Explore every episode of the podcast Middle East Minute by AL-MONITOR

As Brett McGurk, President Joe Biden's senior Middle East adviser, met with high-ranking Qatari officials in Doha on Tuesday, White House spokesperson John Kirby told Israel's Channel 12 that Iran was "postured and poised" to attack Israel. In Turkey, a court blocks 69 accounts on Twitter while Azerbaijan’s foreign minister, Jeyhun Bayramov, arrives in Ankara.

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Qatari prime minister and top diplomat Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani is in Tehran meeting with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, as Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir sparks fresh outrage by saying he would build a synagogue at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque compound if he could.

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Al-Monitor's Adam Lucente examines the Middle East presence at the 2024 Paris Olympics, the geopolitics at play and how countries from across the region have won national pride while also snagging medals.

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Hamas announced Tuesday it had signed an agreement in China with other Palestinian factions to work together for "national unity," as Beijing emerges as a diplomatic broker. Turkey’s Central Bank kept interest rates steady on Tuesday as inflation cools and the Biden administration resumed negotiations with a senior Iraqi delegation over the roughly 2,500 US troops in Iraq.

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On Sunday, as President Joe Biden announced he was removing his bid from the 2024 US election, the floodgates opened up for a new contender to take his place. Prominent democrats, Biden included, have endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to take his spot, and while her Middle East foreign policy track record aligns with Biden's, there could be differences. Plus, Turkey's ruling party has walked back the controversial stray dog bill amid uproar from animal rights activists.

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Business correspondent Jack Dutton discusses a report this week that found that even with runaway inflation, Turkey ranks exceptionally high in global wealth growth.

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Iraq announced on Monday that it has resumed negotiations to join the World Trade Organization (WTO) for the first time since 2008, ultra-Orthodox protesters fight police near Tel Aviv after Israel’s military begins issuing draft notices and at least six killed in attack on a Shiite mosque in the Omani capital, Muscat.

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Egypt’s remittances reach $2.7 billion in boost to foreign reserves, the US dispatches senior officials to Cairo to bridge gaps between Israel and Hamas on a cease-fire proposal and the NATO summit kicks off in Washington on Tuesday.

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A radical shift in the United Kingdom’s Middle East policy is unlikely under the newly elected Labour government, though internal rifts could pose a challenge to Palestine matters. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday that he might invite Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Russian leader Vladimir Putin to Turkey. Iranians head to the polls in a run-off presidential election vote, and Israel said Friday that "gaps" remained with Hamas on how to secure a Gaza cease-fire and hostage-release deal.

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Hamas has provided new feedback to the Israeli cease-fire proposal intended to close the gap between the two sides, a senior Hezbollah commander was killed in an Israeli strike in southern Lebanon and Iranians will vote on Friday in a presidential runoff pitting the Reformist Masoud Pezeshkian against ultraconservative former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili.

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Al-Monitor's Jared Szuba lays out four outcomes for Hezbollah's confrontation with Israel. Gazans are forced to live in bombed-out buildings or camp next to giant piles of trash, a United Nations spokeswoman said Friday. Iranians headed to the polls to select their president, and Turkey is removed from FATF money laundering watch list.

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Al-Monitor's Gulf correspondent Jennifer Gnana explains how Saudi Arabia's efforts to attract foreign direct capital, streamline financial processes and continue diversifying its economy away from oil could be helped by the country's new reform laws.

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Al-Monitor's Andrew Parasiliti details what viewers should be watching in the run-up to the Iranian presidential election on Friday. Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin urges warring parties in the Middle East to accept "peace proposals" and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Israel under a "mentally ill" Netanyahu has set its sights on Lebanon while top US officials are urging a diplomatic solution to prevent another Middle East crisis.

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In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor's Rina Bassist, NATO Deputy Secretary-General Mircea Geoana warns of Iran's destabilizing influence and the group's efforts in the Middle East and North Africa region. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei calls for "high participation" in Friday's presidential election, Israel’s Supreme Court rules that the government must conscript ultra-Orthodox men for military service and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan argues that Cyprus is becoming an “operation center” in the Israel-Gaza war.

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The Telegraph alleged Hezbollah was storing weapons at Beirut's main airport, leading the Lebanese government to defend procedures on Monday. Palestinian factions said that planned reconciliation talks in China have been delayed, with both Hamas and Fatah blaming each other for the hold up. French President Emmanuel Macron and King Abdullah II of Jordan Monday called on Israel to lift all land-based "restrictions" on the delivery of aid Gaza. And Israel's defense minister vowed during a visit to Washington to work to bring back hostages from the besieged Palestinian territory.

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Daniel Levy, former Israeli negotiator and president of the US-Middle East Project, talks to US-Israeli affairs and how states recognizing Palestine is the "low bar" in terms of action.

