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

Oct 6, 2021

Why Israeli gas and Syrian sanctions relief may turn on Lebanon’s lights

By Matthew Zais

Before the United States and World Bank throw a lifeline to either Bashar al-Assad or Lebanon, they should demand concessions that reduce Iranian and Russian influence in the region.

Lebanon Middle East

IranSource

Oct 2, 2021

Iran said nuclear talks will continue ‘soon.’ But how ‘soon’ is ‘soon’?

By Nadereh Chamlou

Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian stated that Iran plans to return to the negotiations “soon” after internal assessments of the nuclear file are completed by Raisi’s cabinet, but adding that Iran’s notion of “soon” is different from the West’s “soon.” Two factors may be behind these cryptic comments.

Iran Middle East

MENASource

Oct 1, 2021

The northern countryside of Homs in Syria is facing a similar fate as Daraa

By Suhail al-Ghazi

Recently, a series of attacks against regime forces and threats by regime commanders are exposing the region to a similar fate as Daraa governorate.

Middle East Politics & Diplomacy

empowerME Conversations

Sep 28, 2021

Transforming logistics

By Atlantic Council

In Season 2, Episode 1 of empowerME Conversations podcast, host and Atlantic Council empowerME Director Amjad Ahmad speaks with UPS President for Indian Subcontinent, Middle East, and Africa Jean-Francois Condamine about the e-commerce boom in the Middle East, promoting sustainability in the logistics industry, and empowering small and medium enterprises to become regional and global exporters.

Economy & Business Middle East

New Atlanticist

Sep 27, 2021

The military, intel, and law enforcement must collaborate in this new counterterrorism era

By R. Clarke Cooper

Addressing emerging threats means adopting an interagency and international approach to fighting them.

Afghanistan Conflict

IranSource

Sep 27, 2021

Are vaccines and Afghanistan routes back to US-Iran engagement?

By Barbara Slavin

How to get the Ebrahim Raisi administration to engage with the United States—directly or through intermediaries—is the question.

Iran Middle East

New Atlanticist

Sep 23, 2021

What the Arab Gulf is thinking after the Afghanistan withdrawal

By Kirsten Fontenrose

Three Gulf heavyweights are calculating what they stand to gain—or lose—in their relationship with the United States.

Afghanistan Politics & Diplomacy

IranSource

Sep 23, 2021

With the US out of Afghanistan, Iran jumps on the opportunity of joining the Shanghai Cooperation Organization

By Jonathan Fulton

Even if Iran’s full membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is stalled, the US exit from Afghanistan changes the regional landscape.

Afghanistan China

Event Recap

Sep 22, 2021

EVENT RECAP: The future of counterterrorism: Twenty years after 9/11

By Yaseen Rashed

On September 8, the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security’s Forward Defense practice area and the Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative hosted an event with US national security experts to discuss counterterrorism twenty years after 9/11 and reimagine the future of the terrorist threat.

Middle East Politics & Diplomacy

IranSource

Sep 22, 2021

Iran ‘won’ the war with Iraq but at a heavy price

By Barbara Slavin, Abbas Kadhim

More than four decades after the beginning of a dreadful war that shaped the lives and worldview of a generation, Iraq and Iran seem to have put the past behind them and moved to a new relationship. But the road ahead is not without landmines. The balance of power is too lopsided in Iran’s favor to allow for a healthy alliance and Iran’s continued estrangement from the US makes Baghdad’s balancing act even trickier. The Iranians may be enjoying their triumphant short-term position, but the long-term consequences could be calamitous.

Iran Iraq
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