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.
Top Iranian, Turkish Military Leaders Discuss Regional Issues over Phone
The top Iranian and Turkish military officials discussed the Iraqi Kurdistan’s independence referendum plan and its implications in a telephone call earlier today, Iranian media reported. “The two sides stressed the significance of enhancing bilateral relations and cooperation and described the potential independence referendum in the Iraqi Kurdistan and its ramifications on regional security, peace and stability – including on Iran and Turkey – as detrimental and dangerous,” Iran’s Fars News Agency reported.
Iran-Backed P.M.F. Commander Warns of Civil War over Iraqi Kurdistan Dispute
The leader of a powerful group within Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (P.M.F.) has warned that the country could lapse back into anarchy and civil strife over the escalating dispute on the Kurdish autonomy.”If tension over the Iraqi Kurdistan’s referendum continues, it will certainly culminate in civil war” Hadi al-Amiri, the head of Iranian-supported Badr Organization, was quoted as saying by Iran’s Fars News Agency.
The spokesman of Iran’s Guardian Council has announced that the influential body has not finalized its assessment of a bill that the Iranian Parliament recently passed to counter U.S.
Iran Expands Its Economic Sphere of Influence in Syria
In the latest sign that Tehran is seeking to expand its economic sphere of influence in Syria, the Iranian government on Tuesday signed several agreements with Damascus to restore Syria’s power grid and infrastructure. Although the Syrian war is far from over, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (I.R.G.C.) is already looking for financial rewards for its support to the embattled regime of Bashar al-Assad in the past six years. Since the seizure of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo in December, the Syrian government has granted I.R.G.C. companies lucrative contracts on a no-bidding basis.
Before the conflict in Syria started, Turkey cultivated close ties to the Assad regime. The two countries lifted visa requirements, held joint military exercises and cabinet meetings, and collaborated against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (P.K.K.). Ankara’s newly-adopted philosophy, “zero problems with neighbors,” had—at the time—won praise both at home and abroad. Turkish foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, the architect of the policy, at one point described Turkey’s Syria policy as a “striking example” of the success of Ankara’s new foreign policy vision.
Agriculture is a significant contributor to Egypt’s economy. However, in recent years Egypt has faced serious challenges producing food for a growing population in a sustainable manner. How can the Egyptian economy be “greened” with agriculture? In an effort to address this question, this essay provides an in-depth analysis of recently enacted laws — including the Egyptian Constitution of 2014 and Law (26/2015) — that could have a far-reaching impact on sustainable agriculture and food security.
Will Pakistan Reassess its Ties to Terror Groups after Trump Speech?
The major components of President Donald Trump’s much-awaited Afghanistan strategy are sufficient to give Pakistani strategists sleepless nights. The new plan will acknowledge Pakistan’s significant role in providing safe havens for terrorists; escalate war against the Afghan Taliban while denying it the ability to fight its way into positions of power; and enhance India’s role in stabilizing and developing Afghanistan. Moreover, the strategy does not provide deadlines for withdrawal of U.S. forces.
Transitioning to Inclusive Green Growth in the Middle East and Asia
In 1987 the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development released Our Common Future, commonly known as the Brundtland Report. This publication contained the most widely recognized definition of the concept of “sustainable development.” As defined in the document, “Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
I.R.G.C. University Deploys Trainers to “Resistance Front” for Asymmetrical Warfare Experience
Imam Hossein University, a U.S.-designated Iranian military institution affiliated with the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (I.R.G.C.), sends its commanders and
Hezbollah Leader Declares Victory in Syria, Recalls Meeting with Khamenei
Lebanese Hezbollah’s Leader Hassan Nasrallah has declared victory in the Syrian war, Iranian and Lebanese media reported today. According to Lebanon’s al-Akhbar daily, Nasrallah said at a religious gathering in Lebanon that Hezbollah and its allies have won the war in Syria and what remains are only scattered battles. “Our martyrs, wounded and prisoners are changing equations and writing the history of the entire region, not just Lebanon’s,” he was quoted as saying.
Iran Rejects I.A.E.A. Chief’s Claim about Inspection of Military Sites
Iranian officials have reiterated that the country would not allow any foreign inspectors to visit its military sites, rejecting International Atomic Energy Agency (I.A.E.A.) head’s Monday remarks that the watchdog makes no distinction between civilian and military sites in its inspect
Iranian-Backed Iraqi Group: Our Forces Are Ready to Recapture al-Qa'im near Syrian Border
A commander of Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (P.M.F.) has announced that the paramilitary forces have taken complete preparations to recapture remaining areas under the Islamic State control in western parts of al-Anbar Province close to the Syrian border. According to Fars News Agency, an Iranian outlet affiliated with the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (I.R.G.C.), Jawad al-Talibawi, the spokesperson for the armed wing of Iranian-supported Asaib Ahl al-Haq, said P.M.F.
Iraqi Forces Turn Attention to Hawija | Monday Briefing
In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Paul Salem, Robert S. Ford, Alex Vatanka, and Bilal Y. Saab provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including the Iraqi military’s new operation to take back the town of Hawija from ISIS, the operation by the Syrian regime and U.S.-backed forces in Deir Ezzor, the Pakistani foreign minister’s visit to Iran, and the resumption of U.S. and Egyptian war games after being suspended since the 2011.
Tehran Organizes al-Ghadeer Shiite Religious Event in Damascus
Senior Iranian officials attended a public gathering in Damascus over the weekend to commemorate the Shiite religious event of Eid al-Ghadeer. According to the Iranian media, Abolfazl Tabatabai, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s special representative to Syria, and Javad Torkabadi, Tehran’s ambassador to Damascus, were among keynote speakers at the event. Hundreds of people attended the celebration at the historic Sayyidah Zaynab Mosque in southern Damascus.
Tehran, Proxies Warn against U.S. Military Presence in Post-ISIS Iraq, Syria
The United States is seeking to keep a significant military presence in Iraq and the broader region after the fall of the Islamic State, warns an article in the Islamic Republic News Agency. The author points out that pro-Syrian regime forces have made important territorial gains against the Islamic State recently and claims that the lifting of a siege over the eastern city of Deir Ezzor marks the beginning of the terrorist group’s end.
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.
