Steven A. Cook
Eni Enrico Mattei Senior Fellow for Middle East and Africa Studies and Director of the Middle East Program
Middle East Program
The Council on Foreign Relations’ Middle East program provides analysis of the region’s political, economic, and social trends, offering insights into its current instability, its future trajectory, and U.S. policy toward it. The program and affiliated fellows inform policymakers, opinion leaders, and the general public through publications, meetings, and briefings.
Program Experts
Elliott Abrams
Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies
Henri J. Barkey
Adjunct Senior Fellow for Middle East Studies
Elisa Ewers
Senior Fellow for Middle East Studies
Ed Husain
Senior Fellow
Farah Pandith
Senior Fellow
Linda Robinson
Senior Fellow for Women and Foreign Policy
Ray Takeyh
Hasib J. Sabbagh Senior Fellow for Middle East Studies
Featured Content
Expert Take
Expert Take
Expert Take
Expert TakeBy Steven A. Cook, Farah Pandith, Henri J. Barkey, Elliott Abrams, Bruce Hoffman, Ed Husain and Elisa Ewers
Expert TakeArchive
2989 results
- By Ray Takeyh
- By Steven A. Cook
- Expert TakeBy Philip H. Gordon and Robert Malley
Indyk: It Is Important for Israel's Future That a Two-State Solution Be Kept Alive
PRI's The World
Featuring Martin S. Indyk- Expert Take
COVID Lessons Learned From Tackling Extremist Ideologies
The Cipher Brief
By Farah Pandith - Expert Take
Trump's reaction to Black Lives Matter and the pandemic has destroyed U.S. credibility abroad
NBC Think
By Farah Pandith - By Steven A. Cook
- Expert Take
Regime Change in Iran Shouldn’t be a Taboo
Washington Post
By Ray Takeyh - Expert Take
Israel’s New Government Is a Many-Headed Hydra
Foreign Affairs
By Martin S. Indyk - By Steven A. Cook
- By Steven A. Cook
- By Ray Takeyh
- Expert Take
Trump's Latest Iran Gambit is a Risky Contradiction
War on the Rocks
By Philip H. Gordon - Expert Take
Explaining Iran’s Coronavirus Cataclysm
New York Daily News
By Ray Takeyh - Expert TakeBy Philip H. Gordon and Robert Malley
- By Philip H. Gordon
- Expert Take
The Next Iranian Revolution
Foreign Affairs
By Ray Takeyh - By Steven A. Cook
- Expert Take
“America First” Is a Dangerous Fantasy in a Pandemic
Foreign Affairs
By Philip H. Gordon - By Steven A. Cook
By Steven A. Cook- Expert TakeBy Philip H. Gordon and Ariane Tabatabai
- Expert Take
Why Iran Won’t Make Another Nuclear Deal
National Review
By Ray Takeyh 
By Steven A. Cook