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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

Jan 10, 2019

Charai on The Hill: Rethinking America’s Commitment to Afghanistan

By Atlantic Council

Afghanistan International Norms

New Atlanticist

Jan 10, 2019

Pompeo: The United States is a ‘Force for Good’ in the Middle East

By Ashish Kumar Sen

"Secretary Pompeo’s speech will be greeted with dismay—although not surprise—from most of the Middle East," said Nicholas Blanford, Atlantic Council nonresident senior fellow with the Middle East Security Initiative.

Defense Policy Extremism

MENASource

Jan 10, 2019

Exploiting the achievements of the Libyan political agreement

By Karim Mezran and Wolfgang Pusztai

The conference on Libya held in Palermo, Italy last November saw neither the rising of a new dawn in terms of security and political consensus nor the development of a strong agreement around a well-defined plan.

Libya

IranSource

Jan 9, 2019

Iran protest movement births a new group, Iran Revival

By Alireza Nader

Iran has faced widespread demonstrations and acts of civil disobedience for more than one year. Even members of the elite, including the grandson of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and daughter of Hashemi Rafsanjani, have said that the collapse of the regime is an increasing possibility. The regime’s vulnerability has not only motivated existing opposition groups, but […]

Iran

IranSource

Jan 8, 2019

A Right-Wing Loyalist, Sadeq Larijani, Gains More Power in Iran

By Tahereh Hadian-Jazy

Following the death of Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi after a long illness, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has chosen the current head of the judiciary, Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani, to another powerful post: chairman of a council tasked with resolving disputes among government branches and potentially playing a role in selecting Khamenei’s successor. Shahroudi, who replaced […]

Iran

In the News

Jan 7, 2019

Cohen in Newsweek: Trump’s Syria Withdrawal: Global Order is Costly. Global Chaos Would be Far Worse

By Ariel Cohen

Read the full article here.

Syria

SyriaSource

Jan 2, 2019

Slowing down the train

By Frederic C. Hof

One thing to be learned from the uproar following the recent out-of-Syria presidential tweet is that “ready, aim, fire” makes just as much sense in government as it does on the firing range. By most accounts, US President Donald Trump is now where he should have been two weeks ago: in the “ready” phase, consulting with his national security team on the implementation of a strategy aimed at killing ISIS (ISIL, Daesh, Islamic State) in Syria and keeping it dead by preventing the pseudo-caliphate’s chief recruiting officer—Bashar al-Assad—from taking over liberated eastern Syria.

Syria

In the News

Jan 2, 2019

Kempe joins CNBC to discuss how the U.S-China trade war could play out, as well as U.S.-Iran tensions

By Frederick Kempe

Watch the full discussion here.

China Iran

In the News

Jan 2, 2019

Nia in Politico: Why the other Iran is taking to the streets

Read the full article here

Iran Middle East

IranSource

Dec 31, 2018

What the departure of James Mattis could mean for Trump’s Iran policy

By Sina Azodi and Barbara Slavin

The speeded up departure of Defense Secretary James Mattis did not come as a surprise after President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw US troops from Syria—and Mattis’ stinging letter of resignation. The Syria announcement was the final blow to a relationship that had become strained over issues ranging from the importance of alliances to the politically […]

Iran
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Experts

Fellow

David H. Young

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security Transatlantic Security Initiative

Afghanistan Conflict

Staff

Kayra Sener 

Program Assistant, Realign for Palestine

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs Realign For Palestine

Middle East Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding

Fellow

Omer Rafiq

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Arabic Hindi

Staff

Alexander Young

Project Assistant

Forward Defense Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

Defense Industry Europe & Eurasia

Fellow

Rza Aliyev

Nonresident Senior Fellow, N7 Initiative

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Azerbaijani Central Asia

Expert

Jon Wilks

Distinguished Fellow

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Arabic Crisis Management
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