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

Oct 9, 2018

A case in context: From the Lebanese Civil War to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon

By Faysal Itani and Anthony Elghossain

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon has just heard the closing arguments in Ayyash et. al, on September 21, 2018; a case in which prosecutors charged four members or associates of Hezbollah with the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri. Thirteen years after the assassination, judges are in the process of making their judgement.

Middle East Syria

MENASource

Oct 5, 2018

Iraqi Kurdistan’s parliamentary elections: Inflection point or plateau?

By Shivan Fazil

The people from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) headed to the polls this week to elect 111 members of the Kurdistan Regional Parliament. This is the fifth general election following the creation of the regional legislature in 1992, and it was the first since last year’s controversial independence referendum.

Iraq

IranSource

Oct 5, 2018

How Iran and the Gulf Arab States Can Start a Dialogue Again

By Hussein Ibish

It’s hard to overstate the regional impact of the rivalry between Iran and several Gulf Arab states—most notably Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates—bordering in recent years on enmity. While these countries haven’t come close to direct warfare, tensions have impacted many regional conflicts in the Middle East including in Syria, Yemen, and Iraq, […]

International Organizations Iran

IranSource

Oct 4, 2018

The Hidden Message of Iran’s Syria Strikes: A View From Israel

By Shemuel Meir

An unusual strategic event took place this week in the Middle East. For the second time in over a year, Iran fired ballistic missiles on targets in Syria, a country that borders Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who never misses an opportunity to respond in the strongest terms—usually within hours—to any Iranian testing of […]

Iran Israel

SyriaSource

Oct 4, 2018

Escalating tensions between Israel and Hezbollah in Syria

By Rachel Rossi

The Syrian war continues to exacerbate long-simmering tensions between Israel and Hezbollah. The situation is further complicated by recurring Hezbollah and Iranian drone surveillance and targeted air strikes along the Israel-Syria border. Neither Israel nor Hezbollah is willing to enter into a protracted conflict; both sides realize that they’ve reached a point of “mutually assured heavy damage.”

Syria

MENASource

Oct 4, 2018

Moroccan conscription: An unfinished process

By Sarah Alaoui and Leila Hanafi

If passed by the country’s two parliamentary chambers, an expedited draft law 44.18 would reinstate mandatory military service for both Moroccan men and women between the ages of nineteen and twenty-five by the end of next year.

Morocco North Africa

MENASource

Oct 3, 2018

Yemen’s humanitarian crisis persists, despite humanitarian funding

By Afrah Nasser

When over $2 billion was pledged for the 2018 Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan (YHRP) earlier this year, it was considered not only a success but also the best funded response plan worldwide according to anonymous aid workers who spoke to the author during the UN General Assembly. So far, 65% of the pledged funds have been delivered. The delivery of the remaining funding is expected throughout this year.

Yemen

IranSource

Oct 3, 2018

China: Iran’s Lifeline to Overcome Oil Sanctions

By Brendon Hong

If the relationship between Iran and China is not severed, US sanctions on the Tehran will never be fully effective, and the Trump administration’s dream of forcing a new deal will never come to fruition.

China Iran

IranSource

Oct 1, 2018

Netanyahu’s UNGA Accusations Give Iranians a Rare Good Laugh

By Holly Dagres

“I really, really think someone set him up,” Iran’s deputy foreign minister said in an initial reaction to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech at the United Nations General Assembly on September 27. In an interview with state media, Abbas Araghchi and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who is seated next to Araghchi, are […]

Iran Israel

IranSource

Oct 1, 2018

Iran-Israel Animus Exacerbates the US-Iran Divide

By Barbara Slavin

NEW YORK — Iran’s mellifluous foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, was in characteristic form Saturday afternoon as he sparred with a small group of journalists and US-Iran hands and fulminated against the policies of the Trump administration. Iran would survive the latest barrage of US sanctions, Zarif insisted, noting President Donald Trump’s relative isolation at […]

International Organizations Iran
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