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James Zogby of the Arab American Institute talks through how Arab American voters are thinking in the 2024 US presidential election. Israeli strikes on Tuesday killed at least 13 people in central Gaza, thousands of Israelis protested Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government on Monday and about 20 people have died and more are missing amid the ongoing Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.

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The Middle East was well represented at the G7 and BRICS+ meetings as well as the Ukraine Peace Summit, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dissolved his war cabinet on Monday, Muslim pilgrims wrapped up the Hajj in searing heat and Qatar Airways is close to finalizing the purchase of a major stake in RwandAir.

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Al-Monitor's Jack Dutton speaks to protesters about their most recent targets, including Barclays bank and UK summer music festivals. Israeli strikes hit Gaza on Friday as truce talks with Hamas militants failed to progress, a suspected Israeli strike rocked southern Lebanon late Thursday night and more than a million Muslim pilgrims were in Mecca Friday to begin the Hajj pilgrimage.

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Iran’s Interior Ministry has announced the final list of presidential candidates approved by the hard-line Guardian Council. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is back in the Middle East, Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz quit Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and oil giant Saudi Aramco said that international investors had snatched up the bulk of shares sold in its latest offering.

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Ezgi Akin, Al-Monitor’s Turkey editor, discusses Turkish Foreign Minister Fidan's visit to China this week. Lebanon’s head of the military, Joseph Aoun, is heading to Washington next week, Yemen’s Houthi rebels have detained at least 15 Yemeni employees of UN agencies and other aid organizations, and Saudi Arabia says the hajj will start on June 14.

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In a conversation with Kelsey Davenport, director for nonproliferation policy at the Arms Control Association, we discuss the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Wednesday vote to censure Iran for the first time since November 2022. A hospital in central Gaza says that at least 37 people were killed in Israel's overnight bombardment of a UN-run school, a court in Turkey jailed a pro-Kurdish mayor for nearly 20 years and Saudi Arabia joins a multicountry initiative for the use of digital currency by central banks.

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The news shaping the region today

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Al-Monitor's Rina Bassist chronicles how Rome has adjusted its position and Netanyahu can no longer assume Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is in his political pocket. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi accepted the government’s resignation on Monday, calling for the new one to focus on boosting foreign investment and tackle rising prices. Some 127 international companies have relocated their regional headquarters to Saudi Arabia over the first quarter of 2024, and doubts were growing on Monday about a plan for a Gaza cease-fire and hostage-release deal outlined by US President Joe Biden.

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Al-Monitor's chief correspondent, traveled to the Armenian quarter of Jerusalem to sniff out a deal the community has been handed that would require them to forfeit much of their land to a luxury hotel development. In other developments, US President Joe Biden said Friday that Israel had offered a new roadmap toward a permanent peace in Gaza. The three-part deal would offer "an enduring cease-fire and the release of all hostages."

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After 12 years, Saudi Arabia has appointed an ambassador to Syria and Hajj flights between the two countries have resumed as Syria slowly returns to the Arab fold. Kuwait's newest oil refinery has upped its capacity to a record 1.8 million barrels per day, Israel’s military offensive in Rafah is taking a dire health toll and President Biden has no plans to change his Israel policy despite the deadly weekend strike.

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In a dispatch from Tehran, Al-Monitor's contributor gives an outlook for the upcoming Iranian presidential election. Flights between Saudi Arabia and Syria resumed on Tuesday after more than a decade, a high-profile Saudi investor invested in Elon Musk’s $24 billion startup xAI and Israel expands its ground assault on Rafah.

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With the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Beijing has lost a partner that helped seal the Saudi-Iran deal it brokered, but foresees little change with whoever takes the role next. The Israeli military announced Friday morning that the bodies of three hostages held in Gaza had been brought back to Israel overnight, the Republican leader of the US House of Representatives said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will "soon" address a joint session of Congress and Saudi Arabia is moving aggressively on investments in gaming companies.

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The Biden administration does not believe Israel is likely to achieve “total victory” in its war against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip, a group of Israeli settlers attacked a large Jordanian aid convoy in the West Bank and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says over 1,000 Hamas members are being treated in Turkey.

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The United Nations General Assembly voted to grant the Palestinians additional rights in the global institution, a US container ship loaded with aid headed to Gaza from Cyprus and Israel’s presence in the Eurovision Song Contest has triggered protests in the host city.

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The State Department will soon report to Congress on whether Israel is using US-supplied weapons in compliance with international humanitarian law after missing a May 8 deadline, Iran warns it will change its nuclear doctrine if threatened by Israel and in North Africa, where political speech is harshly policed, fans are showing solidarity with Palestinians in soccer stadiums.

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After Steinmeier’s visit to Turkey, defense deals appear on the horizon as commercial aircraft deals pass. CIA chief William Burns met Wednesday in Israel with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the push for a hostage release and cease-fire deal, while negotiations continue in Cairo; the Biden administration paused a munitions shipment to Israel last week over Rafah incursion concerns; and Al Jazeera says it will pursue legal action to challenge the network’s ban in Israel.

