Lebanon

Hrair Balian joins us to discuss his book Anatomy of Peacemaking: Nagorno Karabakh Conflict & Missed Opportunities, the failure of diplomacy around Artsakh, and what Armenia should learn from the long collapse of the peace process. The conversation also looks at the Iran war, US and Israeli goals in the region, the TRIPP/Zangezur Corridor and its security impact on Armenia, and the role of outside powers in shaping outcomes in the South Caucasus. The episode closes with a discussion of Armenia’s June parliamentary elections, opposition repression, election monitoring, and whether international observers will judge the vote by facts on the ground or political convenience.

Hovik & Asbed - Karekin II & Ilia II Funeral, Iran War, Armenia Elections | Ep 527, Mar 22, 2026 [EP527]

Posted on Tuesday, Mar 24, 2026 | Category: Iran, Armenia, Politics, Israel, USA, Turkey, Russia, China, Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Economy, Lebanon | Series: cog, video

Groong Links:

Topics:

Georgian Patriarch Ilia II passes away
Karekin II travel banned from funeral
Iran war update
June election in Armenia

Episode 527 | Recorded: March 23, 2026

#Groong #Armenia

Hovik & Asbed - Karekin II & Ilia II Funeral, Iran War, Armenia Elections | Ep 527, Mar 22, 2026 [EP527]

Posted on Tuesday, Mar 24, 2026 | Category: Iran, Armenia, Politics, Israel, USA, Turkey, Russia, China, Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Economy, Lebanon

Groong Links:

Topics:

Georgian Patriarch Ilia II passes away
Karekin II travel banned from funeral
Iran war update
June election in Armenia

Episode 527 | Recorded: March 23, 2026

#Groong #Armenia

Scott Horton - Why Are We at War with Iran? | Ep 523, Mar 20, 2026 [EP523]

Posted on Friday, Mar 20, 2026 | Category: Politics, US, Iran, Israel, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Nagorno Karabakh, China, NATO | Series: cog, video

Groong Links:

Guest:

Scott Horton

Topics:

Why this war began
U.S. fallout and political costs
Paths to wider regional escalation

Episode 523 | Recorded: March 19, 2026

#IranWar #ScottHorton #USIsrael #MiddleEastWar #Geopolitics

Scott Horton - Why Are We at War with Iran? | Ep 523, Mar 20, 2026 [EP523]

Posted on Friday, Mar 20, 2026 | Category: Politics, US, Iran, Israel, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Nagorno Karabakh, China, NATO

Groong Links:

Guest:

Scott Horton

Topics:

Why this war began
U.S. fallout and political costs
Paths to wider regional escalation

Episode 523 | Recorded: March 19, 2026

#IranWar #ScottHorton #USIsrael #MiddleEastWar #Geopolitics

Transcript: Scott Horton - Why Are We at War with Iran? | Ep 523, Mar 20, 2026 [EP523]

Posted on Friday, Mar 20, 2026 | Category: Politics, US, Iran, Israel, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Nagorno Karabakh, China, NATO, Transcript

Scott Horton joins us to examine the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, asking how this war began, what strategic goals are driving it, and where it could lead next. We discuss the limits of air power, the risk of a wider or ground war, the longer arc of U.S. and Israeli policy toward Iran and Syria, Turkey’s role in the region, and the domestic political consequences inside the United States as Trump presses ahead without broad public or congressional support.

Erhan Arik - Horovel and The Armenian Genocide | Ep 509, Jan 22, 2026 [EP509]

Posted on Thursday, Jan 22, 2026 | Category: Arts, Armenia, Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh, Armenian Genocide, Turkey, Genocide, Iran, Russia, Middle East, Lebanon, Georgia, India, NATO, Azerbaijan | Series: tcc

Groong Links:

Guest Host:

Dr. Bedros Afeyan

Guest:

Erhan Arik ,Photojournalist

Topics:

Horovel, a cross-border memory project
Ojakh, a second trip down memory lane
Gayan, a wider regional lens
Our Seeds, continuity across generations

Episode 509 | Recorded: January 18, 2026

Erhan Arik - Horovel and The Armenian Genocide | Ep 509, Jan 22, 2026 [EP509]

