Podcast
FDD Morning Brief
Hosted by FDD · EN
The FDD Morning Brief provides timely situational updates on contemporary events. Start your Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings at 8:30am (ET) with digestible analysis and the headlines our experts are watching. The FDD Morning Brief can be streamed on YouTube, X, and is available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
50episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Does the MOU play Strait into Tehran's hands? | feat. Bernard Haykel and Jonathan Hessen
1w ago00:28:41Tap to summarizeDoes the MOU play Strait into Tehran's hands? | feat. Bernard Haykel and Jonathan HessenFDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer hosts a special SITREP featuring FDD experts Bernard Haykel and Jonathan Hessen.Learn more at: fdd.org/fddmorningbrief
Transcribe →
Ankara's media shadow war | feat. Eitan Fischberger
1w ago00:28:44Tap to summarizeHeadlines:President Trump suggested that Syria should fight Hezbollah instead of Israel.Sources told the Wall Street Journal that the U.S. is going to allow Iran to begin selling oil and fuel as soon as the ceasefire deal is signed.France and Britain are planning to deploy a multinational coalition to the Strait of Hormuz if and when the ceasefire with Iran comes into effect.We spend a lot of time talking about war in the Middle East, but don’t forget that there’s a brutal civil war ravaging Sudan. Foreign powers have gotten involved on both sides — and Iran is one of them.--FDD Turkey Program Director Sinan Ciddi fills in for Jonathan Schanzer, providing timely situational updates and analysis ahead of a conversation with Middle East analyst Eitan Fischberger.Learn more at: https://www.fdd.org/fddmorningbrief
Transcribe →
The Iran ceasefire fallacy | feat. Haviv Rettig Gur
2w ago00:27:05Tap to summarizeFDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer delivers timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with Haviv Rettig Gur, host of the Ask Haviv Anything podcast and Middle East Analyst at The Free Press.Learn more at: https://www.fdd.org/fddmorningbrief
Transcribe →
Is this a done deal? | feat. Miad Maleki, Ahmad Sharawi, and Bradley Bowman
2w ago00:27:47Tap to summarizeFDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer hosts a special SITREP episode of the FDD Morning Brief featuring FDD experts Miad Maleki, Bradley Bowman, and Ahmad Sharawi.Learn more at: https://www.fdd.org/fddmorningbrief
Transcribe →
The Ceasefire War | feat. Lt. Col. (Ret.) Conricus, RADM (Ret.) Montgomery, and Behnam Ben Taleblu
2w ago00:27:23Tap to summarizeFDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer hosts a special SITREP featuring FDD experts Lt. Col. (Ret.) Jonathan Conricus, RADM (Ret.) Mark Montgomery, and Behnam Ben Taleblu.Learn more at: https://www.fdd.org/fddmorningbrief
Transcribe →
How the IRGC engineered its own survival | feat. Rafaela Siewert
3w ago00:28:45Tap to summarizeHeadlines:Yesterday, Iran launched missiles at Israel for the first time since the April ceasefire took effect.President Trump urged Netanyahu not to strike back at Iran — to no avail. Israel doubles down on its efforts to disarm Hamas in Gaza.--FDD Research Analyst Mariam Wahba fills in for Jonathan Schanzer, providing timely situational updates and analysis ahead of a conversation with Rafaela Siewert of The Free Press.Learn more at: https://www.fdd.org/fddmorningbrief
Transcribe →
Qatar's $400 billion grip on America | feat. Natalie Ecanow
3w ago00:29:25Tap to summarizeHeadlines:The duplicitous, conniving, and corrupt state of Qatar is going to provide 6 billion dollars to Iran’s collapsing economy.The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, or UNIFIL, is going to pack up and go home come December 31st.Yesterday, Hezbollah rejected the latest ceasefire agreement, despite both the Israeli and Lebanese governments agreeing to move forward.The rump of the Islamic Republic has been hyping a statement supposedly issued by Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei claiming that Tehran has dealt the U.S. and Israel a quote, “decisive blow,” and that both countries have been deeply humiliated. That’s pretty rich coming from a man who hasn’t been seen since the first day of the war. Except in the form of a cardboard cutout or an AI rendering.--FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer provides timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with FDD Senior Research Analyst Natalie Ecanow.Learn more at: https://www.fdd.org/fddmorningbriefTo read Natalie's latest memo on Qatari influence, please visit: https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2026/06/03/mapping-qatars-400-billion-footprint-in-the-united-states/
Transcribe →
Where does Europe stand on Iran? | feat. Simone Rodan-Benzaquen
3w ago00:27:14Tap to summarizeHeadlines:US President Donald Trump said on Monday that Israel and Hezbollah agreed to stop shooting — basically, a sort-of ceasefire under which Israel would stop striking Beirut and Hezbollah would stop attacking Israel. However, to no one’s surprise, the shooting has continued.The Iranian regime is planning a three-day funeral for the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which will reportedly take place in mid-June.Bahrain banned its citizens from traveling to Iran and Iraq for somewhat obvious security concerns.Another round of Iran sanctions hit the books yesterday. This time, Treasury targeted Iran’s digital asset exchanges and their leaders for helping the IRGC access the international financial system and evade U.S. sanctions.--FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer provides timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation withSimone Rodan-Benzaquen, FDD's senior envoy for Europe.Learn more at: https://www.fdd.org/fddmorningbrief
Transcribe →
The deal that dooms the Iranian people | feat. Moj Mahdara
4w ago00:28:37Tap to summarizeHeadlines:The Israeli military is on the move in Lebanon. The IDF is set to move further north to do more damage to Hezbollah.We’ll keep with Lebanon and note here that the Europeans are nudging their way into this theater. The Brits are saying that they want the Israeli advance to end. The French have done the same.Ahmad al-Sharaa, the newish leader of Syria, says he wants all the remaining sanctions on his country lifted.One of the biggest Iran-backed militias in Iraq, Kataeb Hezbollah, says it will not disarm, despite calls from the United States to do so.--FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer provides timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with Iranian-American entrepreneur and activist Moj Mahdara.Learn more at: https://www.fdd.org/fddmorningbrief
Transcribe →
The unfinished war on terror | feat. Joseph Zacks
4w ago00:25:48Tap to summarizeHeadlines:The Sultanate of Oman committed to increase trade and economic relations with Iran.The Treasury Department slapped sanctions on the Persian Gulf Strait Authority, which is the body that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard stood up to extort vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.The IDF carried out a strike in Beirut yesterday — it was the first Israeli strike in Beirut in three weeks.The U.S. government is expanding its probe into the United Nations Relief and Works Agency — a.k.a. “UNRWA,” a.k.a. Hamas in UN clothing.--FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer provides timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with Joseph Zacks, FDD Adjunct Fellow and former deputy assistant director for counterterrorism for the CIA.Learn more at: https://fdd.org/fddmorningbrief
Transcribe →