Podcast
FDD Morning Brief
Hosted by FDD · EN
The Middle East never stops moving. Neither does the FDD Morning Brief.
Three mornings a week, FDD Executive Director Jonathan Schanzer cuts through the noise with the experts who have spent their careers studying, shaping, and living the region’s most consequential moments. All before your morning coffee gets cold.
72episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
A broke and belligerent Iran | feat. Norman Roule
May 800:25:13Tap to summarizeHeadlines:The Iranian regime and the United States traded fire in the Strait of Hormuz last night.The Trump administration issued another batch of sanctions as part of Operation Economic Fury.Reports yesterday suggested that Saudi Arabia and Kuwait blocked the United States from using their bases and their airspace after President Trump announced Project Freedom.Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian claims he met with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei — but it’s unclear if and when that meeting took place.An Israeli strike in Gaza killed the son of Hamas chief Khalil al-Hayya. --FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer provides timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with Norman Roule, former National Intelligence Manager for Iran at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and current Non-Resident Senior Adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.Learn more at: https://www.fdd.org/fddmorningbrief
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Qatar's ICC influence operation | feat. Eugene Kontorovich
May 600:25:08Tap to summarizeHeadlines:Reports broke suggesting that U.S. intelligence indicates Iran would need about nine months to a year to build a nuclear bomb.The United States, in partnership with Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar proposed a UN Security Resolution to defend freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.The United Arab Emirates came under attack on Monday and again yesterday. These were the first attacks on the UAE since the ceasefire took hold last month.--FDD Senior Research Analyst Natalie Ecanow fills in for Jonathan Schanzer, providing timely situational updates and analysis ahead of a conversation between guest interviewer Cliff May, FDD Founder and President, and Eugene Kontorovich, Executive Director of George Mason University Scalia Law School’s Center for the Middle East and International Law.Learn more at: https://www.fdd.org/fddmorningbrief
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A Middle East in flux | feat. Ahmad Sharawi, guest hosted by Sinan Ciddi
May 400:30:23Tap to summarizeHeadlines:Hezbollah has been deploying a new category of drone that the IDF has struggled to counter.OPEC+, the broader alliance of oil-producing nations that includes OPEC members and additional producers like Russia, met on Sunday and agreed to bump up oil production by 188,000 barrels a day starting in June.U.S.-Iran negotiations hit another wall this past weekend.--FDD Turkey Program Director Sinan Ciddi fills in for Jonathan Schanzer, providing timely situational updates and analysis ahead of a conversation with FDD Senior Research Analyst Ahmad Sharawi.Learn more at: https://www.fdd.org/fddmorningbrief
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The blockade bleeding Iran dry | feat. Max Meizlish, guest hosted by Natalie Ecanow
May 100:24:48Tap to summarizeHeadlines: The Global Sumud Flotilla is back — this time without Greta Thunberg.Iranian supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei released a written statement yesterday to mark National Persian Gulf Day. Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems reportedly signed a letter of intent with Volkswagen to acquire one of VW’s factories in western Germany.FDD Senior Research Analyst Natalie Ecanow fills in for Jonathan Schanzer, providing timely situational updates and analysis ahead of a conversation with FDD Research Fellow Max Meizlish.Learn more at: fdd.org/fddmorningbrief
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From Epic Fury to Economic Fury | feat. Rich Goldberg
Apr 2900:25:28Tap to summarizeHeadlines:The United Arab Emirates announced that it’s leaving the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC.Tensions are brewing between Israel and Ukraine over allegations that Israeli authorities are allowing vessels carrying “stolen” grain to dock at Haifa port.Earlier this week, Israeli journalist Amit Segal posted a few paragraphs on X explaining that, according to his sources, Qatar is cutting off Hamas. No more money, no more hosting.--FDD Senior Research Analyst Natalie Ecanow fills in for Jonathan Schanzer, providing timely situational updates and analysis ahead of a conversation between Jon and FDD Senior Advisor Richard Goldberg.Learn more at: https://www.fdd.org/fddmorningbrief
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Israel on trial | feat. Roy K. Altman
Apr 2700:29:06Tap to summarizeHeadlines:An attempt on the life of the president of the United States on Saturday night.The talks scheduled between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States over the weekend didn’t happen. A serious exchange of hostilities over the weekend between Israel and Hezbollah over there in the Land of the Cedars.Security services in Israel busted a Hamas financing cell in the West Bank and Gaza.The political pair of Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid are teaming up again for another run in Israel. FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer provides timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with Roy K. Altman, federal judge and author of the upcoming book, Israel on Trial: Examining the History, the Evidence, and the Law.Learn more at: fdd.org/fddmorningbrief
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Can Lebanon break free from Hezbollah? | feat. Hussain Abdul-Hussain
Apr 2400:25:38Tap to summarizeHeadlines:Israeli authorities charged two IDF Air Force mechanics with spying on behalf of Iran.France is getting feistier, threatening to impose sanctions on Israel if Jerusalem doesn’t change course in Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon.President Trump attended a meeting between the Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors at the White House yesterday.A couple of announcements out of Washington relating to those nasty Iraqi militias. First, a 10 million dollar bounty on Hashim Finyan Rahim al-Saraji of the group known as Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, or KSS.The city of Islamabad is reportedly still on a high security alert, as the Pakistani government continues to prepare for another round of talks between the United States and Iran.--FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer provides timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with FDD's Hussain Abdul-Hussain.Learn more at: https://www.fdd.org/fddmorningbrief
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The Gulf's crude awakening | feat. Bernard Haykel
Apr 2200:28:24Tap to summarizeHeadlines:At least two maritime vessels were attacked in the Strait of Hormuz overnight, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations.The Treasury Department issued a fresh batch of Iran sanctions, this time targeting Iranian missile and drone procurement networks.The UAE government dismantled an Iran-linked terrorist cell that was allegedly planning terrorist attacks and sabotage operations in the country.--FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer provides timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with FDD Senior Fellow Bernard Haykel.Learn more at: https://www.fdd.org/fddmorningbrief
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Iran's dirty hand in Sudan | feat. Ambassador Fernandez, guest hosted by Mariam Wahba
Apr 2000:22:14Tap to summarizeHeadlines:The U.S. negotiation team is heading to Islamabad for round two of U.S.-Iran talks, and they’re opening under considerably worse conditions than round one.Egypt is working with Pakistan on lasting U.S.-Iran peace, says Egypt's Foreign Minister.Sudan enters its fourth year of war amid the world’s most severe humanitarian crisis.--FDD Research Analyst Mariam Wahba fills in for Jonathan Schanzer, providing timely situational updates and analysis ahead of a conversation with Ambassador Alberto Fernandez, vice president of the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).Learn more at: https://www.fdd.org/fddmorningbrief
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China's MidEast reckoning | feat. Gen. H.R. McMaster
Apr 1700:28:56Tap to summarizeHeadlines:A ten-day ceasefire is now in effect in Lebanon.The Treasury Department issued a fresh batch of sanctions targeting a network of people, companies, and ships involved in illicitly smuggling Iranian oil.A group of U.S. senators sent a letter to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche asking him to explain why the Trump administration dropped a criminal case against Turkey’s Halkbank.Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammed Al-Jolani, met with a pair of Kurdish leaders yesterday to discuss the integration of the Syrian Democratic Forces — or SDF — into Syria’s state forces.Word on the street is that there was meeting between the U.S. and Hamas in Cairo earlier this week.--FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer provides timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with H.R. McMaster, former National Security Advisor to the President of the United States and chairman of FDD's Center on Military and Political Power.Learn more at: https://www.fdd.org/fddmorningbrief
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