Project
Middle East Perspectives
A forum for discussion of the most pressing issues facing the Middle East and U.S. policymakers.
About the Project
Featuring sober analysis from regional and Western experts on the Middle East’s structural and geopolitical issues. The contributors are not affiliated with the Stimson Center.
Project Team
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Research & Writing
Commentary
Tehran seeks to raise the cost of UAE cooperation with the U.S. and Israel and weaken Emirati morale by targeting an economy based on tourism and foreign investment.
May 7, 2026
Iraq has evolved from a buffer between competing regional powers into an active launchpad for proxy warfare.
May 6, 2026
Commentary
An updated armistice agreement could pave the way for a serious conversation about border demarcation and an end to all wars that use South Lebanon as a launching pad.
April 21, 2026
Commentary
The conflict with Iran has exposed tech infrastructure to new acute threats, with Iranian drones striking data centers in Bahrain and the UAE.
April 16, 2026
Commentary
Given the failure of direct talks to resolve the conflict, the likeliest near-term outcome is intensified indirect diplomacy via multiple intermediaries including Pakistan, Egypt, and Oman in addition to Turkey.
April 13, 2026
Commentary
Pakistan’s initiative is undermined by its own political limitations vis-à-vis both Iran and the United States.
April 9, 2026
Commentary
Given the month-long delay, the Houthis’ missile launch reads less as an operational decision than as a political one.
March 30, 2026
Commentary
Israel’s assassination campaign has led to the promotion of IRGC old-timers who are likely to prove more hostile to the U.S. and less nimble in negotiating an end to the war.
March 26, 2026
Commentary
GCC states are moving toward a more confrontational posture with long-term negative ramifications for relations with Iran.
March 25, 2026
Commentary
Saudi Arabia’s evolving nuclear calculus reflects not only Iran’s program but also eroding U.S. security guarantees.
March 23, 2026
Commentary
The crisis has shifted from a logistical bottleneck to a structural supply shock, with far more severe implications for global energy stability.
March 19, 2026
Commentary
What Mojtaba Khamenei’s succession could mean for Iran’s politics, regional posture, and relations with the United States.
March 11, 2026
Commentary
While the Islamic Republic spent billions on missiles and regional military adventures, it failed to build and maintain an effective air defense system.
March 9, 2026
Commentary
Will Iran move toward accelerated weaponization, strategic recalibration within a threshold posture, or a redefinition of its nuclear ambitions altogether?
March 9, 2026
Video
Iran’s retaliation has expanded the conflict across the Middle East. Stimson Center Distinguished Fellow Barbara Slavin explains the growing regional risks and the uncertain future of Iran’s leadership.
March 5, 2026
Commentary
A fierce but brittle regime can hang on for a long time in the absence of a unified, national opposition enjoying outside help.
March 5, 2026
Commentary
The next few days will indicate whether the Houthis will follow their ideology or turn inward.
March 3, 2026
Commentary
A soft closure of the Strait of Hormuz can inflict much of the same damage as a declared blockade.
March 3, 2026
Commentary
Rebuilding Iran’s proxy network is going to be challenging given the structural shifts that have eroded its foundations.
March 2, 2026
Commentary
There are no guarantees that whoever follows Khamenei will be an improvement, but popular protests have exposed the Islamic Republic’s vulnerability more dramatically at this time.
February 28, 2026
Commentary
The prevailing consensus reduces incentives for strategic innovation, even as the cycle of confrontation persists.
February 23, 2026
Commentary
Azerbaijan is watching rising unrest in neighboring Iran and the prospect of new Israeli or American strikes on that country with concern.
February 18, 2026
Commentary
Gulf states fear not only a belligerent Iran but also Iranian fragmentation, escalation, and strategic miscalculation.
February 13, 2026
Commentary
Even after Khamenei dies, it is unclear whether Iran can produce a new unifying leader or a transition to a liberal democratic order.
February 12, 2026
Commentary
The main challenge is division of Iranians into “insiders” versus “outsiders,” which exacerbates divisions among elites and political and civil society activists.