Posted on Thursday, Jan 22, 2026 | Category: Arts, Armenia, Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh, Armenian Genocide, Turkey, Genocide, Iran, Russia, Middle East, Lebanon, Georgia, India, NATO, Azerbaijan

Groong Links:

Guest Host:

Dr. Bedros Afeyan

Guest:

Erhan Arik ,Photojournalist

Topics:

Horovel, a cross-border memory project
Ojakh, a second trip down memory lane
Gayan, a wider regional lens
Our Seeds, continuity across generations

Episode 509 | Recorded: January 18, 2026

Kevork Hagopjian - Armenia’s Church-State Showdown | Ep 504, Jan 13, 2026 [EP504]

Posted on Tuesday, Jan 13, 2026 | Category: Armenia, Armenian Church, Politics, Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh, Artsakh Blockade, Human Rights, Russia, Turkey, Iran, Azerbaijan, Lebanon, NATO, European Union | Series: cog, video

Groong Links:

Guest:

Kevork Hagopjian

Topics:

The Legal Architecture: Autonomy, Exclusive Mission, and State Neutrality
Engineering Parallel, Schismatic Structures
Criminal Law as Leverage
Bern in Action and Reaction
The Deeper Stakes: National Identity

Episode 504 | Recorded: January 12, 2026

#Armenia #ArmenianChurch #Etchmiadzin #HumanRights #ReligiousFreedom

Kevork Hagopjian - Armenia’s Church-State Showdown | Ep 504, Jan 13, 2026 [EP504]

Groong Links:

Guest:

Kevork Hagopjian

Topics:

The Legal Architecture: Autonomy, Exclusive Mission, and State Neutrality
Engineering Parallel, Schismatic Structures
Criminal Law as Leverage
Bern in Action and Reaction
The Deeper Stakes: National Identity

Episode 504 | Recorded: January 12, 2026

#Armenia #ArmenianChurch #Etchmiadzin #HumanRights #ReligiousFreedom

Benyamin Poghosyan - Ukraine, Iran, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, TRIPP, Review & Outlook | Ep 500, Dec 28, 2025 [EP500]

Posted on Wednesday, Dec 31, 2025 | Category: Armenia, Geopolitics, Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Russia, Israel, Iran, Armenian Church, Ukraine, Georgia, China, NATO, Economy, European Union, Syria, India, Middle East, Genocide, Lebanon | Series: video, wir

Groong Links:

Guest:

Dr. Benyamin Poghosyan

Topics:

Foreign Crises Affecting Armenia
Armenia-Azerbaijan Saga
Russia and TRIPP
Change of US Ambassador
Year-End Review & Outlook

Episode 500 | Recorded: December 31, 2025

Benyamin Poghosyan - Ukraine, Iran, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, TRIPP, Review & Outlook | Ep 500, Dec 28, 2025 [EP500]

Groong Links:

Guest:

Dr. Benyamin Poghosyan

Topics:

Foreign Crises Affecting Armenia
Armenia-Azerbaijan Saga
Russia and TRIPP
Change of US Ambassador
Year-End Review & Outlook

Episode 500 | Recorded: December 31, 2025

Eldar Mamedov - The Global Geopolitics Surrounding the South Caucasus | Ep 492, Dec 1, 2025 [EP492]

Posted on Monday, Dec 1, 2025 | Category: World Order, TRIPP, Armenia, USA, Iran, Israel, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Russia, Ukraine, NATO, European Union, Middle East, Syria, Geopolitics, China, Lebanon | Series: cog, video

Groong Links:

Guest:

Mr. Eldar Mamedov

Topics:

US and Venezuela
Potential for New War on Iran
Is Azerbaijan a âMiddle Powerâ?
Europeâs Confused Geopolitical Identity
Armeniaâs Confused Geopolitics

Episode 492 | Recorded: November 29, 2025

#IranCrisis #AzerbaijanPolitics #EuropeanGeopolitics #ArmeniaSecurity #SouthCaucasus #GlobalPowerPolitics

