The Policy of the U.S. in the Middle East After the War on Gaza

On April 3, 2025, the Fares Center hosted Professor Vali Nasr, Majid Khadduri Professor of International Affairs and Middle East Studies at Johns Hopkins–SAIS, former Dean of SAIS (2012–2019) and Senior Advisor to Ambassador Richard Holbrooke (2009–2011). Professor Nasr’s lecture focused on the role of the US in the Middle East in the context of the War on Gaza and other regional developments.

He argued that the US had largely downplayed the Palestinian question until October 7, focusing on containing Iran and relying on the Abraham Accords to streamline Israel’s ties with the Arab world. Professor Nasr stated that the Gaza war challenged the premise that stability could be secured by mere external investments, underscoring the continued potency of unresolved political grievances. He also discussed the diminished influence of the Axis of Resistance, shifts in Iranian calculations, and the Syrian Factor. Professor Nasr concluded that American policymakers appear determined to leave Middle East entanglements behind but have yet to adapt to what post-war realities may look like in Gaza, the Levant, or the Gulf.