CIAO DATE: 05/2014
February 2014
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Political instability in Egypt, Somalia, and Yemen has raised security risks for the global shipping industry in the waters of the Middle East and North Africa. As regional governments struggle to provide physical and economic security to impoverished populations, pirates and terrorist groups have taken advantage of these power vacuums, placing commercial vessels and trade infrastructure at risk. At the same time, Iran continues to maintain naval forces that have loomed as a threat to commerce since the Tanker Wars of the 1980s. As Western progress toward rapprochement with Iran remains uncertain, and the Syrian Civil War strains Iranian-Gulf Arab relations, maritime trade could very well become a target of Iran’s forces in the event of conflict. The Burke Chair analyzes these threats in a new report entitled Maritime Security in the Middle East and North Africa: A Strategic Assessment.
Resource link: Maritime Security in the Middle East and North Africa: A Strategic Assessment [PDF] - 937K