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Middle East and North Africa
"HA Hellyer, a senior associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute and the Carnegie Endowment, said: “Generally, the Egyptian military is very conservative about engagement beyond its borders – it’s why they haven’t seriously engaged elsewhere in the past decade, such as Yemen or Syria.
“Cairo isn’t about to jettison that kind of attitude, but at the same time, it has a strikingly serious view about security along its border with Libya. If Cairo decides to move, it would probably do so coordinating with the rest of its own regional axis, particularly Saudi Arabia and the UAE.” "
End of Tripoli siege raises fears of full-scale proxy war in Libya
In The News, 26 June 2020 Tags: Libya, Middle East and North Africa
The Constraints of Infallibility: The Pronouncements of Iran’s Supreme Leader
RUSI Journal, 28 May 2020
P Sadeghi and Jack Watling
It is hard for the Supreme Leader to change his position on major policy questions.
Tags: Iran's Nuclear Programme, Iran, Military Sciences, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy, Middle East and North Africa
""I think Vision 2030 is more or less over," says Michael Stephens, a Middle East analyst at the Royal United Services Institute in London. "I think it's finished."
The kingdom, he said, was facing "the hardest time it's been through, certainly the most difficult period of Mohammed bin Salman's tenure". "
Saudi crown prince bites the bullet as kingdom faces its biggest crisis ever
In The News, 20 May 2020 Tags: Middle East and North Africa
"Michael Stephens, a research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in London, said Israel has always been very concerned about missionary activity inside its borders.
Proselytizing “goes against what the state is there to do, which is to protect Jewish identity,” he said.
There has always been an “uncomfortable marriage” between Israel and evangelical Christian groups who support Israel but can also seek to convert Jews, Stephens said.
“Be Christian, fine; go visit the holy places, fine; support Israel. But do not go around trying to convert people, that’s always a red line,” he said. "
Israel considers shutting down evangelical Christian God TV's channel
In The News, 13 May 2020 Tags: Middle East and North Africa
Iranian Command and Control for Proxy Warfare
Multimedia, 1 May 2020
Dr Jack Watling sheds light on Iran's approach to Command and Control and proxy warfare.
Tags: Adversarial Studies, Iran's Nuclear Programme, Iran, Military Sciences, Profession of Arms, Middle East and North Africa
"The risk of escalation between the US and Iran is particularly high at this point because of the coronavirus pandemic, which has affected both countries severely, said Aniseh Bassiri Tabrizi, a Middle East security expert at the Royal United Service Institute.
"On top of the fact that each side has maintained in place its strategy (maximum pressure and retaliation respectively), it is possible that the coronavirus outbreak will increase the chances of miscalculation," Ms Tabrizi told The National. "
Iran to target US warships if they threaten vessels: IRGC commander
In The News, 23 April 2020 Tags: United States, Iran, Americas, International Security Studies, Defence Policy, Middle East and North AfricaPages
Europe and the Coronavirus Pandemic in the Middle East
Commentary, 6 April 2020Tobias Borck
The pandemic preoccupies Europe. But the continent should not lose sight of potential new crises in the Middle East.
Egypt, Iran, The Gulf Region, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Israel, Middle East and North Africa
Data-Driven Responses to the Coronavirus Pandemic and the Privacy Implications
Commentary, 2 April 2020Sneha Dawda and Rebecca Lucas
Many states are using data in innovative ways to tackle the spread of the coronavirus. From track and trace capabilities to the use of telecommunications data for quarantine enforcement, we highlight some of these data-driven national responses and discuss potential implications.
Coronavirus, Cyber, Cyber Security, Information, Law and Ethics, Technology, Central and South Asia, Middle East and North Africa
Don’t Lose Sight of the Enduring Global Terrorist Threat
Commentary, 30 March 2020Raffaello Pantucci
As the world’s attention remains understandably concentrated on the Coronavirus pandemic, it is important to remember that other threats have not gone away.
