Latest The middle east Podcast Episodes
Benyamin Poghosyan on why Armenia's peace bid with Azerbaijan, Turkey is proving so hard
On the Middle East with Amberin Zaman - July 03, 2024 19:42 - 26 minutesWashington is piling pressure on Azerbaijan to sign a peace agreement with Azerbaijan that would allow Turkey to normalize its relations with Armenia. But Azerbaijan is resisting calls to finalize a draft peace agreement and wants further concessions from Armenia. Benjamin Poghosyan, a ...
Vali Nasr explains why Iran's presidential elections matter and how a Western-friendly heart surgeon might win
On the Middle East with Amberin Zaman - June 20, 2024 17:05 - 33 minutesIran is due to hold presidential elections on June 28 that were precipitated by the death in May in a helicopter crash of former President Ebrahim Raisi. Although real power is held by the country's supreme leader, presidents can make a difference in the daily lives of Iranians and even...
Why Iran is stronger, Israel more vulnerable, and the US needs to engage more in the Mideast
On the Middle East with Amberin Zaman - June 13, 2024 17:55 - 37 minutesAs the Gaza conflict enters its eighth month, Iran stands out as the one country that has succeeded in projecting further as a result. Israel is more vulnerable than it’s ever been and the United States must engage more smartly in the Middle East to protect its interests, argues Steve...
Syrian-Kurdish leader Saleh Muslim says it's the people, not US or Turkey, who decide local elections in northeast Syria
On the Middle East with Amberin Zaman - June 04, 2024 18:32 - 21 minutesThe Kurdish-led administration in northeast Syria is planning to hold landmark local elections in the majority Kurdish and Arab areas under its control. Syrian-Kurdish leader Saleh Muslim says "radical democracy" will be in play as people elect their leaders at every level of local gove...
Why did Kuwait, one of the most democratic countries in the Mideast, take a sharp autocratic turn & what comes next?
On the Middle East with Amberin Zaman - May 15, 2024 19:27 - 28 minutesKristin 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 parts of the constitution. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Priva...
As Greek PM heads to Ankara to meet Erdogan, is this truly 'a new era' between Turkey & Greece?
On the Middle East with Amberin Zaman - May 09, 2024 19:15 - 34 minutesGreek academic Ioannis Grigoriadis believes that no major breakthroughs should be expected during Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' visit. Keeping the channels of communication open and building on the positive agenda promoted by both sides is, however, crucial to averting conflict, n...
Turkey’s former PM Davutoglu, who met Hamas leaders this week, outlines their demands for peace
On the Middle East with Amberin Zaman - May 02, 2024 18:04 - 41 minutesFormer Turkish Prime Minister and leader of the pro-Islamic Future Party Ahmet Davutoglu met with Hamas leaders Ismail Haniyeh and Khaled Meshal this week and shared their conditions for peace with Al-Monitor. Davutoglu sharply criticized the governments of Turkey and Arab states, sayin...
Sister of Israeli-Russian scholar Elizabeth Tsurkov, who is being held by Iran-backed Shiite militia, calls for US military sanctions on Iraq
On the Middle East with Amberin Zaman - April 25, 2024 21:33 - 20 minutesEmma Tsurkov insists that the best way to get Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to make good on his pledges to secure her sister's freedom is for the United States to wield the threat of military sanctions. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Priv...
Iran established deterrence against Israel proving through its actions it could do more harm, says academic Hassan Ahmadian
On the Middle East with Amberin Zaman - April 17, 2024 17:09 - 24 minutesIran's weekend attack on Israel in response to an Israeli attack on its diplomatic mission in Syria has put an already explosive region on edge. Israel has vowed to retaliate and Iran says should it do so its own response will be massive. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privac...
What path lies ahead for Turkey after Erdogan's stunning local election defeat? Commentator Kadri Gursel explains
On the Middle East with Amberin Zaman - April 03, 2024 19:45 - 30 minutesFollowing The secular opposition's historic win in the March 31 elections, many say that Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu is now confirmed as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's chief rival in the next elections that are due to be held in four years. However, the reality is far more c...
