8 Apr 2026 18:00 - 19:00
Caabu invites you to an online briefing on the ongoing wars in the Middle East on Wednesday 8 April 2026 at 18:00 (BST UK time), with Negin Shiraghaei, an Iranian-British feminist, political activist and a former BBC Persian TV news anchor, Dr H.A. Hellyer, an internationally recognised expert on security and international affairs, in the Middle East, Europe, and Southeast Asia, Senior Associate Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies, and Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, and Yezid Sayigh, a senior fellow at the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut.
Join us for this important discussion where our speakers will discuss the ongoing wars across the Middle East and what this means for the region and beyond, including the U.S and Israel's bombing of Iran and Iran's strikes on Israel, the Gulf and U.S targets, the ongoing genocide in Gaza and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in the West Bank, as well as Israel's attacks on and invasion of Lebanon which has now forcibly displaced over 1 million people (more can be read about that here), and what governments such as the UK could and should be doing. We hosted a similar such meeting 9 months ago in June 2025, which you can watch here.
Register for this online briefing here.
When: Wednesday 8 April 2026, 18:00 (BST, UK time).
Where: Online. Sign up for the discussion here.
The event will also be live-streamed on Caabu's YouTube channel which you can also subscribe to. Previous Caabu briefings and discussions can also be watched here and a recording of this event will be posted here afterwards also. Previous Caabu briefings can be watched in this playlist here. Videos on Lebanon can be watched in this playlist here. Videos on Palestine can be watched in this playlist here.
You can sign up for the discussion here using your email address. Please note that sign up is a two-part process. Once you have signed up with your email address, this will then be approved, and details will then be emailed to you ahead of the event. Please do check your inbox (including Junk and Clutter folders) for this email with the link to join the event on the day.
Please register below AHEAD of time to join this online briefing. This makes it much more helpful to us: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/42KfpR2NR_C8tu-UbwXSQw
About the speakers:
Negin Shiraghaei is an Iranian-British feminist, political activist and a former BBC Persian TV news anchor. She is the founder and director of Azad Network, a grassroots initiative committed to centering and elevating the voices of Iran’s marginalized groups.
Dr H.A. Hellyer is an internationally recognised expert on security and international affairs,in the Middle East, Europe, and Southeast Asia, has operated at the nexus of government policy and think-tanks for the past 20 years. He currently serves as Senior Associate Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies, and Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, following prolonged tenures at Brookings and Carnegie. Formerly Deputy Convenor of the UK Government’s Taskforce on radicalisation, Dr Hellyer also served in the UK Foreign Office and held positions in Harvard and Cambridge universities.
A research entrepreneur and coordinator, Dr Hellyer is the author of 10 books, 100s of op-ed articles and regularly consulted by media for his expertise. His subject matter expertise is in geopolitics, political economy, and national security policies. More can be found on his website here.
Yezid Sayigh is a senior fellow at the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, where he works on the comparative political and economic roles of Arab armed forces, the impact of war on states and societies, and the politics of authoritarian resurgence. Previously, Sayigh held teaching and research positions at King’s College London, the University of Cambridge, and the University of Oxford, and headed the Middle East program of the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. Sayigh was also an adviser, negotiator, and policy planner in the Palestinian delegation to the peace talks with Israel 1991-2002 and advised on Palestinian public institutional reform until 2006.
PLEASE DONATE TO SUPPORT CAABU'S VITAL WORK: We would be also be very grateful for any donations to help us in our work right now and keep our programme including the webinars going forward. Donate here. Become a member for £50 a year here.
You can watch previous online Caabu briefings on our YouTube channel which you can also subscribe to.
Keep up to date with Caabu's work by liking our Facebook page and following us on Twitter. Please do also watch our video, about 50 years of our vital work.
Caabu has an affiliate page on Bookshop. This means, that with any purchase through this site, 10% of the sale price will be sent to us and another 10% will go to support local bookshops. We think this is a great way to support Caabu's work and independent bookshops across the country. More details about it can be found here.
- Buy other books from previous online Caabu briefings here and from physical events we've hosted here.
- Other books written by Caabu speakers, can be found here.
- Titles written by Caabu board members and patrons can be found here, as can others written by those who have spoken at Caabu events here.
Caabu is a not-for-profit cross-party organisation whose mission is to work for a British Middle East policy that promotes conflict resolution, human rights and civil society in the Arab world through informed debate and mutual understanding. Caabu is one of the most active NGOs working on the Middle East in British parliament since its establishment in 1967. From then on Caabu has assumed an active advocacy, educational and media role.
Keep up to date with Caabu's work by liking our Facebook page and following us on Twitter, and also on BlueSky. Please sign up as a Caabu member or make a donation to support our work.