Mona Yacoubian

Mona Yacoubian, CSIS Middle East Program Director, shares her insights on the recent military strike by Iran on Al Udeid Air Base. She discusses Iran's calculated military responses and the delicate balance they aim to maintain between resilience and escalation. The conversation also covers the concerns surrounding Iran's enriched uranium and its implications for global security. Yacoubian highlights the complex geopolitical tensions in the Gulf and the potential role of military force in shaping international diplomacy regarding Iran.

Mona Yacoubian, a senior policy expert and author, dives into the implications of President Trump's executive order on Qatar. She discusses the unprecedented security guarantee provided to Qatar and its potential to reshape U.S.-Qatar relations. The timing of the order is examined in relation to Israel's actions, as well as Qatar's unique mediating role involving Hamas. Yacoubian emphasizes how this order could deter future threats against Qatar and reflects on the broader shift toward multipolarity in Middle Eastern security dynamics.

Mona Yacoubian, CSIS Middle East Program director and adviser on regional security. Stephen Stapczynski, Bloomberg Asia energy lead covering oil, gas and shipping. They discuss risks of a Strait of Hormuz shutdown and rising war insurance and shipping halts. Conversation covers China and Asia’s supply buffers, inflationary energy pressures, and how proxy attacks could widen disruptions.

Lt. Col. Jahara Matisek, command pilot and research fellow with military expertise, and Mona Yacoubian, Middle East program director and policy analyst, discuss U.S. troop deployments, the types and limits of forces sent to the region, and risks from munitions depletion. They also cover strategic targets like Gulf islands, Iran's escalation patterns, and the regional political and economic fallout.

Nabih Bulos, Beirut-based LA Times bureau chief reporting on Lebanon and Hezbollah. Dalia Dassa Kaye, UCLA foreign policy expert on U.S.-Iran relations. Mona Yacoubian, CSIS analyst on Middle East security. They discuss Lebanon as a second front, Hezbollah’s political choices, regional strikes across the Gulf, Iran’s new succession, and how energy, law, and U.S. strategy shape widening conflict.