What is the war in Yemen about? Why is it so important? Why is it relevant to the United States? The Saudi’s must curb the Iranian aggressive expansion throughout the Middle East – because what happens in the Middle East does not stay in the Middle East.  

Below please see my article  Iran Can’t Fulfill Its Hopes of a Shia Corridor Without Iraq, published by The Atlantic Council  on October 12, 2018 Iran Can’t Fulfill Its Hopes of a Shia Corridor Without Iraq BY AVI MELAMED Iranian and Iraqi flag (moqavemati) Since the Iranian regime seized power in 1979, its goal has been for Iran to become a…

Why does Hezbollah want to head the Ministry of Health in the next Lebanese government?

Join the discussion about the situation in Syria since the downing of the Syrian jet

On Sunday, May 13, 2018 I held a Conference Call Briefing. On the call I provided up to date information and analysis regarding unfolding events in the region including: The US withdrawal from the JCPOA The unfolding events in Syria & on Israel’s northern border The upcoming US Embassy move The March of Return in Gaza Below is a link…

July 2, 2017   In this video Avi Melamed analyses the latest US moves in the Middle East  

A New Middle East Requires a New Understanding. Events of an historic scale are rocking the Middle East. I have spent many years of my life in the streets of the Arab world.  I have watched the Arab Awakening evolve and erupt from the inside. The Middle East in changing before our very eyes, the landscape is shifting and changing every day, and can drastically change any minute now. My upcoming US lecture tour will help you understand the present and navigate the future. Egypt, the biggest and most important Arab State, is embroiled a fierce battle over its identity. Iraq, Libya, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen are disintegrating in a bloody and violent process. Lebanon, once known as the Paris…

November 26, 2013 By Avi Melamed The Iranian regime has very good reasons to be satisfied with the interim agreement signed recently in Geneva: The Iranian regime played their cards right. The Iranians came to the table under immense stress due to the growing economic crisis stemming from the Western imposed sanctions. The Western powers – for some reason – failed to take advantage of the Iranian regime’s stress which could have secured a much better deal for the West. The interim agreement positions the Iranian regime as a regional – if not global – power which cannot be ignored. The agreement substantially limits Israel’s ability to launch any kind of military strike – a scenario that disturbed the Iranian…

November 12, 2013 The Secret of the Spinning Wheels The Middle East is a complex structure of wheels which spin one another. Normally, a small wheel spins a bigger one.  In the Middle East however, sometimes it is the opposite. Sometimes a big wheel spins a smaller one. The following story demonstrates that well. The story begins in May 2012 when a group of eleven Lebanese Shiites described as “Pilgrims” were kidnapped in Syria on their way back to Lebanon from Iran. According to accumulating information evaluated as reliable, among the kidnapped were senior military and political activists of Hezbollah (read more about that incident in my article “Nasrallah Gets a Taste of his own Bitter Medicine” published on June…

February 25, 2012 by Avi Melamed The Iranian nuclear military program and the possibility of a massive military collision in the Middle East are clearly occupying the world’s attention. These concerns are not groundless.  However, is military confrontation inevitable? In this article, I would like to bring your attention to the fact that at this specific moment, due to the…

February 5, 2012 by Avi Melamed Mr. Abdel Bari Atwan is the Chief Editor of a very popular London based, Arab newspaper, Al-Quds Al-Arabi. Mr. Atwan, who lives In the UK, is a very welcome guest on British television, Al Jazeera and other media channels. I recently saw him on a Middle East panel hosted by one of the British TV channels and I was struck by the fact that neither the host nor the other participants found it appropriate to ask Mr. Atwan some tough questions regarding his outspoken opinions. For example, they could have asked Mr. Atwan to explain the way he described Osama Bin Laden in articles he published following the killing of Bin Laden. Here is…

November 20, 2011 by Avi Melamed In October 2011 the US administration announced that it had successfully intercepted an Iranian terror plot to assassinate the Saudi Arabian Ambassador to the US in Washington DC and to attack the Embassies of Israel and Saudi Arabia in the United States as well as in Argentina. The involvement of the Iranian regime in terrorist schemes is not new.  To learn more please read an article I published in 2009 – “Masters of Chaos: The Iranian Mullah Regime.” The recent alleged Iranian plot is keeping the media, analysts and intelligence agencies very busy. One major question asked often these days in Arab media is:  Is it true or was it American spin aimed to set…

September 1, 2012 by Avi Melamed The calls in Egypt today to revise and even to abolish the Israeli-Egyptian Peace Treaty have grabbed the headlines.  Is the Treaty in danger?  Will it be abolished?  From my analysis the answer is no.  What follows is my reasoning. The main characteristic defining the atmosphere in Egypt today is what I have labeled “political fever.”  More than 20 Egyptians have announced their intention to run for president and dozens of political parties have been formed in the wake of the Mubarak government’s demise. At the same time contemporary Egypt faces enormous challenges.  The most important of these involves their anemic economy which is on the verge of bankruptcy.  It is not at all clear…

As we all eagerly await the anticipated release this Tuesday of Gilad Shalit I would like to share an article from May 2011 in which I expressed cautious optimism regarding the release of Gilad Shalit.  More important however, I would like to share with you what led me to that conclusion.  I hope the below piece helps you understand why, after more than five years, Hamas has decided “to make the deal.” May 2011 by Avi Melamed In May 2011 I was interviewed by the European online news portal www.Euobserver.com about the odds for a successful prisoner swap deal between Israel and Hamas. In this interview, I expressed cautious optimism regarding the odds of such a deal that would lead to the…