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

Apr 27, 2018

The JCPOA Crisis and Israeli-Iranian Relations

By Ehud Eiran

Much of the discourse on the future of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the nuclear agreement between the P5+1 powers and Iran, has centered broadly on two issue sets. The first comprises the issues between Iran and the six powers; the second, perhaps more widely-discussed are dynamics between the United States and the […]

Iran Israel

IranSource

Apr 27, 2018

British-based Environmentalist is Iran’s Latest Heartbroken ‘Outsider’

By Noah Annan

Appointed by President Hassan Rouhani as the new head of Iran’s Department of Environment (DOE), Isa Kalantari knew that this chronically mismanaged organization desperately needed new blood. Facing myriad environmental challenges including growing water shortages, Kalantari, who previously served as minister of agriculture and whose policies had been harshly criticized, decided to reach out for […]

Iran

IranSource

Apr 27, 2018

Mike Pompeo is the New Secretary of State. Now What?

By Rachel Ansley

The US Senate on April 26 confirmed former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency Mike Pompeo as the new US Secretary of State.  US President Donald J. Trump picked Pompeo, a known foreign policy hawk on issues from Russia to Iran to North Korea, to replace Rex Tillerson at the State Department on March 13. […]

Iran

New Atlanticist

Apr 26, 2018

Macron Tried to Convince Trump to Stick to the Iran Deal. Will it Work?

By Barbara Slavin

French President Emmanuel Macron could not have been more explicit in his remarks to a joint session of the US Congress: France will not leave the Iran nuclear deal without something “more substantial” in its place. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the United States. Macron acknowledged the US administration’s reluctance to commit to […]

Iran

IranSource

Apr 26, 2018

A Way Forward for the Iran Deal

By Mehran Haghirian

As the May 12 deadline approaches for President Donald Trump to renew sanctions waivers in compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), multiple European leaders, as well as the Chinese and Russians, are working to keep the agreement in place. President Emanuel Macron’s three-day State visit to Washington on April 23 was for the same […]

Iran

IranSource

Apr 26, 2018

Emmanuel Macron’s Balancing Act

By Rachel Brandenburg

French President Macron is performing a delicate balancing act addressing US President Trump’s dissatisfaction with the Iran nuclear deal while seeking to keep the multilateral agreement intact. Trump has been crystal clear since his presidential campaign that he views the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – the Iran nuclear agreement – as a “bad deal.” […]

France Iran

New Atlanticist

Apr 25, 2018

Emmanuel Macron’s Balancing Act

By Rachel Brandenburg

French President Emmanuel Macron appears to be performing a delicate balancing act of addressing US President Donald J. Trump’s dissatisfaction with the Iran nuclear deal while seeking to keep the multilateral agreement intact. Trump has been crystal clear since his presidential campaign that he views the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)—the Iran nuclear […]

Iran

MENASource

Apr 25, 2018

An advance look at Iraq’s 2018 elections

By Rend Al-Rahim

Iraq’s 2018 parliamentary elections, simultaneously embodying continuity and change, will be held in a particularly divisive atmosphere. The elections are taking place in the shadow of the devastation left behind by the conflict with ISIS and serious splits within the governing Shia party. As a result, voting on May 12 will be a litmus test […]

Democratic Transitions Elections

New Atlanticist

Apr 24, 2018

The Iran Nuclear Deal: To Leave or Not to Leave

By Rachel Brandenburg

The future of the Iran nuclear deal—the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)—hangs in the balance as the May 12 deadline set by US President Donald J. Trump to “fix” the deal or to walk away from it approaches. French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have preserving the JCPOA at the top […]

IranSource

Apr 24, 2018

Sunnis in Iran: An Alternate View

By Peyman Asadzade

In her issue brief for the Atlantic Council, “Iran’s Sunnis Resist Extremism, but for How Long?” Scheherezade Faramarzi discusses the current situation of Sunnis in Iran. While Faramarzi’s work is valuable given her fieldwork in Iran, in the view of this author, her piece contains errors and misleading information. I agree with Faramazi that the […]

Iran
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