A Post-War Model for Verifying Iran’s Missile Arsenal
This study proposes a model for constraining and verifying Iran’s ballistic missile arsenal by employing a layered Strategic Verification Model with seven components: comprehensive baseline declarations; missile test and launch monitoring; intrusive inspections; quantitative and qualitative limits on missile capabilities; production controls, especially on solid-fuel manufacturing; a robust enforcement and compliance architecture; and regional confidence building measures.
The 2026 Iran war has made Lebanon a core Gulf security concern, and Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar now have a narrow opportunity to curb Hizballah’s influence by leading reconstruction, strengthening Lebanese state institutions, and tying economic re-engagement to reform.
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.
This backgrounder provides an overview of how the Abraham Accords came about, the US interests involved, their economic and strategic consequences, and the prospects for further enlargement going forward.
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.
As the Western Sahara conflict reaches its fifth decade, the territorial dispute remains unresolved and largely unknown. MEI’s Intissar Fakir unpacks the Western Sahara’s complex history and the rival claims by Morocco and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. She examines recent developments, such as President Trump’s recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the territory and the collapse of a 30-year cease-fire, as well as the core questions that remain unanswered after half a century.
Podcasts
Middle East Focus
MEI’s flagship weekly podcast on US foreign policy and contemporary political and social issues in the Middle East.
MEI Senior Fellow Brian Katulis engages friends, colleagues, and policy experts in casual conversations on the most important happenings in the Middle East.
Iran’s militia allies gearing up for Iraq’s parliamentary elections
Iraj Masjedi, Tehran’s ambassador to Baghdad, met with Ammar al-Hakim, the leader of Iraq’s National Alliance, to discuss the latest security and political developments in Iraq.
Khamenei’s aide: Iran will boost its missile power, continue support for Hezbollah and Hamas
A senior aide to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said that the Islamic Republic will not accept any European or American proposals to curb the country’s controversial missile program,
Nowhere in the world are women more unequal than in the Middle East and North Africa, but there have been signs of progress in the region and several key reforms took place in 2017, such as Saudi Arabia’s decision to lift the ban on women driving. Manal Omar, founder of Across Red Lines, and Hala Aldosari, a fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University, join guest host Kate Seelye to discuss these reforms and whether they signal real change in attitudes toward women’s rights in the region.
Donald Trump’s promise of “a deal of the century” to end the conflict between Israel and the Arabs is getting legs. After a year of discussions led by Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, the main elements of the president’s design are coming into view. But it’s not exactly what the Palestinians want to see.
King Abdullah's pragmatism keeps US-Jordan ties on track
Unlike the celebratory reception he received in Israel, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence’s visit to Jordan on Jan. 22 was low-key and short. There was no touring of the kingdom’s historical sites and no interaction with the Jordanian parliament. At the popular level, public opinion was mobilized against the visit. On a cold and rainy day, three days before Pence’s arrival, a handful of Jordanians held a protest in front of the U.S.
Iran dispatches flotilla of warships to international waters
A flotilla of the Iranian Navy warships has left the country’s southern port of Bandar Abbas to conduct “routine missions” and project power in international waters, particularly in the Gulf of Aden the Iranian media reported. The Navy’s 50th fleet comprises Shaheed Naqdi and Bayandor destroyers and a logostic combat warship called Tonb.
Erdogan’s advisor: Iran shows support for Turkey but tries to stab it in the back
Iran is a state that shows support for Turkey and then tries to stab it in the back, a senior adviser to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said. Ilnur Cevik, who is also a columnist with pro-government Daily Sabah, added that although Tehran has not publicly opposed Turkey’s Olive Branch Operation in the Syrian northern town of Afrin, it is trying to sabotage the Turkish offensive secretly and undermines Ankara’s efforts to facilitate peace in the war-torn Arab country.
Few noticed it amid the usual frenzy over something President Donald Trump did, but the United States is now committed to staying in Syria for the long haul—with unforeseen consequences for America’s role in a turbulent and dangerous Middle East.
The Afghan conflict is so intractable that it continues to resist any kind of resolution. But Afghanistan’s northern neighbor, Uzbekistan, wants to try its hand. An international ministerial conference titled “Afghanistan–path to a peaceful future” is scheduled in Tashkent for late March 2018.
Karroubi to Khamenei: Take responsibility for failures of past 30 years
In a strong rebuke of Iran’s Supreme Leader, a leading reformist leader has said that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is responsible for the country’s growing political, social, and economic problems. “You have been the head of state for three decades, yet you still speak from the stance of an opposition,” Mehdi Karroubi, who has been under house arrest for the past seven years, wrote to Khamenei in an open letter. He bluntly told the supreme leader to take responsibility for his leadership failures instead of blaming others.
Indonesia and Tunisia: Democracy as a Distinctive Link
Not until the early 1950s did ties develop between newly independent Indonesia and Tunisia, then still a French protectorate. Importantly, those ties were based mainly in politics, and not in religion. At the time, the Tunisian national movement, led by Habib Bourguiba, seems to have regarded Indonesia as an inspirational model of anti-colonial struggle. Bourguiba was also attracted to the idea of “non-alignment” advanced by Indonesian President Ahmed Sukarno Indonesia, among others. Today, more than six decades after having achieved independence, Tunisia again stands at a watershed in its political development — transitioning from an authoritarian to a democratic system. These circumstances have given the relationship between Indonesia and Tunisia a fresh tailwind.
Kuwaitis investing in Iranian financial firms losing their money
Kuwaiti citizens have lost hundreds of millions of dollars as a result of the collapsing investment firms in Iran, Kuwait’s al-Qabas Arabic daily reported. According to the paper, a sizeable number of Kuwaitis have invested in Iran’s investment institutions that offer returns of more than 20 percent, which is significantly lower than the profit offered by Kuwaiti banks and investment schemes.
Iran-backed Iraqi militias may send reinforcements to Syria
The chief commander of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units has said that the paramilitary forces are ready to go to Syria to fight ISIS and defend Iraq’s borders, Iranian and Lebanese media reported. Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy chairman of Hashd al-Shaabi (PMUs), further stressed that his forces will “respond forcefully” to any potential ISIS attack originating from Syria. “We cannot remain passive vis-à-vis the Syrian-Iraqi border and attacks carried out by Daesh [ISIS] in Syria,” he added.
Harakat al-Nujaba claims US troops targeted its militiamen in Iraq
The secretary general of Harakat al-Nujaba, an Iranian-sponsored Iraqi militia group fighting in Syria and Iraq, alleges that the US military has targeted the organization’s forces in Iraq, Lebanon’s al-Mayadeen and Iran’s
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.
