In response to the renewal of the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA) by the US Congress, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has ordered the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) to start the development of nuclear-powered ships.
This essay discusses private halal certification agencies, which have come to serve as a source of moral authority. The certificates that these agencies issue serve as “judgment devices” that allow entrepreneurs and consumers to transcend doubt about the quality and value of the products offered in the market. But what explains the authority of these agencies, which were able to turn pious aspirations into professional pursuit of analyzing and attesting to a business’s halal status? The argument here is that the authority of the certifiers is partly derived from transnational valuation circuits, through which local certification agencies draw on the authority of more established accreditors.
In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Paul Salem, Randa Slim, Charles Lister, Jean-François Seznec, Eran Etzion, and Marvin G. Weinbaum provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including yesterday’s terrorist attack on the Coptic Christian Cathedral in Cairo, the Sryian regime’s progress in retaking Aleppo, the continued threat presented by ISIS, the potential selection of Rex Tillerson as the next Secretary of State, Ash Carter’s farewell trip to Israel, and new Congressional pressure for Pakistan to crack down on the Haqqani Network.
In a remark that may stir concern in the United States, Israel and the Gulf region, a senior commander of the Islamic Republic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) says his country has increased the production of ballistic missiles despite international sanctions.
December 7, 2016 – BBC correspondent Kim Ghattas shares insights from her time on the trail covering the Clinton campaign and discusses the formation of Donald Trump’s foreign policy team with host Paul Salem.
Read the full op-ed on Reuters.
As President Barack Obama’s tenure draws to a close, Washington is turning its attention to one of its silliest traditions: toting up the travel statistics of the outgoing secretary of state, as if miles traveled correlated to diplomatic achievement.
This essay introduces “Muslim professionalism” as a concept to examine the multifarious links between Islam and economic activity in the era of post-cold-war globalization and neoliberalism. Adopting a transregional perspective that conflates Muslim realities in Southeast Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East, the essay discusses the interlacing of local, national and global aspects and invites the reader to conceive Muslim professionalism through the lens of spatial mobility and cross-border connectedness.
British Prime Minister Theresa May’s remarks at the Gulf Cooperation Council summit about the need to “push back against Iran’s aggressive” actions in the Middle East have provoked angry reactions and threats from Iranian leaders.
Despite repeated objections by some Iraqi Sunnis and regional Sunni states, the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) are continuing to play a major role in the battle of Mosul.
This essay discusses Japan’s long-standing energy dependence on the Middle East and the complications arising from it, with a focus on relations with Iran. More specifically, it looks at the risks and potential rewards of the revival and strengthening of Japan’s economic relations with Iran in the wake of the nuclear deal.
Regional Cooperation Series
This Policy Paper is part of the Middle East Institute’s Regional Cooperation Series. Throughout 2016, MEI will be releasing several policy papers by renowned scholars and experts exploring possibilities to foster regional cooperation across an array of sectors. The purpose is to highlight the myriad benefits and opportunities associated with regional cooperation, and the high costs of the continued business-as-usual model of competition and intense rivalry.
Most observers are still trying to figure out president-elect Donald Trump’s likely Iran policy. Whatever it might be as an approach, it will probably be nothing as accommodating as has been the case in the Obama era. And if Washington starts to earnestly squeeze Tehran from January 21, 2017, the Iranians no doubt will turn to Russia and China for protection.
On December 7, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei appointed Brigadier General Gholamhossein Ghaib-Parvar as the new commander of Iran’s Basij organization. Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Naqdi, former head of Basij, will direct the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC’s) cultural and social affairs.
In the latest act of political repression and human rights violation in Iran, a Special Clerical Court has defrocked regime critic Ahmad Montazeri and sentenced him to six years in jail for publishing an audio recording in
Despite uncertainty surrounding the future of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, international energy giants are competing fiercely to invest in Iran’s rich oil and natural gas sectors.