The MENA Mix: Regional Recap

The MENA Mix: Regional Recap is a monthly video podcast, produced by the Institute for Middle East Options (IMEO). Each episode features rotating experts who unpack and analyze key news stories shaping the Middle East and North Africa.

Our September episode brought together Mickey Bergman (Global Reach Chief Executive Officer) and Stacia George (Global Reach Chief Engagement Officer). They examined September’s regional developments through a negotiator’s lens, exploring how trauma, political pressures, and public messaging shape decision-making. Using UNGA as a springboard, they discussed public threats alongside continued U.S.–Iran diplomacy, Israel’s upcoming elections, and Syria’s challenges of rebuilding trust and state institutions, while looking ahead to Lebanon, Yemen and Saudi Arabia, and the competing political pressures shaping President Trump’s approach.

*Music Featured in Podcast: Baghdad Nights by Sahara

The MENA Mix: Regional Recap is a monthly video podcast, produced by the Institute for Middle East Options (IMEO). Each episode features rotating experts who unpack and analyze key news stories shaping the Middle East and North Africa.

Our August episode brought together Oubab Khalil (Khalil Group Founder and IMEO Non-Resident Fellow) and Elizabeth Tsurkov (New Lines Institute Senior Non-Resident Fellow). They examined whether the Iran-Israel-U.S. conflict is headed toward renewed escalation, considering Iran’s resilience and how governments and societies are adapting to prolonged instability. The conversation also explored Israel’s upcoming elections, the political marginalization of Arab parties, and the prospects for a two-state solution; Iraq’s efforts to navigate between Iran and its Arab neighbors; and the implications of the U.S. decision to remove Syria from the State Sponsors of Terrorism list. They concluded by turning to Lebanon and the prospects for Hezbollah’s disarmament, examining the political obstacles to extending greater state authority over the country’s security.

*Music Featured in Podcast: Baghdad Nights by Sahara

The MENA Mix: Regional Recap is a monthly video podcast, produced by the Institute for Middle East Options (IMEO). Each episode features rotating experts who unpack and analyze key news stories shaping the Middle East and North Africa.

Our July episode brought together Adel Hamaizia (Highbridge Advisory Managing Director and Harvard Kennedy School Middle East Initiative Non Resident Fellow) and Dr. Helima Croft (RBC Capital Markets Managing Director and Head of Global Commodity Strategy and Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Research).

Through the prism of key headlines, they explored the geopolitical and geoeconomic developments reshaping the Middle East, examining the evolution of the U.S.–Iran conflict, the strategic importance of the Strait of Hormuz and global energy markets, the resilience of GCC economies amid regional conflict, Saudi Arabia's civil nuclear ambitions, developments in Gaza, regional dynamics across North Africa—including Ceuta—and the growing importance of connectivity and trade corridors. Throughout the conversation, they considered how conflict, diplomacy, economic transformation, and strategic competition are reshaping regional security, investment, and the global energy landscape.

*Music Featured in Podcast: Baghdad Nights by Sahara

The MENA Mix: Regional Recap is a monthly video podcast, produced by the Institute for Middle East Options (IMEO). Each episode features rotating experts who unpack and analyze key news stories shaping the Middle East and North Africa.

Our June episode brought together Kahina Bouagache (Manaar Legal Senior Counsel and IMEO Non-Resident Fellow) and Hiwa Osman (+964 Media Director General). They examined how shifting security dynamics in the Gulf are reshaping regional politics, with particular attention to energy security, strategic competition, and the growing interdependence of diplomacy, economics, and defense. Through discussions on the Gulf states, Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, maritime chokepoints, and global energy supply routes, they explored how regional conflicts increasingly influence international markets and geopolitical decision-making. The conversation concluded by considering the links between conflict, energy security, and climate change, highlighting the need for long-term regional cooperation to address increasingly interconnected security and environmental challenges.

*Music Featured in Podcast: Baghdad Nights by Sahara

The MENA Mix: Regional Recap is a monthly video podcast, produced by the Institute for Middle East Options (IMEO). Each episode features rotating experts who unpack and analyze key news stories shaping the Middle East and North Africa.

