Content

Press Release

May 28, 2020

Vice Admiral (Ret.) John W. Miller joins Atlantic Council as nonresident senior fellow

Washington, DC — May 28, 2020 — The Atlantic Council’s Middle East Programs today announced the addition of Vice Admiral (Ret.) John W. “Fozzie” Miller as a nonresident senior fellow. Miller is an expert on US foreign policy and military presence in the Gulf, and he will contribute to the program’s range of work on […]

Middle East Security & Defense
A net launched from a net-capture system just before catching its target, Quantico, Virginia (December 2018). Source: Red Six Solutions

Issue Brief

May 4, 2020

Drone attacks against critical infrastructure: A real and present threat

By Dr. Scott Crino and Conrad "Andy" Dreby

Read the Middle East Program's new paper on the use of weaponized drones in the Middle East, with recommendations for policymakers.

Drones Middle East
IRGCN Vessels Conduct Unsafe, Unprofessional Interaction with U.S. Naval Forces in Arabian Gulf

IranSource

Apr 23, 2020

Trump’s Twitter threat to destroy Iranian boats isn’t guidance

By John W. Miller

In a tweet on April 22, US President Donald Trump announced that he ordered the US Navy to destroy any Iranian boats harassing US warships. While the tweet may seem like new and escalatory guidance from the Commander in Chief to his forces in the region and an indication of a substantial increase in tensions between the United States and Iran, it is neither.

Iran Maritime Security

New Atlanticist

Mar 31, 2020

Gulf partners could give Iran and the US a way out of their collision course

By Kirsten Fontenrose

With interests on both sides of the conflict and much to lose if it worsens, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is the one organization that could be a hero here, kickstarting a chain reaction that arrives at de-escalation without any party losing face.

Conflict Iran

In the News

Feb 24, 2020

Frandrup quoted in the National on naval operations in the Gulf area

By Atlantic Council

Maritime Security Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Feb 3, 2020

US targets al-Qaeda leader: What it means for Yemen and the US counterterrorism mission

By Masoud Mostajabi

"When the United States is able to identify a terrorist abroad who threatens Americans, in the vast majority of cases the solution is relatively simple," William Wechsler says. "Simply reach out through law enforcement or intelligence channels and ask the local government to arrest them. Unfortunately, there remain a few places in the world in which the host governments have no practical ability to do so—indeed, in some of these places legitimate government authorities face a high risk of being killed if they tried. Yemen is one of these places."

Conflict Terrorism

In the News

Jan 31, 2020

Fontenrose joins VOA (Farsi) to talk about the deployment of additional US troops and aircraft to the Gulf

By Atlantic Council

Middle East Persian

Inflection Points

Jan 11, 2020

Abu Dhabi dispatch: The Soleimani earthquake and coming aftershocks

By Frederick Kempe

The conventional wisdom – underpinned by visuals from Iran – is that the US drone strike reinforced hardliners and shifted the internal Iranian dynamics from protests against the regime to angry demonstrations against the United States. Far harder to measure is the longer-term impact of Soleimani’s absence on the country’s revolutionary effectiveness and structure.

Conflict Iran

New Atlanticist

Jan 8, 2020

Iran’s missiles may have avoided the worst outcome

By Thomas S. Warrick

If there had been significant US casualties, the world would have awoken to the dawn of a regional war, because the Trump administration would have been compelled to attack the launch sites in Iran—and probably other targets in Iran, also. If the present news holds, the situation is slightly less dangerous, if still perilous.

Conflict Geopolitics & Energy Security

New Atlanticist

Jan 8, 2020

Washington and Tehran can step back – if they want to

By William F. Wechsler

After the January 8 Iranian missile attacks on Iraq, a successful tactical de-escalation requires both that the Iranian leadership intends for its military actions not to be escalatory and that the Trump administration perceives those actions as they were intended. In the absence of direct communications between the United States and Iran, however, the potential for misunderstanding and thus the risk of miscalculation remains high.

Conflict Geopolitics & Energy Security
Load More