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.
Geopolitical influence over trade increasingly rests on controlling the systems that make them work. The Middle East illustrates the stakes. US ports, cable corridors, cloud facilities, artificial intelligence (AI) investments, and maritime routes connect regional economies to global commerce while exposing them to external decisions and disruptions. For the United States, the challenge is to translate technological advantage into resilient networks rather than rely on centrality that can itself become a source of vulnerability and coercion.
Bonus Episode: Previewing Israel’s First Post-October 7 Election
Israel is preparing to hold what may be its most consequential election in decades. On October 27, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will face his first electoral test since October 7, 2023. In this bonus episode of Middle East Focus, we present the audio from a recent MEI webinar, hosted in Israel on the eve of the vote. Senior Fellow Natan Sachs is joined by Dr. Shira Efron, Distinguished Chair for Israel Policy and senior fellow at the RAND Corporation, and Neri Zilber, veteran journalist and Financial Times correspondent. They explore what’s at stake in this historic election and how different outcomes could reshape Israel’s domestic politics and the wider region.
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.
Wed, 8/14/2013 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm The Middle East Institute is pleased to welcome H.E. Ambassador Raouf Adly Saad, former special envoy to Africa of the interim president of Egypt, for a conversation about Egypt’s political transition and future. In light of Egypt’s many challenges, Ambassador Saad will discuss the transitional government’s goals and priorities and offer his insights about how to get Egypt on a path toward economic stability and democracy.Bios:H.E. Ambassador Raouf Adly Saad served as the special envoy to Africa for Interim Egyptian President Adly Mansour.
Wed, 8/14/2013 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm The Middle East Institute is pleased to welcome H.E. Ambassador Raouf Adly Saad, former special envoy to Africa of the interim president of Egypt, for a conversation about Egypt’s political transition and future. In light of Egypt’s many challenges, Ambassador Saad will discuss the transitional government’s goals and priorities and offer his insights about how to get Egypt on a path toward economic stability and democracy.Bios:H.E. Ambassador Raouf Adly Saad served as the special envoy to Africa for Interim Egyptian President Adly Mansour.
Wed, 8/14/2013 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm The Middle East Institute is pleased to welcome H.E. Ambassador Raouf Adly Saad, former special envoy to Africa of the interim president of Egypt, for a conversation about Egypt’s political transition and future. In light of Egypt’s many challenges, Ambassador Saad will discuss the transitional government’s goals and priorities and offer his insights about how to get Egypt on a path toward economic stability and democracy.Bios:H.E. Ambassador Raouf Adly Saad served as the special envoy to Africa for Interim Egyptian President Adly Mansour.
The UAE’s Strategic Trade Partnership with Asia: A Focus on Dubai
Over the past several decades, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been transformed into one of the world’s most robust economies. The key to the UAE’s success has been economic diversification; indeed, oil now accounts for only one-third of the country’s GDP. According to UAE Ministry of Foreign Trade Reports, the value of non-oil exports increased thirtyfold during the period 1981-2009. Dubai accounted for approximately 82 percent of non-oil exports in the UAE in 2010, while Abu Dhabi accounted for 14 percent. In particular, by setting up over two dozen free zones as platforms for nearly all industry sectors, the UAE has become far less dependent on oil.
1. The current state apparatus is intent on using force to disperse sit-ins—protests that are a direct response to a genuine political crisis. Blood has been spilled; victims are being shot down. Political solutions have been willfully ignored, and so has the fact that efforts to bring about such solutions are absolutely critical, regardless of what difficulties or obstacles may stand in the way.
The Iranian diaspora in Malaysia is a diverse and vibrant community of educators, students, artists, and entrepreneurs. The following essays provide snapshots of the historical and cultural connections between Iran and Malaysia, as well as the personal and professional experiences and creative output of some of the members of this community.
Since the 1970s oil boom, the Gulf region has been one of the principal destinations for workers from South Asia, with the result that today Indians constitute a large percentage of the non-nationals living in the region. Indeed, at five million out of an estimated 15 million people, the Indian community forms the largest expatriate group in each of the Gulf countries. Most Indian immigrants are from the south Indian state of Kerala, while many of the rest originate from Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar.
Egypt after June 30: Violence in Speech, Politics, & Institutions
The current wave of violence in Egypt, which began in the wake of June 30, 2013, is unlike any other the Egyptian public has witnessed since the January 25 revolution of 2011. Both verbal and political forms of violence are driving Egypt’s state and society toward a dangerous precipice—and to a total departure from the path to democratic transformation.
“What’s interesting about the Christians is that when they elect Shafik, they comprise half the population; when they go down to Ittihadiya [Palace] they are most of the population; when it comes to building churches they are five percent; and right before the elections they are partners in the nation.”
–Egyptian satirist Bassem Youssef, December 14, 2012[1]
The fact that millions of Egyptians welcomed back the military and the police in order to depose Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood in early July has given the police a regained sense of control and authority. As such, they have returned to the streets in large numbers and, moreover, have been implicated in the shooting deaths of protestors calling for Morsi’s reinstatement.
Significant numbers of Egyptians again poured into the streets on July 26 in response to Defense Minister Abdul-Fattah el-Sisi’s call to demonstrate “against terrorism.” While some may argue over the merit of el-Sisi’s call, the deluge of people into the streets reflects a rejection of what they believe is a Brotherhood campaign of political violence waged not just against security forces but against civilians.
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.
