The Houthis’ latest political and military moves are setting them on a collision course with the United Arab Emirates in the broader Red Sea region.
At the Washington Summit, NATO member states mostly focused on efforts to counter Russia and to support Ukraine. However, the 2024 summit communiqué also addresses non-Euro-Atlantic risks and opportunities, based on the idea that “conflict, fragility and instability” elsewhere directly affects NATO security.
Iran’s foreign policy has generally been characterized by continuity in the postrevolutionary period, yet its motives have transformed over time. This research paper argues that Islamic fundamentalism goaded and motivated foreign policy in the first decade of the Islamic Republic of Iran. After the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the country’s foreign policy maintained a fundamentalist posture, but was forcefully driven by policies to guarantee its political survival.
When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in late February 2022, it prompted the Central Asian states, and others, to reconsider Iran’s potential role as a transit country. In a little more than two years, Central Asia’s view of Iran has changed from international pariah to key link in lucrative trade routes.
Read MEI’s weekly briefing featuring expert analysis of key regional developments for the week ahead.
On June 28, Iran held its third election in the span of just four months. A fourth contest, a presidential runoff, is scheduled for July 5. And yet the opposite of election fervor has gripped the country. The June 28 election made history by setting a new record low for turnout, with official data suggesting 39.9% of voters cast a ballot. Participation is unlikely to rise in the second round, on July 5, but where turnout will end up is the million-dollar question.
In its 2022 Strategic Concept, NATO declared the Black Sea Region (BSR) of strategic importance for the Alliance, yet this recognition has never translated into NATO developing a proper strategy toward its critical southeastern flank. That glaring gap must be addressed right away.
Read MEI’s weekly briefing featuring expert analysis of key regional developments for the week ahead.
Pakistan’s government is pursuing a two-track approach to stabilize the country’s long-troubled economy. It is engaged in lengthy negotiations with the IMF to secure at least $6 billion in loans to shore up its ability to service its external debt. At the same time, Islamabad is also trying to woo its Gulf allies, most notably Saudi Arabia and the UAE, in a bid to diversify its sources of external financing, address the lingering threat of insolvency, and put its economy on an upward trajectory of sustainable growth.
The latest survey from Stasis Consulting estimates that voter turnout in the June 28 Iranian presidential election is likely to exceed 50%. Despite the sudden death of President Ebrahim Raisi, Iranians do not believe his passing will cause any significant challenges for the country. Iranians view addressing youth concerns as a top priority for the next president, alongside dealing with the country’s long-standing economic challenges. In addition, there is widespread opposition to the way in which the government is dealing with the mandatory hijab and a majority of Iranians dislike the Guidance Patrol and support making the wearing of the veil optional.
With just a few days left before Iranians head to the polls, it is clear that the June 28 presidential election is not exciting the country’s voters. After several televised debates, some of which have been mildly contentious, the six men in the race have failed to energize the public. In fact, a major “no vote” campaign has been under way on social media and elsewhere, aimed at convincing Iranians to stay home.
Read MEI’s weekly briefing featuring expert analysis of key regional developments for the week ahead.
Alex Vatanka (Director, MEI’s Iran Program) and Ali Afshari (Iranian political analyst and pro-democracy activist) discuss Iran’s snap presidential elections, set to be held on June 28th, following the sudden death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash last month. The 63-year-old regime loyalist was widely viewed as a leading potential successor to the Islamic Republic’s 85-year-old supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The elections come as Iran faces a number of challenges both at home and abroad, ranging from long-running domestic economic troubles and preparations for an eventual leadership transition to the regional reverberations of the ongoing war in Gaza and the tit-for-tat exchange of missile and drone strikes with Israel in April.
A little over a year ago, the icy relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia underwent a remarkable thaw. But beneath this détente, a new front emerged in their longstanding rivalry — one rooted not in geopolitics or religious ideologies but in the realm of soft power and societal aspirations.
Kuwait’s emir, Sheikh Mishal Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, took his next step in governance without a parliament in place on June 1, when he appointed Sheikh Sabah Khalid Al Sabah as crown prince. Although the timing of the announcement suspending portions of the constitution and dissolving the parliament caught most observers off guard, the emir’s decision was not surprising.