Featured commentary & analysis

Israel’s neighbors are in dire financial straits. Here’s what that could mean for the war in Gaza.

MENASource Sep 24, 2024

Do the Houthis really have a hypersonic missile?

By Emily Milliken

The claim is concerning for more than just the high speeds; Hypersonic missiles are difficult for missile-defense systems to intercept.
Conflict Iran
Israel’s neighbors are in dire financial straits. Here’s what that could mean for the war in Gaza.

MENASource Aug 22, 2024

Ensuring the UAE’s food security in an unstable region

By Hadi Fathallah

To safeguard its future, the UAE must urgently recalibrate its food security strategy while adapting to rapidly evolving global challenges.
Economy & Business Middle East
Israel’s neighbors are in dire financial straits. Here’s what that could mean for the war in Gaza.

Report Aug 9, 2024

What attacks on shipping mean for the global maritime order

By Elisabeth Braw

This report discusses the history of attacks on shipping, the rules implemented to keep shipping safe, and the new and serious threats posed by the Houthis and other actors. It also discusses steps Western governments and the shipping industry can take to reduce the harm posed by such attacks.
Europe & Eurasia Maritime Security

Counterterrorism Study Group

The Counterterrorism Study Group is a forum for former counterterrorism officials to review the latest threats, to understand emerging trends and future predictions, and to explore creative new proposals for improving the effectiveness of current policies and operations.

EXPLORE THE Counterterrorism study group

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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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

Content

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Egypt's President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi at Al-Ittihadiya Palace in Cairo, Sunday Oct. 15, 2023. Jacquelyn Martin/Pool via REUTERS

Econographics

Oct 30, 2023

Israel’s neighbors are in dire financial straits. Here’s what that could mean for the war in Gaza.

By Josh Lipsky

While past flashpoints posed challenges for Israel’s neighbors, they did not have to contend with the risk of recession or worse at the same time. That means that economic statecraft by the United States and its partners could be particularly effective in navigating the current crisis.

Economy & Business Israel
The very top of the US Capitol building is visible with a pink sunset in the background and a US flag on a flagpole to the side.

Testimony

Oct 25, 2023

The urgent threats posed by the Iranian regime: Atlantic Council experts testify before the US House Committee on Homeland Security

By Nathan Sales and Thomas S. Warrick

Nathan Sales and Thomas Warrick testify before the House Committee on Homeland Security on the threat Iran poses to the United States.

Iran Israel

The Big Story

Oct 24, 2023

The global consequences of the Israel-Hamas war are just beginning. Here’s what to watch.

By Kirsten Fontenrose

It's hard to predict what decisions the players will make tomorrow, but here are the early warning signs that could indicate what will come next in the Middle East and beyond.

Conflict Israel

New Atlanticist

Oct 18, 2023

Dispatch from Abu Dhabi: Do the Israelis know about the Basus War?

By William F. Wechsler

Even if Israel prevails relatively rapidly against Hamas, UAE officials are concerned with what will happen in Gaza afterwards.

Conflict Israel

MENASource

Oct 16, 2023

Is Captagon going to halt the Arab normalization deal with Syria? An expert weighs-in

By Holly Dagres

New Lines Institute’s Caroline Rose was interviewed by our MENASource editor about the captagon crisis plaguing the region and what can be done to curb the illicit trade of the popular drug.

Economy & Business Middle East

In the News

Oct 12, 2023

Wald was quoted in Bloomberg’s Surveillance on the state of the US brokered Israel-Saudi deal
Energy & Environment Geopolitics & Energy Security

In the News

Oct 11, 2023

Wechsler joins CNBC to discuss the possibility of Israel-Saudi normalization amidst the Hamas conflict

By Atlantic Council

Conflict Crisis Management

New Atlanticist

Oct 7, 2023

Dispatch from Tel Aviv: A new kind of conflict has begun

By William F. Wechsler

The international community cannot reflexively repeat the threadbare slogans that have accompanied previous cycles of Israel-Hamas clashes.

Conflict Iran

MENASource

Oct 6, 2023

The India-Middle East Corridor: a Biden Road Initiative?

By Jean-Loup Samaan

Economists and regional experts expressed their reservations on the feasibility—both politically and financially—of a corridor that would redraw the map of infrastructure across Eurasia.

Economy & Business Financial Regulation

MENASource

Sep 29, 2023

Cultivating change: Women as catalysts for agricultural transformation in the MENA region

By Marcy Grossman

By engaging women in decision-making leadership roles and providing them with access to education and training, a wellspring of innovative solutions can be unlocked to address challenges in agriculture, food security, and water security.

Israel 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

Arun Iyer

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Forward Defense Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

Disinformation Economy & Business

Staff

Abbas Kadhim

Director, Iraq Initiative

Iraq Initiative Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Iraq Middle East

Fellow

Simin Kargar

Nonresident Fellow

Digital Forensic Research Lab

Cybersecurity Disinformation

Fellow

Mark N. Katz

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Geopolitics & Energy Security Iran
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Events

Online Event Tue, May 20, 2025 • 12:00 pm ET

Saudi Arabia in 2025: Vision 2030 progress update and US-Saudi relations
Economy & Business Energy & Environment Future of Work Inclusive Growth