Since May, the world has watched tensions rise in the Gulf, between Iran on one hand and the United States and its allies on the other. On July 30, the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security and the Arabia Foundation held a discussion unpacking the recent pattern of escalation with Iran in the Gulf, the US and regional policy response, and what comes next. Atlantic Council Board Director General James E. Cartwright, USMC (Ret.), Arabia Foundation Founder Ali Shihabi, and Atlantic Council Board Director Dov Zakheim spoke at the event. The National Washington Correspondent Joyce Karam moderated the conversation.
An Atlantic Council Issue Brief entitled “Avenues for Conflict in the Gulf: A Matrix Game Simulation,” was released at the event. The paper offers reporting on a war game exercise the Council hosted in cooperation with the Arabia Foundation. This matrix-style war game focused on potential ways conflict could occur between Iran, the United States, and its regional partners; what that conflict might involve; and how regional and international players might respond.