Yerevan Saeed

Research Associate, AGSIW

Yerevan Saeed is a research associate at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington and a lecturer at the University of Kurdistan Hewler. Saeed is a political analyst who researches and writes on security, political, and energy issues in the Middle East, focusing on Iraq, Turkey, Iran, the Gulf, and the Levant. He has served as White House correspondent for the Kurdish Rudaw TV, and his work has been published in the Washington Institute’s Fikra Forum, the Diplomatic Courier, The New York Times, the London-based Majalla magazine, Rudaw, Global Politician, and several Kurdish newspapers. In addition, he has been interviewed by Voice of America, NPR, CNN, Voice of Russia, and Kurdish television programs and newspapers. From 2009-13, Saeed worked with Stratfor; additionally, he worked for several media outlets, including The New York Times, NPR, The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, BBC, and The Guardian, as a journalist and translator in Iraq from 2003-07.

Saeed holds a bachelor’s degree in government from the University of Texas at Austin and a master’s degree from Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, with a focus on Middle East studies and international negotiation and conflict resolution. He received his PhD from the Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution at George Mason University. He speaks Kurdish and Arabic and has a command of Farsi.

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A New Opportunity for the Basra-Aqaba Pipeline?

While the Basra-Aqaba pipeline project promises economic, energy, and security benefits for Iraq and Jordan, high costs and political and security risks pose huge feasibility challenges.

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With a President in Place, Can Iraq Finally Form a Government?

Iraq finally has a president, and the political parties understand that at this juncture, they don’t have the luxury of time for negotiations over government formation.

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Kurdistan’s Gas Exports: Reality or Mirage?

There are a host of serious internal political conflicts as well as legal, financial, and geopolitical hurdles to increasing Kurdish gas exports, prompting questions regarding whether such aspirations are realistic.

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Empowered by His Missteps, Shia Rivals Force Sadr to Back Down – For Now

Rivals’ use of force to counter Muqtada al-Sadr’s escalation in the Green Zone forces him to end demonstrations in Parliament, but Iraq’s political impasse continues.

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Pro-Sadr Protests Exacerbate Risky Political Impasse in Iraq

Iraq’s Parliament, where a sit-in of Sadr supporters continues, has become the epicenter of the intra-Shia power struggle, perpetuating the country’s political crisis.

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Inscrutable Ambitions: Sadr’s Exit From Iraq’s Parliament Strengthens Rivals

Muqtada al-Sadr’s exit from Iraq’s political process seems to be a huge political miscalculation, but there is still a tough road ahead for government formation despite the change in the political map.

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Iraq's Anti-Normalization Law Could Prove a Risky Political Stunt

Iraq’s criminalization of relations with Israel may be domestic political maneuvering, but it could come at a heavy cost for several constituencies.

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Pressure Mounts to Form Iraqi Government

Iraq’s government formation drama might continue, but public pressure could force rival parties to reach a deal after Ramadan.

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Hard-Fought Iraqi Presidential Contest Signals Fraught Government Formation Ahead

The Iraqi presidency is effectively reserved for a Kurdish leader, but Salih and Zebari may point the country in very different directions.

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Baghdad's Deepening Reengagement With the Gulf: Hostage to Government Formation

Recent Iraqi governments have pushed for reintegration with the Arab world, but continuation of that trend depends on the next government.