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.
73episodes
Episodes
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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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The unsettled score in Iran | feat. David Adesnik
Apr 1500:22:20Tap to summarizeHeadlines:Lebanon and Israel held direct talks for the first time in decades.The Trump administration is gearing up for its blockade of Iranian vessels in the Persian Gulf.There are plans for new ceasefire talks in Islamabad.The UK and France are planning to host virtual talks to iron out a strategy for securing the Strait of Hormuz.A defense cooperation memorandum of understanding between Italy and Israel that’s automatically renewed every five years since 2005 expired on Monday. Yesterday, Rome announced that it’s ending the agreement amidst the ongoing war in the Middle East.--FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer provides timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with David Adesnik.Learn more at: https://www.fdd.org/fddmorningbrief
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Can Iran bypass the blockade? | feat. Miad Maleki
Apr 1300:30:20Tap to summarizeFDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer provides timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with FDD Senior Fellow Miad Maleki.Learn more at: https://www.fdd.org/fddmorningbrief
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FDD Morning Brief SITREP | The stakes behind the Iran ceasefire
Apr 1000:38:46Tap to summarizeHeadlines:The IDF said it eliminated Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem’s personal secretary in a strike near Beirut.Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said that Beirut isn’t going to let any other government negotiate for a ceasefire on its behalf.The Trump administration is reportedly considering moving troops out of NATO countries after several of them hamstringed American efforts in Iran.Iran continues to strangle the Strait of Hormuz.--FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer hosts a special SITREP episode of the FDD Morning Brief featuring FDD Senior Fellow Lt. Col. (Ret.) Jonathan Conricus and FDD CMPP Senior Director Bradley Bowman.They examine the implications of the ceasefire and negotiations between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran.Learn more at: https://www.fdd.org/fddmorningbrief
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The art of the ceasefire deal? | feat. Khosro Isfahani
Apr 800:24:36Tap to summarizeHeadlines:Yesterday, the IDF said it completed the deployment of ground troops to a so-called anti-tank line in south Lebanon.An American journalist kidnapped in Iraq last week is on her way home.A firefight broke out adjacent to the Israeli consulate in Istanbul yesterday.Massive explosion at the Panama Canal yesterday.--FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer provides timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with NUFDI Research Director Khosro Isfahani.Learn more at: https://www.fdd.org/fddmorningbrief
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The 20-year war on freedom | feat. Yana Gorokhovskaia
Apr 600:26:02Tap to summarizeToday's headlines:The regime in Tehran somehow managed to shoot down an American F-15 fighter jet over the weekend.The aviators from that downed F-15 are both ok.Donald Trump’s Truth Social post yesterday seems to suggest that the April 6 deadline for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz has been extended until tomorrow night.The internet blackout continues inside Iran. The war in Lebanon continues. Tough day in Israel yesterday, with a building in Haifa absorbing a direct hit from a ballistic missile, while cluster munitions also hit dozens of locations across central Israel. Turkey is somehow getting its oil tankers out of the Strait of Hormuz. Featured FDD piece: "Islamist Turkey: A Base for Muslim Brotherhood Jihadism" - FDD Memo, Sinan Ciddi and William DoranFDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer provides timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with Freedom House's Yana Gorokhovskaia.Learn more at: fdd.org/fddmorningbrief
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Is Turkey the new Iran? | feat. Hay Eytan Cohen Yanarocak, guest hosted by Sinan Ciddi
Apr 300:31:43Tap to summarizeToday's headlines:Turkey is working with Iranian authorities to secure permission for 11 Turkish-owned ships to sail through the Strait of Hormuz.Israeli forces eliminated the commander of Hezbollah’s southern front.The International Energy Agency, International Monetary Fund, and World Bank are joining forces to coordinate a response to the ongoing war with Iran.Featured FDD piece: "Islamist Turkey: A Base for Muslim Brotherhood Jihadism" - FDD Memo, Sinan Ciddi and William Doran--FDD Turkey Program Director Sinan Ciddi fills in for Jonathan Schanzer, providing timely situational updates and analysis ahead of a conversation with world-renowned Turkey scholar Hay Eytan Cohen Yanarocak.
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Hezbollah versus Lebanon | feat. Hagar Chemali
Apr 100:26:44Tap to summarizeToday's headlines:Trouble continues in the Strait of Hormuz.Kosovo announced that it plans to deploy troops to the U.S.-backed international stabilization force for Gaza.The Iranian ambassador is still in Lebanon, and the Lebanese government is still effectively beholden to Hezbollah.Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi wants President Trump to end the war.--FDD Research Analyst Mariam Wahba delivers headlines ahead of a conversation between FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer and "Oh My World!" host Hagar Chemali.Learn more at: fdd.org/fddmorningbrief
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30 days of Roaring Lion | feat. Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Amir Eshel
Mar 3000:26:55Tap to summarizeFDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer provides timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with FDD Senior Fellow Major General (Ret.) Amir Eshel.Learn more at: https://www.fdd.org/fddmorningbrief
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The splintering axis of evil | feat. Ilan Berman
Mar 2700:24:07Tap to summarizeToday's headlines: U.S.-Israeli air superiority continuesIranian air defenses remain downIsrael eliminated the head of Iran’s navyThe Islamic Republic is preparing for a ground warU.S. President Donald Trump has extended the deadline for the regime to make a dealBeirut declared Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon persona non grata and instructed him to leave the countryHezbollah continues to batter northern Israel with rocketsThe U.S. embassy in Iraq told American citizens to leave Iraq immediatelyIDF chief of staff informed the cabinet that the army could collapse on itself if the war continues at this pace due to manpower shortages--FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer provides timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with Ilan Berman, Senior Vice President of the American Foreign Policy Council.Learn more at: https://www.fdd.org/fddmorningbrief
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