Stay Updated

The latest pieces from MENASource:


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

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.

Learn more

Content

SyriaSource

Dec 21, 2018

Chinese strategic engagement with Assad’s Syria

By Dan Hemenway

Canada moved to extradite Meng Wanzhou, the top financial officer for China’s global tech giant Huawei, on December 1, 2018 to the United States. The arrest, while closely linked to the ongoing US-China trade dispute and Western fears of Huawei as a Chinese espionage tool, was triggered by allegations that the company concealed payments from Iran in violation of sanctions.

Syria

New Atlanticist

Dec 21, 2018

How President Trump is breaking a destructive cycle in the Middle East

By Anthony Scaramucci

Is it possible that, despite the constant lashing of media pundits and armchair military strategists, President Donald J. Trump’s foreign policy decisions are more enlightened than meets the eye? Yes and, almost certainly, yes.

Defense Policy Middle East

In the News

Dec 21, 2018

Slavin Quoted in ABC on US troop withdrawal from Syria

By Barbara Slavin

Read the full article here.

Syria

SyriaSource

Dec 21, 2018

With US withdrawal, EU left alone to manage the Syrian crisis

By Mona Alami

The defeat of the last Islamic State (ISIS) stronghold in Syria concomitant with the sudden US announcement of troops withdrawal from the northeast; leaves Europe in a tight spot. In recent years, EU governments have spent billions to mitigate the repercussions of the refugee wave resulting from the Syrian war while working towards normalization with the regime on a fair transition process.

Syria

New Atlanticist

Dec 21, 2018

James Mattis: Leading by example

By Frederic C. Hof

Consistent with his record of service, he has chosen the path of honorable exit.  In this administration he will likely be alone.

Defense Policy Syria

New Atlanticist

Dec 21, 2018

Trump exits Syria: blundering toward a very Dangerous situation

By Nabeel Khoury

Trump’s decision to pull US troops out of Syria without a thought-through discussion and coordination with NATO allies, who have supported the war on ISIS, has angered senior advisers in and out of the administration. 

Defense Policy Syria

New Atlanticist

Dec 21, 2018

Mattis heads for the exit

By Ashish Kumar Sen

While Trump wrote in a tweet that his defense secretary was “retiring” at the end of February; Mattis made clear he was resigning over policy differences with the president.

Syria

In the News

Dec 20, 2018

Wechsler quoted in Associated Press on Trump’s plans to withdraw troops from Syria

By William Wechsler

Read the full article here.

Syria

Rebuilding Syria

Dec 20, 2018

Act in haste, repent at leisure

By Frederic C. Hof

An American president impetuously overrules his national security team with a sudden decision on Syria; one that pleases the Kremlin, undermines US policy, and damages his own credibility. Essentially unmoored to the national security apparatus over which he presides, the president—strongly influenced by the views of a foreign leader—thinks he knows best in any event. […]

Syria

IranSource

Dec 20, 2018

Here’s How Protests and Strikes Are Leading Change in Iran

By Arash Azizi

What do farmers in Esfahan, unemployed youth in Rafsanjan, teachers and students in Hamadan, and fraud victims in Kerman all have in common? On the face of it, not much other than being Iranian. But there is another commonality: They all staged protests on the same day, December 12.   Reporting on Iran tends to focus on the […]

Iran
Load More

Experts

Fellow

Ariel Ezrahi

Nonresident Senior Fellow

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

Arabic Energy & Environment

Fellow

Andrew G. Farrand

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Arabic Civil Society

Staff

Manal Fatima

Assistant Director, Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative

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

Defense Technologies Middle East

Staff

Jonah Fisher

Senior Director

Millennium Leadership Program

Arabic Central Europe

Fellow

Jonathan Fulton

Nonresident Senior Fellow

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

China Chinese

Fellow

Tuvia Gering

Nonresident Fellow

Global China Hub

China Disinformation
Load More