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

Fast Thinking

Apr 13, 2021

FAST THINKING: Leaving Afghanistan, twenty years later

By Atlantic Council

America’s longest war is set to finally come to an end, with President Joe Biden expected to announce on Wednesday that all American troops will withdraw from Afghanistan by September 11, 2021. What’s the state of the nation that the US military will leave behind?

Afghanistan
Defense Policy

Fast Thinking

Apr 12, 2021

FAST THINKING: Did the Iran nuclear talks just blow up?

By Atlantic Council

Iran’s ability to enrich uranium for potential use in nuclear weapons may have suffered a severe blow on Sunday after an explosion knocked out power at its Natanz nuclear site, while indirect talks continue in Vienna around reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Will the explosion blow up those negotiations? And what will its impact be on Iran itself and the country’s nuclear program?

Crisis Management
Iran

IranElections2021

Apr 12, 2021

Iran’s June elections could consolidate hardline power before Khamenei succession

By Anonymous

For hardliners in Iran, the June 18 presidential election is less about choosing a new executive branch chief than about consolidating power centers before the time comes to choose Iran’s real ruler: the next Supreme Leader.

Iran
Middle East

MENASource

Apr 9, 2021

Jordan was never ‘boring.’ A vibrant protest movement has been ignored for too long.

By Tuqa Nusairat

The greatest risk to Jordan’s stability remains that political and economic reform has been delayed for too long, and the little space that remains for Jordanians to express their legitimate frustration and dissent is narrowing every day.

Civil Society
Coronavirus

MENASource

Apr 9, 2021

Russia is friendly with the Houthis in Yemen. But it’s complicated.

By Mark N. Katz

Even though Moscow may not be militarily involved in Yemen does not mean that Russia is uninvolved.

Middle East
Politics & Diplomacy

IranSource

Apr 8, 2021

‘Here’s the (Iran) deal, folks’: Americans are fine with a return to the JCPOA

By Barbara Slavin

Thanks to the fact that the Donald Trump administration’s unilateral withdrawal from the JCPOA has been such an obvious and abysmal failure, a majority of Americans now support the original deal.

Iran
Middle East

IranSource

Apr 6, 2021

Ebrahim Raisi: Will he stay or will he go?

By Sanam Vakil

In calculating his next acts, Raisi’s decision will undoubtedly reveal his appetite for risk and further reward in Iran’s notoriously factionalized system.

Iran
Middle East

MENASource

Apr 6, 2021

The Abraham Accords hold the key to Biden’s East Med policy

By Matthew Zais

While motivated by the potential for a new Iran nuclear deal under the Biden administration, the Abraham Accords represent an unprecedented regional unification that was inconceivable just a few years ago. But it also represents an opportunity to continue America’s positive international energy diplomacy, and leadership in the East Med would be an ideal place to pick up the baton.

Middle East
North Africa

MENASource

Apr 5, 2021

Experts React: A royal rift in Jordan amid competing allegations of a coup & corruption

By Atlantic Council

Atlantic Council experts react to the latest news of the royal rift in Jordan and how recent events may impact the country’s security, economy, and regional standing.

Middle East
Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding

MENASource

Apr 5, 2021

Strapped for dollars, the Syrian government is forcing its citizens to pay up

By Reem Salahi

A decade since the start of the popular uprising, the Syrian lira is in an unprecedented freefall after years of armed conflict, an economic crisis in neighboring Lebanon, deep-seated corruption and cronyism, and Western economic sanctions targeting Syrian government officials as well as Syrian-operated industries.

Human Rights
Middle East
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