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

SyriaSource

Aug 23, 2018

Chemical warnings and unintended consequences

By Frederic C. Hof

On August 21, 2018 the United States, France, and the United Kingdom issued a statement to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the Assad regime’s deadly chemical attack on civilians in the rebel-held Ghouta suburb of Damascus. According to the three powers, “we will respond appropriately to any further use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime, which has had such devastating humanitarian consequences for the Syria people.”

Syria

IranSource

Aug 23, 2018

Hackers Are Infecting Android Devices and Iranians Don’t Even Know It

By Amin Sabeti

Iran is no stranger to the global digital security community. This week, cybersecurity firm FireEye released a report about a network of Iranian accounts and groups on social media platforms attempting to manipulate users and also hack their accounts. Though big stories like this tend to focus on Iranian cyber attacks against Western government interests […]

Iran

IranSource

Aug 22, 2018

Declassified Documents Reveal Weakness of Unilateral Iran Sanctions

By Danielle Siegel

The Trump Administration’s May 2018 decision to pull the US out of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) made headlines with its promise of unprecedented sanctions against Iran. Strong rhetoric aside, President Trump’s stated policy outcomes are consistent with those of his predecessors: preventing Iran from advancing its nuclear and missile capabilities, discouraging […]

Iran

IranSource

Aug 21, 2018

Reflecting on the Iran-Iraq War, Thirty Years Later

By Lukman Faily

This August marks the thirtieth anniversary of the Iran-Iraq War ending. This tragic eight-year conflict was a transformable event for Tehran and Baghdad. There were over one million casualties on both sides, and the conflict effectively transformed the entire Middle East, too. The narrative of “futile war” comes to mind when one tries to look […]

Iran
Iraq

SyriaSource

Aug 20, 2018

Returning to mass graves in Raqqa

By Khalifa Al-Khudr

Since this story was first reported in April 2018, further updates have come out on Raqqa’s mass graves, highlighting the challenges of collecting bodies and identifying missing people. This is an analysis with eyewitness stories from people who have gone back to Raqqa.

Syria

IranSource

Aug 20, 2018

Tehran’s Foreign Policy Originates from the Iran-Iraq War

By Holly Dagres

Every so often, the Iranian Committee to Find Missing Soldiers of the Iran-Iraq War announces the return of soldiers’ remains. A funeral procession of coffins draped with the Iranian flag—sometimes only containing a dog tag—is followed by hordes of Iranians wailing and mourning, as if the eight-year war only ended yesterday. To this date, tens […]

Iran

IranSource

Aug 17, 2018

Lessons from the Iran-Iraq War: Iranian Minorities Won’t Lead Transformative Change

By Neda Bolourchi

Before joining the Trump administration, National Security Advisor John Bolton penned an article on how to pull out of the Iran nuclear agreement. In it, he also advocated helping ethnic minorities in Iran. Like previous American administrations, the Trump Administration seeks regime change in Tehran. And like the current White House, but more fervently, the […]

Iran

IranSource

Aug 16, 2018

Badr Brigade: Among Most Consequential Outcomes of the Iran-Iraq War

By Borzou Daragahi

The burly, graying men in the mismatched camouflage arrived in the late winter of 2003, setting up camp within the green hilly folds of northern Iraq. They were members of the Badr Brigade, a Shia fighting force that had been sheltering in exile inside Iran during the reign of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. They told […]

Iran
Iraq

SyriaSource

Aug 15, 2018

The sticky situation of the final Idlib offensive

By Reema Hibrawi

The final offensive in Idlib has been an ongoing discussion among Syria analysts for years. Idlib province contains opposition fighters, activists, and civilians displaced from Homs, Aleppo, Hama, and various parts of Damascus.

Syria

IranSource

Aug 15, 2018

Sixty-Five Years On: Iran Regime Change Advocates Haven’t Learned from Coup

By Paul R. Pillar

The Trump administration’s policy toward Iran aims for regime change. Possibly US President Donald Trump dreams of reaching some bold deal with the current leadership of Iran, but he has not laid out any feasible route to one. The administration’s dominant hope instead seems to be that stepped-up economic pressure will somehow lead disaffected Iranians […]

Iran
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