan speaks with Dr. Joel Fishman, historian and fellow at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, about information warfare in the Israel-Gaza war and the campaign to delegitimize Israel. Fishman examines how anti-Israel narratives have spread through media coverage, academia, demonstrations, and international institutio...

In this month’s Forum Roundtable, host Lauri Regan speaks with Zineb Riboua of the Hudson Institute and Brigadier General (Res.) Assaf Orion of the Washington Institute and Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies about how the Iran war has affected China’s ambitions in the Middle East and beyond. The panel examines Beijing’s relationship with Tehran, Iran’s weakened regional position, and...

In this episode of the MEF Podcast, host Lauri Regan speaks with Michael Rubin, Director of Policy Analysis at the Middle East Forum, about why Hezbollah remains the central obstacle to stability between Israel and Lebanon. Rubin examines Hezbollah’s role as an Iranian proxy, its grip on Lebanese politics, and the limits of diplomacy while the group remains armed and entrenched. He also discusses...

In this episode of the Middle East Forum Podcast, host Lauri Regan speaks with U.S. District Judge Roy K. Altman about his new book, Israel on Trial: Examining the History, the Evidence, and the Law . Judge Altman applies courtroom standards of evidence, burden of proof, and legal reasoning to accusations leveled against Israel, including claims of genocide, apartheid, and illegal occupation. The...

Iran’s military isn’t built to win fast — it’s built to survive. Host Lauri Regan speaks with Iran analyst Alexander Grinberg of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security on Tehran’s decentralized “mosaic defense” doctrine — a system designed to function even if central command is destroyed. They examine how fragmented command, autonomous units, and proxy networks allow Iran to absorb stri...

The return of Israeli hostages marked an emotional turning point—and the clearest sign of Donald Trump’s renewed influence in the Middle East. His intervention pushed Israel toward a fragile peace that trades withdrawal for relief, as Hamas reasserts control in Gaza and global leaders remain hesitant to condemn it. With Netanyahu absent from the talks, Israel’s strategy and Hamas’s future hang in...

The Houthis (Ansar Allah), entrenched in Yemen’s highlands and backed by Iran, have resisted years of military campaigns and efforts to dislodge them through diplomacy. Controlling key territory, including the Yemeni capital and a large part of the coastline, and exploiting the humanitarian crisis, they wield growing power and regional influence. The Houthi campaign against shipping on the Gulf of...

Dearborn, Michigan, long celebrated for multicultural harmony, now faces scrutiny for suppressing dissent under claims of fighting Islamophobia. Mayor Abdullah Hammoud’s public attack on Christian critic Ted Barham coupled with the city council’s silence on Hamas and Hezbollah, raises alarms about radical Islamism’s influence. Dexter Van Zile, on a recent visit to Dearborn, observed further eviden...

The Druze of southern Syria, long known for their pragmatism, now face an uncertain future as the country’s landscape fractures. Caught between Islamist factions, Iranian-backed militias, and shifting Western interests, they are increasingly vulnerable to sectarian violence. On two occasions since the fall of the Assad regime, the community has faced attacks from forces associated with the new aut...

The dramatic fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in late 2024 promised an end to decades of tyranny. The new government of the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) movement, however, appears to be in the process of reshaping Syria into a Turkish satellite. The new government is sidelining the U.S.-aligned Kurds and igniting sectarian strife in the south and west of the country, under Ankara's...

The October 7, 2023 Hamas assault on Israel shocked the world with its brutality. While many condemned the attack, others rapidly rushed to blame Israel, framing the Jewish state as an oppressor through the lens of Marxist ideology and critical race theory. In The Battle for the Jewish State, Victoria Coates examines how Hamas’s atrocities, Iran’s role, and America’s cultural drift have imperiled...

For years, the Department of Homeland Security has funneled millions in taxpayer funds to organizations tied to foreign terrorists and extremist ideologies, undermining America’s safety from within. In "Homeland Insecurity," Benjamin Baird and Anna Stanley expose this chilling betrayal, detailing how over $25 million has flowed to groups linked to Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Muslim Brother...