On Tuesday, the Middle East Institute hosted a presentation by Randa Slim, a scholar at the Middle East Institute and Levant expert, which discussed the future of Hezbollah in the context of the Arab Spring. Slim addressed the way that Hezbollah views the Arab Spring, the domestic strategies of Hezbollah in the changing landscape of the Middle East, and how the Arab Spring affected the standing of Hezbollah in the ...

On Friday, the Middle East Policy Council hosted an event entitled "A Reawakened Rivalry: the GCC vs. Iran." The panel was moderated by Omar Kader, Chairman of the board at the Middle East Policy Council, and featured Thomas Lippman, former reporter, editor, and Middle East correspondent at the Washington Post, Thomas R. Mattair, executive director at the Middle East Policy Council, and Alex Vatanka, a scholar at the Middle East ...

As recent media reports suggest that the Obama administration has made a decision to reduce the number of troops in Iraq, possibly to as few as 3,000. However, administration officials have denied any decision has been made on troop levels in Iraq. In an editorial by senators John McCain(R-AR) , Joseph I. Lieberman (I-CT), and Lindsey O. Graham (R-SC), they argued that "such an approach would disregard the recommendations of our ...

On Friday, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said that Iraqi officials had agreed to negotiate an extension of noncombat U.S. troops beyond the end of the year. Despite the lack of an official request, Panetta said that the Pentagon is moving forward with plans, since there is unanimous consent among Iraqi leaders. The Pentagon then downplayed Panetta's remarks, and the Iraqi government quickly denied that an agreement had been reached. A Pentagon spokesman clarified that ...

Two U.S. hikers, who have been held in Iran for the past two years, were convicted today as spies and sentenced to eight years in prison in Iran.  Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal were arrested on July 31, 2009 when hiking near Iran's border with Iraq along with Sarah Shourd, who was released on a $500,000 bail in September 2010.  The hikers said that they were hiking in the mountains ...

Elizabeth Rubin writes in the New York Times on the Mujahedeen e-Khalq (MEK) and their controversial claims as Iran's main opposition group.  According to Rubin, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, "should ignore their P.R. campaign. Mujahedeen Khalq is not only irrelevant to the cause of Iran’s democratic activists, but a totalitarian cult that will come back to haunt us." Rubin argues that what is "most disturbing" about the MEK ...

Semira Nikou, from the United States Institute of Peace, speaks with Seyed Hossein Mousavian, the former foreign policy adviser to Iran's former nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani on whether Iran is "ready" to begin diplomatic negotiations with the United States.   According to Mousavian, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will be "ready to negotiate" once Iran is offered the "right solutions package" by the P5+1 (five permanent members of the ...

After discussions on Tuesday, Iraqi leaders gave the government permission to begin negotiations with the U.S. about keeping troops in the country after the end of the year. A joint statement issued after the meeting said, "The leaders agreed to authorise the Iraqi government to start the talks with the United States that are limited to training issues." Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari noted that Iraq might still insist that the American military withdraw ...

Joint Chiefs chairman Adm. Mike Mullen said today that if U.S. troops remain in Iraq past the end of the year, they must be granted immunity from prosecution. Mullen told reporters in Baghdad that an agreement would have to be approved by the Iraqi Parliament and "would include privileges and immunities for our American men and women in uniform." Calling for the Iraqi government to expedite its decision, Mullen said, ...