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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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    Quds Force Reportedly Uses Regional Shiite Militias for Drug Smuggling into Europe
  • Analysis
  • Quds Force Reportedly Uses Regional Shiite Militias for Drug Smuggling into Europe

    The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (I.R.G.C.)’s elite Quds Force runs an international network of organized criminal networks to smuggle drugs into and throughout Europe, al-Arabiya Arabic reports. Quoting unnamed sources from the Italian Judiciary, the report claims that the mastermind of the Quds Force’s illicit drugs operations is former Quds Force General Gholamreza Baghbani. Members of the Lebanese Hezbollah and Iran-linked Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (P.M.F.) are reportedly part of the criminal network.

    April 17, 2017

    Iran, Russia Step up Military Offensive in Syria despite Ceasefire Talks
  • Analysis
  • Iran, Russia Step up Military Offensive in Syria despite Ceasefire Talks

    Iran, Russia and Turkey will begin a two-day trilateral meeting in Tehran on Tuesday to discuss peace talks between the Syrian government and opposition groups, Iran’s Foreign Ministry

    April 17, 2017

    The Supreme Leader’s Apprentice Is Running for President
  • Analysis
  • The Supreme Leader’s Apprentice Is Running for President

    The full article can be found at Foreign Policy.

    Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s re-election is in doubt thanks to an unassuming cleric who only recently entered the public spotlight. On April 9, Ebrahim Raisi, a longtime behind-the-scenes operative of the Islamic Republic closely associated with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, declared his candidacy in Iran’s May 19 presidential election.

    Iran and Russia Reaffirm Support for Damascus in Defiance of U.S. Warnings
  • Analysis
  • Iran and Russia Reaffirm Support for Damascus in Defiance of U.S. Warnings

    Foreign ministers of Iran, Syria and Russia warned the United States against further military strikes in Syria and reiterated support for the government of Bashar al-Assad in a trilateral meeting in Moscow on Friday, the Iranian media reports.

    April 14, 2017

    Iran-Controlled Militia Groups Playing Key Role in Operations in Mosul, Kirkuk
  • Analysis
  • Iran-Controlled Militia Groups Playing Key Role in Operations in Mosul, Kirkuk

    The spokesman of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (P.M.F.) reiterated today that its forces will play a leading role in military operations in the Iraqi provinces of Nineveh and Kirkuk – particularly in the strategic city of Tal Afar in western Mosul. “The Popular Mobilization Forces have a commanding and extensive presence and participation in operational zones in Nineveh Province,” P.M.F.

    April 13, 2017

    Iran’s Ground Forces Expanding Use of Drones
    Middle East Institute
  • Analysis
  • Iran’s Ground Forces Expanding Use of Drones

    The commander of Iran’s Army Ground Forces has announced an increase in the number and range of drones used during the Ground Forces’ operations across the country.

    April 13, 2017

    Women Rising: The Role of Women in the Middle East Today

    Women Rising: The Role of Women in the Middle East Today

    April 12 – January 1, 1970, April 12 - 12:00 PM – 12:00 AM
    January 1 - 12:00 PM – 12:00 AM

    The Middle East Institute, 1319 18th Street, NW, Washington, District of Columbia 20036

    Two More I.R.G.C. Members Killed in Iran’s Volatile Southeast
  • Analysis
  • Two More I.R.G.C. Members Killed in Iran’s Volatile Southeast

    Unidentified gunmen killed two members of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (I.R.G.C.) during a military operation on Wednesday in Zahedan, the capital of Iran’s southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan, the

    April 12, 2017

    Iran’s Response to U.S. Missile Strikes in Syria
  • Analysis
  • Iran’s Response to U.S. Missile Strikes in Syria

    President Donald Trump’s decision last week to militarily punish the regime of Bashar al Assad for using chemical weapons caught Syria’s closest ally Iran by surprise. Political and military leaders in Tehran are still uncertain whether the U.S. strikes were a one-time mission or represented a sea change in Washington’s policy in Syria. The Islamic Republic hopes it was the former, but there is a growing concern in Tehran that it may be the beginning of concerted efforts by Washington and its regional Sunni allies to topple Iran’s ally in Damascus.

    April 12, 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.