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MENASource

Sep 19, 2025

How Israel’s strike on Doha is forcing a Gulf security reckoning

By
Giorgio Cafiero

The Gulf monarchies have displayed strong unity at a time when rethinking twenty-first-century Gulf security is no longer optional.

Israel
Middle East


MENASource

Sep 19, 2025

Snapback sanctions threaten to further derail Iran nuclear deal hopes

By
Rob Macaire

Now would be the best time for the West to negotiate a deal with Iran—but snapback sanctions threaten a derailing into further confrontation.

Economic Sanctions
Iran


MENASource

Sep 18, 2025

Libya’s stalled transition: When domestic spoilers meet foreign interests

By
Luis Aleman and Karim Mezran

Libya’s stalled transition has not happened by chance; it has been deliberately engineered into paralysis by both domestic spoilers and foreign powers.

Libya
Middle East

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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

SyriaSource

Jun 6, 2019

Syria: why it still matters

By Frederic C. Hof

What has happened in Syria—one of history’s most sustained assaults on innocent human life—has not stayed in Syria. The consequences of mass homicide threaten the security of the United States and the entire Western alliance.

Syria

In the News

Jun 6, 2019

Michel Duclos quoted in Yahoo News: Syria regime pummels jihadist-run Idlib as world stays mute

By Michel Duclos

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Syria
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

New Atlanticist

Jun 5, 2019

Israel’s political meltdown

By Shalom Lipner

Six nail-biting weeks after he was first tasked by Israeli President Reuven Rivlin to construct Israel's next government, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was forced to concede defeat and admit that he had failed to cobble together a new ruling coalition.

Elections Israel

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

Report

Jun 5, 2019

China’s changing role in the Middle East

By Jonathan Fulton

The report analyzes China’s presence in the Middle East, examines the response of Middle Eastern states, and explores how US-China competition plays out in the region: are their interests compatible, creating opportunities for cooperation, or do they diverge to the point that competition is the most likely outcome?

China Middle East

In the News

Jun 4, 2019

Holly Dagres quoted in the Jerusalem Post: U.S.-Iran Tensions and the Nuclear Card

By Holly Dagres

Read More Here

Iran

In the News

Jun 4, 2019

Nader Uskowi quoted in Ahval: Turkey and Russia tussle in Syria’s Idlib

By Nader Uskowi

Read More Here

Russia Syria

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

New Atlanticist

Jun 3, 2019

Senior pentagon official warns of Moscow’s ambitions in the Middle East

By David A. Wemer

Russia’s support for Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria is just the beginning of Moscow’s designs on the wider Middle East, Kathryn Wheelbarger, acting US assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, warned on May 30.

Iran Middle East
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Experts

Fellow

Itai Melchior

Nonresident Senior Fellow, N7 Initiative

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Artificial Intelligence Economy & Business

Fellow

Nic Adams

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative

Energy & Environment Middle East

Fellow

Rend Al-Rahim

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Iraq Initiative Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Arabic Democratic Transitions
Josh Kirshner is a nonresident senior fellow in the GeoStrategy Initiative at the Atlantic Council's Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security.

Fellow

Josh Kirshner

Nonresident Senior Fellow

GeoStrategy Initiative Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

Arms Control Defense Policy

Fellow

Robert Fardi

Nonresident Senior Fellow, N7 Initiative

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Economy & Business Israel

Fellow

Mark Mowrey

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Atlantic Council Turkey Program

Economy & Business Europe & Eurasia
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