Aftermath of Iran’s Attack on Israel, EU Talks Ukraine, India’s Massive Election, and More

Concerns grow over the widening Middle East conflict after Iran launches three hundred ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones at Israel; European Union (EU) leaders discuss how to bolster aid to Ukraine amid an uptick in Russian attacks and the situation unfolding in the Middle East; India kicks off the world’s largest democratic election—spanning more than forty-four days—where the incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is expected to win again; and warming water temperatures cause a mass bleaching of coral reefs.

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Hosts
  • Robert McMahon
    Managing Editor
  • Carla Anne Robbins
    Senior Fellow
Credits

Ester Fang - Associate Podcast Producer

Sinet Adous - Research Associate

Gabrielle Sierra - Editorial Director and Producer

Show Notes

Mentioned on the Podcast

 

Steven A. Cook, “Iran Attack Means an Even Tougher Balancing Act for the U.S. in the Middle East,” CFR.org

 

How India’s Imports of Russian Oil Have Lubricated Global Markets,” Economist

 

Andy Bounds, Laura Dubois, Christopher Miller, “Germany Urges Dozens of Allies to Send Air Defense Systems to Ukraine,” Financial Time

Ukraine

In this special year-end episode, hosts Bob McMahon and Carla Anne Robbins sit down with the New York Times’ chief diplomatic correspondent in Europe Steven Erlanger to review the biggest stories of the past year and discuss developments to watch in 2025. They analyze the conflicts and political developments in the Middle East and Europe, President-elect Donald Trump’s picks for his national security team, the state of democracy worldwide, and more.

Syria

Syrians begin the early stages of government formation as global and regional powers scramble to devise a strategy for Syria after the fall of President Bashar al-Assad; Georgians protest their government’s postponement of European Union (EU) membership talks as Romanians look for answers following the cancellation of their presidential election results; the United Kingdom (UK) accedes to the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership; and China opens an anti-monopoly case against U.S. chipmaker Nvidia.

South Korea

Impeachment looms for South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, whose declaration of martial law spurred mass protests; French lawmakers passed the first no-confidence vote in more than sixty years, as the country is set to mark the the reopening of Notre Dame cathedral; Syrian rebels continue a surprise offensive against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime after seizing the cities of Aleppo and Hama; and U.S. President-Elect Donald Trump threatens 100 percent tariffs on BRICS nations.

Top Stories on CFR

Syria

China

Zoe Liu, the Maurice R. Greenberg Senior Fellow for China Studies at CFR, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss how Trump’s victory is being viewed in China and what his presidency will mean for the future of U.S.-China economic relations. This episode is the seventh in a special TPI series on the U.S. 2025 presidential transition and is supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

France

The fall of the French government, along with political uncertainty in Germany, has upped the pressure on President Emmanuel Macron amid growing European tensions over migration, Ukraine, and energy policy.