Middle East Broadcasting Networks

#MBNFridayBriefing | our weekly roundup of our strongest reporting on issues shaping developments in the Middle East and Washington. 

Just hours before the constitutional deadline expired, the name of Ali al-Zaydi emerged as the Coordination Framework’s candidate for prime minister. U.S. President Donald Trump congratulated al-Zaydi on Thursday on his nomination, saying in a post on Truth Social that he looked forward to a “strong, vibrant, and highly productive new relationship between Iraq and the United States.” Al-Zaydi is not a traditional politician. A businessman with no political background or experience in state institutions, he nonetheless appeared to the Coordination Framework as a temporary solution to an internal and external crisis that has been escalating rapidly. But the path to the premiership did not begin in Baghdad alone. Read more ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eWjVMrF8

Iraqi Factions’ Drone Strikes May Drive Gulf States to Seek International Involvement #Iran #Iraq #Gulf #GCC #War #MBN

What Awaits Lebanon After Two Weeks: Deal or Escalation? #Lebanon #Israel #War #MBN

◼️ Statistics from the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights show that Iranian authorities executed more than 615 people since the beginning of the current year up to the completion of this report. ◼️ The number of executions in #Iran increased by 260 cases compared to the same period last year. ◼️ The HANA Organization says that the number of those executed in Iran during 40 days of the war reached 20 people, including nine on charges of belonging to the Iranian opposition, nine linked to last January’s protests, and two on charges of spying for Israel. Read More ➡️ https://lnkd.in/ervZFX-R

#IranBriefing | Two months in, the costs of the war continue to mount — in lives, physical destruction, and countless secondary effects.

◼️ Yet even though official security forces are stronger, more numerous, and better equipped, the Iraqi government refuses to challenge these rogue militias. The reason lies in an ideological assumption that has paralyzed the state. Shiite leaders are keen to avoid anything that might fragment the Shiite political bloc. Allowing any sort of disunity, they believe, might undermine “the Shiite right to rule.” Iraq’s Shiite elite also tends to view the Iranians as Iraq’s only sectarian ally in the region (since Iran is the only neighboring Shiite state), and is willing to allow Tehran to support its local proxies rather than alienate it. ◼️ The Shiite power structure has, over the years, constrained the Kurds and subdued the Sunni militias. It overlooks the destruction that the militias cause to the state as a whole. The dominant Shiite factions have no goal beyond remaining in power and no plans to build the state or develop its economy. They show little concern for strengthening state institutions, upholding the constitution, or protecting public rights and freedoms. So they stand by passively as the militias continue their acts of subversion. When such violations become matters of public opinion, the government rushes to issue statements promising investigations – but the public treats these plans with ridicule, since such committees have never convened nor issued any findings. Full article of Iraqi novelist Ahmed Saadawi ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/esYpkD2K

For over 50 years, the global nuclear order has been anchored in one framework: the NPT. Today, that framework is under serious strain. No binding limits between major powers. Growing uncertainty around Iran’s nuclear capabilities. And a widening gap between rules—and how they are applied. Henry Sokolski in a conversation with MBN editor in chief Leila Bazzi explore a critical question: Is the system still functioning—or are we entering a new phase where power, not rules, defines the nuclear order? This is a conversation about more than nonproliferation. It’s about the future of global stability. Watch more: https://lnkd.in/ewPvUzmt #Iran #MiddleEast #NuclearWeapons #IAEA

◼️ For more than half a century, the world has relied on one central framework to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons: the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Today, that system is under exceptional strain. ◼️ There are no longer binding limits on the world’s two largest nuclear arsenals. Global powers are modernizing instead of disarming. And tensions around Iran’s nuclear program continue to escalate. ◼️ All of this comes as diplomats gather in New York for the NPT Review Conference from April 27 to May 22, 2026. The question now is no longer whether the system is being tested – but whether it can still hold. Full article of Leila Bazzi, Editor-in-Chief at MBN–Alhurra ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/ett_H9YF #Iran #War #US #MBN

What’s behind the UAE’s withdrawal from OPEC… why now, and who are the biggest losers? #WithJoeKawly Joe Kawly, 𝘔𝘗𝘚 #UAE #OPEC #MiddleEast