Transcript

May 9, 2025

Press call: Our experts outline what to expect from Donald Trump’s first major trip abroad during his second presidency

By Atlantic Council

Ahead of US President Donald Trump’s visit to the Middle East, the Atlantic Council held a press call on May 9, where experts discussed what to expect from the president’s first trip abroad.

Iran Israel

MENASource

May 8, 2025

From rubble to rebirth: A model for Syria’s reconstruction

By Mahmood Alhosain

Almost six months since Assad regime collapse, four key pillars will determine whether this new Damascus can seize the opportunity.

Civil Society Democratic Transitions

MENASource

May 6, 2025

A blueprint for a trilateral Morocco-Israel-US investment fund

By Aïssa Christophe Agostini

Amid instability in the Mediterranean, North Africa and the Sahel, a chance to deliver on the promise of the Abraham Accords.

Israel Middle East

MENASource

May 5, 2025

How China turned the Red Sea into a strategic trap for the US

By Fatima Abo Alasrar

Beijing’s proxy warfare turns global trade routes into battlefields that the United States struggles to defend.

China Economy & Business

MENASource

Apr 30, 2025

From Tripoli to Tehran: Lessons from Libya in US-Iran nuclear talks

By Yaseen Rashed

Twenty-one years later, the nuclear disarmament of Libya serves as a model for the United States in current nuclear negotiations with Iran.

Iran Libya

MENASource

Apr 29, 2025

Why the US must not let Syria slip away

By Luke Wagner

Reconsidering the uneasy US-Syria relationship amid reports that Trump and al-Sharaa will meet during the US president’s Saudi Arabia visit.

Economic Sanctions Middle East

MENASource

Apr 25, 2025

Will Pope Francis’s Middle East legacy endure?

By Karim Mezran

The late Pope’s final address on Easter Sunday was a capstone in a track record of advocacy for peace between the Israelis and Palestinians.

International Norms Middle East

MENASource

Apr 10, 2025

No, Iran didn’t abandon the Houthis. It just wants Trump to think so. 

By Fatima Abo Alasrar

Instead of interpreting Iran’s narrative shift as a break from the Houthis, we might see it as tactical storytelling. And the story’s working.

Defense Policy Iran

MENASource

Apr 7, 2025

Can Donald Trump “completely annihilate” the Houthis in Yemen?

By Emily Milliken

The Trump administration’s Houthi strategy will require a more nuanced approach that deepens these non-military components.

Defense Policy Middle East

MENASource

Mar 25, 2025

After proxies and nuclear program threats, Iran may turn to terror abroad

By Alex Plitsas

Iran could turn to transnational terrorism as threats mount of Israeli strike on Tehran’s nuclear facilities, after a weakening of its numerous proxies since the Gaza war.

English Iran
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Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East

The Atlantic Council’s work on social, economic and human development issues in the Middle East honors the legacy of Rafik Hariri and his life’s mission to unlock the human and economic potential of the Arab world.

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