How the West began losing the Mideast to Iran, Russia & China since start of Syria conflict, French academic Fabrice Balanche explains
On the Middle East with Amberin Zaman - March 21, 2024 17:34 - 25 minutesThis 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, China and Iran as a result of its failed policy in Syria. The Kurds are among the biggest losers, he...
Will Turkey's Erdogan seize back Istanbul and fully secure his regime in March 31 elections?
On the Middle East with Amberin Zaman - March 14, 2024 17:18 - 42 minutesTurkey's opposition is in disarray since its humiliating defeat in last year's presidential and parliamentary elections. However, the opposition has what some say is a final chance to challenge his power in local elections that will be held on March 31. Turkey analyst Selim Koru says wi...
Why are Britain’s Jews facing the largest wave of anti-semitic violence in modern times?
On the Middle East with Amberin Zaman - March 07, 2024 19:13 - 30 minutesThere has been an alarming spike in anti-Semitic attacks in the UK since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing nearly 1,200 Israeli citizens. Hate crimes monitor Dave Rich and historian Andrew Apostolou unpack the dynamics. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and Califo...
American doctor Seema Jilani faces backlash for her eyewitness accounts of horrors unfolding in Gaza
On the Middle East with Amberin Zaman - February 20, 2024 19:22 - 15 minutesAs the conflict in Gaza rages on, Palestinian children are dying by the thousands while many others are horribly injured. Hospitals are under unremittingly attacked by Israel forces and doctors struggle to treat the wounded. Seema Jilani, a rare American doctor to make it into the Gaza...
Sweden did not take Turkey's terrorism concerns seriously enough says former Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde
On the Middle East with Amberin Zaman - February 15, 2024 19:37 - 29 minutesTurkey blocked Sweden's NATO membership for nine months saying Stockholm needed to curb anti-Turkish groups it classifies as terrorists. Those demands were widely dismissed as a foil for Ankara's real aim, to get the United States Congress to authorize the sale of F-16 fighter jets to T...
Does Turkey really support ISIS and, if so, why did ISIS just attack it again? Expert Aaron Zelin explains
On the Middle East with Amberin Zaman - February 05, 2024 21:45 - 24 minutesThe 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 to Turkey as "Wilayat al Turkiya" — or its "Turkish province" — sending a chilling message that ...
Does Iran control Shiite militias that are attacking US forces in Iraq and Syria? Two leading experts weigh in
On the Middle East with Amberin Zaman - January 29, 2024 22:37 - 37 minutesThe deaths of three US servicemen Sunday in an attack by an Iran-backed Shiite militia at a base wedged between Syria and Jordan has raised the specter of a direct confrontation between the United States and Iran like never before. But are things as black and white as they seem? Does Ir...
German federal prosecutors petitioned to launch war crimes case against Turkish-backed Sunni factions abusing Kurds in Syria
On the Middle East with Amberin Zaman - January 25, 2024 20:58 - 19 minutesSyrians for Truth and Justice and the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights have filed a complaint with German federal prosecutors against Turkish-backed Sunni factions they accuse of war crimes against Kurds in Afrin. These include ethnic cleansing, rape and looting. Ger...
Kuwaiti academic says Red Sea escalation with Yemen's Houthis won't end without US pressure on Israel to end Gaza war
On the Middle East with Amberin Zaman - January 18, 2024 19:25 - 27 minutesTensions between the United States and Iran-backed Houthi rebels continue to escalate in the Red Sea, disrupting maritime traffic in a key shipping lane. A barrage of US airstrikes against the Houthis shows little signs of slowing them down. The Shiite rebels insist they won't stop targ...
Israel does not want a war with Iran, says Haaretz English editor-in-chief
On the Middle East with Amberin Zaman - January 03, 2024 17:49 - 25 minutesThe 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 Haaretz English, dismisses the idea that Israel wants to provoke a war with Iran that would d...
