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.
Foreign Powers Should Push for Compromise in Libya
Whenever power is contested in a country—any country—the political fight over who will ascend to the helm provides opportunities for foreign powers to intervene, and in some cases, influence the outcome of the political process.
Such behavior can carry short-term rewards when a new leader, put into power with the help of the foreign government, tilts favorably toward the sponsor; but it also can be counterproductive.
Bahrain-Malaysia Relations Set to Reach New Heights
On May 3, 2017, King Hamad Bin Eisa Al Khalifa concluded a four-day trip to Malaysia, the first visit by a Bahraini monarch since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1974 and the initial leg of a tour that also included stops in Brunei and Thailand. This essay takes a brief look at the development of economic ties between Bahrain and Malaysia in recent years, and considers the prospects for their continued growth in light of the outcome of King Hamad’s visit.
Senior Iranian Official Visits Moscow to Discuss Syria War Plan
The Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani today met with his Russian counterpart Nikolai Patrushev in Moscow to discuss the conflict in Syria, state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported. The two sides pledged to continue support for the Bashar al-Assad regime against armed opposition groups.
Rouhani Defends Hezbollah and I.R.G.C.’s Role in Regional Conflicts
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has dismissed his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump’s designation of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization and defended the Lebanese group and its role in both Lebanon and Syria.
Iran-Supported Iraqi Militias Seize Strategic Town in Western Mosul
Iran-supported units within the Hashd al-Shaabi, the Iraqi paramilitary forces called Popular Mobilization Forces (P.M.F.), have seized the al- Qairawan region in western Mosul from the Islamic State, Iran’s Fars News Agency reported today.
Rouhani Seeks France’s Help to Encourage Foreign Investment in Iran
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has urged the new government in France to play a more active role in the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (J.C.P.O.A.), the nuclear agreement t
Monday Briefing: Chances for MidEast Peace Remote under Trump
In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Yousef Munayyer, Alex Vatanka, Jonathan M. Winer, and Marvin G. Weinbaum provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including President Trump’s trip to Israel and the prospects for a peace process, the reelection of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Russia’s planned naval drill off the coast of Libya this week, and the Afghan Taliban’s decision to reject peace talks.
Rouhani Reacts to Riyadh Summit: Stability in Mideast Impossible without Iran's Help
On Monday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned the United States and its regional allies that stability in the Middle East cannot be achieved without Tehran’s help.
Rouhani Says Iran’s Missile Program Will Continue despite Washington’s Concern
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Monday that the Islamic Republic would continue its ballistic missile program despite Washington’s concerns, the Iranian media reported. “American authorities should know that whenever we need to test a missile for technical reasons, we will carry it out. And we will not wait for them or their permission,” he said defiantly after U.S. and Saudi leaders criticized Tehran’s regional policies at the Riyadh summit.
Iran Says U.S. Forces’ Withdrawal Only Way to Restore Regional Stability
Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces has blamed the United States for regional instability and claimed that the withdrawal of the U.S. forces would restore peace and security in the Middle East. “The only way to [restore] peace and tranquility to the region is the departure of the Americans and the renunciation of aggressive and terrorist operations by dependent and reactionary regimes against independent countries,” Brigadier General Massoud Jazayeri said on Sunday. His remarks were a reaction to the latest comments by U.S.
Kayhan Editor: Rouhani’s “Submissiveness” Has “Sharpened Teeth” of America and Its Allies
The editor of Iran’s most prominent hardline newspaper says President Hassan Rouhani’s “submissiveness” and campaign rhetoric have emboldened the United States and its Arab allies to threaten a military attack against the Islamic Republic. “Mr.
Iran’s presidential vote is now a two-man race. Tehran Mayor Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf’s 11th-hour withdrawal means that incumbent Hassan Rouhani will face the 56-year-old Ebrahim Raisi, a close associate of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and a man who was at the heart of the decision to mass execute political dissidents in the late 1980s.
The cinema has long been a contested space in Egypt. Following its nationalization in 1966, a formerly flourishing film industry ran steadily downhill and movie theater operators were subjected to censors’ increasingly puerile whims. The only independent company allowed to operate was Misr International Films—founded in 1972 by Egyptian director Youssef Chahine (1926-2008)—to produce, distribute, and exhibit films while coincidentally enabling the state to posit itself as an indulgent patron of cinematic art. The annual state-run Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF, est.
Iran’s Intelligence Minister: Plots to Carry out Attacks and Disrupt Elections Foiled
Iran’s Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi said today that his agency had foiled plots by several groups that wanted to disrupt the country’s security during the presidentia
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.
