{"podcast":{"title":"Middle East Focus","slug":"middle-east-focus-529488","podcast_index_feed_id":529488,"rss_url":"https://middleeastinst.libsyn.com/rss","website_url":"http://www.mei.edu","image_url":"https://static.libsyn.com/p/assets/a/4/a/8/a4a832f884ee9d9116c3140a3186d450/MEF_square-20250424-uf9f282kb1.png","author":"Middle East Institute","episode_count":100,"summary":"Weekly discussion of Middle East policy, arts, and culture, featuring experts from the Middle East Institute in Washington, D.C.","last_synced_at":"2026-09-18T08:19:26.403871+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/middle-east-focus-529488"},"episode":{"title":"A New-Old Regime in Tehran","slug":"a-new-old-regime-in-tehran","published_at":"2026-04-23T17:23:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/middle-east-focus-529488/a-new-old-regime-in-tehran","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/middle-east-focus-529488","url":"https://middleeastinst.libsyn.com/a-new-old-regime-in-tehran","audio_url":"https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/middleeastinst/Middle_East_Focus_2.23.26_mixdown.mp3?dest-id=531685","summary":"Nearly two months into the Iran war, US President Donald Trump has announced an indefinite extension of the cease-fire between Washington and Tehran, even as control of the Strait of Hormuz remains contested. Hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj are joined by MEI Senior Fellow Alex Vatanka to explore where the conflict may be headed and unpack the factors at play. They discuss how Iran's internal power structures have shifted since February 28, the prospects for a deal between Washington and Tehran, and what form a resumption of hostilities could take. Find Alex's analysis of the war's impact on the Iranian regime here . Recorded on April 22, 2026.","meta_description":"Nearly two months into the Iran war, US President Donald Trump has announced an indefinite extension of the cease-fire between Washington and Tehran, even…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1877,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/middle-east-focus-529488/episodes/a-new-old-regime-in-tehran/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/middle-east-focus-529488/a-new-old-regime-in-tehran.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}