Turkey won't be at the table when Gaza conflict ends, says Turkey analyst Alan Makovsky
On the Middle East with Amberin Zaman - December 14, 2023 21:59 - 30 minutesTurkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has openly sided with Hamas in its ongoing conflict with Israel in Gaza, making him a hero on the Arab street. However, his vocal support for the group that is designated as terrorists by the United States will likely further strain relations betwe...
Former CENTCOM commander Gen. Joseph Votel warns Gaza conflict may expand because Iran lacks full control of its militia proxies
On the Middle East with Amberin Zaman - November 13, 2023 18:18 - 30 minutesAs Israel’s war to unseat Hamas in the Gaza Strip grinds into its second month, the former top US military commander in the Middle East, Gen. Joseph Votel (ret.), says the hardest fighting is yet to come. While the IDF appears to be implementing some of Washington’s advice by allowing f...
Iran continues strategic miscalculations even after Hamas' attack on Israel, says analyst Hamidreza Azizi
On the Middle East with Amberin Zaman - November 07, 2023 21:03 - 32 minutesIran is doing its best to avoid getting dragged into the conflict in Gaza. Its strategy of deterrence through its proxies appears to have backfired and the United States is more present than ever in the region, says Iran analyst Hamidreza Azizi. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/...
The Israel-Hamas War: Live Q&A with Ali Hashem, Joyce Karam, and Daoud Kuttab
On the Middle East with Amberin Zaman - November 03, 2023 19:15 - 39 minutesIn another special edition of the podcast, we have the audio from the fourth edition of our live Q&A webinar series on the Israel-Hamas war, where Al-Monitor's Columnist Ali Hashem, Senior News Editor Joyce Karam, and Palestine Columnist Daoud Kuttab discussed the conflict's latest deve...
As Turkey celebrates 100th anniversary as a republic, Erdogan's one-man pro-Islamist regime is firmly entrenched, says Turkish scholar Selim Koru
On the Middle East with Amberin Zaman - October 26, 2023 17:28 - 45 minutesOn 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 the secularizing founder of modern Turkey Kemal Ataturk. He may have succeeded in several ways, bu...
The Israel-Hamas War: Live Q&A webinar with Ben Caspit & Nadia Bilbassy-Charters
On the Middle East with Amberin Zaman - October 20, 2023 16:23 - 47 minutesIn this special edition of the podcast, we have the audio from the second part of our live Q&A webinar series on the Israel-Hamas war, where Al-Monitor Israel Columnist Ben Caspit, reporting from Tel Aviv, and Al Arabiya Washington Bureau Chief Nadia Bilbassy-Charters discussed the late...
Palestinian American historian Rashid Khalidi says Israel, US will face new wave of hostility in Middle East as Gaza war escalates
On the Middle East with Amberin Zaman - October 18, 2023 20:38 - 37 minutesRashid 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 are the underlying cause of Hamas' brutal Oct. 7 attack on the Jewish state. Successive US gover...
Israel's envoy to Bahrain says Iran behind Hamas attack, target is Abraham Accords
On the Middle East with Amberin Zaman - October 18, 2023 17:18 - 25 minutesIsrael's Ambassador to Bahrain Eitan Na'eh says that Iran was the driving force behind Hamas' October 7 attack on his country and that the Abraham Accords were the main target. The envoy insists that the accords are aimed at developing economic prosperity and trust in the Middle East an...
Sister of kidnapped Israeli-Russian researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov says US and Iraq can secure her release from Shiite militants
On the Middle East with Amberin Zaman - October 11, 2023 19:44 - 23 minutesEmma Tsurkov, a scholar at Stanford University, says all she knows about her sister Elizabeth Tsurkov, who was kidnapped by the Iraqi Shiite militant group Kataib Hezbollah in March, is that she is still alive and in Baghdad. The conflict in Gaza triggered by Hamas' attack on Israel wil...
Will Armenia’s land border with Iran be Azerbaijan’s next target after Nagorno-Karabakh, asks analyst Benjamin Poghosyan
On the Middle East with Amberin Zaman - September 21, 2023 15:17 - 24 minutesYerevan-based analyst Benjamin Poghosyan says that Azerbaijan's actions in Nagorno-Karabakh presage further land grabs and broader conflict. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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