MENASource

Jun 11, 2019

In the face of climate change: Challenges of water scarcity and security in MENA

By Amal A. Kandeel

Renewable freshwater resource constraints constitute one of the most critical challenges to sustainable development and human security in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Climate change is expected to exacerbate this challenge.

Climate Change & Climate Action

IranSource

Jun 11, 2019

Japan’s historic opportunity to play peacemaker between the US and Iran

By Sachi Sakanashi

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will finally make a trip to Iran on June 12. Since becoming prime minister at the end of 2012, every time Abe attempted to visit Tehran, the idea was eventually withdrawn mainly due to US disapproval, according to rumors.

Iran Japan

IranSource

Jun 10, 2019

A non-subversion pact for the Persian Gulf?

By Barbara Slavin

A major complaint of those who rejected the 2015 Iran nuclear deal is that it did nothing to curb Iran’s regional interventions and actually may have spurred them.Iran, these opponents argue, remains a theologically driven hegemon out to subvert Arab states and turn them into states too weak to threaten Tehran. Thus they reject recent proposals […]

Iran Saudi Arabia

IranSource

Jun 7, 2019

INSTEX: More about politics than economics?

By Mohsen Tavakol

Ever since the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal in May 2018, the European Union (EU) has emphasized its sovereignty regarding both commercial and political relations with Iran, insisting that it could continue trade under the framework of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Despite that, trade has cratered and a mechanism—the […]

Iran

Event Recap

Jun 6, 2019

Event Recap: Can the United States and China Cooperate in the Middle East?

By David A. Wemer

This recap originally appeared in The New Atlanticist. Watch the video. While the United States and China grapple over trade, intellectual property rights, technology transfer, and geopolitical tensions in East Asia, open competition has not yet extended to the Middle East, a region where Washington remains a major player and Beijing has rapidly expanded its influence.

China Middle East
Beirut

MENASource

Jun 6, 2019

The evolution and aspirations of Beirut’s upcoming modern art museum

By Reema Hibrawi

The art industry in the Middle East had historically flourished in the cultural capitals of the region namely Beirut, Baghdad, Damascus, and Cairo. Over the last few decades, the arts lost their foothold in these capitals due to conflict, repression, and ongoing security threats; specifically in Cairo and Damascus.

Middle East

IranSource

Jun 5, 2019

How bank fees can help the Iranian economy

By Maziar Motamedi

Since the 1979 revolution, Iran’s banking system and the government-dependent central bank have not undergone any major reforms. Working in tandem with parliament, the administration of President Hassan Rouhani aims to finally instill much-needed reforms in the ailing Iranian banking system.

Iran

IranSource

Jun 4, 2019

Three decades after Khomeini’s death, his clan rules from the sidelines

By Arash Azizi

“Your smile smells of someone who stays, so stay! Make me a poet again, make me fall in endless love.” These cheesy lines are from a Persian language Instagram post on May 25 by Fatemeh Daneshpajooh dedicated to the 21st birthday of her husband, Ahmad.

Iran

IranSource

Jun 3, 2019

US sanctions are causing medicine shortages, according to Iranians

By Tahereh Hadian-Jazy

The re-imposition of US sanctions since President Donald Trump abandoned the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in May 2018 has had a devastating effect on the Iranian economy and has especially impacted the lives of those who struggle to provide medicine for themselves and their families.

Iran

MENASource

May 31, 2019

The Tripoli offensive: How did things escalate?

By Borzou Daragahi

The forces of Libya’s rebel army officer Khalifa Haftar are on the outskirts of Tripoli, the capital of Libya, in his ongoing bid to claim the city. Some of his forces traveled more than 1,000 kilometers from Libya’s eastern towns where Haftar has his stronghold.

Libya
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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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