The Other MoU: Launching a Europe-Gulf Resilience Initiative After the US-Iran Deal
The Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the United States and Iran may have ended one of the most consequential Middle Eastern crises in decades, but it has not resolved the strategic problem it exposed. Whether the 60-day talks it set in motion will produce a final agreement remains far from certain.Yet the central lessons are already clear: Iran has preserved significant leverage, Washington has had to scale back its ambitions, and Europe and the Gulf face the prospect of protracted regional tension. Europe and the Gulf should therefore use the aftermath of the US-Iran deal to articulate their own “other MoU”: a Europe-Gulf Resilience initiative.
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 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.
Iranian Leaders Reject Macron’s Proposal to Supplement Nuclear Deal
Iranian leaders today rejected France’s President Emmanuel Macron’s suggestion that the Iran nuclear accord could be supplemented to address Iran’s ballistic missile program and Iranian nuclear program after 2025.
Khamenei’s Aide Blasts Nuclear Deal, Urges Government to Emulate North Korea
A prominent voice for Iran’s hardliners has denounced the 2015 nuclear deal and demanded that the Islamic Republic emulate North Korea in resisting American pressure and threats. “They say the J.C.P.O.A. is a good model,” said Hossein Shariatmadari, the editor-in-chief of Kayhan newspaper, referring to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. “Yes, it certainly is so but for the Americans not for Iran,” he added. “Iran only granted concessions in J.C.P.O.A. A J.C.P.O.A.
Top U.S. Official: Iran Fuels Yemeni Civil War by Sending Weapons to Houthis
Iran continues to inflame the civil war in Yemen by smuggling illicit weapons and technology to Houthi rebels, the top American admiral in the Middle East has said. In an interview with the New York Times, Vice Adm. Kevin M. Donegan pointed out that Tehran is also enabling Yemeni rebels to fire more advanced missiles into neighboring Saudi Arabia and target allied ships in the Red Sea. “These types of weapons did not exist in Yemen before the conflict,” Donegan said.
Iran-Backed Iraqi Militia Commanders Play Increasing Role in Kirkuk
Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the operational chief commander of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (P.M.F.), traveled to the disputed province of Kirkuk on Monday and met with Abu Reza al-Najjar, the military commander of the northern zone in the province. According to Iran’s Fars News Agency, the Kurdish Regional Government last Wednesday deployed two battalions of Peshmerga forces and PKK militants to Kirkuk to assist Kurdish forces in the region against a perceived threat from P.M.F.
Mideast Leaders Seeking Clarity from Trump Administration | Monday Briefing
In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Paul Salem, Alex Vatanka, Eran Etzion, Gerald Feierstein, and Bilal Y. Saab discuss this week’s U.N. General Assembly, including President Trump’s expected statements on regional policy, the debate over the Iran nuclear deal, and potential movements to mediate the Gulf crisis.
Khamenei: Iran Won’t Be Bullied, Will Respond to Any U.S. “Wrong Move” on Nuclear Deal
As Iranian President Hassan Rouhani was leaving Tehran to attend the U.N. General Assembly in New York, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei gave a fiery speech accusing Washington of reneging on the terms of the nuclear deal and pursuing hostile policies toward the Islamic Republic. Speaking to a gathering of law enforcement students in Tehran, Khamenei stressed that the Islamic Republic will not be bullied by the United States and will react forcefully to any “wrongdoing” by Washington with regards to the nuclear issue.
Iran Set to Launch New Satellite despite Western Concerns
Iran’s Minister of Communication and Information Technology announced today that the country has three satellites that are ready to be launched in the near future. “We have had talks with the Ministry of Defense as required and we will launch the satellites whenever they say,” Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi told reporters in Tehran.
Iranian, U.S. Officials Spar over Nuclear Deal at I.A.E.A. Conference
At the 61st General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (I.A.E.A.) in Vienna earlier today, the top Iranian nuclear official warned that U.S. “hostile” actions are undermining the nuclear agreement Tehran signed with world powers two years ago.
Iran’s New Army Chief: Tiniest Mistake Will Shorten Israel’s 25-Year Lifespan
On Monday, the new chief commander of Iran’s Army said Israel had a maximum life span of 25 years and that the Jewish state would perish even earlier if it “makes any mistake” over its remaining lifetime. “The notion that the Zionist regime of Israel will not be existing 25 years from now does not mean that it would have a full time span of 25 years to live,” Tasnim News Agency quoted Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi as saying. He also warned that any Israeli mistake would result in the destruction of Haifa and Tel Aviv.
Kata’ib Hezbollah: We’re Ready to Fight American Troops in Iraq
Kata’ib Hezbollah, an Iranian-supported Iraqi militia group, has threatened to “fight American occupiers” and accused U.S. troops of aiding the Islamic Statein Iraq. “Washington is engaged in smuggling and evacuating Islamic State criminals from Iraq,” Jafar al-Husseini, the spokesman of the group, was quoted as saying in an article published on the organization’s official website. It added that the group will release evidence to substantiate the allegations in the future.
Tehran, Ankara and Moscow Reach Agreement over Syria’s Idlib
Iran, Turkey and Russia have agreed to establish the fourth de-escalation zone in Syria’s Idlib Province, according to a joint statement issued by the three countries at the end of the sixth round of talks in Kazakhstan today. Iranian media published the full text of the statement in Farsi and English.
Iran Reacts to U.S. Congress Move Aimed at Blocking Boeing Sales
Head of Civil Aviation Organization of Iran Ali Abedzadeh has said that the latest U.S. Congressional bill will have no impact on the implementation of contracts between Tehran and international companies for the purchase of commerical aircraft. “All agreements with airplane manufacturing companies are signed in accordance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which is an agreement between Iran and the international community and endorsed by the United Nations as well,” he added.
Top Iranian Official: Iran Won’t Allow Inspection of Military Sites, “Case Closed”
Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani ruled out the possibility of allowing foreign inspectors to visit Iranian military sites. “There is no nuclear activity or even research in any of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s military centers, and visits by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) over the past years have confirmed the issue,” he said.
On the heels of the 16th anniversary of 9/11 — after two costly wars, countless sacrifices by our men and women in uniform, and a whopping $4 trillion-plus price tag — it’s time to ask: What’s missing in our grand strategy?
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.
