In recent months, a growing rift has emerged between two of the Middle East’s powerhouses: Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. What began as an escalation in Yemen rapidly evolved into a broader diplomatic and political crisis between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi. Yet the divide extends far beyond Yemen, revealing a deeper geopolitical competition unfolding across the Middle East, Africa, and the Red Sea. How did this rift emerge? And what consequences might it hold for the region?

In this second episode of MED Insights, Nicola Missaglia - Curator of the MED and Head of Communications and Publishing at ISPI - speaks with Firas Maksad, Managing Director, Middle East & North Africa at Eurasia Group and Eleonora Ardemagni, Senior Associate Reaseach Fellow at ISPI. 

As negotiations between the US and Iran get underway in Oman, the threat of a US attack on Iran continues to loom. At the same time, the protests of late December and early January have brought into sharp focus the Islamic Republic’s deep-rooted, systemic, and multifaceted crisis. What is happening in Iran? Are we truly on the verge of a new agreement, or heading toward a renewed confrontation between Washington and Tehran? And what future lies ahead for the Islamic Republic?

In this first episode of MED Insights, Nicola Missaglia - Curator of the MED and Head of Communications and Publishing at ISPI - speaks with Ali Vaez, Director of the Iran Project and Senior Adviser to the President at the International Crisis Group, and Sanam Vakil, Director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Chatham House.

MED Insights is ISPI’s new podcast navigating a region under pressure. From shifting powers to emerging crises, each episode unpacks what’s shaping the Middle East and North Africa – and why it matters far beyond it.