The Gulf

The Gulf

As many of the Arab Gulf states make strides to reduce their dependence on oil and implement social and economic reforms, they continue to face political and security challenges from external and internal threats. The Gulf states must respond to evolving external relationships, threats from Iran, terrorism, and civil conflict spillover while also harnessing the powers of technological advances and innovative reforms to modernize their economies. A new generation of leadership must adapt to a booming, educated, and globally-connected youth population, often unemployed and increasingly raising concerns about the rule of law and their role as citizens.

Featured commentary & analysis

New Middle East corridors are about more than just bypassing the Strait of Hormuz

MENASource May 18, 2026

How Gulf investments are responding to the US-China critical minerals competition

By Chenjie Song and Jonathan Fulton

Gulf sovereign wealth funds are seeking to maximize return on investment while maintaining strategic optionality.
China Critical Minerals
New Middle East corridors are about more than just bypassing the Strait of Hormuz

MENASource Apr 20, 2026

The Iran war has forced the US-Gulf alliance out of the shadows

By Eric Alter

The Iran war is testing whether the informal strategic system the United States has assembled with its Gulf partners and Israel is strong enough to hold up amid a regional conflict.
Defense Policy Iran
New Middle East corridors are about more than just bypassing the Strait of Hormuz

MENASource Apr 20, 2026

‘They have been exposed’: The Iran war upends Gulf states’ security and business model

By Stefanie Hausheer Ali

The Iran war threatens the sense of security, prosperity, and opportunity that the Gulf states have spent years cultivating as they seek to diversify their economies away from oil.
Critical Infrastructure Policy Geopolitics & Energy Security

Podcast series

Listen to the latest episode of the China-MENA podcast, featuring conversations with academics, government leaders, and the policy community on China’s role in the Middle East.

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Programs

Gulf Security Task Force

The Gulf Security Task Force is revisiting the question of how to best protect US interests in this sensitive, always relevant region. Our goal is to provide US decision-makers with an updated, fact-based strategy for protecting US interests in the air and maritime domain from the Persian Gulf to the Red Sea, and ensuring Gulf partners’ ability to assume this responsibility, with the assistance and leadership of the United States.

EXPLORE THE GULF SECURITY TASK FORCE

Learn more about the Middle East programs

Middle East Programs

Working with our 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.

EXPLORE THE ATLANTIC COUNCIL’S MIDDLE EAST PROGRAMS

Content

MENASource

Jul 6, 2026

New Middle East corridors are about more than just bypassing the Strait of Hormuz

By Allison Minor

A recent Atlantic Council gathering reveals how initiatives like the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) must evolve.

Economy & Business Infrastructure

Report

Jun 30, 2026

A network of corridors is the only reliable hedge against Middle East chokepoint disruptions

By Afaq Hussain, Maisoon H. Kafafy

The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor was proposed in September 2023. Progress stalled shortly after, in the wake of the October 7 Hamas attacks in Israel. With the economic cost now clear of reliance on maritime chokepoints such as the Strait of Hormuz, the proposed network of road and rail corridors linking Europe and India through the Middle East has taken on even greater relevance.

Economy & Business India

MENASource

Jun 29, 2026

The new non-alignment: How the Middle East is carving out room to maneuver in AI

By Bilal Baloch

Middle Eastern countries are no longer just playing the wealthy customer, but increasingly shaping the AI future.

Artificial Intelligence Technology & Innovation

Issue Brief

Jun 24, 2026

Perspectives from the 2026 CEO Dialogue

By Nour Dabboussi, Joze Pelayo, Manal Fatima, David Maloney, Khalid Azim

The Atlantic Council’s MENA Futures Lab hosted a group of more than thirty business leaders, academics, analysts from international organizations, and policymakers for the CEO Dialogue in the lead up to the World Governments Summit in Dubai. The insights shared there reflect trends in AI, supply chain resilience, and more.

Artificial Intelligence Economy & Business

Podcast

Jun 18, 2026

“Shoot everybody”: US contractors in San Diego court

By Alia Brahimi

In Season 2, Episode 16 of the Guns for Hire podcast, host Alia Brahimi is joined by Daniel McLaughlin, an international lawyer and Legal Director of the Centre for Justice and Accountability (CJA), a California-based legal nonprofit working on behalf of victims of torture and other atrocity crimes. Daniel and CJA are leading a civil suit in San Diego against a Delaware-registered PMC, Spear Operations Group, for war crimes in Yemen. They represent the Yemeni parliamentarian Anssaf Ali Mayo, who was one of the targets of an alleged hit-squad in Yemen. Daniel talks us through the facts of the case, how it ended up in a California courtroom ten years later, and which US and international laws were ostensibly broken by the PMC. He also argues forcefully that the US government has a duty to regulate how former members of its military use their training and know-how.

Middle East Rule of Law

Dispatches

Jun 17, 2026

What the US-Iran deal means for the rest of the Middle East (and beyond)

By Atlantic Council experts

Atlantic Council experts look at the ways the memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran will affect other countries.

Conflict Economy & Business

Dispatches

Jun 14, 2026

Experts react: The US and Iran just announced an interim peace deal. Here’s what we know so far.

By Atlantic Council experts

As details emerge, our experts are sharing their insights on what we know—and still don’t know—about the deal, and what to expect next.

Conflict Iran

Dispatches

Jun 12, 2026

It’s not a ‘deal.’ But Trump’s memorandum with Iran can be the start of something bigger.

By Jonathan Panikoff

What appears to be emerging now is a rough outline and high-level explanation of the concepts that an eventual deal could include.

Conflict Iran

In the News

Jun 4, 2026

Saab published in the Financial Times on Gulf support for Ukraine

By Atlantic Council

On June 4, Forward Defense nonresident senior fellow Bilal Saab published an article in the Financial Times, discussing the benefit of a counter-drone defense partnership between the Gulf states and Ukraine. He argues this partnership would benefit Gulf states by integrating advanced Ukrainian drone defense technology into existing systems and provide Ukraine with much-needed capital.  

Defense Policy Security & Defense

In the News

May 30, 2026

Charai for The Jerusalem Strategic Tribune: What Do the Gulf States Really Want?

By Atlantic Council

Geopolitics & Energy Security Middle East
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Experts

Fellow

Jonathan Fulton

Nonresident Senior Fellow

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

China Chinese

Fellow

Marcy Grossman

Nonresident Senior Fellow

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

Economy & Business Israel

Fellow

Stefanie Hausheer Ali

Nonresident Fellow

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Arabic Economy & Business

Fellow

Amir Hayek

Nonresident Senior Fellow, Project for Middle East Integration

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Arabic English

Fellow

Nicholas Hopton

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative

Europe & Eurasia Iran

Expert

Maisoon H. Kafafy

Senior Advisor, Middle East Programs

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Arabic Economy & Business
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