UK Counter-terrorism, Terrorism, Middle East and North Africa
Coronavirus Preparedness: Lessons Yet to be Learnt
Commentary, 3 March 2020Elisabeth Braw
Liberal democracies remain vulnerable to mass epidemics, despite the prevalence of time-tested methods to improve national resilience capabilities.
Coronavirus, United States, Military Sciences, Modern Deterrence, Europe, Central and South Asia, Middle East and North Africa
Soleimani’s Killing: The Regional Ripple Effects are Yet to Come
Commentary, 20 January 2020Jessica White
While the initial furore seems to have abated after the US killing of Major General Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force, the ripple effects will continue to spread across the region.
Iran, Terrorism and Conflict, Iraq, Counterinsurgency, Middle East and North AfricaPages
Iranian Command and Control for Proxy Warfare
Multimedia, 1 May 2020Dr Jack Watling sheds light on Iran's approach to Command and Control and proxy warfare.
Tags: Adversarial Studies, Iran's Nuclear Programme, Iran, Military Sciences, Profession of Arms, Middle East and North Africa
Dr Aniseh Bassiri Tabrizi on the Iran Nuclear Deal
Multimedia, 18 June 2019Dr Aniseh Bassiri Tabrizi talks to BBC News about the Iran Nuclear Deal. One year after the U.S. withdrew from the Iran Deal, Iran is looking to scale back its commitment.
Tags: United States, Iran, Americas, Germany, International Security Studies, Russia, France, UK, Europe, Middle East and North Africa
Psychological Occupation and Resistance in Mosul
Multimedia, 6 April 2018Mike Stevens on a new study published by RUSI that tells the extraordinary story of how resistance activists and fighters in Mosul ‘punctured Daesh’s image of invincibility’ leading to the city’s...
Tags: Iraq, Middle East and North Africa
The Iran Protests
Multimedia, 5 January 2018 Tags: Iran, International Security Studies, Global Security Issues, Middle East and North Africa
Understanding Unpredictability in the Middle East in 2018
Multimedia, 4 January 2018Dr Aniseh Bassiri Tabrizi outlines priorities for analysts will be to understand the impact and unpredictability of US policy in the Middle East.
Tags: Iran, International Security Studies, Middle East and North AfricaPages
The Constraints of Infallibility: The Pronouncements of Iran’s Supreme Leader
RUSI Journal, 28 May 2020P Sadeghi and Jack Watling
It is hard for the Supreme Leader to change his position on major policy questions.
Iran's Nuclear Programme, RUSI Journal, Iran, Military Sciences, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy, Middle East and North Africa
Proxy Warfare and the Future of Conflict: Take Two
RUSI Journal, 2 April 2020Vladimir Rauta
The Syrian conflict shows that there are ever-more reasons for states choosing to use proxies.
RUSI Journal, US Defence Policy, Syria, Defence Policy, Middle East and North Africa
Redefining ‘Propaganda’: The Media Strategy of the Islamic State
RUSI Journal, 17 March 2020Charlie Winter
The Islamic State was very selective when choosing to employ deception.
RUSI Journal, Terrorism and Conflict, Information, Terrorism, Middle East and North Africa
No Exit: Outside the Camp, Daesh Incidents are on the Rise. Inside, Tempers are Seething.
RUSI Journal, 18 December 2019Susan Schulman
A photo essay on northern Iraq sheds light on the situation in camps for displaced persons.
RUSI Journal, Iraq, Middle East and North Africa
Iran's Objectives and Capabilities: Deterrence and Subversion
Occasional Papers, 19 February 2019Jack Watling
This Occasional Paper explores Iran's foreign policy objectives through a strategic lens, considering strengths, weaknesses, and proxy relationships.
Civil–Military Relations, Iran's Nuclear Programme, Iran, Occasional Papers, Global Strategy and Commitments, Military Sciences, Defence Management, Defence Policy, Global Security Issues, Military Personnel, Terrorism, Middle East and North AfricaPages
Mapping the Pandemic: How Coronavirus is Affecting the Middle East
Events, 9 April 2020RUSI experts offered their assessments on the impact of Covid-19 in the Middle East.
