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Middle East Institute

Consolidating Sovereignty, Security and Peace: Time to Step up the Game
  • Commentary
  • Consolidating Sovereignty, Security and Peace: Time to Step up the Game

    Although it has been a frustrating summer, Lebanon remains on the right track. My observation after a ten-day visit to Beirut and Jerusalem this month is that leaders in both capitals remain strongly committed to a shared objective.

    Turkey’s Nuclear Ambitions in the Post-Iran War Environment
  • Analysis
  • Turkey’s Nuclear Ambitions in the Post-Iran War Environment

    Turkish ambitions to develop nuclear weapons are not new, but the changing security environment is strengthening Ankara’s motivations and rationale for moving away from its longstanding role as a champion of nonproliferation and toward a strategy of preserving the option to build nuclear weapons without actually pursuing them. The challenge for Washington is to manage the nuclear trajectory of regional powers such as Turkey and Saudi Arabia rather than preventing them from acquiring greater nuclear capabilities altogether.

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    The Latest on War with Iran

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    The Houthis
  • Backgrounder
  • The Houthis

    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.

    May 15, 2026

    Israeli Settlements in the West Bank
  • Backgrounder
  • Israeli Settlements in the West Bank

    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.

    June 9, 2026