Middle East

Changing the US-Iran Narrative

The authors of a new National Iranian American Council report — “Extending Hands and Unclenching Fists: Reorienting Iran’s Outlook Beyond the Nuclear Deal” — spoke at the Atlantic Council regarding ways forward for the US-Iranian relationship in the aftermath of the November 24 nuclear agreement reached in Geneva.

Iranian Oil and the Geneva Accords

With the signing of an interim accord providing limited sanctions relief in return for restraints on  Iran’s nuclear program, attention has focused on whether Iran will be able to increase its currently depressed oil and natural gas exports and whether multinational oil companies will again be willing to invest in Iran’s energy sector. Sara Vakshouri, […]

Responses to Ambassador LeBaron’s Assessment of US-Gulf Relations

By MENASource

Recent tensions between the United States and the Arab Gulf states emerged in recent months over the US role in the region. Saudi Arabia in particular has made its displeasure known in its refusal of a seat on the UN Security Council over US policy in Syria. This widespread sentiment in the Gulf points to […]

Syria: Stopping the Carnage

By Frederic C. Hof

The greatest humanitarian catastrophe of the twenty-first century has unfolded before our eyes in Syria and in the countries surrounding it. As a harsh winter tightens its grip, Syrians in large numbers are dying, starving, fleeing, freezing, and crying out to the world for help.

Nuclear Détente With Iran: Here’s What Could Disrupt It Before It Gets Going

By Jofi Joseph

Almost a month has passed since Iran and six major powers agreed on some first steps to address international concerns over Iran’s nuclear program and provide limited sanctions relief to Iran. However, implementing those confidence-building measures (CBMs) has yet to begin and no date has been given for an official start to the six-month period […]

Rouhani’s first one hundred days

By Yasmin Alem and Barbara Slavin

Cautious domestic reforms and nuclear breakthrough After eight turbulent years during which conservatives monopolized Iranian politics, the election of centrist cleric Hassan Rouhani on June 14, 2013, marked a new chapter in post-revolutionary Iranian politics. In the latest Iran Task Force issue brief, “Rouhani’s First One Hundred Days: Cautious Domestic Reforms and Nuclear Breakthrough,” authors […]

The Ongoing Struggle for Egyptian Civil Society

By Amy Hawthorne and Mohamed Elgohari

While most attention is on Egypt’s constitution and the crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood and revolutionary youth activists, the government may be moving ahead with a new NGO law.  Last Thursday, Minister of Social Solidarity Ahmed al-Borai announced that he intends to submit the law, prepared with civil society input, to the cabinet in two […]

The Regional Inequality Behind Tunisia’s Revolution

By Robert Joyce

Three years ago, a humble vendor Mohammed Bouazizi set himself on fire outside a local government building in the interior town of Sidi Bouzid, and Tunisia will commemorate the event with demonstrations in downtown Tunis and Sidi Bouzid. Bouazizi’s story has become the stuff of revolutionary lore.

Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen: Three Years in Transition

By MENASource

Since its founding, the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East has closely followed the Arab transitioning countries as they faced their respective social, political, and economic challenges. In an effort to help map the twists and turns, the Center has produced a timeline for Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen as each had to navigate momentous and […]

Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen: Three Years in Transition

By EgyptSource

Since its founding, the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East has closely followed the Arab transitioning countries as they faced their respective social, political, and economic challenges. In an effort to help map the twists and turns, the Center has produced a timeline for Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen as each had to navigate momentous and […]