Trump’s Family Business Deals Risk Further Undermining the Credibility of US Middle East Policy
President Trump’s family businesses are once again in the spotlight as a new financial disclosure showed they earned $2 billion in income in 2025 — a dramatic increase on the year before, with much of it coming from Gulf entities, raising emoluments concerns. Mounting perceptions of corruption, combined with unresolved crises in Iran and Israel-Palestine, are eroding trust among key partners in the Middle East. With the 2026 midterms approaching, these entanglements could represent a major political vulnerability and further undermine America’s already-strained standing in the region.
After the US-Israel-Iran war — and the strikes that followed the cease-fire — the Gulf states find themselves dangerously exposed. Host Alistair Taylor is joined by MEI Associate Fellow Gregory Gause to discuss the war’s impact on the Gulf, their partnership with the United States, and whether the turmoil of recent months will push Gulf leaders to reassess their alliances and international engagement.
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.
Turkey and the Regional Dynamics of the Syrian Crisis
Turkey and the Regional Dynamics of the Syrian Crisis Denise Natali, Omer Taspinar, Mona Yacoubian, Gonul Tol 27 September, 2012 Podcast 31This is the second of four events in a joint lecture series by Middle East Institute’s Center for Turkish Studies and the Institute of Turkish Studies at Georgetown University.
This article was first published by The National Interest. on September 26, 2012
Assertions and opinions in this publication are solely those of the above-mentioned author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Middle East Institute, which expressly does not take positions on Middle East policy.
Afghanistan's Cultural Institutions & Private Sector in the Shadow of 2014
MEI Podcast, 20120925 Afghanistan’s Cultural Institutions & Private Sector in the Shadow of 2014 Shaharzad Akbar; Joanie Meharry, Jahid Mohseni, Laura Tedesco, George Gavrilis , Wendy ChamberlinPresented by The Middle East Institute and the Hollings Center
Afghanistan's Cultural Institutions & Private Sector in the Shadow of 2014
MEI Podcast, 20120925 Afghanistan’s Cultural Institutions & Private Sector in the Shadow of 2014 Shaharzad Akbar; Joanie Meharry, Jahid Mohseni, Laura Tedesco, George Gavrilis , Wendy ChamberlinPresented by The Middle East Institute and the Hollings Center
Afghanistan's Cultural Institutions & Private Sector in the Shadow of 2014
MEI Podcast, 20120925 Afghanistan’s Cultural Institutions & Private Sector in the Shadow of 2014 Shaharzad Akbar; Joanie Meharry, Jahid Mohseni, Laura Tedesco, George Gavrilis , Wendy ChamberlinPresented by The Middle East Institute and the Hollings Center
Afghanistan's Cultural Institutions & Private Sector in the Shadow of 2014
MEI Podcast, 20120925 Afghanistan’s Cultural Institutions & Private Sector in the Shadow of 2014 Shaharzad Akbar; Joanie Meharry, Jahid Mohseni, Laura Tedesco, George Gavrilis , Wendy ChamberlinPresented by The Middle East Institute and the Hollings Center
This article was first published by Jane’s Islamic Affairs Analyst.
Assertions and opinions in this publication are solely those of the above-mentioned author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Middle East Institute, which expressly does not take positions on Middle East policy.
Discussions of transboundary water issues in regions of the developing world other than the Middle East have tended to focus on development potential and poverty reduction. However, with respect to the Middle East, much of the media coverage and a sizable portion of scholarly writing have been devoted to “water conflicts.” Given the current amount of water available per capita, the high rate of population growth, and the high levels of interstate tension and conflict in the region, images of “water wars” do not seem far-fetched.
Libya, the third largest country in the African continent (1.75 million km²), shares 4,400 km of border with six other countries, four of which are Arab countries. It has a vast coastal area on the Mediterranean (nearly 2,000 km). For such a large country, its population density is very thin — there are barely six million inhabitants.
Slain U.S. Ambassador Thrived On Tough Assignments
This story first appeared on NPR.com on September 12, 2012
Chris Stevens, the U.S. ambassador killed in an attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, was a very special diplomat. He made a career of going to difficult places and insisting that he witness tumultuous events firsthand.
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.
