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The latest pieces from MENASource:


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

In the News

Apr 18, 2019

Slavin Quoted in the New Delhi Times on IRGC FTO designation

By Barbara Slavin

Read the full article here

Iran

IranSource

Apr 18, 2019

Oman hedges its bets on Tehran and the Trump administration

By Maysam Behravesh

As the Trump administration steps up pressure on Iran, much attention has focused on unprecedented moves such as the April 15 designation of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) as a foreign terrorist organization.

International Organizations Iran

SyriaSource

Apr 17, 2019

The aftershocks of reconciliation in Syria: reflections on the past year

By Natasha Hall

Remaining opposition-held areas have little reason to trust any of the so-called guarantors in the Syrian conflict. Instead, Dael and Northern Homs have become cautionary tales for directly cooperating with the regime or the Russians. Without reliable intermediaries on the ground to supervise so-called reconciliation processes, stability will be ephemeral and peacebuilding unattainable.

Syria

In the News

Apr 17, 2019

Mezran Quoted in The Times on the Dangers to Europe from General Haftar’s Offensive

By Karim Mezran

Read the full article here

Libya

In the News

Apr 16, 2019

Slavin Quoted in Voice of America on Escalation with Iran due to IRGC FTO Designation

By Barbara Slavin

Read the full article here

Iran

IranSource

Apr 16, 2019

Will Canada also designate the IRGC as a foreign terrorist entity?

By Younes Zangiabadi

Following the Trump administration’s decision to label Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) as a foreign terrorist entity, renewed pressure is likely from members of the Conservative party and other Iran hawks in Canada for the government of Justin Trudeau to follow suit.

Iran United States and Canada

MENASource

Apr 15, 2019

Netanyahu’s fifth term: The end of the two-state solution

By Grace Wermenbol

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s narrow triumph in Israel’s election this past week constitutes a big win for the right and, with Netanyahu’s last-minute pledge to annex the West Bank, a definitive end to any substantive peace process. Netanyahu’s political survival spells the beginning of a newly-emboldened leader who, with the seemingly unconditional backing of the Trump administration, is likely to implement far-reaching policies that pander to his base.

Israel

In the News

Apr 15, 2019

Slavin Quoted in Israel Hayom on US’s Designation of IRGC as a Terrorist Group

By Barbara Slavin

Read the full article here

Iran
HC1

Program Impact Story

Apr 15, 2019

Workshop on the future of Northeast Syria

By Atlantic Council

From April 15-17, Middle East Programs, along with former Resident Senior Fellow Aaron Stein (now Director of the Foreign Policy Research Institute), hosted a conference on the future of Northeast Syria in Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan. Participants addressed the future stability of Syria’s northeast through the lens of governance, political reconciliation, and external actors. Assistant Director […]

Conflict Democratic Transitions

IranSource

Apr 15, 2019

The Trump administration’s terrorist label is strengthening the IRGC

By Kayhan Barzegar

The recent White House designation of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a foreign terrorist group is the latest extension of the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” policy toward Iran. Yet this policy, aimed at containing Iran’s regional role and limiting its advanced missile program, has backfired, strengthening the status of the IRGC in Iranian domestic politics and further legitimizing its regional and missile activities in the view of many Iranians.

Iran
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Experts

Staff

Ellie Sennett 

Editor

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Arabic Middle East

Fellow

Dan Rothem

Nonresident Senior Fellow, N7 Initiative

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Conflict Hebrew

Fellow

Alina L. Romanowski

Distinguished Fellow

Iraq Initiative Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative

Economy & Business Geopolitics & Energy Security

Executive Leadership Intensive participant

Olivia Azadegan

Senior Energy Manager, Global Methane Hub

Millennium Leadership Program

Energy & Environment Energy Markets & Governance

Fellow

Rabah Arezki

Distinguished Fellow

Freedom and Prosperity Center

Africa Economy & Business

Fellow

Samantha Sutton

Nonresident Senior Fellow, N7 Initiative

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Conflict Israel
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