Curb Your Enthusiasm: Why the Midterms Might Not Change Much in US Middle East Policy
With less than a week before the midterm elections in the United States, the spotlight is on the economy and cultural divides. US foreign policy remains mostly on the sidelines, but this year’s inconclusive Iran war and its effect on America’s economy have shaped the broader political environment in this electoral cycle.
The Multiple Costs of the US–Iran War – From Hormuz to Europe and South Asia: The Widening Economic and Political Geography of the Conflict
Wars are decided by those who hold military power, but their costs are increasingly borne by those who have little or no voice in the decisions that start them. The US–Iran war shows this imbalance very clearly. Its economic consequences have gone far beyond the battlefield and have disrupted energy markets, trade routes, food supplies, public finances and investment in the Gulf, Europe, Africa and Asia. The most striking feature of the conflict, however, is not only the size of the damage but its very unequal distribution.
In recent weeks, the Iran-backed Houthis have fired missiles and drones deep into Saudi Arabia, striking high-profile targets, including Riyadh’s airport and Aramco’s headquarters. The attacks follow a rapid Houthi offensive in September to seize key parts of Yemen’s Red Sea coast, which Saudi-backed government forces are now trying to roll back. Fatima Abo Alasrar, an affiliated scholar at MEI and non-resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute, joins hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj to unpack the latest phase of the conflict. They discuss what the Houthis want, Riyadh’s calculus and search for allies, and how this campaign ties into Iran’s confrontation with the United States.
Since 1967, Israeli settlements in the West Bank have been a contested feature of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The ultimate disposition of the settlements and ongoing activity related to their growth have repeatedly defied agreement in negotiations over a resolution to the conflict.
The Houthis are a political-military faction and Zaydi religious movement founded in northwestern Yemen in the 1980s. A key member of Iran’s Axis of Resistance with links to other militant organizations in the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa, the group has continued to pose a threat to Western interests on a global scale.
The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) is a proposed multinational infrastructure initiative aimed at upgrading connectivity between the three regions through integrated trade, energy, and digital networks. Announced at the G20 summit in New Delhi in September 2023, IMEC is envisioned partially as a counterweight to China’s international infrastructure project, the Belt and Road Initiative.
After a decade of post-Arab Spring isolation, Turkey’s leaders have recognized that their ambition to position the country as an agenda-setter on the world stage requires active engagement in all directions. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s consolidation of executive authority has centralized foreign policy decision-making and tied it to his domestic political priorities, transforming the country’s revisionist approach to one shaped primarily by personal and pragmatic interests.
MEI Senior Fellow Brian Katulis engages friends, colleagues, and policy experts in casual conversations on the most important happenings in the Middle East.
This article focuses on the ideological threat that prompted those authoritarian regimes to play the sectarian card: the spread of Islamism. It argues that, at its core, the split in the Middle East is not a sectarian clash opposing Sunnis and Shiites — although after years of bloody conflict, many of the actors involved have come to see it that way. It is a geopolitical battle between, on the one side, states and groups aligned with the West and interested in preserving the regional status quo; and, on the other, states and groups characterized by their anti-Western rhetoric and eager to subvert that status quo. In some regards, it is a replay of the Arab Cold War — but extended to Iran, and with Islamism replacing Arab socialism as the subverting ideology.
Rouhani: Anti-Iran Sanctions Irreversible, World Not Siding with U.S. against Iran
The world’s view toward Iran has changed and previous international sanctions will not be reinstated against the Islamic Republic, President Hassan Rouhani
Iran Rejects U.S. Demand for Inspection of Military Sites
Senior Iranian political and military officials have rejected a demand by U.S. Ambassador to U.N. Nikki Haley that U.N. inspectors visit Iran’s military sites, the Iranian media reported today.
