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

Oct 19, 2016

New Paper Advises Obama Successor to Take Risks with Iran

By Barbara Slavin

As a bruising and dispiriting US election campaign draws to a close, it is time to start planning for a transition that builds on the legacy of the Barack Obama administration and looks for new opportunities for resolution of foreign as well as domestic conflicts.

Iran

IranSource

Oct 18, 2016

Iran’s Sluggish Economy Post-JCPOA

By Mehrnaz Samimi

The explosive title of an article published Oct. 13 by the Iranian Student News Agency gave a dire picture of Iran’s economy after the nuclear deal and underlined concerns about the agreement’s durability. “The real rate of unemployment reaches 80% in some Iranian cities,” was the headline, a quote from the chief of an anti-narcotics commission working […]

Iran

IranSource

Oct 13, 2016

How the Principlists Could Defeat Rouhani in the 2017 Elections

By Shahir Shahidsaless

Most observers believe Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has a very good chance of being re-elected next May to a second four-year term. But it would be foolhardy to discount the possibility of a victory by the conservative camp, which remains deeply entrenched in the power structure of the Islamic Republic in organizations such as the […]

Iran
Ambassador John Limbert, Barbara Slavin, Farzaneh Milani, Thomas M. Ricks, and Trita Parsi at the “Ties That Bind: US-Iran Engagement and the Peace Corps Legacy” event hosted by South Asia Center’s Future of Iran Initiative

Event Recap

Sep 27, 2016

Ties That Bind: US-Iran Engagement and the Peace Corps Legacy

By South Asia Center

On Monday, September 26, 2016, the South Asia Center’s Future of Iran Initiative hosted a panel discussion moderated by the Future of Iran Initiative’s Acting Director Barbara Slavin featuring John Limbert, Professor of Middle Eastern Studies, US Naval Academy, Farzaneh Milani, Professor and Chair, Department of Middle Eastern and South Asian Languages and Cultures, University […]

Iran

New Atlanticist

Sep 27, 2016

Taking Stock of Iran’s Missile Program

Iran’s missile program should “rank among the highest priorities of US national security concerns,” said Zalmay Khalilzad, a former US ambassador who serves on the Atlantic Council’s board of directors. In a parade on September 21, Iran’s “military displayed long-range missiles, tanks, and the Russian-supplied S-300 surface-to-air defense system,” according to a Reuters report. “It’s […]

Iran Missile Defense

IranSource

Sep 23, 2016

Iran’s President Rouhani Plays it Safe in New York

By Barbara Slavin

New York – Hassan Rouhani was determined not to make news. In a carefully calibrated performance, Rouhani checked the boxes for his briefest visit to the UN General Assembly since he became Iran’s president in 2013. Spending only two days in New York, he met with Muslim American leaders, held bilateral talks with key European […]

Iran

IranSource

Sep 22, 2016

ایران و چالش تغییرات اقلیمی

By Barbara Slavin

در گوشه و کنار جهان کوه های یخی و یخچال های طبیعی ذوب می شوند، آب دریاها بالا می آید، و منابع آب زیر زمینی تهی می شوند. از سال 1880 که اندازه گیری درجه حرارت هوا آغاز شد، ماه ژوئیه امسال گرم ترین ماه بود. با این حال، مت لاور، مجری برنامه “فرمانده کل […]

Iran

New Atlanticist

Sep 9, 2016

Iran Seen Abiding by Terms of Nuclear Deal

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Iran is living up to the commitments it made as part of a nuclear agreement reached with six world powers in 2015, a senior State Department official said on September 9. “On the nuclear side, so far, Iran has lived up to its commitments, and that’s a good thing,” said Chris Backemeyer, deputy assistant secretary […]

Iran

Event Recap

Sep 1, 2016

Writing the Future: Harnessing the Power of Youth in the Middle East and North Africa

By Clementine G. Starling

On Thursday, September 1, 12:00 – 2:00 p.m., the Atlantic Council hosted a discussion on the importance of harnessing the power of youth in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), welcoming HE Shamma Al Mazrui, the Minister of State for Youth Affairs of the United Arab Emirates, for her first public speaking appearance in […]

Economy & Business Middle East

MENASource

Jul 7, 2016

What You Need to Know About the Chilcot Report

By MENASource

On July 6, the long-awaited British inquiry into the decision to invade Iraq in 2003 was released. In a 12 volume report that took seven years to complete, the public is given greater insight into then Prime Minister Tony Blair’s decision-making process, his relationship with then US President George W. Bush, and into the failure […]

Iraq United Kingdom
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