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

Oct 12, 2021

Down the ‘Rathole’: How a rapper channels Iran regime change discourse

By Nahid Siamdoust

Both the content of Toomaj Salehi’s hard-hitting rap songs, as well as the debates they have produced, speak to a transformed Iranian media landscape.

Iran
Middle East

IranSource

Oct 8, 2021

Iranian war games on the border with Azerbaijan were really a message to Israel

By Abbas Qaidari

The high self-confidence of Azerbaijani authorities today, the coldness of Tehran-Yerevan ties due to Iran’s support of Baku during the Nagoro-Karabakh conflict, and the growing influence of Turkey and Israel in the Caucasus have made Iranian officials concerned about the possibility of a limited conflict in the region.

Iran
Middle East

MENASource

Oct 7, 2021

Morocco and Israel are friendlier than ever thanks to the Abraham Accords. But what does this mean for the rest of North Africa?

By Karim Mezran, Alissa Pavia

The agreement between Israel and Morocco sparked a series of chain events in neighboring North African countries that will likely have lasting consequences on the economic, security, and socio-political relations in the region.

Middle East
Morocco

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
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