Through our Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East and Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative, 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

Jul 24, 2018

Trump’s Twitter War Unites Iranian Factions and Bolsters Rouhani

By Holly Dagres

As is so often the case with the current occupant of the White House, a presidential tweet muddied the message of the rest of the Trump administration. Iranians had been focusing on Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s “Supporting Iranian Voices” event at the California-based Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Library. But shortly after Pompeo finished […]

Iran

IranSource

Jul 23, 2018

Trump’s Angry Iran Tweet

By Ashish Kumar Sen

US President Donald J. Trump, in a late-night, all-caps tweet on July 22, threatened Iran with “consequences the likes of which few throughout history have suffered before” if Iranian leaders continued to threaten the United States with war. Trump’s tweet was an apparent response to a comment by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to Iranian diplomats […]

Iran

New Atlanticist

Jul 23, 2018

Trump’s Angry Iran Tweet

By Ashish Kumar Sen

US President Donald J. Trump, in a late-night, all-caps tweet on July 22, threatened Iran with “consequences the likes of which few throughout history have suffered before” if Iranian leaders continued to threaten the United States with war.

Iran

IranSource

Jul 23, 2018

US Policies Undercut ‘Support’ for ‘Iranian Voices’

By Barbara Slavin

Among the oddest features of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s address at the Reagan Library on July 22 — billed as “Supporting Iranian Voices” – was the absence of any actual Iranian on the dias. Pompeo was introduced by Fred Ryan, chairman of the board of the Reagan Foundation, and by Sen. Tom Cotton, a […]

Iran
A poster and flag bearing Lebanese Hezbollah's logo in Baalbek, Lebanon. (Wikimedia Commons)

IranSource

Jul 20, 2018

Tehran struggles with terrorism financing bill

By Nader Uskowi

The Supreme Leader and hardliners will have a choice to make: continue supporting and commanding the armed militia groups and accepting questionable cash flow out of the country, or take action for the sake of their government’s future.

Iran
Terrorism

Event Recap

Jul 19, 2018

Oil and Iran: How renewed sanctions will affect Iran and world markets

By Global Business & Economics Program

On July 18, the Atlantic Council’s Future of Iran Initiative in the South Asia Center, Global Energy Center, and Global Business & Economics Program co-hosted a panel discussion on the likelihood and effect of renewed US sanctions on Iran.

Economy & Business
Financial Sanctions and Economic Coercion

IranSource

Jul 19, 2018

Travel Ban Punishes Iranian Scholars and Undermines US Economy

By Tahereh Hadian-Jazy

The Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision to uphold the third iteration of President Donald Trump’s travel ban falls hardest on Iranians – both those seeking to travel to the US and those in the US who cannot go home without jeopardizing their ability to return. The situation is particularly dire for Iranians studying for graduate degrees, […]

An Iranian woman attends a viewing of the Iran-Portugal World Cup match on June 25, 2018 in Tehran's Azadi Stadium (Wikimedia Commons/Fars News)

IranSource

Jul 17, 2018

After the World Cup, Will Iranian Women Still Be Able to Watch Soccer?

By Owen Daniels & Phoebe Amend

The 2018 World Cup is over after a whirlwind month of matches, with France claiming the title. There was no shortage of engrossing stories from the tournament, with political drama undergirding the action. In Iran, for example, beyond the national team’s relatively impressive display, the country grabbed headlines off the pitch for allowing women to […]

Iran
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the Iranian people on Youtube (Israeli Prime Minister's Office/YouTube)

IranSource

Jul 17, 2018

Netanyahu’s New Iran Approach: YouTube Diplomacy

By Ehud Eiran

Benjamin Netanyahu’s leadership style always includes dramatic warnings about threats to Israel. For more than a decade now, Israel’s prime minister warns that Iran—in particular its nuclear program—are the chief threat. In 2015, a glaring Netanyahu stared down the United Nations General Assembly in silence for almost a minute. The gesture was to protest what […]

Iran
Israel

IranSource

Jul 16, 2018

Iran’s Renewable Energy Outlook Dims after US Withdrawal from the Nuclear Deal

By Omid Shokri Kalehsar

Countries across the world are planning to increase the share of renewables in their national energy baskets, particularly for electricity generation. Iran, as a major oil producer, has only recently begun to stress the role of renewables with the coming into force of its Fourth Development Plan (2004-2009). Iran has high potential for progress in […]

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