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

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

MENASource

Sep 22, 2021

Mourned by some, cursed by others, former President Bouteflika left Algeria ill-prepared for the future

By Andrew G. Farrand

Abdelaziz Bouteflika's death is unlikely to substantially shift the country's trajectory, in large part because of just how rigid a system he and his generation of independence heroes already imposed upon Algeria during their lifetimes.

Middle East North Africa

IranSource

Sep 21, 2021

Iranian children are being punished based on their parents’ religion and beliefs

By Hamed Farmand

In practice, Iran’s discriminatory law affects almost all aspects of minority children’s lives, such as safety and well-being and access to health and education.

Human Rights Iran

MENASource

Sep 20, 2021

‘Investing in women is just good business’: Ways to increase funding for women-led ventures in the Middle East

By Stefanie Hausheer Ali

On September 14, 2021 the Atlantic Council’s empowerME Initiative held a workshop on “Venture Capital Financing: How to Increase Funding for Women-led Ventures."

Middle East The Gulf

MENASource

Sep 17, 2021

Syria after the fall of Kabul: A European perspective

By Michel Duclos

There is at least one common factor between Syria and Afghanistan: just as the Taliban has not changed once it took back power, the Bashar al-Assad regime will not change once its power is affirmed.

Middle East Politics & Diplomacy

IranSource

Sep 16, 2021

Iran’s environmental woes could be Raisi’s Achilles heel

By Javad Heiran-Nia and Mahmood Monshipouri

Among the challenges encountered by the Islamic Republic of Iran, climate change looms as one of the most serious, disrupting, and even life-threatening issues facing both rural and urban populations. This threat has worsened at a time when Iran is politically polarized, ideologically fractured, and economically embattled.  

Energy & Environment Iran
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