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“The Last Exit”
Washington has set a deadline. Tehran hasn’t blinked. Two U.S. carrier strike groups are in position, Secretary Marco Rubio heads to Jerusalem on Friday, and Iran’s written counterproposal must land before March 1. Geneva remains the last opening, but the window is closing fast. Also, this week in the Agenda, a scoop from Baghdad: the…
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SCOOP: Iraqi Political Breakthrough
Welcome back to the MBN Agenda, our intel brief on the week ahead in the region. The Board of Peace holds its first-ever meeting Thursday in Washington. Top of the agenda: Billions are on the table for Gaza. But there’s a catch. Iran and the U.S. hold another round of talks in Geneva today –…
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They’ll Always Have Muscat
Welcome back to the MBN Agenda, our intel brief on the week ahead in the region. Donald Trump’s “massive Armada” of U.S. Navy vessels remains on high alert in the Gulf, but the action, for now, is elsewhere. Talks involving Iranian and American officials in Muscat are on pause but may resume shortly. Israeli Prime…
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Tehran on Hold
Welcome back to the MBN Agenda, our look at the events driving the news in the Middle East in the week to come. We start with Iran. This week’s Briefing takes you inside Washington as the Trump administration ponders military action against the Islamic Republic, weighing legal authorities, intelligence indicators, and target options for potential…
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Kurdish Wipeout
Welcome back to the MBN Agenda, our look at the events driving the news in the Middle East in the week to come. Kurdish power in Syria is collapsing. ISIS prisoners are on the move. Iraq edges closer to a new government that won’t go down well in America. Our team in Washington and the…
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Washington’s New Red Lines
Welcome back to the MBN Agenda, our look at the events driving the news in the Middle East in the week to come. First up, a must-read on one of the region’s defining stories: A Shroud of Silence Falls over Iran by Mahtab Qolizadeh. Drawing on first-hand testimony obtained despite the internet shutdown, Qolizadeh shows…
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Iran on the Brink
Welcome back to the MBN Agenda, our lookahead at the events driving the news in the Middle East this week. First up, a must-read on the story that matters most from the region, just up from MBN Magazine: “If I were Khamenei,” by Joumana Haddad. “Once power becomes funny,” she writes, “it is already bleeding…
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Mideast Spoilers
Tuesday, January 6, 2026 Happy New Year! And welcome back to MBN Agenda, our weekly look at the stories driving the news in the region and Washington. Brought to you by the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, the premier Arabic-first, American-based news and commentary platform. Today, something different. In the spirit of fresh beginnings, we chart…
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Our Expert Panel on 2026
What keeps the Middle East awake at night in 2026? To find out, we reached out to two dozen of the leading voices in regional statecraft—ranging from a former Israeli Prime Minister to veteran Arab diplomats and U.S. intelligence strategists. We gave them two prompts. What follows are their raw, unedited responses presented in alphabetical…
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Three Deadlines to Decide Mideast’s 2026
Tuesday, December 23, 2025 Welcome back to MBN Agenda, from the premier Arabic-first, American-funded news and commentary platform. Today, the scholar of Islam and MBN Columnist Mustafa Akyol tells a very Christmasy story about what the holiday and the birth of Jesus have meant and should mean for Muslims. Even at this time of year,…