February 2, 2026
Commentary
The main challenge is division of Iranians into “insiders” versus “outsiders,” which exacerbates divisions among elites and political and civil society activists.
January 27, 2026
Commentary
A narrow space remains for dialogue between the SDF and the Syrian government to prevent the country from sliding into another cycle of terrorism and revenge.
January 23, 2026
Commentary
Without structural solutions that address both fronts together, the region is heading toward another cycle of sectarian violence.
January 21, 2026
Commentary
Not bombing Iran does not mean abandoning its people.
January 15, 2026
Commentary
In seven months after Assad fell, Israel attacked Syria nearly 1000 times.
January 14, 2026
Commentary
The internationally recognized government of Yemen remains in place, but the locus of decision-making has shifted to Riyadh.
January 12, 2026
Commentary
From Iran to Yemen, Lebanon to Syria to Gaza and the West Bank, more people are likely to die from armed confrontations, humanitarian failures, and external intervention.
January 7, 2026
Commentary
Greater access to information, ironically, limits the ability of protestors to coalesce into a single, decisive political force.
January 5, 2026
Commentary
A major challenge to the peace process involves the future of the Syrian Democratic Forces, the Kurdish forces in Syria.
December 17, 2025
Commentary
The project fits a long-standing pattern in Iran of improvisation rather than reform.
December 11, 2025
Commentary
Iraq’s cyber vulnerabilities are rooted in legacy systems, underfunded IT governance, underdeveloped legal protections, and the worldwide phenomenon of digital illiteracy.
November 24, 2025
Commentary
The EU has yet to fully wield its political and economic weight, which risks eroding its credibility as a strategic partner for the GCC in managing regional tensions.
November 20, 2025
Commentary
The leader’s eclipse has left Iran without a functioning helm and caused stasis across all sectors even as the country faces unprecedented domestic and foreign challenges.
November 12, 2025
Commentary
The Caspian coast of Iran is at a turning point, where environmental deterioration, economic losses, and geopolitical tensions collide.
November 7, 2025
Commentary
Exploring Israel’s Doha strike and its strategic aftershocks in the GCC.
November 3, 2025
Commentary
Concern over the reliability of U.S. security guarantees prior to Israel’s strike on Qatar facilitated the strategic rapprochement between Cairo and Riyadh.
October 30, 2025
Commentary
Many of the groups are supported by Israeli authorities who see Palestinian fragmentation as a way to both contain Hamas and to perpetuate Israel’s occupation.
October 27, 2025
Commentary
The reopening of the Iraq-Turkey pipeline, Gulf-Turkey energy partnerships, and the Middle Corridor expansion point to an emerging infrastructure network that diminishes bottlenecks and empowers regional middle players.
October 23, 2025
Commentary
A visit to Moscow by the Syrian president followed months of preliminary contacts.
October 21, 2025
Commentary
Even if the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas holds, Israel’s Houthi problem is unlikely to disappear.
October 16, 2025
Commentary
If the accord survives its initial stages, Iranian hard-liners could face a stark choice: support the peace agreement, redefining Iran’s regional role, or oppose it, risking alienation from Palestinian allies and even more diminished regional influence.
October 15, 2025
Commentary
What began as a series of scattered corruption cases and allegations of procedural irregularities has evolved into a sprawling legal campaign that threatens the CHP’s organizational survival, leadership legitimacy, and electoral viability.
October 9, 2025
Commentary
A temporary ceasefire that returns the hostages and relieves the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza would be a major achievement
October 7, 2025
Commentary
Tehran has become proficient at evasion measures such as ship-to-ship transfers of oil, disabling Automatic Identification System (AIS) tracking, and alternative payment mechanisms that circumvent the dollar-based international financial network.
October 2, 2025
Commentary
The collapse of the JCPOA marks a new nadir in intermittent efforts to resolve conflicts dating from the 1979 Islamic revolution.
September 29, 2025
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