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MENASource

Sep 23, 2025

A geography of protest: Inside the rise of Iran’s minority factor

By
Mohammed A. Salih

From the death of Mahsa Jina Amini to the Twelve Day War, the ethnic question has emerged as a significant dimension of Iran’s politics.

Civil Society
Iran


MENASource

Sep 23, 2025

Iran’s minorities and policy complexity: A look at two communities

By
David Sklar

Iran plays a significant role in Middle Eastern geopolitics. Policymakers should develop a sober, accurate mapping of its population.

Civil Society
Iran


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

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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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SyriaSource

Mar 21, 2019

Annex the Golan, make Assad’s day

By Frederic C. Hof

A new flurry of reports suggesting Israel may formally annex the occupied Golan Heights is music to the ears of Bashar al-Assad, a mass murderer who would welcome a decisive change of subject from his own criminality to what he will characterize as Israel’s theft of Syrian land. Among the delighted will be Iran and Hezbollah, whose resistance pretentions will be gratuitously elevated above their sewer of transnational terror, drug running, and money laundering. As there is nothing substantive to be gained by Israel through formal annexation and much to be potentially lost, one wonders why its proponents are so eager to do it.

Israel Syria

New Atlanticist

Mar 20, 2019

The ‘Caliphate:’ Gone by tonight or with us for decades?

By Frederic C. Hof

An important battle in Syria has been won.  But the war will continue. 

Iraq Syria

IranSource

Mar 20, 2019

Supreme Leader shuffles Friday prayer leaders in Iran

By Mahmoud Pargoo

On March 13, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appointed a young cleric, Habibollah ShabanI Mowathaqi, as the Friday Prayer leader of Hamadan, west-central Iran. Mowathaqi, 41, replaces prominent Ayatollah Ghiyath al-Din Taha Muhammadi, who is 73. The change was the latest in a series that started about two years ago. The most important so far has […]

Iran

IranSource

Mar 19, 2019

The unsaid threat to Iran during Netanyahu’s navy cadet speech

By Shemuel Meir

The Israeli elections are well underway and the Iranian issue is taking a central part in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s electoral campaign. Putting Iran on the agenda helps the prime minister maintain a never-ending security tension. Thus, the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), has become a […]

Iran Israel

SyriaSource

Mar 18, 2019

The heavy lift

By Frederic C. Hof

The declared top objective of the Trump administration for Syria is “the enduring defeat of ISIS [ISIL, Daesh, Islamic State].” Presumably this means not only killing the bogus caliphate in its physical and ideological dimensions, but keeping it dead. If the presumption is correct, the administration should prepare itself for a heavy and sustained political, diplomatic, developmental, and military lift in Syria; east of the Euphrates River. There is no sign it is preparing to do so.

Extremism Syria

In the News

Mar 18, 2019

Slavin quoted in VOA on foreign fighters coming to Iran

By Barbara Slavin

Read the full article here.

Iran

IranSource

Mar 18, 2019

Iran should reach out to labor leaders, not prosecute them

By Tara Sepehri Far

There’s not much good news to share in Iran as Nowruz, the Iranian new year, approaches. The economic situation that played a role in nationwide protests during December 2017 and January 2018 is still difficult as millions of Iranians struggle to live a decent life. Inflation and perceptions of widespread corruption further fuel popular frustration, […]

Iran

New Atlanticist

Mar 18, 2019

The Silk Road and the Gulf: A new frontier for the RMB

By Michael B. Greenwald

Standing at the crossroads of Eurasia, the Arab Gulf states and broader Middle East are an important link between the economies of East Asia and Western Europe.

China International Markets

IranSource

Mar 15, 2019

A photo op in Najaf reveals an Iran that could be

By Borzou Daragahi

As far as photographs go, it’s a rather inartful moment. Three aging men dressed in dark clothes sit in a spartan room with small glasses of heavily-brewed tea and a tissue box resting before them, as they engage in conversation. But to Iranians and Iran-watchers the March 13 meeting marked a historical moment. The image […]

Iran Iraq

MENASource

Mar 15, 2019

Passage of SJR 7, better late than never

By Nabeel Khoury

The passage of Senate Joint Resolution 7 is a fresh rebuke for the Trump administration, that its support for the Saudi-led war on Yemen is unauthorized, illegal, and an immoral assault on the Yemeni people.

Yemen
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Experts

Fellow

Nathan Sales

Distinguished fellow, Middle East Programs

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative

Extremism Human Rights

Staff

Nushin Sarkarati

Deputy Director, Strategic Litigation Project

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Corruption Human Rights

Millennium fellow

Alp Sevimlisoy

CEO, Alp Sevimlisoy Yatırım (Alp Sevimlisoy Investment)

Millennium Leadership Program

NATO Trade and tariffs

Fellow

Joumana Seif

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Arabic English

Fellow

Daniel B. Shapiro

Distinguished Fellow, Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative

Conflict English

Expert bio

Dina Sherif

Senior Advisor, WIn Fellowship

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Arabic Economy & Business
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