Iran’s Intelligence Ministry Says It Has Eliminated 100 Terrorist Groups inside Country
Iran’s Intelligence Ministry has said that the country’s security forces have disbanded nearly 100 terrorist groups across the country, Fars News Agency reported. “Highly serious measures have been taken in the Southern, Southeastern and Western parts of Iran and nearly 100 teams have been confronted,” the deputy intelligence minister said on Monday. He noted that the Islamic State seeks to carry out attacks in Iran but assured the public that the security forces are able to deal with any threats.
Iranian Drone Allegedly Spotted Flying over Western Afghanistan
Afghan officials say they are investigating reports that an unmanned aerial vehicle has recently entered western Afghanistan from Iran. Jilani Farhad, the spokesman of western Herat Province, said the governor’s office has been informed about the incident and is probing the case to find out which country the drone belonged to. Some Afghan media outlets have alleged that the drone was Iranian and it disappeared after local Afghan forces fired at it. The Iranian government has not reacted to the reports.
A Return to Ambiguity in U.S.-Egyptian Relations | Monday Briefing
In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Paul Salem, Gerald Feierstein, Randa Slim, Bilal Y. Saab, and Jean-François Seznec provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including tensions between Washington and Cairo over Egypt’s excessive authoritarian crackdown, Russia’s attempt to help mediate the G.C.C. crisis, the likely postponement of the Kurdish independence referendum, the performance of the Lebanese Army in anti-ISIS operations, and the Iraqi oil minister’s trip to Moscow to discuss oil production cuts.
August 25, 2017 – Journalist Yeganeh Rezaian joins host Paul Salem for a discussion of social and cultural trends inside Iran, how youth are dealing with unemployment and other economic pressures, and how women are seeking opportunities for socioeconomic advancement and gender equality.
The Real Reasons behind the Current Turkish-German Row
Relations between Turkey and Germany have become increasingly fraught over the past few months. They hit a new low following the August 19 arrest of Turkish-born German writer Dogan Akhanli in Spain. Akhanli, a frequent critic of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was held by Spanish authorities in connection with criminal proceedings in Turkey. Germany’s foreign minister has urged Spanish officials not to extradite the writer.
I.R.G.C. Outlet: Tal Afar Liberation Paves Way for Expulsion of U.S. from Iraq
The liberation of Tal Afar is a “major defeat for America and terrorists” and paves the way for the expulsion of U.S. Troops from Iraq, says an article in hardline Javan Online, a mouthpiece of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (I.R.G.C.).
Hamas Chief Hails Iranian Support after “Restoration” of Ties
The new leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza has announced that it has restored its relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran, Tasnim News Agency
Iran Says Trump Determined to Cancel Nuclear Deal, Urges E.U. to Confront U.S.
The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (A.E.O.I.) has said that President Donald Trump is trying to cancel the nuclear deal Tehran signed with world powers two years ago. He claimed that the latest U.S. sanctions violate the nuclear accord and also accused the Trump administration of pressuring the International Atomic Energy Agency (I.A.E.A.) to declare that Iran is in breach of the agreement. The top Iranian nuclear official said that the Islamic Republic will not be the first party to violate the agreement, but stressed that it will not accept any U.S.
A series of high level diplomatic visits have signaled a surprising rapprochement between Iran and Turkey in recent weeks. What’s driving this warming in relations, and how has Russia been involved? What are the potential consequences in the region and for U.S. policy there? MEI’s Gonul Tol and Alex Vatanka join Paul Salem to discuss.
Haley Calls for Inspection of Iran’s Military Sites after I.A.E.A. Meeting
U.S. Ambassador to U.N. Nikki Haley said on Friday that the Trump administration wants inspection of Iran’s both military and non-military sites to ascertain Iran’s compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (J.C.P.O.A.) – the nuclear agreement Iran signed with the U.S. and five other world powers in July 2015. Haley made the remarks after returning from Vienna, where she discussed the issue with Yukiya Amano, the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (I.A.E.A.). Speaking at the U.N., the top U.S.
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.
