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

Apr 29, 2016

قاچاقچیان مواد مخدر شیوه های تازه ای برای قاچاق مواد مخدر از افغانستان به ایران می یابند

By فاطمه امان

اندکی قرون وسطایی می نماید، اما این شگرد تازه قاچاقچیان مواد مخدر در مناطق مرزی ایران-افغانستان است.   سردار رهام بخش حبیبی فرمانده مرزبانی سیستان و بلوچستان می گوید قاچاقچیان، با استفاده از نوعی منجیق که از آهن های نبشی و تیوب خودرو ساخته شده و قادر است با هر پرتاب یک بسته 10 کیلویی را […]

Iran

IranSource

Apr 29, 2016

Traffickers Find Novel Ways of Smuggling Drugs into Iran from Afghanistan

By Fatemeh Aman

It sounds like something from the Middle Ages but it’s the latest method for drug traffickers along the Iran-Afghanistan border. The commander of Sistan and Baluchestan’s border guard, Raham Bakhsh Habibi, says that drug traffickers are smuggling drugs into Iran by using a catapult made of special metal fixtures and tire tubes that can toss packages weighing 10 […]

Afghanistan Iran

Event Recap

Apr 28, 2016

After Hub-and-Spoke: US Hegemony in a New Gulf Security Order

By Atlantic Council

On Friday, April 29 from 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. the Atlantic Council hosted a discussion of a new report by Brent Scowcroft Center Senior Fellow Bilal Saab, entitled After Hub-and-Spoke: US Hegemony in a New Gulf Security Order, and a debate on US global defense posture in the next decade and how it might affect future […]

International Organizations Politics & Diplomacy

Event Recap

Apr 26, 2016

Freedom of Expression in Syria: A Discussion with Mazen Darwish

By Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East

On April 15, 2016, the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East hosted a discussion with prominent Syrian media activist Mazen Darwish on the “Freedom of Expression in Syria.” Hariri Center Acting Director, Mirette Mabrouk, moderated the discussion. Darwish opened with remarks on the upcoming Geneva peace talks and the issues of political […]

Human Rights Rule of Law

SyriaSource

Apr 25, 2016

Civilians die, but the straw man lives

By Frederic C. Hof

No political progress toward ending Syria's agony and the horrific hemorrhage of its people is possible without first passing through the portal of civilian protection.

Syria

MENASource

Apr 22, 2016

Iraq’s Economic Rescue Threatened by Popular Anger

By Nussaibah Younis

Iraq is facing a severe economic crisis, but political elites and their popular constituencies stand ready to block desperately needed economic reforms.

Iraq

New Atlanticist

Apr 22, 2016

US-GCC Ties Need to Expand Beyond Oil

By Jean-François Seznec

As the perceived notion of oil-for-security diminishes with the United States’ declining demand for oil from the Middle East, the Gulf Cooperation Council states must develop their militaries, fight threatening ideologies, and decrease their economies’ dependence on oil without waiting for the United States to lead the way. However, even as the United States and […]

International Organizations Politics & Diplomacy

MENASource

Apr 21, 2016

From Reassurance to Shared Interests: Bridging the Gulf at the Riyadh Summit

By Muath Al Wari and Elisa Catalano Ewers

President Barack Obama’s meeting with the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Saudi Arabia this week is a previously scheduled follow-up to last year’s Camp David meeting, which notably secured the Gulf states’ passive endorsement of the Iran nuclear deal. There is no comparable deliverable expected this week, and the case for low […]

International Organizations Politics & Diplomacy

MENASource

Apr 21, 2016

Keeping the Possibility of Peace in Yemen Alive

By Jillian Schwedler

The talks at the GCC summit this week provide an opportunity for President Barack Obama to address the war and humanitarian crisis in Yemen. The delegation representing the Houthis and ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh’s General People’s Congress (GPC) delegations finally turned up today for peace talks in Kuwait, but the prospects for ending the […]

International Organizations Politics & Diplomacy

New Atlanticist

Apr 20, 2016

Countering Iran’s malign influence in the Gulf

By Matthew Kroenig

At the Gulf Cooperation Council summit in Riyadh on April 21, US President Barack Obama will be looking to provide reassurances that the United States remains committed to the security of the region, even as his administration upholds the Iran nuclear agreement, which many of the United States’ Gulf partners see as undermining their interests […]

International Organizations Iran
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