July has been a pivotal month for Syria’s international relations. From participating in the NATO Summit in Ankara as the only Levantine country in attendance, to hosting the first visit by a Western head of state, French President Emmanuel Macron, it is now clear that Damascus is no longer considered a pariah state. These developments are the result of the Al Sharaa government's sustained efforts to reintegrate Syria into the international community, a process further facilitated by the country's increasingly attractive investment environment. Nevertheless, significant challenges remain, and the concrete implications of Syria's renewed international role have yet to fully materialise. How did Damascus achieve its reintegration? How is it structuring its new international partnerships? And what obstacles still stand in its way?

To answer these questions, in this episode of MED Insights, Nicola Missaglia, Curator of the MED Dialogues, speaks with Noah Bonsey, Syria Senior Advisor for the International Crisis Group, Mouayad Albonni, Senior Consultant at Karam Shaar Advisory, and Silvia Carenzi, ISPI Associate Research Fellow.

After more than a hundred days of war, on 17 June the United States and Iran have finally signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). By extending the 8 April ceasefire, the agreement aims to restore maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and establish a framework for broader negotiations on the most contentious issue: Iran's nuclear programme. As we wait to see if this deal will really silence the guns, a lot of questions arise around one of the main protagonists of this conflict: President Donald Trump’s United States. What does this agreement mean for the US? What does it say about the relationship between Washington and Tel Aviv? And more importantly, what was the point of this war?

To answer these questions, in this episode of MED Insights, Brian Katulis, Senior Fellow at the Middle East Institute, speaks with Nicola Missaglia, Curator of the MED Dialogues.

Following a crisis within Netanyahu’s coalition, members of the Knesset approved the dissolution of the Israeli parliament in a preliminary reading. As the country awaits a final decision on whether elections will be held in September or October, Israel finds itself at a crossroads, amid deep internal social tensions, ongoing and perpetual conflicts and an increasingly challenging regional and international environment. At the same time, the future of Gaza – especially after Netanyahu's order to expand to 70% the Israeli control of the Strip –, increasing violence in the West Bank and, more broadly, relations with the Palestinians continue to occupy a paradoxical place in the political debate: impossible to ignore, yet often avoided or framed only through the language of security. Will Netanyahu secure another mandate, or are we witnessing a turning point for the country?

To answer these questions, in this episode of MED Insights, Nicola Missaglia, Curator of the MED Dialogues, speaks with Dahlia Scheindlin, political analyst and columnist for Haaretz, Gil Murciano, CEO of MITVIM, and Sara Isabella Leykin, Junior Research Fellow at ISPI.