Relations between Kuwait and Iran have undergone serious diplomatic turmoil over the past decade, yet the two countries have still been able to put aside their differences and work on areas of mutual interest. Recently, debate has been focused on the nuclear deal between Iran and the P5+1. But the real issue for Kuwait and many other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states remains Iranian destabilizing activities in the Middle East, and no nuclear deal is going to eliminate them immediately.
The Gulf Cooperation Council’s public endorsement of the nuclear agreement with Iran is a smart move, but it’s neither a blank cheque for Washington nor the last word from the Gulf states on the international community’s relationship with Tehran.
Indeed, behind the commitment of the Gulf states to give the agreement a chance lies an equally, if not more, evident determination to try to strengthen control over their own security arrangements. Read more
In the Media
Following the AGSIW panel discussion “Negotiating the Gulf: How a Nuclear Agreement Would Redefine GCC-Iran Relations” GVH Livespokewith panelists Jamal Khashoggi, general manager of Al Arab News Channel, and Nadim Shehadi, director of the Fares Center for Eastern Mediterranean Studies at Tufts University, as well as Sigurd Neubauer, AGSIW non-resident fellow, to share their thoughts on the deal and discuss how it will impact millennials in the United States, Iran, and the Gulf.
The Washington Times addressedArab views of the Iran nuclear agreement quoting AGSIW Senior Scholar Husein Ibish who said, “The most common Arab reaction is to say good, but we want to see how Iran is going to behave in the future.” He continued, “Most people in the Arab world are very skeptical about Iran and mistrustful, especially along sectarian lines. Iran is not popular these days in the Sunni-Arab world.” Ibish was additionally cited in a Washington Post opinion piece, "White House allies apoplectic over Schumer."
Following U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s visit with GCC leaders in Doha on August 3, Al Jazeera America reportedQatar’s desire to deepen dialogue with Iran, but stated that Saudi Arabia has not echoed that call. The article quoted Ibish noting, “The nuclear agreement with Iran has propelled Saudi Arabia to make rolling back Iran’s regional influence a priority.”
In Abdallah Schleifer’s opinion piece on Al Arabiya “Who can defeat ISIS?” he cites anarticleby Ibish in The National, in which Ibish mentions that the countries involved in the fight against the Islamic State in Syria and the Levant each have other priorities.
Visiting Scholars are individuals who possess a PhD or equivalent professional experience, and whose primary purpose for residence at AGSIW is to conduct independent research. The length of stay for a Visiting Scholar is typically a semester or academic year. AGSIW is actively seeking candidates with significant regional experience and fluency in written and spoken Arabic. AGSIW will provide a stipend that can be used to cover living expenses, travel costs, or incidental research expenses. Read more
Job Summary: Provide research assistance and administrative support to the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. At the direction of the Senior Resident Scholars, conduct research on Gulf politics, foreign policy, culture, economics, and U.S. policy toward the region. Monitor contemporary developments in the Gulf states and in U.S. policy, including reviews of regional media and foreign language sources. Contribute analytical essays, bibliographies, and summaries on relevant topics. Provide administrative, communications, and logistical support to Senior Resident Scholars and AGSIW programs, and perform additional tasks as requested. Read more
