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Join us for an expert conversation exploring what it will take to find diplomatic solutions to the intertwined challenges in multiple theaters across the Middle East, from Iran to Lebanon to Gaza. Watch live starting at 1:00 p.m. EDT (1700 GMT) on Wednesday, April 15, 2026.

Human rights experts diagnose the current public mood in Iran and discuss how foreign governments can help counter the regime’s growing use of internet blackouts and other digital repression tools.

Three former U.S. policy practitioners experienced in negotiating with Iran discuss what kind of agreement is possible, what each side may require to make it happen, and how officials in Washington, Israel, the Gulf states, and Europe should address emerging differences in their objectives.

A trio of leading regional journalists discuss how Emiratis, Israelis, and Jordanians are weathering the Iran crisis, what outcomes they are rooting for, and how their relations with Washington and each other might evolve as a result.

If Washington wants to calm the markets and reach its other energy objectives more quickly, it will have to find a way of de-escalating a shipping crisis that Tehran is clearly taking advantage of in the Strait of Hormuz and beyond.

Three experts examine how Moscow, Beijing, and European capitals are navigating the crisis and what their choices reveal about the future of the global order.

Three experts discuss how Hezbollah, the Yemeni Houthis, and pro-Iran militias in Iraq have reacted to the war so far, outlining steps Washington and its regional partners can take to keep them from escalating further.

Four experts explain why reversing the conflict’s effects on oil and gas production and tanker traffic from the Gulf will likely take much longer than many people realize, with only limited supply alternatives in the meantime.

Read or watch urgent insights into America’s objectives in Iran and the policies that would best advance U.S. security, help the Iranian people, and improve the prospects for long-term regional stability.

The conflict in June 2025 laid bare longstanding misconceptions about escalation management with the regime and could hold lessons as the United States contemplates further military action.

Join us for a special conversation with the former top U.S. envoy for Ukraine. This event has been postponed.

This season of Decision Points tackles the toughest U.S. foreign-policy debates, from the brink of war in Iran to the painful aftermath in Gaza and the new government in Syria.

Damascus will not take the difficult steps to reconcile internal animosities and rebuild destroyed infrastructure unless outside supporters—led by the United States—speak with one voice about their expectations and red lines.

Clear-eyed recounting and a detailed roadmap can give U.S. officials and the American public a better view of what security and governance measures the new Syrian government has taken so far, and what gaps and pitfalls remain in the path of lasting stability.

The ongoing disarmament process is crucial, but completing it will be impossible without more attention to Hezbollah’s cash economy, judicial interference, political intimidation, and other elements of domestic power.

Meeting the moment requires greater investment and attention from Washington, including additional targeted security assistance, robust diplomatic efforts, expansion of the U.S. team tasked with handling the Lebanon file, and more.

Russia has been quietly reconsolidating its military patronage, energy ties, and future business prospects in Syria for more than a year, but Washington has multiple options for countering Moscow’s long game.

Without electoral law modifications, sanctions against pro-Hezbollah elites, prosecutions for long-delayed cases like the port explosion, and other urgent measures, the group and its allies could wind up regaining their grip in Lebanon during the next round of nationwide voting.

Moscow has cultivated ties with U.S. adversaries and allies alike, and Washington must respond by advancing a holistic policy that empowers Ukrainian commercial interests and addresses deficits in sanctions policy.

Three experts discuss the rapidly changing situation in Iran, including the status of opposition elements on the ground, the U.S. interests at play in the crisis, and Washington’s policy options for bolstering both.