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

Sep 11, 2018

Iran’s Political Debate Over Negotiating With the Trump Administration

By Farhad Rezaei

President Donald Trump’s offer to “meet with the Iranian president without preconditions if they wanted to meet” has been roundly rejected by Iran’s hardline establishment but has sparked a lively debate over the wisdom and efficacy of such a move in alleviating pressure on Iran’s economy. During a recent meeting with President Hassan Rouhani and […]

Iran

Rebuilding Syria

Sep 10, 2018

Has the US given up on stabilization efforts in Syria?

By Emily Burchfield

The Trump administration announced last month that it would not be releasing the over $200 million in State Department funds destined for stabilization operations in Syria, which were “frozen” by President Trump earlier in March this year pending comprehensive review.

Syria

IranSource

Sep 10, 2018

Iran and the US Should Use the UN to Reopen a Channel for Dialogue

By Daniel R. DePetris

To say that the US-Iran relationship is at new low would be an understatement. Whatever slim opening existed as a result of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) has been closed shut, replaced by a cacophony of mutual threats, personal insults, financial sanctions and the absence of even basic communication between Washington and […]

Iran

IranSource

Sep 7, 2018

Discrimination and Past Due Payments: Some of the Problems Iranian Workers Face

By Holly Dagres

Since the December 2017 nationwide protests in Iran, there have been countless strikes and labor protests. During the months of June and July alone, railroad workers and truck drivers went on strike in over two dozen cities across the country. Unionization is banned in Iran and security forces constantly crack down on labor rights activists, […]

Iran

IranSource

Sep 5, 2018

Europe Cannot Save the Iran Deal, But it Must Try

By Cornelius Adebahr

You would not know it from reading the news, but the Iran nuclear deal is still alive. The Europeans, however, are faced with an impossible task: to preserve an international agreement that cannot survive without Washington’s backing in the face of an aggressive US posture toward Tehran. In May, US President Donald J. Trump pulled […]

Iran

SyriaSource

Sep 4, 2018

Russia’s disinformation campaign has changed how we see Syria

By Mona Alami

Assad’s future is looking brighter these days. He has regained control over much of Syria and is amassing loyalist forces in the north in preparation for the Idlib offensive, the last opposition Syrian stronghold.

Syria

IranSource

Sep 4, 2018

Iran Can Only Blame Its Woes on the Trump Administration for So Long

By Mohammed Alsulami

The Iranian regime has successfully navigated difficulties over the past four decades, such as domestic infighting after the 1979 revolution, the eight-year Iran-Iraq War, the ensuing economic difficulties, and the controversy over its nuclear program during the mid-2000s. Many analysts believe that these tests immunized the regime to threats. Recent months, however, have proved that […]

Iran

SyriaSource

Aug 31, 2018

Escalations and military build-up: what is happening in Idlib?

By Rachel Rossi and Aisha Han

Recent diplomatic escalations and a military build-up in Idlib province indicate a larger upcoming battle. The regime and Russia intend to recover the regime’s sovereignty over Syria, and that has always included Idlib.

Syria

IranSource

Aug 31, 2018

Rage against the Elite: How Iran’s Nouveau Riche Profits from Sanctions

By Holly Dagres

“Iran suggested to me a massive Potemkin village, a facade with people at the top partying and people below struggling,” a cable from the US Embassy in Tehran read during the late 1970s. Not much has changed since the turban replaced the crown in 1979, except that now the party is behind closed doors and […]

Iran

SyriaSource

Aug 28, 2018

Death notices fortify barrier of fear in Syria

By Elizabeth Tsurkov

Over recent weeks, as the Syrian regime updated its civil registries across the country, hundreds of families discovered that their relatives died in detention. Tens of thousands of Syrians were arrested in the early years of the uprising and their families continued to hold on to hope that they were still alive.

Syria
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