Brian Katulis
@Katulis · Think tanks & analysts — US/UK
Brian Katulis is a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute.
4 - Have a listen to this latest episode of "Taking the Edge Off the Middle East with Brian Katulis" with Ambassador Yael Lempert And please share it with friends and colleagues and if you do listen, please rate and review it too! https://t.co/j2giLUp9ex https://t.co/5IsmHszzYW
3 - And also playing a key role in #Israel & #Palestine during President Barack Obama's trip in 2013; and - serving as U.S. ambassador to the Hashemite Kingdom of #Jordan from 2023 to 2025; https://t.co/j2giLUp9ex
2 - We talk about key episodes in her career including: -risking her life on the ground in #Iraq in the early years after the 2003 war; - evacuating Americans out of #Libya in 2011 during the turmoil there... https://t.co/j2giLUp9ex
1 - Many thanks to my @MiddleEastInst colleague Yael Lempert for telling the story of her amazing career of more than a quarter century as a U.S. diplomat Latest episode of "Taking the Edge Off the Middle East" is out! https://t.co/j2giLUp9ex
Coming this week- the latest episode of "Taking the Edge Off the Middle East," my podcast @MiddleEastInst I speak with Yael Lempert, a seasoned former U.S. diplomat who served in places like #Jordan (where she was U.S. ambassador), #Egypt, #Iraq, #Libya, #Israel & #Palestine. https://t.co/KhcfqzbTC9
14. Thanks to Ambassador @DougSilliman of @GulfStatesInst for a constructive exchange of views with me on #Iran this recent television program: https://t.co/C1LpNDK4kL @MiddleEastInst
13. But given the ever-shifting tactics, no one actually knows what the endgame of the current Iran policy is, including perhaps Trump himself.
11. That means fewer countries will likely cooperate closely with the United States on Iran policy than we saw in the past. It's hard to round of a posse when America spend a lot of its time alienating some of its closest friends & partners (#Canada and #Denmark, case in point)
9. What's also different is now Iran has a set of leaders that seem less predictable and more willing to take risks - they have little to lose to press the limits.
8. One key challenge: the Iranian regime relies on asymmetric force and power, and it can also withstand a lot of pressure because it is a repressive government that will kill its own people on an industrial scale just to stay in power.
6. It would be too generous to call anything Trump is doing these days a strategy - not on Iran, not on #Israel-#Palestine, or even more widely on #China, #Russia, or the trade war with #Canada.
4. Trump now looks desperate & weak in the face of multiple failures to produce the outcomes he promised & his domestic political standing is damaged by his own unforced policy errors. The 2026 Iran war is shaping up to be one of the biggest self-owns ever in US foreign policy
3. In the six months since the war began, Trump’s Iran policy has zigzagged from one position to the next – and he’s been incapable of producing a lasting diplomatic agreement because of the nature of the Iranian regime but also due to his own approach to foreign affairs.
2. The Iran war passed its six-month mark – a war that President Donald Trump promised would end in 4-6 weeks.
1. Endless wars don’t happen by accident – they are often the result of appeasement of adversaries and self-delusion. #IranWar
The 2026 #Iran war has accelerated production & sales of electric vehicles worldwide #China dominates the global EV market just as America steps back https://t.co/PL0R8m58CL
In 2021, Russia saw America’s weakness & incompetence in the Afghanistan withdrawal- and months later it attacked Ukraine. In 2026, Russia sees America’s weakness & incompetence in the Iran war, so buckle up for what’s next…
5. #China - China is set to push back against America's latest policy approach on #Iran. Unclear if Trump will press China on any of the other tough issues in advance of President Xi's visit to Washington DC on September 24. https://t.co/HnO4UTv51k
4. #Iran war: Spending billions only to give Iran greater leverage over the Strait of Hormuz and produce a less predictable regime ruling Iran Trump said this war would last 4-6 weeks, but it's been 6 months since it started and it's not over. https://t.co/wehiED7fzc
2. Inconclusive and costly trade wars +#Iran war and Middle East policy that have fallen short +an unclear strategic approach on #China, +a failure to restrain #Russia in #Ukraine and other parts of Europe. =These are indicators of extreme strategic drift.
America removed #Syria from the state sponsor of terrorism list. My take on why the Trump administration took this step and how countries like #Israel & #Turkey view this on @i24NEWS_EN https://t.co/qg69cXr5Ln
I’m looking forward to seeing what Trump 2.0’s #Iran policy will look like next month! https://t.co/oOcuXxFz90
1 - President Donald Trump once again threatened to bomb Oman today. Trump’s threats against Oman are a sign of his frustration and his desperation about his own inability to produce the results he had hoped for in Iran.
1 - A few thoughts on where U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East stands as a long, hot, complicated summer draws to a close