Middle East Programs Commentary & Analysis

Our blogs feature thoughtful reflections and opinions on current events in the Middle East & North Africa.

Through our Middle East Programs, the Atlantic Council works with allies and partners in Europe and the wider Middle East to protect US interests, build peace and security, and unlock the human potential of the region.

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Meet our blogs

MENASource

MENASource follows movements across the region and provides news and analysis on current events, including a platform for Middle Eastern perspectives, among others, on major issues—economic, political, security, cultural—that are at stake in the post-Arab Spring era.  

IranSource

IranSource provides a holistic look at Iran’s internal dynamics, global and regional policies, and posture through unique analysis of current events and long-term, strategic issues related to Iran.

All commentary & analysis

MENASource

Apr 20, 2026

The Iran war has forced the US-Gulf alliance out of the shadows

By Eric Alter

The Iran war is testing whether the informal strategic system the United States has assembled with its Gulf partners and Israel is strong enough to hold up amid a regional conflict.

Defense Policy Iran

MENASource

Apr 20, 2026

‘They have been exposed’: The Iran war upends Gulf states’ security and business model

By Stefanie Hausheer Ali

The Iran war threatens the sense of security, prosperity, and opportunity that the Gulf states have spent years cultivating as they seek to diversify their economies away from oil.

Critical Infrastructure Policy Geopolitics & Energy Security

MENASource

Apr 15, 2026

The Iran war is not about China

By Jonathan Fulton

China is behaving like a normal external power with interests in the region, not like a crisis manager shaping outcomes.

China Conflict

MENASource

Apr 9, 2026

Egypt’s foreign minister: One cannot secure waterways ‘while ignoring the political order of the states’ along the shore

By Maisoon H. Kafafy

Maisoon H. Kafafy reached out to Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty for his thoughts on this turbulent moment and the instability in the Horn of Africa.

East Africa Ethiopia

MENASource

Apr 7, 2026

Iraq’s oil export vulnerability exposes the cost of unresolved disputes

By Yesar Al-Maleki

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz shows how Iraq’s energy security depends as much on political coordination as on infrastructure.

Geopolitics & Energy Security Infrastructure

MENASource

Mar 26, 2026

As Iran attacks, the US should provide air defense for Iraqi Kurdistan

By Yerevan Saeed

Washington faces a choice: Continue to defer to Baghdad’s procedural objections while Iran conducts unimpeded strikes on Kurdish territory or acknowledge the strategic reality and take decisive action.

Conflict Crisis Management

MENASource

Mar 25, 2026

Amid the Hormuz crisis, an Iraq-Jordan-Egypt oil pipeline can no longer wait

By Maisoon H. Kafafy

Iraq is hemorrhaging oil revenue. Egypt is absorbing shocks on every front. The infrastructure that could have changed both equations has been forty years in the making. It still doesn’t exist.

Conflict Iraq

MENASource

Mar 24, 2026

The real roadblock to government formation in Iraq isn’t Maliki—it’s Kurdish power politics

By Omar Al-Nidawi

A dispute between Kurdish factions presents a significant structural obstacle to Iraq’s government formation regardless of who is nominated for prime minister.

Democratic Transitions Elections

MENASource

Mar 23, 2026

The Iran conflict exposes the new cost curve of war

By Nic Adams

The Pentagon must rapidly field innovative, lower-cost technologies alongside its exquisite capabilities, ensuring each is used where it delivers the greatest advantage.

Conflict Defense Industry

MENASource

Mar 17, 2026

A crisis in Egypt could be a warning sign for the global economy 

By Khalid Azim

Market watchers should keep an eye on Egypt as an oil shock could cause financial turmoil.

Economy & Business International Financial Institutions
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