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.

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Middle East Security

Treasury Scales Back Scrutiny of U.S. Shell Companies

Alex Zerden, the founder of the risk advisory firm Capitol Peak Strategies and a former official in the Treasury Department’s Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, n...

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Middle East Security

Trump’s Remaining Economic Levers in Iran Fraught With Risks

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Middle East Security

Iran-Linked Crypto Exchange Handled $6.3 Billion, TRM Says

“The IRGC says one thing ideologically, such as gambling is illegal, and then runs or profits from the gambling racket,” said Alex Zerden, a former US Treasury official and ad...

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Research Team

  • 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