Middle East Security

Within Middle East Security

The CNAS Middle East Security program will explore and recommend policy choices to advance U.S. national security objectives in the Middle East in the coming period in which the preponderance of U.S. military resources and attention will shift to other regions. The program will identify strategies and tools available to continue to promote regional stability and security, advance partnerships and alliances, and anticipate emerging challenges. Additionally, the program will examine the strategic choices facing U.S. partners and adversaries in the Middle East region to better understand and predict their decision-making in the context of a fast-evolving strategic landscape.

Support CNAS

Recent Publications

Related Events

Related Press

In The News
Middle East Security / Energy, Economics & Security

Iran’s Oil Lifeline Outlasted the U.S. Assault, Strengthening Its Hand

“Iran over the years and across U.S. administrations developed sophisticated sanctions evasion techniques to receive revenue from selling oil,” said Alex Zerden, a former Trea...

In The News
Middle East Security

Trump Weighs Releasing Billions to Iran After Blasting Past Payments

“Based on our modeling, a lot of these potential bargaining chips look similar to those available during the Obama, Trump I and Biden administrations,” said Alex Zerden, an ad...

In The News
Middle East Security

Who Calls the Shots? Trump and Netanyahu Clash over Diverging Goals in Middle East War

“Iran and the Trump administration see the Iran and Lebanon theatres as united, and Israel sees them as distinct,” said Richard Fontaine, chief executive of the Center for a N...

View All Press

Research Team

  • Delaney Soliday

    Research Assistant, Middle East Security Program

  • Rachel Brandenburg

    Adjunct Senior Fellow, Middle East Security Program, Washington Managing Director and Senior Fellow, Israel Policy Forum

  • Hamzeh Hadad

    Adjunct Fellow, Middle East Security Program

  • Eitan Danon

    Adjunct Senior Fellow, Middle East Security Program

  • Elisa Ewers

    Adjunct Senior Fellow, Middle East Security Program

  • Daniel Schneiderman

    Adjunct Senior Fellow, Middle East Security Program

  • Celeste Wetmore

    Joseph S. Nye, Jr., intern, Middle East Security Program

  • Alex Zerden

    Adjunct Senior Fellow, Middle East Security Program, Founder, Capitol Peak Strategies