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Houthi rebels on Friday threatened to extend their attacks on Israel-bound shipping to the Mediterranean, International Criminal Court prosecutors warned about "individuals who threaten to retaliate" against the tribunal or its staff and Tunisian journalists and opposition figures have voiced alarm about a surge of prosecutions since President Kais Saied's “fake news” decree.

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Libya is split between an internationally recognized government in the capital, Tripoli, in the west and a rival in the east, and are in conflict with each other. Ben Fishman, a senior fellow at The Washington Institute who served on US National Security Council from 2009 to 2013, speaks about the situation in Libya, how the decrease in oil output has heightened tensions and the wider regional implications.

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Doubts have grown over the fate of an Israel-Gaza cease-fire deal as the week nears a close, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen announces $1 billion in aid to Lebanon and retail food chains Starbucks, McDonald's and KFC continue to count their losses from boycotts over the Gaza war.

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Tuesday brought rising hopes for a Gaza truce and hostage release deal as the world waits for Hamas' response to the latest proposal. Abu Dhabi-backed RedBird IMI has withdrawn its offer to buy the UK newspaper conglomerate Telegraph Media Group, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken headed Tuesday to Jordan and Israel and the ICJ ruled not to grant provisional measures requested by Nicaragua in its case against Germany.

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The United States is nearly ready with a security package to offer Saudi Arabia if it normalizes relations with Israel, Israel is preparing for the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and senior members of his cabinet over alleged war crimes in Gaza and France's top diplomat urged de-escalation between Israel and Hezbollah on Sunday.

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Pro-Palestinian protests have rocked universities across the United States, spreading to over 20 campuses this week. At George Washington University, Al-Monitor talks to students at the pro-Palestine encampment and counter-protesters holding Israeli and American flags.

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More than 100 pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested Wednesday at two universities in California and Texas, a suspected Israeli drone attack hit eastern Lebanon on Thursday and Turkey’s Central Bank keeps interest rates at 50% despite rising inflation. On a lighter note, Turkey’s endangered Van cats from the province bordering Iran are rebounding.

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Saudi Arabia's aging King Salman entered the hospital for "routine examinations" Wednesday, US Congress approves $13 billion in military aid and a high-level North Korean economic delegation embarked on a rare public visit to Iran.

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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken suggested Monday the State Department would make public this week its plan to withhold aid from an Israeli military unit, the Israel-Hamas war entered its 200th day and an independent review of UNRWA finds “neutrality-related issues” but not enough evidence to substantiate Israeli allegations.

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Israel's military intelligence chief has resigned after taking responsibility for failures leading to the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived Monday in neighboring Iraq and Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei praised the country's armed forces for their direct attack on Israel as a "success.”

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Israel carried out retaliatory strikes against Iran early on Friday, reportedly targeting locations in the west of the country. Explosions were heard in the city of Isfahan, prompting commercial flights to divert from their routes. In Washington, an IMF official says economies in the Middle East and North Africa face a "shadow of uncertainty" from ongoing tensions in the region.

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Tech giant Google fired 28 of its employees on Wednesday after they staged a sit-in protest over an Israeli cloud contract, UN special envoy for Libya Abdoulaye Bathily tendered his resignation and Turkey prepares to welcome Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh this weekend while Qatar reevaluates its mediation role between Israel and the Palestinian militant group.

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Guliz Ozturk, CEO of Turkey-based carrier Pegasus Airlines, told Al-Monitor that despite geopolitical uncertainty, the airline still plans to deliver on its 2024 targets and is expanding to more international sites.

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Iran paraded drones, missiles and soldiers on Wednesday to show its battle readiness while Israel faces pressure from its allies not to strike back as Washington puts together new sanctions against Tehran. Dubai's giant highways are swept by floods and the UN Security Council is expected to vote Thursday on the Palestinians' application to become a full UN member state.

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Jordan's King Abdullah II has stressed his country must not become "the theater of a regional war,” a slew of threats are coming out of Tehran against an Israeli response to the Iranian attack and Gulf states are grappling with the widening Middle East conflict.

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Israel and Iran accused one another at the United Nations Sunday of being the main threat to peace in the Middle East, Hamas and witnesses said Israel struck war-battered Gaza overnight and commercial flights across the Middle East remained severely disrupted on Monday. Sudan is marking one year since the devastating civil conflict erupted, triggering a humanitarian crisis that UN agencies and rights groups say is being ignored.

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Palestinians gathered Wednesday for morning prayers on the first day of the Eid al-Fitr holiday among the ruins of Gaza. President Joe Biden labeled Israel's approach to the war a "mistake,” while the US defense secretary said the Pentagon had no evidence Israel is committing genocide. Iran claimed Israel is expanding its presence in the UAE and Lebanon vowed to “get tough” on Syrians after the killing of a political official.

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