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The Gulf Cooperation Council
GCC flag. Source: Rico Shen via Wikipedia
  • Backgrounder
  • The Gulf Cooperation Council

    This backgrounder provides an overview of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), a regional political and economic alliance comprising six states in the Arabian Peninsula: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

    June 18, 2026

    A Strategic Conundrum: Pakistan’s Transit Corridor to Iran as Lifeline or Liability
  • Analysis
  • A Strategic Conundrum: Pakistan’s Transit Corridor to Iran as Lifeline or Liability

    The US-Iran standoff over the Strait of Hormuz — disruptive to global trade and energy flows, and devastating for debt-burdened economies — has handed Pakistan an unexpected geoeconomic opportunity, one that may persist even if the framework agreement announced on June 14 results in a lasting peace and permanent reopening of the strait. But seizing it will have interlocking consequences for Islamabad’s ties with Tehran, Washington, and the Gulf states.

    June 17, 2026

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    U.S. Lawmakers Push for Tighter Sanctions on Iran
  • Analysis
  • U.S. Lawmakers Push for Tighter Sanctions on Iran

    A bipartisan group of U.S. senators today introduced a bill that would impose tighter U.S. sanctions on Iran for its ballistic missile program and other non-nuclear activities, Reuters reports.

    March 23, 2017

    Tillerson’s Remark on U.S. Long-Term Strategy in Syria and Iraq Alarms I.R.G.C.
  • Analysis
  • Tillerson’s Remark on U.S. Long-Term Strategy in Syria and Iraq Alarms I.R.G.C.

    U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s March 22 remark that the United States and its allies will remain engaged in Syria and Iraq long after the Islamic State is defeated has provoked an angry reaction in Iran.

    March 23, 2017

    Trump’s Laptop Ban Targets Gulf Airlines
  • Analysis
  • Trump’s Laptop Ban Targets Gulf Airlines

    When I was approached last summer by New York University’s Hagop Kevorkian Center for Near Eastern Studies to teach a class this spring, I did not imagine the changes that would take place in the American political landscape. Since Donald Trump took office, his promise to place “America first” has manifested itself in numerous ways. Although I am committed to the university and the students, traveling to the United States is becoming less and less enticing.

    March 22, 2017

    Rouhani’s Letter to Supreme Leader: We’ll Work to Strengthen “Resistance Economy”
  • Analysis
  • Rouhani’s Letter to Supreme Leader: We’ll Work to Strengthen “Resistance Economy”

    Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has pledged that his government will do its utmost to implement policies that will strengthen the country’s “resistance economy” and stimulate growth. In a letter to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Wednesday, Rouhani emphasized that his administration planned to hold a cabinet session to discuss Supreme Leader’s latest instructions and explore ways of increasing domestic production and creating jobs – particularly for young Iranians.

    March 22, 2017

    India’s Strategic Vision About West Asia and Its Limitations
    Middle East Institute
  • Analysis
  • India’s Strategic Vision About West Asia and Its Limitations

    The discourse of Non-Alignment continues to shape the political culture of the Indian establishment’s strategic thinking in the field of foreign policy, notwithstanding the decline of Gandhian-Nehruvian moralism and increasing adaptation to the culture of power-centered realism in recent years. This essay shows that gradualism and risk avoidance remain deeply embedded features of India’s conduct of external relations, including its relations with West Asia.

    March 21, 2017

    Peace in Yemen Requires Bridging North-South Divide
    Middle East Institute
  • Analysis
  • Peace in Yemen Requires Bridging North-South Divide

    The Yemeni civil war, which began in March 2015, has become another quagmire in the Middle East with increasingly sectarian overtones. However, sectarianism is not the only dimension to this conflict. Indeed, the war has straddled a number of cleavages in Yemeni society, including the north-south divide. The Southern Nationalist Movement, an umbrella platform known locally as Hirak, presents a major obstacle to peace as it continues to call for secession for the south.

    March 21, 2017

    Javad Zarif: Iran “Completely Ready” to Resume Nuclear Program
  • Analysis
  • Javad Zarif: Iran “Completely Ready” to Resume Nuclear Program

    Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has warned that his government is “completely ready” to restart its nuclear program if the United States fails to adhere to the 2015 nuclear agreement. “If America reneges on the deal to the level that the continuation of the J.C.P.O.A. [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action] harms our national interests, the Islamic Republic of Iran is completely ready to return to the pre-J.C.P.O.A.

    March 21, 2017

    Jailed Female Activist Accuses Rouhani of Colluding with I.R.G.C. ahead of Elections
  • Analysis
  • Jailed Female Activist Accuses Rouhani of Colluding with I.R.G.C. ahead of Elections

    Hengameh Shahidi, a reformist activist and journalist who was recently imprisoned in Iran, has accused President Hassan Rouhani of striking a deal with the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (I.R.G.C.) ahead of the country’s presidential elections slated for May this year.

    March 21, 2017

    Iran-Supported Iraqi Militia Groups Make Further Advances in Western Mosul
  • Analysis
  • Iran-Supported Iraqi Militia Groups Make Further Advances in Western Mosul

    The Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) have seized several villages in northwestern Mosul from the Islamic State in recent days and are planning to enter the strategic city of Tal Afar, the Iranian media reports.

    March 21, 2017

    Read the Middle East Journal

    The oldest peer-reviewed publication dedicated to the study of the modern Middle East, MEI’s flagship journal covers politics, society, and culture in the region.