Caught in the Crossfire: Jordan’s Balancing Act in the Iran-Israel Conflict

Jordan’s defensive action to intercept Iran’s retaliatory drones and missiles, slashing through its skies in mid-June, has drawn both approval and criticism, underscoring the kingdom’s struggles to balance strategic alliances with public opinion

Israel and Iran: Major Threats to Middle East Stability

By Erwin van Veen / Fall 2025

Both states have violated international law and instigated regional chaos

Gamechanger or Fantasy? Trump’s Evolving Middle East Strategy

By Carla Dondera and Gedaliah Afterman /

Trump’s return to the White House has revived his ambition to reshape the Middle East, but as the recent war between Israel and Iran shows, the way forward is anything but simple and demands an unprecedented level of U.S. involvement

Tehran’s Red Lines, Trump’s Maximum Pressure, and Regime Survival

By Ali Fathollah-Nejad / Spring/Summer 2025

Progress toward a potential nuclear deal between the United States and Iran stalls, amid a high-stakes process for Tehran and others

U.S. Missionaries in 1979’s Iran—with Matthew Shannon: CR Amplified ep. 4

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U.S.-Iranian relations changed dramatically as the 1979 Islamic Revolution approached. The U.S. Christian Missionaries in Iran were not immune to these political transformations

Iran’s Civil Society May Be its Best Hope

By Kourosh Ziabari /

Iran is engaging in talks with the United States as it feels the weight of economic, diplomatic, and domestic crises. The outcome is not clear and democracy isn’t within reach, but its civil society, representing the nation’s best hope for positive change, hasn’t yet lost its resilience

The U.S. Presbyterian Mission in Iran— with Matthew Shannon: CR Amplified ep. 3

Many see the United States and Iran as sworn enemies, but few are aware about the deep history of the relationship between the two countries. A focal point of this shared history can be seen through Christian missionaries present in Tehran during the first half of the 20th century.

Round Two: Trump’s Foreign Policy Takes on New Challenges

By William B. Quandt / Winter 2025

Trump will have to manage the continuing conflict in the Middle East, the war in Ukraine, and the rising power of China as he navigates the beginning of his second term

A Resurgent Trump Returns to a Turbulent Middle East

By Paul Salem / Winter 2025

Trump’s unpredictable yet forceful leadership is entering a region in flux, offering both challenges and opportunities for his second term

Duel with Israel is Turbocharging Iranian Nationalism

By Kourosh Ziabari /

There’s only one ingredient in the Iranian people’s worldview that has not been outperformed by a disastrous mélange of crackdowns on civil liberties, economic maladies, corruption, and the specter of an all-out confrontation with Israel: nationalism

Is China Becoming a Political Player in the Middle East?

By Dominika Urhová and Gedaliah Afterman /

China saw Israel’s war in Gaza as an opportunity to gain traction in the Middle East at the expense of the United States, but is it ready to become a serious political actor in the region?

Iranians Don’t Want a War With Israel

By Kourosh Ziabari / Summer 2024

Most believe that Tehran’s engagement in the battle for Palestinian emancipation is intrusive and uncalled for

Politics of Apathy and All-Out War in the Post-Gaza New World

By Abdalhadi Alijla / Summer 2024

The genocidal campaign against the Gaza Strip threatens widening of the conflict into a regional war, creating new realities that may endure for decades

Iran’s Election: Reality Versus the Dominant Narrative

By Massoud Hedeshi /

The primary discourse on Iran’s politics obscures its nuanced reality through binary and inaccurate labels of “moderate” and “hardliner”; examining this framework reveals a deep Western insecurity about Iran’s and the Global South’s rising power

The World Fears Wider War After Hamas Leader’s Assassination

The international community races to reduce tension after a series of targeted killings carried out by Israel

Analysis: Can BRICS+ Provide a Counterweight to the West?

By Helmo Preuss /

With the admission of six new countries, BRICS increases its economic power and global clout, possibly establishing its place as a challenger to the G7.

From Cold War to Regional Reconciliation: The New Pragmatism in the Middle East

By Albadr Alshateri /

The new pragmatism in the Middle East is leading to a regional reconciliation process that, though some critics doubt it, is showing signs that it can sustain itself in the near future.

