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Speaking as the votes come in, in Israel's recent elections, CMEC Director Charlotte Leslie interviews Nomi Bar Yaacov, internationally renowned peace-builder, political analyst and commentator, and Global Fellow at The Geneva Centre for Security Policy, about the results of Israel's general election and the consequences for the country, the region and the world.

CMEC Director Charlotte Leslie talks to Baraa Shiban, Associate Fellow of the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) & leading expert on Yemen about the devastating attacks by the Houthis (Ansar Allah) on Saudi Arabia & the role of Iran in this latest stage of the conflict. Baraa Shiban is a researcher & political analyst on Yemen and the Gulf. He is a consultant with the London-based human rights group Reprieve. Baraa has extensive knowledge on counter terrorism policies in the MENA region, with 10 years’ experience covering counter terrorism impact on local communities in Yemen.

In CMEC's third fringe event of the 2026 Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham, CMEC Chairman the Rt Hon. Kit Malthouse MP chairs a discussion of experts to discuss the controversial E1 Settlement in the occupied West Bank, adjacent & to the northeast of East Jerusalem. CMEC's two distinguished guests are Professor Yossi Mekelberg, Senior Consulting Fellow, Chatham House MENA Programme, & Zizette Darkazally, Associate Fellow, also of the Chatham House MENA Programme.

In its 2nd event at the 2026 Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham, CMEC Chairman The Rt Hon. Kit Malthouse MP chairs a panel of experts to discuss the current U.S.- Iran war and "Iran's Hold on Hormuz". The distinguished panel also includes Nicholas Hopton, former UK ambassador to Iran & Director-General of the Middle East Association, Heidi Venamore, Geopolitical strategist & former Australian ambassador to the UAE & Jordan, & Con Coughlin, Executive Defence Editor of The Daily Telegraph

"Understanding Islamism & its impact" - In CMEC's first conference event, International experts examine Sunni & Shia Islamism- ideology, political movements & militia. CMEC Director, Charlotte Leslie, chairs a discussion with an impressive panel: Ghanem Nuseibeh, Chairman of Muslims Against Antisemitism & Christianophobia, Sir John Jenkins KCMG LVO, Former UK ambassador & Senior Fellow at Policy Exchange & Professor Lina Khatib, Associate Fellow of Chatham House MENA Programme.

CMEC Director Charlotte Leslie reports from CMEC's Parliamentary Delegation to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. She talks to the UK's ambassador, H.E. Philip Hall OBE, and Conservative MPs Andrew Bowie MP ( Shadow Secretary of State for Energy Security, West Aberdeenshire & Kincardine) George Freeman MP (Former Minister of State for Science, Mid Norfolk), and Simon Hoare MP ( Chair of the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, North Dorset).

CMEC Director, Charlotte Leslie, Chairs a panel at the Syria Britain Business Council's conference in Damascus, on 1st July 2026, with Alia Ayoub Agha, of Ayoub Agha Group, Nadine Chaoui, Managing Director of Al-Inaya Drugstore and Chaoui & Co, chair of The Women's Business Committee at the Federation and Damascus Chamber of Commerce, and Nazek Jandali, Vice Chairwoman of Jandali Group

Does the recently approved, illegal, E1 Settlement Development in the Occupied West Bank make peace impossible? And what are the incentives for peace for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he faces elections in Israel in the autumn? Director of The Council for Arab British Understanding (Caabu)

In the latest CMEC podcast, CMEC Director Charlotte Leslie talks to Simon Penney CMG, former UK Trade Commissioner for the Middle East and Pakistan. He was appointed in May 2018. He was also His Majesty's Consul (HMCG) to Dubai, appointed in January 2021. Simon spent the majority of his career in the banking sector, with extensive experience leading corporate and financial institution groups and teams across Europe, the Middle East and Asia. In 2023, he returned to the private sector. He has lived in the UAE for 17 years. He is also the Hub-Chairman of the Middle East for the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council.

CMEC Director Charlotte Leslie talks to former trade commissioner for the Middle East and Consul General to Dubai, Simon Penney, and to international lawyer, Marcus Booth, both based in the UAE. Simon returned to the public sector in 2023 and has lived in the UAE for 17 years.

CMEC Director talks to Gareth Browne, the Dubai-based Middle East Correspondent of The Economist. Gareth believes there are already signs of the beginning of the collapse of the Iranian regime - just days after the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameini.

CMEC Director Charlotte Leslie talks to Nicholas Hopton - a former UK ambassador to Iran and three other countries in the Middle East - about the current conflict in the Middle East following the attacks on Iran by the US and Israel, as well as the assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameini. What happens next, and what can be done to prevent this conflict escalating further? Nicholas Hopton is also the Director-General of the Middle East Association.

CMEC Director Charlotte Leslie talks to Dr Elisabeth Kendall, Arabist and Mistress of Girton College, Cambridge, about Yemen - its history, recent past and current conflicts.

CMEC Director Charlotte Leslie is at the Saudi Media Forum in Riyadh where she talks to US Public Affairs expert, Jason Epstein, about the extraordinary transformation that's taken place within the Kingdom over the last decade as well as the Trump administration's current policy in relation to the Middle East and Iran in particular.

CMEC Director Charlotte Leslie discusses the past and future of the troubled Islamic Republic of Iran with two distinguished ambassadors , Sir John Jenkins and Nicholas Hopton.