On the Middle East with Amberin Zaman Al-Monitor

Iran is due to hold presidential elections on June 28 that were precipitated by the death in May in a helicopter crash of former President Ebrahim Raisi. Although real power is held by the country's supreme leader, presidents can make a difference in the daily lives of Iranians and even in foreign policy should the supreme leader agree. The candidacy of a Western-friendly heart surgeon with popular appeal is giving hope that positive changes might be in store.

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As the Gaza conflict enters its eighth month, Iran stands out as the one country that has succeeded in projecting further as a result. 

Israel is more vulnerable than it’s ever been and the United States must engage more smartly in the Middle East to protect its interests, argues Steven Cook, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and the author of “The End of Ambition: America’s Past, Present, and Future in the Middle East.”

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The Kurdish-led administration in northeast Syria is planning to hold landmark local elections in the majority Kurdish and Arab areas under its control. Syrian-Kurdish leader Saleh Muslim says "radical democracy" will be in play as people elect their leaders at every level of local governance, with a man and a woman selected for each post.

Turkey has threatened to prevent the elections on the grounds they pose a threat to its national security. The Biden administration has advised against the polls, saying the conditions for conducting them are not ripe.

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Kristin Diwan, a senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, unpacks Kuwait's dramatic turn last week when the country's ruling Emir suspended the parliament and parts of the constitution.

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Greek academic Ioannis Grigoriadis believes that no major breakthroughs should be expected during Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' visit. Keeping the channels of communication open and building on the positive agenda promoted by both sides is, however, crucial to averting conflict, notably over Cyprus.

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Former Turkish Prime Minister and leader of the pro-Islamic Future Party Ahmet Davutoglu met with Hamas leaders Ismail Haniyeh and Khaled Meshal this week and shared their conditions for peace with Al-Monitor. Davutoglu sharply criticized the governments of Turkey and Arab states, saying they had done close to nothing for Gaza.

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