Eldar Mamedov - The Global Geopolitics Surrounding the South Caucasus | Ep 492, Dec 1, 2025 [EP492]

Posted on Monday, Dec 1, 2025 | Category: World Order, TRIPP, Armenia, USA, Iran, Israel, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Russia, Ukraine, NATO, European Union, Middle East, Syria, Geopolitics, China, Lebanon

Groong Links:

Guest:

Mr. Eldar Mamedov

Topics:

US and Venezuela
Potential for New War on Iran
Is Azerbaijan a âMiddle Powerâ?
Europeâs Confused Geopolitical Identity
Armeniaâs Confused Geopolitics

Episode 492 | Recorded: November 29, 2025

#IranCrisis #AzerbaijanPolitics #EuropeanGeopolitics #ArmeniaSecurity #SouthCaucasus #GlobalPowerPolitics

Garen Jinbachian - OSCE Human Dimension Conf, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and The West | Ep 489, Nov 26, 2025 [EP489]

Posted on Wednesday, Nov 26, 2025 | Category: Armenia, Artsakh, Political Prisoners, Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh, Human Rights, Azerbaijan, Armenian Church, Georgia, Genocide, Turkey, Iran, Lebanon | Series: cog

Groong Links:

Guest:

Garen Jinbachian

Topics:

Azerbaijanâs war crimes and impunity
Sham trials of Artsakh leaders
Silence of the OSCE and the West
Armeniaâs growing political repression
Attacks on the Armenian Church

Episode 489 | Recorded: November 23, 2025

Garen Jinbachian - OSCE Human Dimension Conf, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and The West | Ep 489, Nov 26, 2025 [EP489]

Posted on Wednesday, Nov 26, 2025 | Category: Armenia, Artsakh, Political Prisoners, Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh, Human Rights, Azerbaijan, Armenian Church, Georgia, Genocide, Turkey, Iran, Lebanon

Groong Links:

Guest:

Garen Jinbachian

Topics:

Azerbaijanâs war crimes and impunity
Sham trials of Artsakh leaders
Silence of the OSCE and the West
Armeniaâs growing political repression
Attacks on the Armenian Church

Episode 489 | Recorded: November 23, 2025

Trita Parsi - Prospect, Grounds and Consequences of a Second Israeli War on Iran | Ep 482, Nov 1, 2025 [EP482]

Posted on Saturday, Nov 1, 2025 | Category: Middle East, Iran, Israel, Syria, USA, Armenia, Azerbaijan, European Union, Lebanon, Russia, Turkey | Series: cog

Groong Links:

Guest:

Dr. Trita Parsi , EVP, Quincy Institute

Topics:

Timing and intent for an Israel and Iran clash
Unfinished business from the June war
US role, limited support or full engagement
Iranâs escalation ladder and Caucasus spillover scenarios

Episode 482 | Recorded on October 30, 2025

Trita Parsi - Prospect, Grounds and Consequences of a Second Israeli War on Iran | Ep 482, Nov 1, 2025 [EP482]

Posted on Saturday, Nov 1, 2025 | Category: Middle East, Iran, Israel, Syria, USA, Armenia, Azerbaijan, European Union, Lebanon, Russia, Turkey

Groong Links:

Guest:

Dr. Trita Parsi , EVP, Quincy Institute

Topics:

Timing and intent for an Israel and Iran clash
Unfinished business from the June war
US role, limited support or full engagement
Iranâs escalation ladder and Caucasus spillover scenarios

Episode 482 | Recorded on October 30, 2025

Transcript: Trita Parsi - Prospect, Grounds and Consequences of a Second Israeli War on Iran | Ep 482, Nov 1, 2025 [EP482]

Posted on Saturday, Nov 1, 2025 | Category: Middle East, Iran, Israel, Syria, USA, Armenia, Azerbaijan, European Union, Lebanon, Russia, Turkey, Transcript

A deep dive with Dr. Trita Parsi on whether Israel will strike Iran again, why June’s war left “unfinished business,” how much Israel depends on the United States, what Iran’s rapid-response playbook looks like after June, and how a wider fight could spill into the South Caucasus and affect Armenia. Recorded Oct 30, 2025.