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.
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-led Forces Intensify Fighting in Syria despite Truce
The Iranian media reports that a senior general of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has been killed in Syria. According to IRGC-affiliated Fars News Agency, Gholamali Gholizadeh was “martyred during fighting with Takfiri terrorists.” Iranian officials and outlets often refer to all Syrian opposition forces as “terrorists.”
Iranian media has reported that Javad Turk-Abadi will be Iran’s next ambassador to Damascus. “Turk-Abadi was chosen by Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and this selection was approved by President Hassan Rouhani,” it was reported.
IRGC Commander Hints at Executing Opposition Leaders
News Brief: In a controversial set of remarks, a top commander from the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) suggested that “the people” would want the death penalty to be imposed on the two leaders of Iran’s opposition movement. Hossein Nejat was referring to Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, who spearheaded the mass protests against the regime during 2009-2011. “These people under house arrest enjoy wonderful amenities. They have swimming pools and access to the internet.
Iranian Judiciary Chief Defends Regime’s Dismal Rights Record
Iran’s Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani dismissed international concern about human rights abuses in Iran and claimed that people of all faiths and backgrounds enjoyed freedom and protection in the Islamic Republic. He also lamented that attacks against Muslims and their places of worship in the West are on the rise and accused Western countries of promoting “Islamophobia.”
Hardline Iranian Cleric Calls Mass Execution “Revolutionary”
Grand Ayatollah Nasser Makarem Shirazi has called the execution of thousands of political prisoners in Iran in 1988 “a revolutionary act.” He continued, “There is a group [within the country] that want to seek revenge from the regime and destroy it.” He also alleged that Iranian political dissidents are in
Senior Iranian Delegation Visits Damascus for Talks
Iran’s Fars News Agency reports that a high-level Iranian parliamentary delegation left Tehran for Damascus on January 3 to hold meetings with senior Syrian officials. The chairman of Iranian Parliament’s Committee on National Security and Foreign Policy, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, heads the delegation.
Iran Hosts International “Down with USA” Exhibition
News Brief: On December 29, senior Iranian civilian and military officials participated in the closing ceremony of The Third International Grand Award of “Down with USA” held in Tehran. The organizers of the event had asked artists, photojournalists, cartoonists and documentary-makers from all over the world to submit their works for the competition and promised monetary rewards for the winners.
Heydar Moslehi, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s special representative to the Islamic Republic Guards Corps (IRGC), has launched a scathing attack on Western embassies in Tehran.
Khamenei’s Tight Control over Iran’s Missile Arsenal
Hassan Firouzabadi, up until recently the Chief of Staff of Iranian Armed Forces, has revealed the country’s supreme leader is intensely involved in managing Iran’s missile industry.
Qassem Suleimani in Aleppo Angers Russian Generals
News Brief:Shia News, an Iranian website, commented that the sudden appearance of Qassem Suleimani, the head of Iran’s Quds Force, in the streets of Aleppo after it was recaptured by Iran-led forces generated anger among the top Russian military brass.
Iranian Military Base for Russia Illustrates Tehran’s Real Agenda
On December 27, Iran’s Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan gave a lengthy interview about Iranian regional policy objectives. In his remarks, Dehghan made it clear that Russia can count on access to military sites on Iranian soil should circumstances require it.
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.
