Research & Commentary Results

After almost two years of fighting in Gaza, and after the decimation of Hizballah, the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria, and the 12-day Israeli-American war on Iran, the Middle East is in new strategic and political territory. Two pathways lie ahead: the first is one in which the gains and changes brought about by war are turned, through intense diplomacy and negotiation, into new international and political arrangements that bring about a period of security and stability in the region; the second is one in which that corner is not turned, and the wars in Gaza, Iran, and potentially Yemen, Syria, and Lebanon, continue indefinitely. The trajectory will depend on the choices of key actors — above all Iran, Israel, and the United States.

The MENA Energy Recap is a quarterly review of key energy developments that took place in the region from April through June of 2025 and what they signal in the months ahead. The Recap views these developments through the lens of policy and strategy, energy security, and markets.

ربما لم يكن هناك سوى عدد قليل من محللي شؤون الشرق الأوسط، إن وجدوا أصلاً، الذين توقعوا أن تشن إسرائيل غارات جوية تستهدف منشآت حكومية رئيسية في سوريا في صيف عام 2025. ومع ذلك، هذا بالضبط ما حدث يوم الأربعاء، عندما قصفت الطائرات الإسرائيلية مقر القيادة العسكرية السورية ومنطقة قريبة من القصر الرئاسي في دمشق.

Last June’s Israel-Iran conflict became a revealing stress test for Beijing’s Middle East strategy, its role in global diplomacy, and the coherence of what some have described as an emergent “Axis of Upheaval” between China, Russia, and Iran.

US President Donald Trump hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the third time in his second term this week, shortly after securing a major victory for his domestic policy agenda in the budget bill passed by Congress.

Domestic politics has taken center stage in the United States as Congress struggles to pass President Donald Trump’s proposed budget plan. But July is also shaping up as a pivotal month for Trump’s foreign policy in the Middle East and beyond.

After Iraq, Libya, and Afghanistan, can we learn to deal differently with Iran?

تهدد الحرب الشاملة التي تشنها إسرائيل على إيران بقلب الديناميات الإقليمية وتوازن تركيا الدقيق. ويشكل هذا الصراع تهديدات فورية ومخاطر استراتيجية طويلة الأمد لتركيا.

Near-term progress in a renewed nuclear agreement between the United States and Iran could add further downward pressure to a delicate oil market, potentially heralding more fiscal pain for Gulf oil producers and complicating US energy strategy.

Following seven years of diplomatic deadlock, Washington and Tehran have resumed nuclear negotiations — and for the first time in years, there are signs of real momentum.

Alex Vatanka, MEI Senior Fellow and author of The Battle of the Ayatollahs in Iran, joins hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj to analyze the current round of talks, the technical issues under discussion, and the political stakes on both sides. He explores Iran’s economic and domestic pressures, US red lines, and the role of key players like Israel, China, and Oman in shaping the negotiations.

It is no surprise that both Iran and the United States have approached their first diplomatic engagement in four years with wariness. There are plenty of reasons to be skeptical about the probability of the negotiations culminating in a deal. But it would be a mistake to assume that the conditions in 2025 are the same as existed in 2015. Time is not on the Iranians’ side now and changes afoot in the Middle East and the broader global community give Iran an incentive to move toward an agreement, assuming that Washington is sincere and realistic in its negotiations with Tehran.

The MENA Energy Recap is a quarterly review of key energy developments that took place in the Middle East and North Africa region from January to March 2025 and what they signal for the months ahead. The Recap views these developments through the lenses of policy and strategy, energy security, and markets.

يركز الرئيس دونالد ترامب على تحقيق إنجازين تحويليين فشل أسلافه في تحقيقهما: إنهاء الصراع العربي الإسرائيلي، الذي يتمحور حول اتفاق ثلاثي بين الولايات المتحدة والسعودية وإسرائيل، واتفاق بين الولايات المتحدة وإيران. وكلاهما سيكون إنجازًا تاريخيًا. لكن حتى الآن، ثبت أن التقدم في كلتا الحالتين صعب ومتعثر.

تقوم إيران بتخزين ما يكفي من اليورانيوم المخصب القريب من الدرجة العسكرية لصنع سلاح نووي في غضون أسابيع أو أشهر، وليس سنوات. والرئيس دونالد ترامب، الذي انسحب في عام 2018 من الاتفاق النووي الذي كان من شأنه تأجيل هذه الإمكانية، يناشد الآن إجراء مفاوضات مع طهران. لكن في الشرق الأوسط، لا تقتصر المسألة النووية على إيران وحدها.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has sought to position Turkey as an energy hub, connecting gas producers to its east and south and markets to the west. Turkey’s geographical position and infrastructure give it an advantage. But becoming an energy center also requires Ankara to dust off a long-abandoned foreign policy approach: “zero problems with neighbors” and the West. Amid changing regional dynamics, Ankara sees an opportunity to achieve that and revive its plans to become an energy hub.