The Saudi Gambit in Washington

By Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy /

Saudi Arabia is in a position to become a major international player but to sustain such a role it needs to consolidate its leadership in the Middle East.
The Arab Summit, which concluded in Jeddah last weekend, may well have just confirmed the Kingdom’s leadership of the Arab World. But now Riyadh needs to transform that into a regional leadership role.
Such a regional undertaking requires—in addition to taking the lead on the political settlement of the various crises that have plagued the region—the sagacious management of its relationships with both the United States and Israel. » Read more about: The Saudi Gambit in Washington »

The Strategic Calculus behind the Saudi-Iranian Agreement

By Abdolrasool Divsallar and Hesham Alghannam /

Reconciliation between Iran and Saudi Arabia creates opportunities for cooperation and poses security challenges stemming from opposing objectives, and foreign and domestic spoilers.

Iran-Saudi Arabia: A Regional Transformation?

By Ana Davis and Omar Auf /

The expected resumption of diplomatic ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran has the potential to reshape the dynamics of the Middle East by bringing an end to proxy wars and creating opportunity for regional stability.

What Losing the Iran Deal Could Mean for the Region

By Seyed Hossein Mousavian / Fall 2022/Winter 2023

If President Joe Biden is seeking to restore sustainable peace and security in the region, he has to start with reviving the JCPOA

Strategic Survival in Syria

By Omar Abu Layla / Fall 2022/Winter 2023

How Russia and Iran maintain their grip in Syria under the shadows of the Ukraine war

Russia, Ukraine, and U.S. Policy in the Middle East

By Daniel C. Kurtzer / Fall 2022/Winter 2023

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has influenced U.S. policy in the Middle East, the future of which depends on the outcome of the war, as well as Washington’s commitment to the region

The Ukraine War: The View from Iran

By Hamidreza Azizi / Fall 2022/Winter 2023

Why has Iran chosen to clandestinely have closer ties with Russia in the Ukraine War?

The Nuclear Pyramid of the Islamic Republic

By Ali Fathollah-Nejad and Rahman Bouzari /

Iran has squandered billions on a nuclear program that has impoverished its people and hastened ecological disaster.

Time to Stop Talking of the Shiite-Sunni Divide

By Abdullah Hamidaddin / Summer 2022

When Western media frames the Middle East in terms of sectarianism, not only does it do a grave disservice to its audience, but also to the people of this region, with far-reaching consequences

Red Lines in Global Media

By Khaled Ezzelarab / Summer 2022

Whether in liberal democracies or across the Arab World, journalists today are struggling to navigate a difficult route amid government restrictions, ambiguous red lines, and non-state actors affecting how the media is run

A Revolution and A War: How Iran Transformed Today’s Middle East

By Seyed Hossein Mousavian /

How the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the eight-year Iran–Iraq War greatly and irreversibly influenced the geopolitics and regional dynamics of the Middle East

The Changing Middle East Regional Order

By Paul Salem / Winter 2022

A history of the Arab state system starting from the second half of the twentieth century to the present

Managing Crises, the Least-Bad Option

By Joost Hiltermann / Winter 2022

Conflict management in the MENA region has little chance of succeeding as conflicts increasingly intersect and tensions driven by larger, regional triggers become even more unpredictable

From Political Islam to the Politics of Islam

By Nathan Brown / Winter 2022

With electoral paths blocked or unpromising, the Islamist project is now being transformed from what it was at the beginning of the last decade

A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

By Muhamed H. Almaliky / Winter 2022

Did Saudi Arabia miss a huge opportunity at an early engagement with Iraq?

The Rise of the United Arab Emirates

By Abdulkhaleq Abdulla / Spring 2021

By harnessing national confidence, proactively dealing with regional security concerns and exercising geopolitical cooperation, the UAE is positioning itself as a regional powerhouse.

Solving the Nuclear Stalemate between Iran and the United States

By Gawdat Bahgat / Spring 2021

To reach an agreement on Iran’s nuclear program and provide an effective security apparatus across the region, all Middle Eastern countries need to move beyond a zero-sum mentality.

The Iran Nuclear Deal: A Springboard for a New Middle East Security Architecture

By Nabil Fahmy / February 25, 2021

The Iran nuclear deal could be the first building block in a new Middle East security architecture.

What to Expect from Biden in the Middle East

By William B. Quandt / February 24, 2021

A Biden administration is likely to rewrite a lot of Trump’s Middle East policies, but the Israel-Palestine issue may not be a priority.

Why the Phrase “Arab Spring” Should be Retired

By Sean David Hobbs / Winter 2021

It’s time to stop using a Western-based concept ten years on from the events that began the Arab Uprisings.

In the Zone: The Long and Winding Road to Middle East Disarmament

By Karim Haggag / Winter 2021

As the international community grapples with the immediate challenge of Iran’s nuclear program, those in Washington and other capitals should consult Seyed Hossein Mousavian and Emad Kiyaei’s book and perhaps devise a more considered approach to rid the Middle East of the threat of mass destruction that continues to hang over the region.