Research & Commentary Results

Critics of the Iran nuclear deal have consistently argued that one of its major flaws is that it didn’t address Tehran’s ballistic missile program. Imposing limits on those weapons of terror, opponents of the deal say, is a primary U.S. objective and should have been part of our negotiating strategy with the Iranians from the beginning.

Outgoing Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had long been at odds with President Trump on key issues in the Middle East, from the intra-GCC dispute between Qatar and other member states, to the recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and the Iran nuclear deal. MEI fellows Gerald Feierstein, Charles Lister and Alex Vatanka join host Paul Salem to discuss how his replacement may impact these and other regional policy issues.

Irina Zvyagelskaya, of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow and Randa Slim, director of MEI’s Program on Conflict Resolution and Track II Dialogues, join host Paul Salem to discuss U.S. and Russian efforts to find shared interests in the region, from Syria to Yemen, and to avoid confrontation and escalation.

Since 2014, the Middle East Institute (MEI) has convened the Middle East Dialogue, a Track 1.5 initiative involving current and former officials and senior experts from across the Middle East as well as from China, Europe, Russia and the United States. These meetings focus on the conflicts in Syria and Iraq, and on the principles and architecture of a new regional cooperation framework in the Middle East. At the Dialogue’s most recent meeting in Baghdad, the group issued a consensus document outlining Good Neighborhood Principles for the Middle East.

Despite setbacks from the war against ISIS, Iraq remains the world’s fourth largest producer of oil, second only to Saudi Arabia among OPEC states. However, the administration of this vital natural resource has been plagued by corruption and disputes over how revenues should be allocated to promote equitable economic growth. The issue has drawn Iraq’s ethnic, sectarian, and political divisions to the surface.
 

Read the full article on The Century Foundation

Over the course of the last three years, the Middle East Institute convened a regional dialogue involving participants acting in their personal capacities from Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates and Turkey. The dialogue also involved participants from China, Europe, Russia and the United States. The discussions resulted in the following declaration of good neighborhood principles for the Middle East agreed in Baghdad 15-16 December 2017.
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The Middle East dialogue, which began its twice-a-year meetings in October 2012, convened its eleventh meeting in Baghdad 15-16 December. Participants included current and former officials and senior experts from Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria and United Arab Emirates as well as China, Europe, Russia, and the United States.

Read the full artice on The National Interest

Tens of thousands have been subjected to enforced disappearance in Syria since 2011. The regime is responsible for a majority of these detentions, but various armed groups have been guilty of the practice as well. Amnesty International has warned that “the plight of those who have vanished after being arrested by the authorities or detained by armed groups is a tragedy that has been largely ignored internationally.”

In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Charles Lister, Bilal Y. Saab, Eran Etzion, Gonul Tol, Paul Salem, and Randa Slim provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including the Syrian-Iranian downing of an Israeli fighter jet, the critical crossroads of U.S. and Turkey relations, Rex Tillerson’s upcoming visit to Lebanon, and Iraqi reconstruction plans.

With the absence of multilateral diplomatic forums in the Middle East and the Trump administration scaling back on U.S. diplomatic outreach, the role of backdoor diplomatic channels, known as “Track II” dialogues, has seldom been more important. Randa Slim, director of MEI’s program on conflict management and Track II dialogues, and Robert Ford, former US ambassador to Syria, join Paul Salem to discuss the role of these dialogues in addressing issues ranging from the Syrian civil war to the conflict in Yemen and regional tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Charles Lister, Bilal Y. Saab, Marvin G. Weinbaum, and Gonul Tol provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including the unrelenting violence in Syria, President Trump’s “Buy American” plan, the Taliban’s anti-U.S. propaganda, and Erdogan’s meeting with the Vatican.

View the full issue brief at the Atlantic Council.

Read the full piece, co-authored by Nilsu Goren, on The American Interest.

Of all the calamities that have caused mass death and destruction in the Middle East in recent years­—including civil war, terrorism, ethnic cleansing, cholera, and famine—none is more potentially threatening to human life than the danger of nuclear power.