Our May episode brought together Doris Awwad (IMEO Non-Resident Fellow) and Alia Mansour (NOW Lebanon Deputy Editor in Chief). They explored whether the region is moving toward genuine de-escalation following the Iran-Israel war or simply entering a new phase of conflict. Through discussions on Hamas and Hezbollah, disarmament, Lebanon’s political realities, and Syria’s evolving approach, they examined the interconnected challenges shaping the region and emphasized the need for diplomacy, reconstruction, and renewed efforts to address the root causes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a key factor in long-term regional stability.

*Music Featured in Podcast: Baghdad Nights by Sahara

The MENA Mix: Regional Recap is a monthly video podcast, produced by the Institute for Middle East Options (IMEO). Each episode features rotating experts who unpack and analyze key news stories shaping the Middle East and North Africa.

Our April episode brought together Owen Alterman (i24NEWS English Senior Correspondent) and Mohammed Daraghmeh (Palestinian Journalist). They explored the war involving Iran as experienced by Palestinians and Israelis, developments in the West Bank and Gaza, Israeli domestic politics and elections, and the evolving media landscape, including coverage challenges and public pressures.

*Music Featured in Podcast: Baghdad Nights by Sahara

The MENA Mix: Regional Recap is a monthly video podcast, produced by the Institute for Middle East Options (IMEO). Each episode features rotating experts who unpack and analyze key news stories shaping the Middle East and North Africa.

Our March episode brought together Hayder Al Shakeri (Chatham House Research Fellow) and Younes Zangiabadi (Institute for Peace and Diplomacy Executive Director). They explored the Islamic Republic of Iran's strategy in the war, regional dynamics in Iraq and Lebanon, Gulf developments including the Houthis, the role of global powers, and the implications of the Strait of Hormuz for the war’s global impact.

*Music Featured in Podcast: Baghdad Nights by Sahara

The MENA Mix: Regional Recap is a monthly video podcast, produced by the Institute for Middle East Options (IMEO). Each episode features rotating experts who unpack and analyze key news stories shaping the Middle East and North Africa.

Our February episode brought together Hana Elshehaby (Middle East Council on Global Affairs Research Assistant) and Dr. Farzan Sabet (The Geneva Graduate Institute Managing Researcher). They unpack mounting unrest in Iran and its international repercussions, energy market reactions and Red Sea security concerns, renewed debates over Gaza’s post-ceasefire governance, and Saudi–UAE competition in the Horn of Africa.

*Music Featured in Podcast: Baghdad Nights by Sahara

The MENA Mix: Regional Recap is a monthly video podcast, produced by the Institute for Middle East Options (IMEO). Each episode features rotating experts who unpack and analyze key news stories shaping the Middle East and North Africa.

In this special Year-In-Review episode, Mani A. Jad (IMEO Executive Director) is joined by His Excellency Bisher Al Khasawneh (Jordanian Senator & Former Prime Minister), Ambassador Angelina Eichhorst (EU Ambassador to Egypt & the Arab League), and Ambassdador Dennis Ross (The Washinton Institute Counselor & Distinguished Fellow) to unpack 2025’s most defining regional moments—from the fragile Gaza ceasefire and Lebanon–Israel brinkmanship to Red Sea conflicts, Israel–Iran volatile tensions, and Sudan’s deepening crisis—and explore what’s ahead in 2026.

*Music Featured in Podcast: Baghdad Nights by Sahara

The MENA Mix: Regional Recap is a monthly video podcast, produced by the Institute for Middle East Options (IMEO). Each episode features rotating experts who unpack and analyze key news stories shaping the Middle East and North Africa.

Our November episode brought together Roberta Maggi (CARPO Associate Fellow) and Dr. Alia Brahimi (Atlantic Council Middle East Program Non-Resident Senior Fellow). They covered Israel’s resumed Gaza airstrikes, escalating Israel-Lebanon clashes after strikes on Sidon and Beirut, Sudan’s deepening crisis after El-Fasher’s fall, Syria’s move to join the US-led anti-ISIL coalition, and the emergence of Iraqi mercenaries on Ukraine’s frontlines.

*Music Featured in Podcast: Baghdad Nights by Sahara