Coronavirus, Middle East and North Africa
Briefing by Saudi Foreign Minister Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir
Events, 20 June 2019His Excellency Adel Al-Jubeir, Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs delivered a briefing at RUSI on the Saudi view on Middle East security.
Middle East and North Africa
The Great Betrayal: How America Abandoned the Kurds and Lost the Middle East
Events, 21 May 2019At this event Professor David Phillips will examine US Middle East policy, how it relates to Kurdish political aspirations and the role of Kurdish fighters combating ISIS in Iraq and Syria
RUSI International, Middle East and North Africa
Yemen: A Pathway to Reconciliation
Events, 16 May 2019This event will explore ways in which both Yemeni society and its disparate political groups can begin to reach compromise.
RUSI International, Middle East and North Africa
Learning to Fight Daesh
Events, 11 March 2019A lecture by Lieutenant General Jameel Kamil Al Shimary, President of Iraq’s Defence University for Military Studies.
Iraq, Middle East and North AfricaPages
"HA Hellyer, a senior associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute and the Carnegie Endowment, said: “Generally, the Egyptian military is very conservative about engagement beyond its borders – it’s why they haven’t seriously engaged elsewhere in the past decade, such as Yemen or Syria. “Cairo isn’t about to jettison that kind of attitude, but at the same time, it has a strikingly serious view about security along its border with Libya. If Cairo decides to move, it would probably do so coordinating with the rest of its own regional axis, particularly Saudi Arabia and the UAE.”"
End of Tripoli siege raises fears of full-scale proxy war in Libya
In The News, 26 June 2020 Tags: Libya, Middle East and North Africa
""I think Vision 2030 is more or less over," says Michael Stephens, a Middle East analyst at the Royal United Services Institute in London. "I think it's finished." The kingdom, he said, was facing "the hardest time it's been through, certainly the most difficult period of Mohammed bin Salman's tenure"."
Saudi crown prince bites the bullet as kingdom faces its biggest crisis ever
In The News, 20 May 2020 Tags: Middle East and North Africa
"Michael Stephens, a research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in London, said Israel has always been very concerned about missionary activity inside its borders. Proselytizing “goes against what the state is there to do, which is to protect Jewish identity,” he said. There has always been an “uncomfortable marriage” between Israel and evangelical Christian groups who support Israel but can also seek to convert Jews, Stephens said. “Be Christian, fine; go visit the holy places, fine; support Israel. But do not go around trying to convert people, that’s always a red line,” he said."
Israel considers shutting down evangelical Christian God TV's channel
In The News, 13 May 2020 Tags: Middle East and North Africa
"The risk of escalation between the US and Iran is particularly high at this point because of the coronavirus pandemic, which has affected both countries severely, said Aniseh Bassiri Tabrizi, a Middle East security expert at the Royal United Service Institute. "On top of the fact that each side has maintained in place its strategy (maximum pressure and retaliation respectively), it is possible that the coronavirus outbreak will increase the chances of miscalculation," Ms Tabrizi told The National."
Iran to target US warships if they threaten vessels: IRGC commander
In The News, 23 April 2020 Tags: United States, Iran, Americas, International Security Studies, Defence Policy, Middle East and North Africa
"“Russia has been less dependent on exports since 2014 as it has got used to sanctions and can afford to take this stance having built up in the country’s reserves,” says Emily Ferris, Russia and Eurasia research fellow at think-tank RUSI.“We have always known Russia is stubborn and it sees oil as a strategic sector,” she says. “This means it is not a pressing issue that will force it to back down from this position - it could last for months.”"
Russia and Saudi Arabia wait for the other side to blink first in the oil price war
In The News, 10 March 2020 Tags: International Security Studies, Russia, Middle East and North Africa
The UK Ministry of Defence’s Adoption of the Government-Wide System for Project Approvals
Western Way of War: Air Marshal Philip Osborn
India Must Secure the Indian Ocean to Deter China’s Assertion Along the Border