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

Feb 6, 2019

Why Assad’s alliance with Iran and Hezbollah will endure

By Randa Slim

The Tehran-Damascus-Hezbollah trilateral partnership has been decades in the making. It pre-dates the Syrian civil war, has strengthened as a result of the war and will likely endure in the post-war years. After the Iranian revolution in 1979, shared enmity of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, Israel and the United States brought Damascus and Tehran together. […]

Syria

IranSource

Feb 6, 2019

A pro-active new US policy toward Iran

By Barbara Slavin

With the advent of another presidential election cycle in the United States, many US and foreign politicians and policy advocates have already begun thinking about recommendations for the next occupant of the White House. In both domestic and foreign affairs, it will not be sufficient to simply revisit decisions made by President Donald Trump but […]

Iran

IranSource

Feb 6, 2019

The iron and depressing laws of US-Iran relations

By John Limbert

Among the unalterable “laws of the Medes and the Persians” that have ruled US-Iran relations for decades are the following: Everything takes longer than you think. Everything is harder than you think. Whenever you begin to make progress, some bad fortune or stupidity will screw up everything. The first two are obvious. In the last […]

Iran

IranSource

Feb 4, 2019

Iran and the women’s question

By Haleh Esfandiari

When it comes to women and the Islamic Republic, “Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.” For forty years, women have resisted the Islamic Republic’s attempt to deny them rights previously won. They have waged a war—on the streets, in social media and even in the privacy of their homes—for equality and against the regime’s […]

Iran

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Feb 4, 2019

Protests are a permanent feature of Iran

By Nazila Fathi

July 15, 2009 was a historic day in Iran’s recent history. Some three million people marched in silence on Enghelab (Revolution) Street in the capital of Tehran to convey their anger at the Islamic Republic in the most peaceful manner. The regime had disconnected cell phone services in a failed effort to prevent the march, […]

Civil Society Human Rights

SyriaSource

Feb 1, 2019

Post-conflict, how will Iran preserve its presence in Syria?

By Ghaith al-Ahmad

The Youth Sports Club, once considered one of the most prominent soccer clubs in Deir Ezzor city in eastern Syria, now marks the beginning of Iran’s cultural penetration project in Syria.

Iran Syria

IranSource

Feb 1, 2019

Iran’s economic performance since the 1979 Revolution

By Nadereh Chamlou

Forty years have passed since the Iranian Revolution—a revolution that promised to usher in democracy, freedom, and prosperity for all. Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi, an influential cleric, recently exclaimed that Iran has progressed more in the last “forty years than it had in the 400 years prior.” Has it? This note offers some perspectives on selected economic […]

Iran

SyriaSource

Jan 31, 2019

American policy at the crossroads

By Frederic C. Hof

Those who believe that Tehran and Moscow consider themselves home free, gleefully celebrating the political survival of their Syrian client without a care in the world, underestimate the knowledge and sophistication of Iranian and Russian officials.

Syria

IranSource

Jan 31, 2019

Facing Reality: Europe’s Special Purpose Vehicle Will Not Challenge US Sanctions

By Brian O’Toole

The European Union on January 31 formally announced its long-awaited special purpose vehicle (SPV) for trade with Iran, called the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX).  Predictably, the SPV won’t seek to challenge US sanctions by attempting to conduct sanctionable trade with Iran as had been originally floated, and will instead focus on non-sanctionable trade, including […]

European Union International Organizations

IranSource

Jan 31, 2019

Beyond Westoxification and Orientalism: How to read Iranian politics

By Giorgia Perletta

Using fixed categories to describe Iranian politics is often a risk. Western readings are frequently imbued with misconceptions and prejudices due to an Orientalist approach. At the same time, the official narrative of the Islamic Republic reflects a self-representation in conscious reaction to Western views of Iran. These two readings clash with each other at […]

Iran
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