Middle East

Middle East

Stretching from the Western Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean, the Middle East continues to be a region struggling with violent conflict, political repression, and poor development. Numerous pro-democracy protest movements, a burgeoning youth population, and efforts to reform governments and lessen economic dependence on oil, however, are causes for optimism. The United States and the international community must remain engaged with the region to provide support for these positive moves and to address the many remaining challenges.

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The latest pieces from MENASource:


MENASource

Jun 11, 2026

The Iran war is a game of liar’s poker

By
Khalid Azim

The central question has not simply been who possesses power, but who is willing to absorb pain, tolerate risk, and continue escalating when conventional logic suggests restraint.


Conflict

Iran


MENASource

Jun 4, 2026

تفتت الفصائل المسلحة العراقية بعد تحول النظام الإيراني من الثيوقراطية الى الجنتوقراطية

By
Munqith Dagher

كيف يؤثر تغيير القيادة في ايران على الميليشيات العراقية؟ د. منقذ داغر يبدو اننا بتنا ، بعد 28 فبراير 2026 ،امام نظام مختلف وظيفياً، بل وحتى هيكلياً عما عرفناه طوال السنوات السبعة وأربعين من عمر النظام الايراني. فقد اتسم نظام الحكم في ايران بنسخته الخمينية الأولى 1979-1989  بأحادية قطبية لا مكان فيها سوى للمرشد الأعلى(الخميني). […]


Arabic

Conflict


MENASource

Jun 4, 2026

Iraq’s militias are fracturing as Iran turns from theocracy to juntocracy

By
Munqith Dagher

Iraq’s militias face a spiritual and organizational dilemma that gravely endangers their existence, in the wake of Iran's leadership change.


Conflict

Iran

READ More from MENASOURCE

Through our Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, 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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Content

New Atlanticist

Jun 28, 2013

Iraqi Kurdistan and Turkey Proceed Slowly on Energy Cooperation

By Ross Wilson & David Koranyi

Overshadowed by the Syrian civil war, rising violence in Iraq, and recent turmoil in Turkey, another problem is simmering in the Middle East.  Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) recently reported that a long-mooted new oil pipeline to Turkey should be completed within months.  By making possible oil not controlled by the Iraqi central government, this […]

Iraq Turkey

Event Recap

Jun 27, 2013

US-Iran Cultural Engagement: A Cost Effective Boon to US National Security

On June 27, the Atlantic Council’s Iran Task Force launched a new issue brief by Ramin Asgard and Barbara Slavin entitled “US-Iran Cultural Engagement: A Cost Effective Boon to US National Security,” along with a public briefing on people-to-people exchanges with Iran.

Iran

New Atlanticist

Jun 27, 2013

Hope for Peace in Syria, But Don’t Expect It

By Rajan Menon

The statistics surrounding the slaughter in Syria sound surreal. In the 27 months since the uprising against Bashar al-Assad’s government erupted in March 2011, 100,000 people have been killed, the overwhelming majority by Assad’s army and paramilitary goons. If you’re into grisly math, that works out to an average of 122 war-related deaths each day. […]

Syria
Globe

New Atlanticist

Jun 26, 2013

Too Many Archdukes, Too Many Bullets

By Harlan Ullman

Ninety-nine years ago this Friday, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his pregnant wife Sofia were gunned down in Sarajevo by a 19-year old Bosnian Serb nationalist named Gavrilo Princip. The assassinations quickly provoked a crisis that more quickly erupted into world war. Ironically, many of the elites in Europe believed that an early 20th-century version of […]

Afghanistan Cybersecurity

Issue Brief

Jun 24, 2013

US-Iran cultural engagement: A cost effective boon to US national security

By Ramin Asgard and Barbara Slavin

This issue brief of the Atlantic Council’s Iran Task Force outlines the 179-year history of US contacts with Iran, which have experienced periods of breakdown but currently are continuing at a low level despite the absence of formal diplomatic ties. It also recommends actions to advance these exchanges as a national security imperative—especially as the […]

Iran National Security

New Atlanticist

Jun 24, 2013

Rowhani’s Iran

By R. Nicholas Burns

Hassan Rowhani’s surprise victory in Iran’s presidential election last week carries important implications for the country’s future as well as for its tortured relationship with the United States. Rowhani overturned nearly all predictions and the carefully laid plans of Iran’s leadership by defeating a group of much more conservative candidates. In a field of gray […]

Elections Iran

Event Recap

Jun 20, 2013

Roundtable on Developments in Libya

Recent events in Libya demonstrate that the country’s transition from authoritarianism to democracy is still tenuous and fraught with a number of immediate challenges. The Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, together with Freedom House and the Project on Middle East Democracy, hosted a private roundtable on June 20 to explore the […]

Libya

New Atlanticist

Jun 19, 2013

Conflict and Opportunity on the Nile

By Peter Pham

Last week, Ethiopia’s parliament unanimously ratified a treaty with five of its neighbors that opens the way for broad regional cooperation on the use of the waters of the Nile River. In response, Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, whose government was not part of the pact, angrily declared that “all options are open,” implying that force […]

Energy & Environment Energy Markets & Governance

New Atlanticist

Jun 18, 2013

Obama’s Confusing Syria Calculus

By Rajan Menon

There’s something morally perplexing about President Obama’s stance on the war in Syria. It’s not any clearer in its strategic logic.

Security & Defense Syria

New Atlanticist

Jun 18, 2013

Dancing in the Streets

By Barbara Slavin

Finally, Iranians got the chance to party in the streets. The solid election victory on Friday of the least hard-line candidate — moderate cleric and former nuclear negotiator Hassan Rowhani — touched off spontaneous celebrations in the major squares and avenues of Tehran that authorities did not try to stop.

Iran Turkey
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Experts

Fellow

Scott Cooper

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Forward Defense Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

Afghanistan Civil Society

Fellow

Jennifer A. Counter

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Forward Defense Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

Defense Technologies Intelligence

Fellow

Andrei Covatariu

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Global Energy Center

Eastern Europe Energy & Environment

Staff

Amy Cowley

Assistant Director

Forward Defense Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

Conflict North & West Africa

Fellow

Dario Cristiani

Nonresident Senior Fellow, North Africa Program

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Arabic English

Staff

Nour Dabboussi

Associate Director, MENA Futures Lab

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East

Arabic French
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