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

MENASource

Dec 23, 2019

US-Palestinian relations and aid cuts, impact Israel’s security

By Carmiel Arbit

The consequences of deteriorating US-Palestinian relations and aid cuts are likely to continue to negatively impact security in Israel.

Crisis Management Israel

MENASource

Dec 20, 2019

Staff cuts at US embassy Baghdad will not counter Iran

By Thomas S. Warrick

The planned US staffing cuts at the embassy in Baghdad is likely to undermine US efforts to counter Iran and will leave a gap Iran is happy to continue to fill through economic, security, and political means.

Iraq Politics & Diplomacy

IranSource

Dec 20, 2019

Iran is losing sight of its “developmental vision”

By Esfandyar Batmanghelidj

Jahromi’s postal drone offers a metaphor for perhaps the central political challenge facing the Islamic Republic. In the wake of a brutal response to protests that has left over 300 dead, commentators have pointed to a crisis of legitimacy now facing Iran’s leaders and their ideological tenets.

Iran Middle East

IranSource

Dec 19, 2019

Rethinking Iranian regional influence and internal stability

By Scheherazade Faramarzi

The upheavals in Iraq, Lebanon and inside Iran have prompted a national soul-searching. Iranian politicians, academics, sociologists and analysts—as well as ordinary people—are debating whether the Islamic Republic is weakened and over-extended or even heading toward internal collapse. The regime so far has not provided an official death toll for the domestic protests, which broke […]

Iran Middle East
The complete destruction in Syria

SyriaSource

Dec 18, 2019

Hof’s analysis of Susan Rice’s Syria comments

By Frederic C. Hof

Former national security advisor, Susan Rice, recently wrote an op-ed lamenting the lack of options in solving the Syrian crisis, much like Samantha Powers, however, their arguments do not hold up against scrutiny.

Politics & Diplomacy Security & Defense
Algerians protest election results

MENASource

Dec 17, 2019

Algerian election and legitimacy: Impossibility of change

By Karim Mezran and Alessia Melcangi

The Algerian election lacks legitimacy and the military and political elite are using elections to foster an image of legitimacy which doesn't exist.

Libya Politics & Diplomacy

New Atlanticist

Dec 17, 2019

Haftar closes in on Tripoli: Where is the international community?

By David A. Wemer

General Khalifa Haftar’s threat to advance his troops further into the capital of Tripoli proves that for the rebel Libyan commander, “there is only a military solution,” to the conflict between his forces and the United Nations-recognized Government of National Accord, according to Atlantic Council resident senior fellow Karim Mezran.

Conflict Libya

IranSource

Dec 17, 2019

Landmine survivors feel the pinch of sanctions

By Holly Dagres

An estimated 20 million anti-personnel landmines were planted on roughly 16,200 square miles along the 680-mile Iran-Iraq border during the bloody eight-year conflict. Though the war ended thirty-one years ago, it still continues to claim lives.

Iran Middle East

IranSource

Dec 12, 2019

Iranians fear a permanent internet blackout is in the making

By Maziar Motamedi

Iranians are concerned they may soon lose access to the global internet as authorities race to bolster local infrastructures.

Iran Middle East

SyriaSource

Dec 10, 2019

Life after war: The impact of conflict on Syrian artists

By Natasha Hall

After a scrawled graffiti message in Daraa, Syrian artists began to express themselves more than they ever could since the Assad family took power. Revolutionary art exploded on to the global scene during the Arab Spring. Particularly in Syria, artists, writers, and filmmakers found a new voice, free of fear. Defiance, grief, and frustration were […]

Conflict Resilience & Society
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