Middle East Forum panel features Satloff, May, Spyer

The Middle East Forum hosted a Washington event on May 23 focused on Iran, regional war and next-step U.S. policy, according to the group’s event page and a social-media post from attendees. The panel featured Robert Satloff, Cliff May and Jonathan Spyer, the post said. The discussion came as Washington policy circles continued to debate U.S.-Israel coordination and the wider security picture across Iran, Lebanon, Syria and Gaza. (meforum.org) ### Which event are people referring to? The Middle East Forum published an event page titled “Shaping the Endgame: Iran, Regional War, and What Comes Next,” describing a Washington discussion about the regional fallout from the war and the policy choices ahead. (meforum.org) The page identifies Jonathan Spyer as a participant and frames the session around Iran, Hezbollah, Iraq and the broader regional balance. A May 23 post from JISS Israel said Robert Satloff, Cliff May and Jonathan Spyer appeared together on a Middle East Forum panel in Washington. (meforum.org) That post is the clearest public source tying those three names to the same event on that date. ### Who are the speakers named in the discussion? Robert Satloff is executive director of The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, according to his institutional profile and other public biographies. Cliff May is president of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington think tank focused on national security and foreign policy. Jonathan Spyer is director of research at the Middle East Forum and editor of the Middle East Quarterly, according to the forum’s own profile page. (meforum.org) Jonathan Spyer’s forum biography says he reports on Syria and Iraq and writes for Janes Intelligence Review, the Jerusalem Post, the Wall Street Journal and The Australian. (x.com) That background helps explain why the event page centered him in a discussion of regional war and post-conflict scenarios. ### What was the panel about? The event page says the session examined “Iran, regional war, and what comes next,” with emphasis on the military and political aftermath of current fighting. The page says the conversation addressed Hezbollah’s position in Lebanon, developments in Iraq and the wider strategic environment facing Israel and the United States. (washingtoninstitute.org) A recent Middle East Forum analysis by Spyer described the United States as engaged in its largest military buildup in the region since the June 2025 strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities. (meforum.org) That article is separate from the panel, but it shows the policy context in which the Washington discussion took place. ### Why did the event draw attention online? The May 23 JISS Israel post circulated because it put three well-known Washington and Israel-focused analysts on the same stage at a moment of heightened regional tension. The post cited the speakers by name and located the event in Washington, offering a public marker for attendees and followers tracking the policy debate. (meforum.org) The Middle East Forum has also kept similar conference material online through its “Statecraft Reimagined” programming archive, suggesting the group is continuing to use Washington events and digital distribution to shape debate on Middle East policy. (meforum.org) ### What can readers verify now? The Middle East Forum event page is still publicly available and identifies the subject of the discussion. The JISS Israel social-media post remains the public source confirming that Satloff, May and Spyer appeared together on May 23 in Washington. (x.com) Jonathan Spyer’s profile page also remains live on the forum’s website, and Robert Satloff’s Washington Institute profile remains publicly accessible. Those pages provide the current institutional affiliations of two of the named participants. (meforum.org) On the next step, readers can monitor the Middle East Forum event page and conference archive for any posted video, transcript or follow-up material from the May 23 Washington panel. (washingtoninstitute.org) (meforum.org)