In this episode of The Middle East Breakdown, Dan Feferman and Hayvi Bouzo are joined by Dr. Jonathan Schanzer, executive director and senior vice president at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. The conversation takes a wide angle look at how Washington is weighing its options on Iran, and how those decisions connect to Gaza’s next phase and the shifting balance of power across the region.

The discussion examines the collapse of planned US Iran talks, what it signals about Trump’s red lines, and the range of scenarios on the table, from coercive diplomacy and regime alteration to military degradation and outright regime change. Schanzer also assesses the opposition’s leadership vacuum, the role of the exiled crown prince, and the risk of unintended consequences as pressure on Tehran rises.

The panel then turns to Gaza and the “Board of Peace,” arguing that Hamas cannot be allowed to hold reconstruction hostage, and exploring whether a phased model could emerge where non Hamas areas move forward while Hamas controlled zones stagnate until disarmament. The episode closes with a deeper dive into the Turkey Qatar axis, why Washington continues to work with both despite their Islamist agendas, and how Saudi UAE friction is reshaping Gulf competition, normalization prospects, and regional alignments.

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In this episode of the Middle East Breakdown on ME24, we dive deep into the war in Sudan and the information battle surrounding it. Why did this conflict erupt when it did? Who is really fighting whom? And how much of what the world is seeing online is real, and how much is manufactured?

Hayvi Bouzo and Dan Feferman speak with Dr Tayseer Mustafa
and Dr. Alaa Eldin two senior leaders from the Tasis coalition, including one guest joining us directly from El-Fashir in Darfur. Together, we unpack the competing power centers inside Sudan’s army (SAF), the role of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), and how Muslim Brotherhood-linked militias, regional players, and global powers are shaping the war.

We discuss:
• How Sudan’s conflict became a proxy struggle involving Egypt, Iran, Qatar, Turkey and others
• The history behind the Janjaweed, RSF, and Islamist networks – and who is aligned with whom today
• Viral atrocity videos from El-Fashir: what’s real, what appears to be fabricated, and why AI-generated content is changing war reporting
• Why Sudan has been a strategic gateway for Iran into Africa and what that means for Red Sea security
• The Tasis coalition’s vision for a democratic, secular “Abrahamic Sudan” aligned with a broader win–win regional order
• What Sudanese civilians are demanding, and why they insist they must be at the negotiating table – not just the armed actors

If you want clear, evidence-based analysis that cuts through propaganda and media bias, this conversation will help you understand what is really at stake in Sudan, for Africa, the Red Sea, and the wider Middle East.

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In this episode of The Middle East Breakdown, Dan Feferman and Hayvi Bouzo lead a timely, in depth conversation on Iran’s expanding nationwide protests and what this moment could mean for the future of the Islamic Republic and the region as a whole.

The discussion brings together Gazelle Sharmahad, Iranian freedom advocate and host of the War and Freedom Podcast, Dr. Walid Phares, political scientist and former foreign policy adviser to President Trump, and Iranian born journalist and media commentator Younes Sadaghian. Gazelle also speaks as the daughter of Jamshid Sharmahad, an Iranian freedom activist who was kidnapped and later executed by the regime.

Together, they examine why this protest wave differs from 2009 and 2022, how economic collapse and long standing repression intersect, and whether the movement is becoming more organized and coordinated across Iran and the diaspora. The panel also explores the regime’s internal weakness, the role of the IRGC and Basij, and the international dimension, including signals from Washington and Jerusalem, and how October 7 reshaped strategic assumptions about Iran’s power and deterrence.

Watch, listen, and subscribe for the full episode.
Website: https://middleeast24.org
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