Michael Herzog is the Tisch Distinguished Fellow at The Washington Institute. He is a retired brigadier general in the Israel Defense Forces and former Israeli ambassador to the United States.
Hanin Ghaddar is the Friedmann Senior Fellow at The Washington Institute's Rubin Family Arab Politics Program, where she focuses on Shia politics throughout the Levant.
Brief Analysis
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.
In multiple theaters across the Middle East, negotiators are testing whether they can turn military gains against Iran and its proxies into sustainable political outcomes that help bring three conflicts to a close: disarming Hamas via the Board of Peace, disarming Hezbollah via talks between the United States, Israel, and Lebanon, and ending Iran’s role as a regional menace via talks mediated by Pakistan. While the most punishing military strikes may have subsided in each case, the resultant lulls in the fighting are fragile. At this critical moment in the post-October 7 Middle East, can civilian leaders produce definitive agreements?
To review how we arrived at this moment and what it will take to set the region on more stable footing, The Washington Institute is pleased to announce a virtual Policy Forum with Ambassador Michael Herzog, Robert Satloff, and Hanin Ghaddar, moderated by Kassen Senior Fellow Dana Stroul.
Michael Herzog, the Institute’s Tisch Distinguished Fellow, is a retired IDF brigadier general who served as Israel’s ambassador to the United States from 2021 to 2025.
Robert Satloff is the Institute’s Segal Executive Director and Howard P. Berkowitz Chair in U.S. Middle East Policy, and coauthor (with Hanin Ghaddar and Ehud Yaari) of its 2025 paper A Roadmap for Israel-Lebanon Peace.
