The Middle East has been reshaped and a bold new approach can ensure it holds, but the clock is ticking. Iran, the regional bully for decades, has been defanged and there is a now a window of opportunity to make this new Middle East permanent.
For Arab nations, this newly shaped Middle East presents an opportunity that was inconceivable before 7 October 2023, when Hamas and other Gaza-based terrorists attacked southern Israel. Long a menace, Iran is now weaker than it has been for decades, and although the regime is still in power, it is now looking inward (rather than abroad), obsessed with finding “Israel spies in the ranks”.
The Gulf Arab states can take advantage of this window of Iranian weakness by taking a bold new approach to two longstanding regional problems. The first is to define and implement an ‘off-ramp’ for Israel and the Palestinians in Gaza. While the US can get Israel to stop fighting, Israel needs a structure that will reassure it on future security.
معهد الشرق الأوسط (MEI) هو منظمة تعليمية مستقلة وغير حزبية وغير ربحية. لا يشارك المعهد في أي أنشطة دعوية، وآراء الباحثين فيه تعبر عن آرائهم الشخصية. يرحب المعهد بالتبرعات المالية، لكنه يحتفظ بالسيطرة التحريرية الكاملة على أعماله، ولا تعكس منشوراته سوى آراء المؤلفين. للاطلاع على قائمة المتبرعين للمعهد، يرجى النقر هنا.
