DiscoverTaking the Edge Off the Middle EastMeeting Khamenei and Other Tales from a Life in Diplomacy
Meeting Khamenei and Other Tales from a Life in Diplomacy

Meeting Khamenei and Other Tales from a Life in Diplomacy

Update: 2025-08-12
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Jeffrey Feltman—former Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, US Ambassador to Lebanon, and UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs—joins Brian for one of the most revealing conversations yet. They trace his journey from the streets of Beirut during the Cedar Revolution to a tense, hours-long meeting inside the office of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Along the way, they unpack the Trump administration’s impulse-driven gambits, the Biden team’s paralyzing over-process, and what’s lost when the US pulls back from daily diplomacy. It’s a rare, behind-the-scenes look at how power is wielded—and how trust is built or broken—in the Middle East.

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Norman T. Roule

Norman T. Roule

2024-12-2046:16

Steven A. Cook

Steven A. Cook

2024-11-1343:29

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Meeting Khamenei and Other Tales from a Life in Diplomacy

Meeting Khamenei and Other Tales from a Life in Diplomacy